Kimber's Daughter - Tommy Shelby x Reader Fan Fic

Chapter 13

Arthur signed. "He could be another hour for all we fuckin' know."

"I don't care." I wrapped my coat around myself tighter, bracing against the chill in the Birmingham air. "I'm not sitting around that house any longer. He never comes. Not anymore."

Arthur leaned against the brick wall and we waited, waited for Thomas to drive down the cobbled street and park his car right before us. Grace's badge dug grooves into my palm where I clenched it, deep in the pocket of my coat.

"Yeah, and we all know why that is," Arthur murmured.

I frowned. "Why?"

He raised his eyebrows. "Going to play stupid with me, eh Kimber? Too late for that."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

Arthur nodded to the end of the street. "Here he is. Thank fuck for that."

I ignored the light fluttering in my chest at the sight of Tommy. I ignored the sense of relief, of almost happiness in seeing him. It's just because I want this all over, I told myself. I ignored my internal protests that suggested otherwise.

"Arthur," Tommy said by way of greeting as he stopped the car and got out. "Kimber." He glanced at Arthur with a puzzled expression. "Shouldn't you be taking the books with John?"

"Kimber-no-mates here demanded to see ya," Arthur responded. "Said it was urgent. Threw a fit when I told her to go inside and wait."

Tommy's eyes raked over me. I expected some retort or mocking remark, but none came. "Everything alright?" He asked.

"I already told her, Tom, I told her, anything she can say to you, we all need to hear. I said—"

"Come with me," Tommy said quietly. "Somewhere we can be alone."

Arthur raised his eyebrows in disbelief. I squirmed uncomfortably.

"Actually," I said, "I think you all need to hear this."

***

It seemed every member of the Shelby family was once again gathered in the dining room. I refused to sit, glowering at the seat I'd once been shackled to. I didn't miss the way John casually stood in front of the door, blocking any escape attempt I might be plotting.

"Right," Tommy finally sighed. "I'm missing a very important meeting for this. What is it?"

With trembling fingers, I tossed the police badge onto the table. Silence hung thick in the air. Tommy stared at the leather and metal, at Grace's face staring from behind the plastic. Polly reached forward to touch it, hold it in her hands. Her lips drew into one thin line.

"The proof you asked for," I said. "Your barmaid is working with the superintendent. She's infiltrated the Peaky Blinders."

"Like fuck she has," John spat, his face pink.

"What the fuck, Tommy?" Arthur growled.

"Let's go," John said suddenly, pulling a pistol from his pocket. "We need to take care of this. Now. She'll know we're onto her."

"You'll do no such thing," Polly said.

Arthur stepped forward. "Pol, you realise what this means?"

Her head snapped up. "I realise we need to tread very, very carefully, Arthur. We've gotten away with enough when it was only the Birmingham coppers needing dealing to, but if someone of this ranking is killed while undercover... I don't think we'll be able to wriggle out of trouble so easily."

John shook his head. "Tommy, tell her."

Thomas did not break his silence right away. He leaned back in the chair, took a breath, eyebrows raised in disbelief. His gaze suddenly snapped to my own and I felt, as I did each time, like I was under a microscope.

"What say you, Kimber?" He asked. "What should we do with her?"

My brow furrowed slightly. "I think we can use her. This is an opportunity."

John and Arthur threatened to break into outrage but Tommy held up a hand that told them, in no uncertain terms, to restrain themselves. "How so?"

"I told her I've been kidnapped." My cheeks burned red at the admission, as though the people in this room needed reminding not to trust me. "She showed me this badge as proof that I could trust her. I can get close to her. We can feed her false information, draw her away from any scent we need to. And Polly's right. If Grace is killed, you'll have to deal with worse than a few Birmingham coppers."

Tommy considered me for a moment. "You do understand the risk involved?" He asked.

"Respectfully, Mr Shelby, it's not my neck on the line here. It's yours."

"Don't be so sure," Thomas murmured.

The way he said it hinted at a deeper meaning, at something we had not yet discussed. He was so intense I could feel heat rising to my cheeks. I tried to blame it on the roaring hearth from the next room.

"What's gotten into you, Tommy?" Arthur asked. "Ever since she arrived you've been different."

John scoffed, as though in agreement. Even Polly seemed to be suppressing a smile. Tommy and I, for all our prior eye contact, suddenly could not look at one another. It had been our plan to convince them all, to lead up to a marriage. But we hadn't even begun yet, Tommy hadn't even been here. Would it really be this easy?

"Well, Kimber seems to have her brain intact, which is more than I can say for you lot," Polly said, rising to her feet. "Though, I warn you. If I see the barmaid, I'll slit her throat myself, consequences be damned. So best keep her away, eh?"

She left the room with Ada, who had been wordless the whole time. I frowned. Something wasn't right with Ada. I wondered if the others could see it too.

"So that's it then, eh, Tom?" Arthur asked. "We let the barmaid keep going about her business, and wait until we're all thrown in jail?"

"No, Arthur. And I believe we each owe Kimber our gratitude." Tommy lit a cigarette and addressed me. "Were it not for you, this could have gotten very ugly indeed. I've no idea why you've chosen to help us. But know that us Shelbys always repay our debts. This won't be for nought."

"She could still stab us in the back," John muttered.

"Aye," Tommy agreed. "That she could."