She didn't know where she was. All she knew was that her head was throbbing, and she knew that it wasn't because she had been drinking. How could she, when these bastards were holding her tied to a sofa in a dark room?

She was sitting upwards, but her hands were tied, as were her legs. The gag was not on this time, even though she knew that if she angered them again with her insults, it would be.

Tatiana looked down at her belly and let out a loud sigh. Why did she ever get involved with someone like Tommy Shelby? Why did she ever let herself trust him? She knew why. He was handsome and charming.

And she loved the way he spoke. She loved his strength, his masculinity. He could be tough. But she saw him that night she spent with him, she saw he could be soft. He could be gentle.

And he loved his wife. She could never forget the way he cried for her in her arms that night…or the way she held onto him for dear life. Despite everything, despite his reputation, he was a good man. Tatiana recognized that quality in him instantly. But she could not say the same for the "kozyol" currently keeping her captive.

Tommy had enemies…a lot of them. And because of her involvement, she was now sharing his troubles. The same fate beheld the baby currently lying in her belly. She should have gotten rid of it when she had the chance. Tommy Shelby was a wonderful man…but a cursed man nonetheless.

And more importantly, he didn't love her. Why would she ever agree to keep this baby? She had nothing to offer it. Especially now when her family jewels had been taken away from her, all because of the bastards holding her hostage.

She had risked everything for that man in Vienna…and he betrayed her after a couple of whiskies with the Italian. He gave her away, told them about Tommy Shelby, after she had confided in him.

And the Italian promised to give him all of her jewels, in exchange for her. He said yes, the mongrel! Tatiana cursed him silently, knowing that if she would survive this, it would be the last time when she would let herself trust any man.

The door finally slid open and her eyes started hurting from the blinding light that shone from outside. The "kozyol" was coming inside.

Tatiana, her face still bruised from being tortured, held her head high. The title may have been taken away from her when she betrayed her family and ran off to Vienna, but she still considered herself a duchess. She had pride. And she still had brains. She would get herself out. She couldn't rely on Tommy or anyone of those Peaky boys to help her.

Luca Changretta took the time to light a couple of candles, before taking a chair and sitting down in front of her. Tatiana gazed up at him with her doe-eyes, thinking carefully about what she should do.

She thought about seducing him. She thought about agreeing to work with him against the great Thomas Shelby, provide him information about Tommy's weaknesses. She wasn't even sure yet if she cared whether or not the baby lived. All she cared about was her own survival for the moment.

"Duchess Tatiana. How are you feeling, bella?" Luca asked her gently, leaning over to graze her bruised cheek with his finger. "Like a stuffed chicken." Tatiana replied with a smirk, but her tone obviously bitter.

The Italian smiled at her and placed the hand over his heart. "Believe me. It pains me to see you this way. You had no part in this mess. You are a royal duchess…or were. And yet…sleeping with a Shelby, it brought you problems."

"For every problem, there is a solution. Don't you think?" she asked, cocking her head to her side. Luca smiled and nodded once again. "I do. I know you wanted to get rid of that baby inside you. And I do not blame you, bella. I want to be rid of the Shelbys and get on with my life too. But not until I have avenged my father. Not until I pay Tommy Shelby back for all the hurt he brought my mother…and my entire family."

"I know what he did. But I also know what your family did. His wife died on your father's orders, no?" Tatiana stated but her smile faltered when she realized that she hadn't made a smart move through that reply. She hadn't thought about herself when saying that.

She thought about defending him…Tommy. But why? She cared very little for his wife. They briefly interacted the night she died and Tatiana was very displeased with her attitude. She did try to warn Tommy about the sapphire, but nevertheless, the blonde woman didn't interest her one bit. And yet, she was risking her own life, defending her…or was she defending Tommy and his pain?

One eyebrow of Luca's shot up at her words in surprise. He opened his mouth but no words came out at her reply. He was thinking, and Tatiana felt like she missed her shot at getting close to him, winning his trust to get herself free. All because of Tommy, yet again. And he was not even here.

"Interesting. The reason I keep you is for the baby. Because I know that baby is something Tommy Shelby wants. And what he wants is in my possession. It must be killing him inside. I know he cares very little for you. You were, how you say, a meaningless fling…" Luca trailed on, watching her reaction carefully.

Tatiana schooled her face, even though she felt how those last few words jabbed her in the heart for some reason. It made her feel like trash. She was no trash. She was royalty, regardless of what the Bolsheviks said, and she was dignified. She would not react to the jab.

Seeing that the duchess was not reacting in any way to his words, Luca continued. "…you were someone he used…for business. And then threw away. I knew that when I collected you from Vienna. But see, bella, I never asked myself if you have any feelings for Tommy Shelby."

