Devil | A Solomons

EIGHT - A VENDETTA

Irina headed out of her office not long after Tommy had left. She told Kristian to take a note of anybody that called for her while she was gone, including if it was Luca, and left.

The walk down the docks was peaceful. It hadn't rained that day and the sky was a bright blue, though puffs of grey smoke from the factories somewhat ruined the skyline.

She hugged her fur coat tighter around her as she walked, the occasional breeze making the hairs on her arms stand up, the burning sun not being quite warm enough yet.

Men stared at her as she walked down the street, her stride in tall heels against the cobblestones being worthy of a turn of the head if her beauty wasn't enough on it's own. Sunglasses hid her face as she walked, black tinted lenses covered her eyes as she watched the men either side of her, gliding past as if she hadn't even noticed they were there.

She eventually reached where she had intended on going, at least she thought she had. There was no signage on the building and after walking for a short while, Irina had realised that most of these factories looked very similar, including her own.

It was Alfie stood leaning over the railings by the side of the canal with a cigar between his fingertips that told her she'd found the right place. Walking over, the sound of her shoes grabbed his attention, a smile on his face as she got close enough for him to recognise her.

"Irina! What a lovely surprise, beautiful day, isn't it?"

"Is it true?" She asked immediately, pulling her sunglasses from her face and staring at him with narrowed eyes.

"Is what true?" He said, acting dumbfounded with his arms by his side.

He wore black suit trousers and a crisp white shirt, though the waistcoat that was over top looked like it had seen better days.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about. Luca? You following me?"

Alfie laughed, shaking his head, "Do you really think I have enough time in the day to follow you around, love? If I had any spare time at all I'd be walking my dog, trust me."

He turned away from her and continued to smoke his cigar, watching crates of his rum being loaded onto canal boats a short distance down the water.

Irina let out a sigh and folded her arms, huffing in dismay. Thomas' conversation had unsettled her and she wanted some answers. She knew Luca would lie, but for whatever reason, she didn't think Alfie would. He was a man with no ties to her, no interest in buying her vodka or her warehouse, and certainly not sleeping with her, either. The only thing he did have was an alleged allegiance to Tommy, but if what Irina knew about gangs like the Mafia was true, even that didn't mean anything.

"Am I in danger, Alfie? That's all I need to know."

Alfie blew smoke from his lips once more before turning to look at her. He pulled his eyes up across her petite frame, settling on her eyes that in that moment, no longer held fire, they held innocence.

"That depends," he coughed, "Is Luca Changretta in love with you? Because if he isn't, then yes, you're in a hell of a lot of danger, darling."

He watched as her eyes fell to the ground, narrowing in private thoughts and she worked out what her next move was. Thomas had told Alfie everything he knew about Irina, including the fact that she had no family in England to look out for her. She never came across like she particularly needed anybody there for her, but once Alfie saw Irina leaving the restaurant arm in arm with Luca Changretta the other week, his opinion on that changed.

The Peaky Blinders and the Italians were most definitely at war with one another, but that didn't have anything to do with Alfie Solomons. At least, not until Thomas had asked him for help keeping things under control in the south while he handled the midlands. Alfie wasn't one to always get involved in conflict, but he owed Tommy a favour and so, he'd ended up right in the middle of a nightmare.