Polly moved hastily then, refusing to let this man anywhere near Elizabeth. She pushed the young woman behind her and Elizabeth stumbled back, her eyes wide and mouth agape as the elder woman made her move and defended Elizabeth. Polly let her eyes narrow as she looked the man up and down.

"What do you want with her?" Pol demanded and Elizabeth stood behind her shoulder, refusing to move far away from the woman as she did her best to keep her nerve under check.

"I want her as insurance," the man declared. "I want her until her husband comes back."

"Why?" Elizabeth demanded. "Why does my husband need to be here?"

"I have a codename that he needs to provide," the Russian man spoke and Elizabeth arched her brow, wondering what he was on about. She said nothing for a moment before she heard the phone begin to ring. Looking to the phone in the hallway, the Russian man nodded, pulling a cigarette from his pocket.

"Get it," he demanded from her.

Elizabeth moved into the hallway, picking the phone up and pressing it to her ear as she spoke into it, her voice croaky and slightly hoarse as she kept her eyes trained on the door from where Pol refused to let the man in.

"Hello?"

"Liz, it's me," Tommy's voice came from the other end, slightly crackly as Elizabeth began to hiss down the phone.

"What the hell is going on, Tommy?"

"Is he there?"

"Yes," Elizabeth responded, her voice terse as Tommy took a deep breath. "Tommy, what does he want? I do not understand what is happening. I thought you said that everything had gone well in London?"

"It had," Tommy promised her. "He's supposed to be bringin' the money Churchill promised me for the arms. There's a codename. If he says it then I know he's legit."

"And if he does not?" Elizabeth enquired back.

"Then he is a spy of some kind for the Russains…tryin' to find out what the rebels want for business with Churchill," Tommy informed her and Elizabeth bit down on her lip, holding the phone with both of her hands as she spoke in hushed tones down it.

"Where are you?" Elizabeth wondered from him. "I need to know you will be back soon."

"I will," Tommy promised. "I will be home before morning and everything will be fine. I need yer to just let 'im in and let 'im wait for me."

"And what if he is a spy?" Elizabeth whispered so no one could hear her. "Tommy, Charlotte is upstairs sleeping…our daughter…"

"He won't touch yer," Tommy promised her. "Just wait for me to come back and don't get the codename from him. Just don't do anyhin' rash, Liz. I told 'em to leave yer out of it. I never wanted yer to be involved in this, Liz."

"You never do," Elizabeth said, unsure of how she felt as she hung up on her husband.

Looking back to the door, Elizabeth moved to stand beside Polly. Her eyes went to the Russian man as she watched him and he watched her back, clearly trying to weigh up what she had just heard from her husband. The man wondered how much she knew, but he suspected it would be the wrong information that he had.

"Your husband told you who I am?"

"Not your name," Elizabeth said.

"Anton Kaledin," he answered her. "But I suspect he told you everything else."

"He told me you are here to do business with him," Elizabeth spoke. "Apparently you have the money that he needs from Churchill. Is that correct?"

"Correct," the man smiled and then Pol spoke up.

"Then what do you need with 'is wife?" Pol wondered and the man chuckled, shrugging his shoulders.

"Men like Thomas Shelby cannot be trusted, can they?" he spoke. "Of course, they can only be trusted if you have something of theirs that they would do anything to protect. For Thomas Shelby it is his beloved wife and sweet little daughter."

"You will go nowhere near our daughter," Elizabeth snapped at him and he chuckled.

"Of course not," he spoke. "So long as your husband does not try to betray me."

"I doubt it," Pol was the one to speak. "But she is right. Yer goin' nowhere near that little baby so I suggest yer get that into yer skull."

Pol stood back and allowed the Russian into the house. She stood back and he entered, looking around before pulling his coat from his body and hanging it on a peg on the coat stand. Clapping his hands together, he rubbed them a couple of times before heading towards the sitting room.

"A cup of tea would be lovely, Mrs Shelby," he declared and Elizabeth felt her cheeks glower red at his tone.

"I'll keep an eye on 'im," Pol informed Elizabeth, moving to take hold of her by the arm to try and comfort her. "He's not gettin' anywhere near Charlotte. I promise yer."

Elizabeth nodded to Pol and the woman followed Anton into the sitting room, leaving Elizabeth alone in the foyer, her hands covering her face as she wondered exactly what her husband had done.

Sitting on the settee, Elizabeth crossed her legs together as Pol sat next to her. Anton was sat across from them, sipping his fifth cup of tea of the night. Elizabeth had not slept all night, refusing to leave Anton free to roam the house. Pol had stayed awake too, refusing to take her glare from Anton.

Elizabeth only moved when she heard Charlotte begin to cry and she knew that she could not leave her daughter in such a state. Pushing herself to her feet, she moved without uttering a word to the bedroom, picking Charlotte up from her cot and cradling her to her chest trying to hush her before feeding her.

The sun was slowly rising as the dawn broke and Elizabeth peered out from the curtain, wondering exactly where Tommy could be. He had promised her that he would be back by morning. He had promised her.

"Elizabeth," Pol's voice called her downstairs and Elizabeth moved down the staircase with Charlotte in her grip, looking to Pol as she went. "Tommy's home."