At hearing that, an amused smile finally crossed her lips and she let her head back to let out a laugh, confusing Luca.

He believed this was a much exaggerated reaction. He expected instant denial, indicating that he was indeed correct. But not this. Tatiana finally looked back at him, still grinning and shaking her head.

"You are mistaken. As most men, you rely on sentiment. You thought I would be shocked at your false discovery. You thought I would weep for my one true love, Tommy Shelby. Or maybe that I would say 'no no, that is not true at all'. Mister, the only person I love and the only person I care about surviving is myself. I do not want to be tied to the Shelby family and even less do I want to be tied to you."

Luca looked at her in a state of shock, unsure of what else to say. But a thought crossed his mind, as he remembered his earlier discussion with the leader of the Peaky Blinders.

"Tommy did say you are a good manipulator. I believe him now."

Tatiana scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Believe what you want. But I am telling you that you are wasting your time with me. Tommy does not care enough to come after me. You said so yourself. He cares little for me. As for the baby…"

She looked over at her belly, pretending to be in deep thought and continued with a whisper, "Maybe he wants it, maybe he doesn't. But not enough to risk everything."

The Italian's eyes trailed down to the girl's belly and said, "Maybe you are right. Maybe not. But I will keep you, just to see how far Tommy Shelby would go to save you from me. And if he does want that baby as badly as I think he does, you will be the perfect bait."

She smiled back at him with her doe-like eyes and shook her head, "You will never kill him."

Luca leaned in even more closely this time, so he could look deep into her eyes. "You defend him now? Again? And you continue to lie to yourself and to me that you feel nothing for him. Tsk, tsk…what is it about Tommy Shelby that attracts so many beautiful women?"

Tatiana knew the exact answer to that question, but she would never tell this man. Instead, she leaned close as well and whispered, "You might never find out. I don't know what will happen to me, or this baby. But I do know this. You won't win. He will find you and he will cut off your balls and shove them in your throat before you have a chance to figure out he is right in front of you, mudak." She said the words softly.

At this point, she knew that she really angered him. And the evidence was clear. Luca's face changed completely. She could read frustration, aside from anger, and she understood why.

Not only did she have confidence that Tommy Shelby would win in this vendetta, but she spoke of him as if he were the greatest man in existence…and this Changretta idiot had failed to charm her, even though Tatiana saw how much he tried. He was jealous of the attention she was giving Tommy, even when he was not there.

Standing up, Luca rubbed his hands together and said, "My mother told me never to strike a woman. And I shall not, for I am an honorable man and I made her a promise."

Tatiana rolled her eyes once again. Did he really think that she was impressed by his so-called honor?

"However, Frederico made no such promise to his own mother. I will leave you alone with him, so he can remind you that despite our hospitability, you are a prisoner here, until I say so." He walked to the door and gave the men some instructions in Italian.

Tatiana pursed her lips and braced herself. She knew they would hit her again. Enough to leave a mark, but not to harm the baby. They needed it. The bruise on her face had not yet healed and despite her words of aggression towards these idiots, she was afraid. She feared for her own life.

Deep down, she hoped Tommy would think of the baby at least, and come rescue her. But even if were rescued, where would she go? She had no family. She betrayed her aunt and uncle and with the Bolsheviks' victory, she couldn't go back to Russia. She was an outcast and an outcast without a fortune.

Her jewels were stolen by the man she thought actually cared for her. But he sold her to the Italians to get his filthy hands on the jewels. What could she do? Who would she trust if she ever got out?

The spitting image of Tommy's face was the only one in her mind as the Italians approached her menacingly. Luca's henchmen were ready for action and she was ready to take it. Luca reminded them that they needed the baby alive. The filth also mentioned to them in English that he still wanted her beautiful, because he planned to have her later on. She would die before she let him touch her.

Before leaving, he turned and said one more thing to her, "You better hope that baby is worth anything to Tommy, bella. For if I am wrong…your life will soon end." Luca turned around and closed the door just as Tatiana's screams erupted.

…

"Name?" Uncle Charlie asked, bored out of his mind at the men who have decided to show up to this little gathering. Over twenty men, Tommy said. They needed new recruits, who hated wops but who have also held a gun at least once in their lives.

"Robert Hayes." "Age?" "Thirty-two."

The man responded. Uncle Charlie inspected him and noticed he was not well built. But the man confirmed that while fighting in the great war, he managed to kill at least fifty soldiers. Charlie didn't know whether to believe him or not, but they were on a tight schedule. It was dark, and Small Heath had bonfires prepared, to mark the importance of being designated as a Peaky Blinder.

Curly was handing out fresh new peakys with a smile on his face. Isaiah, Finn and Michael were walking around, inspecting the new recruits. Arthur and John had gone off to check with their sources, concerning the Italians' position.

