Kimber's Daughter - Tommy Shelby x Reader Fan Fic

Chapter 9

I could do no more than stare in shock for a long, long moment. Tommy's words struggled to compute in my brain.

Then a bead of hysteria rose in my throat.

The laughter bubbled and spilled from me. "Have you lost your mind? Succumbed to the after-effects of the war?"

Tommy clenched a fist but slowly released it. He took a sip of whiskey. "Think about it. It makes sense."

"What part of it makes sense?" I exclaimed.

Tommy looked at me as though I was the one speaking nonsense. "You will be the wife of a Shelby. Any business undertaking, legal or otherwise, open and ready to be financed. No prejudice as a woman in business. All of it in my name, so you are not personally liable for a thing. And, you'll have all the freedom you want. Freedom from your father. Once you are my wife, you are under my care, not his. And I promise to never restrict your movements or interests. If you choose to leave me for the Americas, or anywhere else you desire, you have my full support. And my full protection."

He was so sincere, so calm, I struggled to find an argument good enough to match. "And what do you gain from this?" I asked evenly.

He shrugged. "Entitlement to your father's business, once we are kin."

"You don't realise how dangerous a game that is to play," I warned him. "My father will never accept you as kin. And even if he did, once you try to cross him to seize his business, he will unleash a fury like no other upon you all."

Tommy shook his head as he lit a cigarette. How many does he keep on him? I thought to myself.

"Don't worry yourself about that," he dismissed.

"There are better ways to get my father's business," I pointed out. "Why this?"

His jaw tightened. "Like I said, I'm under pressure to marry. This will shut everyone up, and I'll have done my bit to secure an alliance with an enemy. And I won't have to spend the next forty years waking up every morning to a set of eyes making me feel guilty."

"Just the eyes of your hostage," I muttered.

His head snapped to look straight into my eyes as he spoke. "I will not do this without your consent. You have three options before you: To accept. To come back as a hostage. Or to leave Small Heath. The choice is yours."

"I'm allowed to just leave, am I? And make you all look incompetent?"

"I won't let you past my police without a fight," he warned. "But something tells me you'd make it out. You have my gun, after all." He leaned forward. "But just know that your father's not coming to get you. Nor are his boys. If we sit around and wait for them, we'll be waiting a lifetime."

"I know," I answered grimly.

"So, decide." He finished his cigarette. "But make it quick. Arthur and John will be here in a minute. We need to discuss our next move, and your answer affects whether you're here for that conversation."

I opened my mouth to tell him no. To tell him once again that he was crazy, that I wasn't interested, that he'd just kidnapped me from my bloody home and held me hostage. But then I thought again about just how little my father truly cared. About how even my being kidnapped wasn't enough to earn his attention, to make even a dent on his efforts.

But what about if I took down the Peaky Blinders? What if I pretended to be one of them, hell, even married one of them. Became a Shelby myself. That would entitle my father to Peaky business. And my knowledge of the Shelby's empire would allow my father to get rid of them, once and for all. I'd get my revenge. And I might finally win his approval.

The door to the pub opened and the unmistakeable shouts of Arthur and John reached my ears.

Thomas hadn't moved his gaze away from me in all that time. I locked eyes with him once more.

I had my answer.