Thomas rose from his chair at Kimber's table after hearing about the small condition that Kimber wanted for compensation. Two hours alone with Grace. He mulled over the idea for half a second, a bit of guilt crossing his mind, but remembered that Grace worked for him and she wanted to be here with him.
Walking across the room to the bar, he desperately wanted a drink but refrained. Coming up to Grace, who sipped on a glass of champagne, he reminded himself that Kimber's condition was why Maze wasn't here. Lowering his cigarette, he prepared the lie he was about to spew to Grace.
"So listen," he began, smashing his cigarette in the nearest ashtray. "We're going to Kimber's house for dinner. He lives just a couple of miles away. I have some business to settle first with his accountant, so you can go ahead."
Grace looked at him and immediately recognized him lying to her. Something else was going on and she didn't like it. "Just me and him alone?" she asked, giving him a glare.
"Yea, until I'm done here." Thomas reassured her.
He knew he couldn't tell her that Kimber wanted her alone for two hours for nefarious reasons. She'd never go. He'd lie when he needed to. "Is that all right?"
Her mind screamed at her that it wasn't all right with her, but she remembered she offered herself to come here with him for the sake of getting information that she could report back to Campbell. The Inspector even told her she would have to unsavory things in the process of doing her job. It still didn't mean she liked it. At that moment, she realized how much of a bastard Thomas Shelby really was.
And just to make it seem like she was a desperate whore, he offered to throw in three more quid for this slight inconvenience. The fucking nerve of him to treat her as such. They were having a good time until Arthur Shelby arrived, reminding her she wasn't there for fun but to work.
"You think I'm a whore?" she asked, voicing her concern.
"Everyone is a whore, Grace. We just sell different parts of ourselves," he said, shaking his head at her. His lie wasn't helping him. Sighing, he decided to tell the truth about the condition Kimber added to their verbal contract. "You said you wanted to work for me. The deal is," he paused and looked away at her for a second before turning his attention back to her. "I give him two hours with you. He thinks he's a ladies' man. He thinks he can seduce you. Do whatever you want, kick him in the balls for all I care."
She fucking knew it. He really was a fucking bastard. Using her for his gain. If finding the guns wasn't her chief priority, she would have told Thomas to fuck off and walk away from the racecourse.
"I'm a clause in a contract," she muttered angrily at him.
"If you want to be part of my organisation, then you have to make sacrifices," he hissed quietly.
"Then why didn't you get that woman you argued with to do this, hmm?" Grace shot back fiercely.
"That woman is none of your business," Thomas snapped.
And just like that, Grace realized she had a way to get to Thomas Shelby.
With that, Thomas walked off, letting Grace steam in her own anger and stupidity for believing that Thomas Shelby could be a good man.
"Do we have a deal?" Kimber asked as Thomas walked past the table. "As a sweetener, you can try your luck with mine."
If he wasn't already angry with Grace for what she said, he would have gotten quite cross with Kimber at his crass remark.
"Yes, we have a deal." Thomas said hurriedly.
"Two hours?" Kimber pressed.
"Yea."
"Side bet. Ten pounds says I'll have her fucked in one hour."
Thomas watched as Kimber walked off. While he had worked with sleazy men in the past, Kimber was beyond the pale, in his opinion. Thomas knew he wasn't a good man, but at least Thomas was honest about his intentions. He didn't lie to anyone unless the situation called for it.
He shook his head as Kimber escorted Grace from the dance hall before leaving the building himself. Escorting Kimber's dour wife to his car, he let her climb in before giving the car a turn and turning the key to start the engine. Climbing in, she quietly directed him toward her house in the country.
Neither of them engaged in conversation except to give directions. Thomas's mind wandered about what was happening with Grace and a part of him knew that he should have never agreed to letting Kimber take her back to his house for two hours. He was going to catch hell when he returned to Birmingham later that afternoon.
