A few days later, Tommy, Polly and I were all in the office and signing the necessary paperwork. I had been alternating staying with Johnny Dogs and the Golds, always having two or three of my Lee cousins around me. I was sitting across the room from the desk, using a small side table to sign my signature over and over. I felt a small amount of smugness at making Tommy walk across the room each time I was handed something new or finished with what I had. We all looked up when the door banged open. "You don't knock?" Tommy asked as Lizzie entered the room. "You don't know my new address?" Lizzie countered, walking to the desk. "Hello, Lizzie, how are you?" Polly asked, ignoring the tension between the pair. "I know your new address, Lizzie, because it was me who bought you the new fucking house." Tommy told her, both ignoring Polly. "Then why don't you visit it?" Lizzie snapped as Polly looked amused. Tommy sank into his seat as Lizzie took the available one next to Polly.
"Yeah, I've been busy." Tommy told her, putting all the paperwork away in a drawer. "Busy doing what?" Lizzie asked, her voice low, and Tommy looked to Polly. "Preparing for tomorrow." Polly told her. "Why, what's tomorrow?" Lizzie asked, looking between Polly and Tommy. "Luca Changretta is coming to Birmingham. It's our turn." Tommy told her. "He's already taken over Alfie Solomons, Sabini, Titanics… All of them." I told her, Tommy's eyes flickering to me. "And now it's our turn." I added, my eyes meeting Tommy's. "He's coming to take control of Shelby Company Limited." Tommy confirmed, his eyes going back to Lizzie. "What are we going to do about that?" Lizzie asked and Tommy's eyes drifted back to me. "We're gonna let him have it." he said.
I stayed where I was, watching Tommy, as Lizzie and Polly left. "Are you going to marry her?" I asked after a few moments of silence, tilting my head slightly. "What?" he scoffed. "Lizzie, are you going to marry her?" I repeated. "Should I?" He asked, looking at me. "Well, you got her pregnant. It's the right thing to do." I told him, searching his face. "Is that what men like me do, eh? Do the right thing?" he asked, a hint of humor in his voice. "You used to." I replied, nodding. "And what about who you used to be?" he asked, sitting back in his seat. "Who did I used to be, Tommy? A rebellious teenager and a disobedient wife?" I countered. "A loving wife, a good mother and a fierce sister." he told me, his eyes softening and I scoffed. "Yet I am to be exiled from the only family I have ever known." I replied, watching his reaction.
He watched me for a moment before standing, pouring himself another drink and offering me one. I nodded, also standing and going over to retrieve it. "What did you want from me, Tommy?" I asked, looking up at him as I leaned against his desk. His eyes searched mine for a moment. "I don't know, Eves." he admitted, taking a sip from his glass. "Hmm.." I hummed, taking a sip from my own drink. "So I didn't live up to your expectations because you don't know what those expectations were." I stated and Tommy's face flickered. "You've always exceeded my expectations, Eves." he told me, looking at me intensely. "Ah, so it's just my last few life choices that have disappointed you." I said, a small smile on my face.
"I disappointed myself." Tommy muttered and my smile fell. "Don't be stupid." I muttered while taking a mouthful of whiskey. "No, Eves, I'm being serious. I was disappointed in myself that I didn't see how much you were hurting. How much you were destroying yourself after John. You gave up your children to keep them safe and no one has thought to look after you." he told me, his voice low. "It's fine, Tommy. We've all been busy." I told him, blinking back the tears that formed at the thought of my children. "Michael and Bonnie, they cared, they listened and that's all you needed." he continued and I looked up at him. "I was angry I couldn't be that person for you." he whispered and I realised he was leaning in. I looked at his lips before closing the distance.
The kiss was delicate at first but quickly grew heated and our glasses quickly smashed around us. There was no hesitancy or delicacy as Tommy lifted me up on his desk, his hands going to my thighs as I undid his trousers. The kissing got rough as he kissed and bit down my neck, moving my skirt out of the way so he could enter me forcefully. I gasped as he thrust into me, holding him against me as he pounded into me. There was no love or gentleness in this, just raw lust and need. He continued to bite my neck as my hands tangled in his hair, pulling it roughly as he returned the favour with mine.
I knew he was going to leave bruises on my thighs and neck but I didn't care. All I cared about was filling the hole deep inside of me. My nails scratched the back of Tommy's neck and we came undone together, the violent movements sending us both over the edge quicker than we anticipated. We held onto each other for a moment, catching our breaths. Tommy pulled away from me and lit us both a cigarette while I sorted out my skirt and moved to sit on one of the chairs in front of his desk. He handed me the cigarette, each of us taking a long drag before he looked at me again. "We need to have a talk." he told me and I raised my eyebrow at him.
