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The moment Tommy had been arrested, your mind went into autopilot. It felt as though your life and morphed into some twisted nightmare, and Tommy’s voice was the only thing that pushed you forward. Back before the two of you were even married, Tommy had made sure you knew exactly what to do in the circumstance of his unlikely arrest.
Although it pained you to think, and now do so, you were supposed to stay calm and let the police arrest Tommy. Unfortunately, when that moment finally came, you begged and pleaded with the police to let your husband go, claiming that he had been framed. Without a second glance, they dragged Tommy away regardless, leaving you alone. Once you were able to get a hold of your emotions, you recalled Tommy’s instructions to then call Polly and the rest of the Shelby’s who would take care of everything else while you wanted for Tommy to be released.
That had been a week ago, and you felt as though you were going crazy. In order to keep a low profile, you had only left the house a few times since Tommy had been arrested, but each day he continued to stay locked up, the worry inside you grew. Polly had taken notice during her daily visits, and, after careful negotiating (and some slight threatening), you were given permission to visit your husband.
Head held high, you walked into the dingy prison, your heels echoing across the concreate floor with each step you took. It felt damp and dirty in the entryway, and you wouldn’t have been surprised if you saw some form of vermin run past your feet. Once in front of the main desk, you tapped your foot impatiently as you waited for the officer to notice your presence.
“Name?” he asked, voice dull and monotonous as he kept his eyes trained on his newspaper.
“Shelby. y/n Shelby.” you replied, pushing any nervousness you felt out of your voice.
The officer’s head snapped up at the name, almost as if he were fearful of what saying that surname aloud would do. However, as quickly as that fear appeared, it was gone in a flash when he realized you had come alone and that it was your husband currently locked up.
“Bag.” he told you, gesturing for you to put your purse on the counter.
With a sigh, you did as asked and watched as the officer riffled through your purse. From tissues, to makeup, and other odds and ends, the officer thoroughly searched your bag. Pulling out a wrapped parcel, you moved to argue before he unwrapped it.
“What have we got here?” he asked, unwrapping the parcel only to find a small collection of sweets and other small bits of food for Tommy, considering you were certain they weren’t giving prisoners consistent meals.
“Is that all, may I have my bag and my things back?” you asked impatiently, moving to grab your purse back.
“Not so fast, sweetheart.” the officer said, moving the purse out of your reach. He made a show of keeping the food for himself before haphazardly shoving the things back in your purse and throwing it back to you. “Alright, you get fifteen minutes.” he said, standing to unlock the door that led to the cells.
Fumbling with your purse, you froze in shock at his words. “Fifteen minutes? I’m supposed to at least have thirty. I’m his wife!” you argued.
“Be lucky I’m giving you that long with the bastard.” he sneered, once more only overly confident because of your lack of weapon or Peaky Blinder protection in that current moment.
Unwilling to waste anymore time, you strode past the officer and began to walk down the hallway of cells, making your way towards Tommy’s at the end. Once more, you lifted your head and steeled your gaze, ready to turn to stone anyone who so much as looked at you in the wrong way. Unfortunately, the inmates did not seem phased by your gaze and jeered and jested as you walk past. The only thing that kept you going was the outline of Tommy’s figure at the end of the hall, your pace quickening the closer you got.
“Tommy.” you breathed out in relief, seeing your husband for the first time in over a week.
He turned at the sound of your voice and quickly stood up, eyes wide, and arms reaching through the bars to try and hold on to any piece of you that he could. “y/n, what are you doing here? You should-“
“I know, but I had to see you again. It’s been days, Tommy.” you whispered, lifting a hand to cup his cheek as best you could with the bars in the way and gasping when you saw the bruise underneath his eye. “What happened?” you nearly cried, wincing along with Tommy when you brushed over the sensitive skin.
“It’s nothing, love. I’ve had worse before.” he said with a chuckle, trying to reassure you and ease the worries from your mind.
Before you could reply, you heard the door at the other end of the hall open and slam shut as the office who ‘greeted’ you earlier began to walk down the hall. In a moment of panic, you gripped onto Tommy’s hand tighter and waited for his next move.
“It’s not been anywhere near fifteen minutes.” you defended, not willing to let this man walk all over you.
