Note: I just had to add the song with this one <3 Also, please tell me I'm not the only American who watches this show and feels the need to pronounce Billy Kimber as "Billy Kim-buh" XD

"Tommy won't approve."

I scowled into the mirror, effectively smearing my red lipstick as I began to wipe it off with a towel.

Ada's tone was absolute - as was Thomas Shelby's temper. I knew full well he didn't want me involved in business ventures. He had conveyed this on a limitless number of occasions. No matter that I had previously worked for Billy Kimber - in fact, it's how Tommy and I first met. He'd rescued me from that dark existence and ever since, had been bent on protecting me from having anything further to do with it. It was endearing yet irritating.

I turned in my chair then, meeting Ada's unrelenting gaze as she sat perched on my dresser on the opposite wall.

"What does Tommy expect of me? He knew I wasn't the housewife type when he married me," I reminded her, bustling about the room as I got ready, "I'm not the type to just sit back and let the men have all the fun. I want my own life, too, A,"

My best friend and sister-in-law let out a sigh from behind me, "And I understand that. You don't think growing up in the Shelby family makes me understand that less? I want my own life, too! But as hard as it is to grasp - in Tommy's own twisted way, he's showing he cares. And that's a lot coming from him - trust me,"

Tucking my shirt into the pair of men's trousers I had nicked from an unsuspecting bloke, I quickly stuffed my long hair into one of the peaky caps I'd "borrowed" from John.

"I care about him, too. I'd never put myself in harm's way purposefully...well, not without a gun anyway," I smirked but Ada's expression remained stony and I sighed, "Look, what Thomas doesn't know won't hurt me...or you."

This last added as an afterthought but Ada took it regardless and finally nodded her consent. I beamed at my sister-in-law.

"You're the best, A. You know that, right? Don't wait up for me, I'll try to to be quick but all the same."

And with that, I shrugged my tweed coat on and was out the door. The cool English air bit my skin but I breathed it in greedily. It was much nicer than the humid Louisiana air in the South I was accustomed to. You may be wondering how an American like myself wound up in Birmingham of all places. You'd be surprised.

I was from Louisiana, born to Mexican and Creole parents. I was 11 years old when dad walked out on me and mom - times were tough. We had no family, no money to speak of, and job prospects were few and far between. So with no other options left to us, I managed to smuggle both myself and my mother on board a ship bound for England.

We both sported physical attributes deemed "exotic" in the small town of Birmingham where we settled. Consequently, mom soon caught the eye of the big man himself - the already infamous Billy Kimber - and he took her into his line of business with open arms. I, of course, came along to live in the establishment in my mother's assigned room and got a firsthand glimpse at the under-the-table goings-on, all of the money that seemed to change hands so carelessly.

I was 15 when I found her dead in her bed, black and purple bruises lining her neck from the strangulation.

I didn't see it happen and I knew not who was responsible. Yet still I was forced to stay there. Where could I run to? Another five years passed and I drifted in and out of depression from being stuck in that place, forced against my will to perform the job my mother once had.

And then he came - Thomas Shelby.

He was already quickly making a name for himself in this town, building the reputation of the "Peaky Blinders" of which he was the known ring leader.

I'd dealt with men like him before and was determined not to get involved. But as I swiftly surmised - Thomas Shelby was like no other man I had met. He could be tough, cold, ruthless, and lie through his teeth to get what he wanted. He was calculative and manipulative and had the ability to bring out the very worst in people. Not to mention the endless amount of blood on his hands that would never wash clean.

Despite it all, Thomas was not an evil man. He loved his family deeply, put them above all others, and - regardless of any danger that may befall him personally - would never let a soul harm them.

Against all forms of logic, I somehow found myself having fallen into this category christened "family" as soon as the ring was slipped onto my finger. Gossip and rumors circulated that it had been an arranged marriage - as if Thomas Shelby would ever have allowed himself to be tied to a woman he didn't love! No, the truth was that upon meeting him as his business dealings with Billy grew, I started to fall for the blue-eyed gypsy from Birmingham. And he for me.

Yet, as much as I loved Tommy, he was still overprotective due to the horrors I had seen while working for Billy. It was understandable and I knew he only did it out of love - but I still could take care of myself. I had been doing so before he met me, after all. Unfortunately, in the world we were living in, men didn't seem to agree. A woman was supposed to be feminine, soft, and gentle. Instead, I was tough, at times emotionless, and determined to not let a man control me. I wasn't a product of my time but something very far removed.

I whistled a tune I had heard some of the Peaky boys singing just yesterday as I walked down the street, my cap tilted over my eyes and my hands shoved deep into my pockets. Why they didn't create women's clothing with pockets was beyond me.

Just up ahead, I could make out the outline of a large warehouse that encompassed half of the area beside the dock. Great. I was exactly where I needed to be. My eyes widened then and I stopped in my tracks as my gaze locked onto a familiar pair of startling blue eyes peaking out from underneath a Peaky cap. The man in question held a cigarette clamped between plump lips before taking a drag and continuing his conversation with the man I was to meet. A curse left my mouth then. 

It seems this certain business venture was doomed.