Kimber's wife looked like she wanted to be somewhere else. Thomas had no intention of fucking Kimber's wife, no matter the offer. He slowed the car to an almost stop for a few minutes as they sat surrounded by the forest.
"I bet he said you could have me, didn't he?" she finally voiced the question that lingered on her tongue the entire time. "While he has her? That's the arrangement, isn't it?"
Thomas didn't answer her. There wasn't a need to fill the woman's head with anguish. Her own husband traded her off so he could have an hour with a prettier and younger woman. That was the part that angered him. How callous Kimber could be. Thomas knew something like this would never happen between him and Maze. Once the bonding ritual took place, there wouldn't be another woman in his life.
"Yours might be a prostitute, but I'm not," she spat, turning away from him.
She kept talking. He supposed it was her way of burning off the anger that was coursing through her. He could sense the anger, but not fear. She wasn't afraid of him, at least. There wasn't a reason for her to fear Thomas. Though her story about her life reminded him of how independent Maze was with her job and all.
"So, is she a prostitute?" Mrs. Kimber asked curiously after Thomas complimented her on her hat.
"Honestly," Thomas began, pulling out his pocket watch to check the time. "I don't know what she is."
"Do you have a lady at home?" Mrs. Kimber asked quietly. "Does she know about this?"
Thomas turned to look at her, curious why she would ask such a question. "I do and no, she doesn't."
"You might want to tell her," Mrs. Kimber advised quietly.
Grace Burgess sighed as Billy Kimber walked over to her. If she could scream, she would have in an instant. When she told Thomas Shelby she would work for him, she never imagined her first 'assignment' would be this. Gently, Kimber grabbed her by the arm and led her out to his car. It did not impress her seeing the dark green Wolseley five seat tourer. It just meant that he spent too much money on a car.
Without prompting, Grace climbed into the front seat of the car while Kimber strutted around to give it a crank before climbing into the driver's seat. Sitting back in the plush black buttoned leather upholstery, she turned her head to look out, hoping to see Thomas. Maybe, just maybe, he would return and escort her from this madness.
Without further ado, the car moved forward, the imposing vehicle moving away from the Cheltenham and out to the countryside. The warm afternoon wind whipped her hair around as they drove to what she assumed was Billy Kimber's house. She straightened her hat upon her head, hoping to keep it from flying away.
Once there, he got out of the car without opening the door for her. She scowled at his lack of manners and opened the door herself. Walking around the car, his home faintly impressed her. He waited for her to catch up to him as he looped her arm through his and escorted her inside the house.
Once the tour was over, he escorted Grace to the billiards room or what she assumed to be a billiards room. Whenever she got the chance, she would look out the window, hoping to see Thomas coming up the long drive to rescue her from this madness.
Kimber busied himself across the room while she waited by the window, watching for Thomas. In her hands, she clutched her handbag tightly. Opening it quietly, she looked into it and saw her gun. A blanket of security washed over her, but she remembered the last time she was forced to use it. The Irish man's death still haunted her dreams at night.
Footsteps approached behind her as she stood there waiting on Thomas. Musical notes played from the side of the room as Kimber fingered the chords on the gramophone.
"You showed me up back at the races," he said, plucking a chord.
She did her best to pay attention to him and dropped her handbag on the billiards table, clutching it tightly as he walked over to her. He ran his hand over the smooth top of the billiards table before grabbing her gently by the hand.
"Why don't you teach me how to dance properly?" Kimber instructed, pulling Grace close to him.
Grace gave him a smile that she hoped was sincere. She truly detest this man, but she had a job to do and while she waited for Thomas, she might as well enjoy herself.
"The music is too slow," she complained. "Put on a Charleston."
She didn't want to be intimately close to Billy Kimber. At least with the Charleston, she wouldn't have to touch him.
"Well, we'll be far away," he retorted. "I wanna dance like this."
He spun her around the small space deemed for their dance floor. Grace stiffened her body against his, clearly not interested in dancing with the man. She hoped that if she was difficult with him, he'd back off and leave her be. She understood that being difficult would mean difficulties for Thomas, but she didn't care.