After Tommy explained his plan I had to think for a moment. "Okay, Tommy. Here's the deal. Once this is all over. If we fucking survive this and we make it out the other side. I want you to promise me something." I told him, swallowing and waiting for him to respond. "Alright." he told me, watching me warily. "Ask Lizzie to marry you. Let me leave Birmingham with Bonnie, leave us alone and marry Lizzie." I told him, watching his reaction. He watched me for a moment before nodding. "You have my word." he promised, spitting in his hand and holding it out to me. I spat in my own before shaking it.
I walked into the distillery behind Tommy, the air was somber and despite the refuge that we had found in each other yesterday, his cold demeanor was back. We both looked up as Luca Changretta walked in, followed by men with guns. I turned my head slightly as Finn and Polly joined us. Changretta stopped the other side of the table, rubbing his hands together before speaking to his men in Italian. "All that's left of the Peaky fucking Blinders." he said with a smirk on his face. He came around the table, standing in front of Tommy and snapping his fingers. A man behind him walked to the table, taking some papers out of this black briefcase.
"I've had my lawyer draw up these papers. Cover every enterprise in your possession. Bars, restaurants, warehouses. Every fucking thing that you've taken all these years to gather together. You will sign them all over to my family or you're gonna die. Right here." Changretta told us, walking slowly around the table once more to stand in front of Tommy. "I would've buried you all, but my mother, she, uh, she knows you. She said, it'll be worse for you if I let you live and take away everything that you have." he said before looking at me up and down. "Search them." he commanded.
A few men came over to us as Changretta pulled a gun from inside Tommy's jacket. "Especially don't trust this bitch." Changretta told them, looking at Polly before ripping open her shirt. I pulled away from the man that was trying to search. "Get your fucking hands off me." I told him, pushing him away before he grabbed my face. "Hey, hey, hey! Play nice! That could be your future husband." Changretta said, turning and pointing a finger at me as the man searched me, lifting up my skirt to remove the switchblade from my garter. The man gave me a smirk before rejoining the other men.
"So, sign." Changretta said, holding up a pen to Tommy. "Every fucking one of them." he added, throwing the pen on the floor. "You can sign them on your knees. On the floor." Changretta told him, pushing all the papers onto the floor before flipping the table over. "Get on your fucking knees and sign." Changretta shouted and Tommy did what he was told before Changretta looked at me. "You can fucking kneel next to him as well. You've gotta get fucking used to it." he shouted at me. I looked at him for a moment before doing what I was told, kneeling beside Tommy.
"A friend of mine once said big fucks small. So I had to find someone bigger than you." Tommy told him and I smiled slightly. "You may know there are two families in Brooklyn, who want to take over your monopoly on the import of liquor into New York." I added, smiling sweetly up at the Italian. "But if they move against you in New York, they'll start a war between the families." Polly added behind me. "But if you were to die in a vendetta with some fucking bookmaker in Birmingham, could take over your business without a war." Tommy continued. "We also contacted a businessman in Chicago. He's also interested in moving into the liquor business in New York." Polly added. "Alphonse Capone is a real sweetie. We've had many conversations." I lied easily. Changretta looked at me before his eyes went back to Tommy. "You been talking to that fat fuck?" Changretta asked. "Hmm.. he liked the sound of our Evelyn's voice. Seems you're not the only one interested in her." Polly replied and I could hear the smile in her voice.
"You see, all the blood relatives you brought with you from New York, they're all dead, Mr. Changretta. And these men here, they work for money, for the highest bidder." Tommy explained, gesturing towards the men stood behind Changretta. "They now have new orders." I added, still smiling up at the man. "Is that right?" Changretta asked, before turning to the men. "Is that right?" he repeated, louder this time as the men began to shift. "And you, Matteo?" The man couldn't look at Changretta who took this as his answer as he turned back to us. "Hey, very fucking.." Changretta muttered before grabbing a gun from his jacket and pointing it at Tommy who was anticipating the move and grabbed a nearby metal bar and hit him with it. Finn helped me up as the men started fighting.
The fight continued for a moment before Finn gasped beside me, I looked up at him before following his gaze and my stomach plummeted. My eyes went wide and my mouth opened slightly as Arthur and John Shelby walked into the warehouse.