A sense of relief swept through her as she saw her husband push the door open, his eyes roaming around the foyer until they came to rest on his wife and daughter. Pointing to the staircase, Tommy moved towards them.

"Go and wait back upstairs," he said, his voice harsh and demanding as Elizabeth shook her head at him.

"Not until he has left our house," she said and Tommy sighed, loosening the red tie he wore around his neck as he climbed the three steps up to his wife, taking hold of her by the waist.

"Upstairs, Liz," he urged from her.

"No," Elizabeth replied, looking to Pol. "Please, Polly, can you look after Charlotte while Tommy and I deal with this."

"Liz, I think Tommy 'as a point-"

"-Please!" Elizabeth snapped, interrupting as she shrugged her husband's hand from her and she looked to Pol. "I want to make sure this is dealt with before my husband does something completely stupid and gets us all killed."

Pol could hear the determination laced with anger inside of Elizabeth's voice and she nodded. Tommy would keep the girl safe. He would let no one touch her. Moving to take Charlotte from Elizabeth's grip, Pol gave Tommy a look of warning before she headed upstairs and Elizabeth moved down the steps. She brushed by her husband and went into the sitting room.

"As you may have heard, my husband has returned," Elizabeth informed Anton. "So say what you have to say and leave."

Tommy followed Liz inside the room, close on her heels as Anton stood up and chuckled at what he was hearing from the woman.

"Perhaps we can go to your study, Mr Shelby?" Anton suggested.

"Perhaps it is best," Tommy said and Elizabeth fumed once again as Tommy shot her a glare and the two men wandered through the sitting room towards the study, leaving Elizabeth on her own in the room.

Shaking her head back and forth, she heard the door shut and then murmurs of their discussion. She perched on the edge of the seat, refusing to leave in case something happened. It was another few moments before she heard the smashing of something on the floor from the study.

She stood up and rushed with haste towards the door, pushing it open to reveal the sight in the room. She tried not to startle, but she struggled as she saw them. Tommy was in the man's grip, Anton's arm wrapped around Tommy's neck as her husband tried to escape him. Elizabeth froze for a moment before coming to her senses, the sight of the gun on the floor enough to make her act.

Anton saw her enter the room and he dropped Tommy from his hold, listening as the man coughed for breath. He bent down for the gun at the same time as Elizabeth, knocking her out the way and kicking her to the floor, his foot making contact with her stomach as she winced.

Tommy saw the action and he jumped to his feet, his cheeks still red and his throat still clenching as he grabbed hold of Anton by the neck, trying to prise the gun from his fingers. Elizabeth moved then again, crawling on the ground until she pulled herself up with the help of the desk.

She moved with haste, her own foot connecting with Anton's groin as he yelled in pain at that and dropped the gun, allowing Tommy the chance to pick it up and hold it in his hands. He wasted no time as he shot the man in the head, the bullet invisible due to its speed. But the man fell to the ground, blood splattering around the room and landing on both Elizabeth and Thomas.

Recoiling back, Elizabeth felt his blood land on her cheek and clothes, the feeling enough to make her feel queasy. She said nothing as Tommy dropped his gun to his desk and pressed his hand on the surface.

"He gave me the wrong name," Tommy panted out and Elizabeth shook her head. "He was a spy."

"He's dead," Elizabeth replied.

"And if he didn't die then it would 'ave been me," Tommy said.

"In our house, Tommy," Elizabeth whispered. "Our daughter is upstairs…God…all because of money…"

"The woman delivering the money will be here tonight-"

"-No," Elizabeth interrupted, shaking her head. "She is not to come to our home. No one is to come here. Meet her somewhere else. Do you understand me?"

"Aye," Tommy agreed to that and Elizabeth watched as he moved closer to her, his hands going to her cheeks as she looked at his face that was also dotted with blood. "This will never 'appen again."

"You keep promising that," Elizabeth reminded him.

"And I mean it," Tommy assured her and she shrugged.

"I know," she said, "but if anyone ever comes here again then you have my word that I am leaving, Thomas. I love you so much, but our daughter…if our daughter is ever placed in danger again like this then I will leave and take her with me."

"I agree," Tommy said to her. "It will be safer for yer both, Liz."

She said nothing to him, choosing to brush his hands from her before leaving the study. She couldn't look at the body once more. She walked through the sitting room and towards the staircase to clean up, knowing full well that her husband was following her too. They both entered the bathroom, Tommy nodding to Pol as she came out of the nursery to look at them.

"Business in London went well," Tommy informed her, trying to distract her. "I 'ave the Russians on side with me so Churchill will be pleased."

"Good," Elizabeth said in a monotone voice. She didn't want to discuss it or think about it.

"Liz," Tommy whispered her name as she splashed water over her face and he followed suit. "I'm sorry, yer know that."

"I know," she sighed and moved to kiss him on the cheek. "I know you are sorry and I know that you never wanted this, not really…but from now on we do this away from Charlotte. We put our daughter first."

Tommy nodded, kissing Elizabeth on the forehead. "We will always put her first, Liz. I promise."

A/N: Let me know what you think!