"Come on now," he cajoled, moving his mouth close to her ear, "you weren't so stiff back there, hmm?"
Frustrated, Kimber let her go after rolling his tongue on her earlobe. Stepping back, he glared at obstinate attitude. "Have you ever been in a house this big?" he asked.
She frowned, realizing he still thought her a prostitute that Thomas paid to bring to the races. Well, he did pay her for her work, but she wasn't a prostitute. Angry with herself, with Thomas and even Billy Kimber, she didn't give him a smile as he tried to play with her hair.
Thomas told her that Billy Kimber thought himself a ladies' man and that he would try to seduce her. What she failed to realize was that by being obstinate, it would anger him further. Men like Billy Kimber weren't used to women rebuffing his advances.
"Look at you," he whispered, his beady eyes raking all over her body. "You look like a movie star." he said, pushing her hair from her face, and pulling her roughly to him.
In a split second, Kimber's mouth descended on her neck. His hands roaming around her body as if she were some prized possession. Twisting her body, she pulled away from him as she pushed his chest with both hands. He snarled at her rebuff and advanced on her once again.
When he pulled her close, his grip tightened on her like a vice. He pressed her mouth against his. Trying to fuse them together, she struggled against his tightening arms. Taking the advice from Thomas, she lifted her leg and thrust her knee between his legs. Kimber toppled back away from her, but rage coursing through his body made him temporarily forget that he was injured.
Rearing back, he slapped her hard across the face several times, holding her tightly, before pushing her back into the billiards table. He would have her either way. Kimber spun her around, his anger getting the best of him as he pushed her onto the billiards table.
Pinning her down, he ignored her cries as he pulled her dress up toward her hips. Her purse had moved across the table when he pushed her over, her fingers reaching for it before she finally gripped the red purse.
A knock on the door interrupted Kimber's assault on her as he yelled at whoever pushed the door open on them.
"The fuck do you want!" Kimber shouted in anger. "I'm fucking busy!"
Grace thrust her hand inside the bag and pulled out her gun just as Thomas burst into the room.
Thomas looked at what had happened with his own eyes. He didn't expect Kimber to try and rape Grace, or he wouldn't have let her go. He felt anger simmering underneath his skin, the guilt coursing through him as he saw her dishevelled appearance. Holding his hand up to stop Kimber from attacking him, his face showing shock.
"What? I have another fucking hour!" Kimber roared, advancing toward Thomas.
Thomas needed to get her out of there safely. "Listen to me!" he began soothingly, the same way he talked to an angry Arthur. "Listen to me! I was going to let you go through with this, but in the end, my conscience got the better of me. She looks good on the outside," he paused, looking at Grace before turning back to Kimber. "But she has the clap."
It was the first thing that came to mind. It wasn't the best way to get her out of the mess he created, but the dirty trick would work. He gazed at Kimber, who for a second didn't seem like knowing Grace had the clap affected him. Thomas was sure Kimber would fuck her, regardless.
Kimber straightened his waistcoat, fixing his tie as he stepped slowly away from Grace, his disgusted gaze on her face. His behavior was appalling, but like most people, he didn't want to catch anything.
"Yea," Thomas concluded, once Kimber reached the idea that Grace wasn't healthy, "Gonorrhea. When you took a shine to her, I thought I'd use her." he explained, glancing at Grace before turning his attention back to Kimber. "Someone told me she had 'rreha, and I said what the hell? Call it my better nature," he concluded, hoping to get them out of there quickly.
Grace wiped her mouth with her hand and grimaced at the traces of blood on her hand. Her dress was torn, ripped from Kimber's firm hands, when he tried to force himself on her. Grabbing her purse, she closed it quickly to hide that she had a gun on her.
"Go wait in the car," he instructed her quietly.
Jerking her arm away from him, "I can walk myself," she hissed, storming out of the room.