According to them, they were still in London, and the next morning, the Shelbys knew that all hell would break loose, when they would enter all of their houses and offices in London, searching, interrogating and discovering that they had indeed left London. And where else would they go, except back home where it all started?

Tommy stayed hidden from the crowd that had lined up. Men of all ages and even young boys of sixteen like Finn were eager to become Peaky Blinders. Most of them needed to find purpose after the war. They needed to kill. They needed to feel alive again. Others were filled with hatred for the Italian gangs, even more so than John.

Lighting a cigarette, he looked at the men that Uncle Charlie had approved of for the moment. They seemed capable enough. Considering they didn't have much time left to plan, before the Italians entered Birmingham, it was enough.

He felt a presence coming to stand next to him in the dark. He recognized Polly in her fur coat, puffing her own cigarette, as he started at the overly-excited men.

"I still think you are making a mistake. Quantity does not exactly mean quality. You know that. You might be putting us all at risk with this lot." She told him, puffing some more.

Tommy, looked over at her with a raised eyebrow, saying, "I am surprised you are speaking to me. You made quite a show of things a couple of days back."

"Don't push it. We have a deal. Peace until this nightmare ends. Then, I'm gone and I will send you my resignation from Shelby Company Limited. Find yourself a new treasurer. I'll have fun just watching you try."

"Your torment is punishment for my decision. I can accept that for the moment, Polly. I apologized and I will make amends. But I need you." Tommy responded and Polly smirked, "I bet you do. You cannot handle the women in this family without me. I can only imagine how disrupted you'll be when that Russian duchess joins us. She will ruin you." She said the last part with a chuckle, puffing from the cigarette some more.

Tommy let out a sigh and asked, "Who says she'll be joining us?"

Polly looked at him, incredulously, "And what exactly are you going to do about her? You said you want the baby. Ada is right. It's a package deal, Thomas. The girl comes with. And I hope she does agree to stay. I would amuse myself watching you handle someone like her."

Silence followed, as Tommy trailed his thoughts back to Tatiana, and the way she looked when the Italians brought her in his office. His worry for her was growing by the day. Not knowing what she was doing, where she was or what those wops were doing to her. No doubt she was constantly tortured, either physically or mentally.

Clenching his fist, Tommy tried to calm himself, knowing that worrying this way was not helping. Polly was watching him carefully, and even in the darkness with only the light of fire to show the features and expressions of his face, she knew what was tormenting him.

"You feel guilty. She is in this mess because of you. Because the baby she carries is yours. I think you are getting tired of others paying for your actions." Polly stated like it was the most obvious thing. Tommy said nothing, as he dropped the cigarette and stepped on it to put it out.

"Why not contact her family? I was not in much on your Russian deal but we helped them. Maybe…" Polly started but Tommy immediately cut her off.

"Her family have no power in Russia anymore. The Bolsheviks won the war. And even if they did have some influence left, they would never help her. She betrayed them. Helped me steal the fuckin' jewels."

"The fuckin' jewels? You're regretting that secret deal you made with her now?" Polly asked him. Tommy scoffed and replied, "It got her in this fuckin' mess, didn't it?"

Smiling, his aunt shook her head and said, "No. Your cock got her in this fuckin' mess." Tommy chose not to respond, looking on at Michael, Isaiah and Finn making fun of the new recruits.

Arthur and John were finally back, calling out to him, "Tommy!" The middle brother rolled his eyes, hoping that the other men didn't catch on that he was present. He wanted to inspect them from behind.

Thankfully, Arthur caught on to his brother's disappointment from afar and elbowed John in the ribs to stop shouting.

"What have you got for me?" Tommy asked silently when his brothers finally approached him. "They say the wops ain't even left yet. Still hangin' around the pubs in London." John responded.

"We agreed the vendetta would start tomorrow. That's when they'll start searching our houses, our offices, everything. They will question and torture but not kill our employees. And they will figure out we're back here."

Arthur started laughing out loud, as he looked over at the twenty men and boys which had been selected to join the Peaky Blinders. "Tommy, these lads look fuckin' scared." He turned to Uncle Charlie, calling out, "Have they even held a gun before?"

"They said they did!" Uncle Charlie responded from afar. Tommy shook his head and whispered, "It's the best we can do under the circumstances. They may not be much…but I think we underestimate their love for their country and most importantly, Small Heath. They won't let foreigners come in here and destroy everything."

"They don't wanna destroy everything. Just us." John reminded him. "Nevertheless, John. I think we can count on them." Tommy said.

"This is your last night of freedom. I am going to see Ada and the kids. You boys have fun. Let me know what is decided. And Thomas…" Polly started saying and turned her head to look at him. Tommy looked over at her and noticed her face furrowing, "Figure out what you'll do about that girl."

