Kimber's Daughter - Tommy Shelby x Reader Fan Fic

Chapter 1

I placed the saddles back in the barn, running my hands over the smooth, oiled leather. I wasn't supposed to be here — my father would kill me if he found out I spent this much time with the horses, and I had learned quickly to pay his men in cash to keep their mouths shut. Even then, I was restricted to patting them, washing them, re-stocking their feed. Even wads of bank notes wouldn't be enough to keep people quiet if I mounted one and began to ride. One day, I decided, I would own my own house, and have all the horses I liked. I'd ride them all.

I was so deep in the daydream, I didn't hear the men enter the tack barn.

"Here she is!" The bellow made me jump in fright, whirling round, instinctively expecting I'd been caught. But I didn't recognise these men. They weren't my father's.

Fear gripped me by the shoulders. I backed up slowly against the wooden wall, arms reaching for something to use as a weapon, anything to defend myself. A handful of men came closer. The one speaking had a gleeful, elated look in his eyes, and a thick moustache.

"Kimber's daughter, eh?" He said. "So unprotected."
But I wasn't. My father's men would be here any moment. I swallowed, eyes darting for my protection, though they did not come. I needed to buy time.
"Who are you, and what do you want?" I asked.
My fingers found a leather whip. I drew it slowly behind my back.
"We're the peaky fucking blinders," the man said. "And we want your father's business. We figure, the only way he'll play along, is if we have you."
I let out a sharp laugh, unable to help myself. "My father doesn't care about me. Go find his accountant. Then, he might actually pay attention."
A sharper voice spoke, thick with a Birmingham accent. "Enough. Knock her out and tie her up."

I glared at the man standing in the entryway to the barn. He was clearly the leader, the one who called the shots. His pale eyes raked over me with no emotion, his face impossible to read. He placed a hand in one pocket of his long, black coat. "We don't have long before someone notices Kimber's boys are all down. Get her, Arthur."

Arthur lunged towards me but I brought the whip out from behind my back and lashed, catching him in the face so that he staggered back, clutching his hands to the mark I'd left. The others converged but I ran to the other side of the barn, behind the shelves of tack and grooming materials, the scent of hay and horse thick in the air. Another man grasped for me through the shelves and I brought the whip out again, lashing his hands enough to draw blood.

"Come here," Arthur growled.
With them all drawn to to this side of the barn, I sprinted across the room, heading for the open entryway. I expected they would all be on my tail. I didn't expect Tommy Shelby to still be stood there, leaning against the wall, fresh cigarette between his lips as though nothing of any interest was happening. I skidded to a stop and eyed him for a moment. He glared darkly, a silent warning, but I ignored him and tried to dart past.

With astounding quickness his arms shot out, clasping my wrists behind my back and wrenching the whip from my fingers. He pressed his body completely against the back of mine, trails of smoke from his cigarette whirling in the air before us.

"You've got fight. I'll give you that."
"Let go of me," I spat.
He chuckled. "Bag her up," he ordered.
Black fabric fell over my head, followed by a painful blow to my skull. I saw stars and passed out.