Thomas groaned internally at the massive fuck up and hoped he could fix things. "Can we shake on it and forget this ever happened?" he asked, offering his hand. He didn't want to shake Kimber's hand, but he needed to leave in good faith or things would go south for him.
Kimber looked at him incredulously, as if Thomas had grown another head. Scoffing, Thomas realized things were far more fucked up than normal. Shaking his head, he turned away and walked himself out of Kimber's fine home and to the car where Grace was sitting patiently.
A man opened the gate for him a minute later as Thomas drove through it. Neither he nor Grace spoke for a few minutes until they were far down the road. He couldn't believe that Kimber would go so far to force himself on Grace. It wasn't what he expected of the man, but he should have known that men like Kimber always got their way, regardless of who they hurt.
In part, he was truly glad he didn't accept Maze's offer to come with him. If Kimber had touched a hair on her head, he would have shot Kimber before dragging him to the woods and leaving him for until the next full moon. It would be the one exception to his 'no killing humans' rules.
He kept his eyes on the road as he drove, ignoring the glare he was receiving from Grace. Thomas held back a shudder, knowing he was going to catch hell when he returned to Birmingham. It wouldn't surprise him if Grace quit working at the Garrison by the end of the day.
"Start of the day, I was Lady Sarah of Connemara and by the end of it I was a whore with the clap," Grace said quietly, though her tone voiced her anger towards him. "You're a fucking bastard offering me like that," she spat angrily at him.
Thomas let her rant at him. He knew was a bastard and not once did his actions ever bother him until now.
"Why did you change your mind, Thomas?" she asked, turning to look at him.
He couldn't give her the answer she was looking for. Maybe she thought he came back because he started to care about her. She wanted proof that he preferred to be around her, not that his conscience dictated that he should have. He couldn't tell her the real reason. Refusing to answer anymore of her questions, the ride back to Birmingham was quiet.
Maze waited patiently at the Garrison for Thomas to return home. It'd been days since their last actual conversation. She suppressed a shiver of pleasure, remembering how she felt laying underneath him in the Betting house the night before. Maze hadn't meant for it to happen, but once he touched her skin, she faltered, giving into his sensual demands. Besides, she missed him. Missed genuine conversation with him. She leaned against the window, watching people pass her by. One man even leered at her, tipping his hat. Her scowl sent him running in the other direction.
Hearing a car coming around the other side of the Garrison, she recognized the vehicle. Pushing herself off the wall, she hastened to the car as it came to a stop. Her face contorted in confusion seeing the barmaid step out of the passenger side as Thomas cut the engine and stepped out.
One glance at Grace's face sent her in a rage. The blonde woman had a busted lip, with bruising cheeks to redden her naturally pale face.
Turning to Thomas, her eyes blazing, "What the hell happened?"
He opened his mouth to ask her why she was there, but the venom in her voice stopped him. "I can explain,...,"
"You will. I'm going to take care of her inside. Once we're done, you're going to take her home," Maze snapped, gently pulling Grace into the pub, leaving Thomas outside staring at the closing door.
Inside, Maze ushered Grace to the back of the pub, where she kept her black medical bag. Since their return from the war, she left a first aid kit there in case of emergencies. Pushing Grace onto a stool, she turned her back and crouched down to fish a black bag from between two crates.
"You don't have to do this," Grace said, lowering her eyes.
"Nonsense," Maze replied, opening the bag and looking around for antiseptic. "I'm happy to help."
Grace saw this as an opportunity to get close to this woman. This woman knew Thomas in a way that Grace could only dream of. "You seemed furious with him."
Maze snorted softly and pulled out a white cloth and placed it on the open bottle of antiseptic. No one dug around in her bag to know that half of the material was futuristic. The bottle of hydrogen peroxide would keep the wound clean. She set the bag down and held the white cloth out to Grace. "I can do this, if you like?"
Grace took the cloth and dabbed her busted lip with it and winced from the sting.