Tommy said nothing as Polly walked away. Arthur and John looked at him expectantly, but smartly chose not to start talking about the Russian duchess or Tommy's unborn child. Arthur cracked his knuckles and said, "Well, I'm headin' over to the Garrison. See the good work Jeremiah has done these past months."

Their own Peaky Blinder, Jeremiah Jesus had been designated the new manager of the Garrison pub while the Shelbys were away in London.

"What about the wives?" John asked, rubbing his neck as Arthur started leading the way. Tommy, Michael, Isaiah and Finn followed. Curly and Uncle Charlie decided to stay back and handle the new recruits.

Arthur snorted, "What of 'em? They'll be glad we ain't getting home till later to bother 'em. We're facing trouble tomorrow, John. And I wanna fuckin' drink till daylight."

Tommy nodded. He didn't have a wife to get home to, but he didn't feel like going to see his son, Charlie. It was getting harder to deal with him without a woman in his life. Thankfully, he still had Mary to care for him.

And with all the stress and shocking news for the day, Tommy was exhausted. He wanted to slip into oblivion and forget about Changretta, Tatiana and the unborn baby. "Could use a drink meself." He agreed with his older brother.

…

The Garrison didn't look changed one bit, except for the manager. The men were eager to drink as always, but according to Jeremiah, he had only managed to hire a single barmaid to handle the drinks. No one else was that interested to get involved with the Peaky Blinders. "They said they ain't interested in trouble." Jeremiah explained to the Shelby men when he saw them enter.

"We'll take our usual spot, Jeremiah." Tommy whispered, taking out a cigarette, putting it in his mouth and heading to the back for the private table.

Rubbing his chin, Arthur approached Jeremiah and asked, "Tell me about the barmaid. She pretty?"

Smirking, the preacher shook his head and said, "Pretty enough. But too young and too kind for someone like you, Arthur. She wouldn't be interested. Not wild enough and only twenty-five." John smirked and patted his brother's back when he saw the disappointed look on his face. "Is that right?" Arthur mumbled and looked away.

It was at that moment that the young barmaid approached them. Her chocolate-brown hair was braided in a messy way to her side, and she was wearing an apron that smelled of booze. Her cheeks were flushed red, her dark pink bow-shaped lips parted a little in surprise at seeing the Shelby brothers and her green eyes were just lovely. When she smiled, it was evident how her face was slightly sprinkled with some freckles.

John stood perfectly still, his eyes wide, glancing over the young beauty. He gulped a couple of times, making some noise, which turned the girl's attention to him. John quickly took off his hat, pretending to keep busy inspecting it.

She flushed even more, but quickly turned her attention to Jeremiah saying, "There are two grotesque men at the bar saying you told them they could have rum on the house. I told them you said no such thing, but…you know how these men are, Jeremiah. They also need to keep their hands to themselves." At that last part, the girl rubbed her hands over the apron in an uncomfortable way.

Arthur and John were silenced by the doll-faced beauty in front of them. Only Jeremiah responded kindly.

"Don't worry, Emily. I'll remind 'em this is a respectable place. Keep up the good work!" The girl smiled and nodded, "Thank you." She turned to the Shelby brothers and nodded in acknowledgement, without saying anything, before heading back to the bar.

John continued to stare on after her. She was…perfect. No other words did he find to describe her in his mind. The warmth that radiated from her…it reminded him of Martha.

He watched as she placed herself back at the bar and with a witty tongue, put the two men that were bothering her back in their place. She then resumed pouring drinks for other people who asked. And she was quite good, and quick.

"I think yer droolin' John boy!" Arthur snapped him out of his trance. His older brother was laughing and hitting his back in joy, but John was not amused and hissed, "Shove off, Arthur." "She's a great help. Won't tell me where she's from though. Somewhere from outta town for sure." Jeremiah told them.

"Is that right? Better keep a close eye on her then, Jeremiah. You know what happened with our first barmaid. We ain't got time for trouble with secret Crown agents again." Arthur instructed him.

"I thought the same. But don't worry. I doubt the Crown would try this again. Whatever she's hiding...it's something else. I better go help."

"See ya, Jeremiah!" John called out, watching him get to the bar, where Emily was serving with that pretty smile of hers. It bothered him that she hadn't said a word to him, just acknowledged him with a nod before heading back to work.

Did she know who they were? Was she not afraid? He wanted to talk to her. He wanted to hear her voice, with words directed to him. And he would get her to talk to him.

"You coming, John?" Arthur asked, pointing to the back room, where Tommy, Michael, Isaiah and Finn were sitting already. "Yeah!" John nodded and followed him back there, but not before his eyes wandered over to the bar once more.

…

It looks like the new barmaid has John's head spinning. Introducing 25 year-old Emily Wright. I see her being played by Emily Browning. What do you think her secret is?