“You’re right, sweetheart.” the man began, and out of the corner of your eye, you noticed Tommy’s jaw clenched as he did little to hold back his anger. “Realized I forget to finish my search before you came in here.” he said with a slimy smirk.
Eyebrows furrowed in confusion, you stared back at the officer. “You’ve already been through my purse, what else is there to do?”
“Gotta make sure you ain’t hiding anything underneath that pretty little dress of yours that you might try to slip to your husband.” he explained and forcefully grabbed your wrist before you could say or do anything else.
“Get your fucking hands off her!” Tommy shouted from his cell, reaching out best he could to hold you in his arms once more, but to no avail.
The office glared at Tommy for a moment, eyes narrowing. “Want me to back it a strip search?” he mocked, taking delight in the snarl Tommy offered as response.
Suddenly, your fighting ceased as fear overtook and froze your body as you felt the rough hands of the officer grip tightly onto your shoulders, holding you in place. Without warning, his hands slid over your shoulders and down your arms before brushing over the front of your chest and lingering there for longer than necessary. A quiet whimper left your lips, and while you wanted to do more to fight, the gun and baton that you knew rested on hips kept you quiet.
“If you don’t fucking let her go right now, I swear your life will be made a living hell, and that’s a direct order from the Peaky Blinders.” Tommy threated, voice low and dangerous and if looks could kill, the officer would be six feet under in an instant.
Instead of stopping or even looking scared, the officer finally moved past your chest and patted down your hips and stomach before whispering in your ear. “Can’t be too careful, sweetheart.” he whispered, his breathe fanning across your neck, making your flinch and close your eyes. “Besides, maybe you’ll decide you like me a lot more than your good for nothing, locked up husband.” he suggested, raising his voice for the second half of his statement.
By that point, a steady stream of tears ran down your cheeks and you could barley hear the threats that shot from Tommy’s mouth or the jeers of other inmates in nearby cells. It felt like you had been for frozen to your spot for hours before the officer ran his hand down your back, squeezed your ass, then finally removed his filthy hands from you. Still holding tightly onto your wrist, he drew you close to his chest and grinned at the way you tried to break out of his grip.
“All clear, Mrs. Shelby.” the officer teased. That title that normally garnered you so much respect on the streets of Small Heath meant nothing to the office in that prison, especially with your husband locked up and of no threat to him in that moment. “Don’t be too long now.” he said, all but tossing you to the floor as he turned to walk out.
The moment you were free, Tommy reached through the bars and held you in his arms as best as he could. “Shh, it’s over now, love.” he whispered, running a hand up and down your back. “I’m so sorry y/n, I couldn’t fucking do anything!” Tommy shouted, taking a step back to kick against the cell bars and gripped his hair tightly in his hands. “I’m gonna fucking kill him.” he mumbled to himself, already forming a plan in his head.
“I just want to go home with you, Tommy.” you softly whined, bringing your husbands focus back on you.
While you normally felt like no harm could touch you, in that moment all you wanted to do was go home with your husband holding you close then scrub your skin raw until you couldn’t feel the officer’s grimy hands all over your body.
“Hey, hey, love.” Tommy cooed to get your attention. “I promise you I’m going to make him pay and wish he had never so much as looked at you.” he vowed.
All you could do was nod. You knew if you tried to speak you would break down, and you didn’t want to give anyone else in that jail the satisfaction of seeing you crumble.
“Go straight home, then call John and Arthur. You can tell them what happened if you want, but make sure they know I want them to rough that bastard up before I get out.” Tommy told you, cupping your face in his hands. “I’m gonna be out and home with you before you know it. Now head home, love. I love you.” Tommy said, gently lifting your hands to his lips and pressing multiple kisses against them.
“I love you too, Tommy.” you whispered and moved to kiss your husband as best you could between the bars before squeezing his hands one last time. With a final look, you quickly scurried down the hallway and out of the jail back to your house. Tommy’s words echoed in your head, and you knew it was only a matter of time before you could properly hold onto him again. All the while, Tommy continued to seethe in his cell, further developing his plan for revenge.
Afterall, nobody touched the queen of Small Heath and lived to tell the tale.