"Yea, it stings a little, but it will clean it. I recommend you monitor it for a day or two," Maze said, placing a hand on Grace's cheek to inspect the bruising. She sighed heavily, shaking her head. In her heart, she knew this wasn't Thomas's work. He was many things, but he never would hit a woman. "You'll bruise up for a few days. Put something cold on it when you get home. It will help."
Grace nodded, unsure how to accept the kindness from this woman. "Will he tell you the truth?"
Maze arched a dark eyebrow, "He better. I know when he's lying to me."
"How do you know that?" Grace pressed.
Maze smiled at her. It was one thing to be friendly and in debt to someone taking care of you, but to start asking questions to a complete stranger. Maze stiffened when she realized Grace was fishing for information. A minute later, Grace handed back the bloodied cloth. Taking it gingerly from her, Maze held it over the bin and used a match to light it before dropping in the bin.
"Let's get you home," Maze said softly, shoving her black bag between the two crates.
Grace nodded, following this woman out of the back of the room and into the main area of the pub. Rounding the corner, Thomas stood by his usual meeting room as if he were waiting on them.
Maze scowled at Thomas, who didn't flinch under her glare. "You're going to take her home, then come back."
He frowned at the order. It wasn't every day someone ordered him around, but the look she gave him made him step back and nod. Nudging Grace to the door, Maze heard her give a soft thank you before disappearing. Thomas turned to look at Maze again before leaving the pub.
Half an hour later, he pulled back up to the Garrison and parked the car. Sitting in the car for a second, he contemplated the quarrel he was about to engage in. When angered, Maze was a force to be reckoned with. Getting out of the car, he pushed the double doors open to the Garrison and saw her sitting alone at a table.
She saw him walk into the pub and look around for her. After he left, three more patrons entered the pub to have a drink. Rising to her feet, she walked over to him, ignoring the stares that were coming her way.
"We need to talk…." she began.
"In there." he jerked his head toward the meeting room.
"People are going to hear us."
"What would you have me do?" he asked, reaching for a cigarette and ignoring her look of distaste.
"You own the bloody pub, close it."
He inhaled sharply at her, barking orders at him. Yelling for everyone to leave, they stood there glaring at each other until the last man left.
"Now lock up. I don't want anyone coming in…."
He acquiesced and stalked over to the front double doors and locked them quickly with a shove.
"Explain now," she snapped, crossing her arms over her chest.
"Fine," Thomas said, pulling the cigarette from his mouth. "A week after she started working here, I asked her to come to the races with me. I needed a...date, if you can call it that. She agreed. Then after I had a meeting a couple of weeks ago, she told me she wanted to work for me. Kimber saw her the day he showed up, and I knew I could use her to get to him."
"Jesus, Thomas…" Maze muttered, looking away from him for a second before turning back to him. "How'd she get injured?"
Thomas shuffled and looked down at the tips of his boots. He dropped the cigarette in the ashtray on a nearby table. Maze knew instantly she would not like what he said. "Kimber said yes to my men being his new security team, but asked for one condition."
"And that was?"
"He wanted Grace for two hours, alone."
Fury boiled in her as she contemplated his words. To get in with Kimber, Thomas offered Grace as a bargaining chip for Kimber to do what he wanted with her. She scowled, pursing her lips at him before inhaling.
"And you fucking agreed, didn't you?" she seethed.
"I did."
Slap.
Her hand hitting the side of his face left a red print as she stood there glaring at him. Maze spun away from him and walked over to the bar. Placing her hands on the smooth bar top, she took a shaky breath to rein in her anger. Thomas had done stupid shit in the time that she'd known him, but this was unacceptable.
His face stung when she slapped him. Unlike the other times she slapped him, this one he deserved.
"Maze…" she heard him whisper behind her as his hands found her hips.
"Stop it…" she hissed, but didn't move his hands. "You're going to fucking apologize to her. Write her a fucking letter if you have to. I don't care if she wants to work for you…. you don't fucking do that to a woman, do you get me?" she spat, her voice unsteady as her accent changed.
He nodded silently, lowering his head to rest on her shoulder. His body craved to be close to hers. A quiet whimper escaped his lips, breathing her in.
"Why didn't you take me?" she whispered. "I would have gone with you."
Thomas lifted his head and spun her around to face him. He hated seeing the agony in her eyes. Sliding his fingers through her hair, he pulled her closer to him. His eyes flashed amber, remembering how he refused to let a man like Billy Kimber get close to Maze.
"The thought of another man, especially a man like Billy Kimber, touching you makes me homicidal," he muttered, his nose brushing hers. "I would have fucking killed him if he had touched you."
Maze's breath caught in her throat at his declaration. She let out a shaky breath, feeling his fingers tighten in her dark locks, and his mouth was dangerously close to her own. She knew things were intense between them, but to hear him say it shook her to her core.
The wolf in his head growled low, remembering the scene he walked into earlier at Kimber's and the vicious anger that coursed through him if it had been Maze instead of Grace. Thomas lowered his head to bury in the crook of her neck, inhaling her scent of springtime and lemon. Her scent calmed and aroused him. The two emotions warring against each other.
When his lips brushed her skin, he heard her gasp as her hands tightened on his arms. Kissing down her neck slowly, the itching that came with being away from her for too long began to soothe even more after their contact the previous night. His hand wandered down her body until he felt the fabric of her long black skirt brush against his hand.
Gripping the fabric, he bunched it in his hand while trapping her body between him and the bar. His lips skimmed the skin above her blouse, brushing over the bone of her collarbone.
"Thomas…" Maze whispered, pulling his head up to look at her.
"Maze," he muttered, looking at her before nimble fingers reached up to slowly unbutton her white and pink blouse. He slipped each button from their confines until his fingers undid the last button, exposing her creamy flesh to his amber eyes.
She didn't stop him as his lips tasted the flesh hidden under her blouse. Arousal pounded in her veins as her hands tugged at his coat, helping him to push it off his body and letting it fall gently to the floor. He removed the shoulder holster, laying it on the bar top beside them before resuming his kisses on her exposed neck and chest.
Her fingers worked the waistcoat, opening it wide as her hands slid down the white and blue pinstripe shirt he wore under it. She gave it a tug, trying to touch his skin. Thomas removed the waistcoat, leaving him in shirt and trousers.
His fingers slid seductively over the softness of her breast and down to bunch the black skirt in his fingers again. Her labored breathing spurred him further when she didn't stop him. A small whimper escaped her lips, feeling his bare hand touch her stocking clad thigh.
Maze flicked another button loose from its captivity of his shirt as he hissed, feeling her nails raked gently down his bare chest. Jerking her tightly to him, his thickened cock pressed into the juncture of her thighs. He wanted to tear the skirt off her and thrust himself inside her. A moan escaped him, feeling her warm, smooth lips on his chin and neck. Thomas brought his lips inches from hers. He could feel her warm breath tickle the skin. He wanted to devour her lips, and he wanted her to beg for more of his touch.
Before he could take the last step and claim her lips, a gunshot blasted outside. Maze screamed lightly, covering her ears in reaction.
Thomas moved quickly, reaching for his gun and quickly making sure it was loaded. "Get behind the bar," he instructed before rushing towards the front door.
Maze scrambled behind the bar, sinking to the floor. She waited, buttoning her blouse with trembling fingers as she waited for Thomas. Placing her face in her hands, she took several deep breaths, trying to calm her nerves. It had been months since the day she shot the German soldiers.
Movement from the front door startled her as she made herself quiet. Slowing her breathing down, Maze turned her head to see Thomas coming toward her.
Sighing in relief, she watched him crouch down beside her.
"What the hell was that?" She asked, reaching to grab his shirtsleeve.
Thomas looked back at the door before turning to her. "I don't fucking know, but I am going to find out."
********
End of Episode 2. Two chapters in one day because I don't know what the rest of my week looks like. Hope everyone has enjoyed it so far!
