Irina headed out of her office not long after Tommy had left. She told Kristian to take a note of anybody that called for her while she was gone, including if it was Luca, and left.

The walk down the docks was peaceful. It hadn't rained that day and the sky was a bright blue, though puffs of grey smoke from the factories somewhat ruined the skyline.

She hugged her fur coat tighter around her as she walked, the occasional breeze making the hairs on her arms stand up, the burning sun not being quite warm enough yet.

Men stared at her as she walked down the street, her stride in tall heels against the cobblestones being worthy of a turn of the head if her beauty wasn't enough on it's own. Sunglasses hid her face as she walked, black tinted lenses covered her eyes as she watched the men either side of her, gliding past as if she hadn't even noticed they were there.

She eventually reached where she had intended on going, at least she thought she had. There was no signage on the building and after walking for a short while, Irina had realised that most of these factories looked very similar, including her own.

It was Alfie stood leaning over the railings by the side of the canal with a cigar between his fingertips that told her she'd found the right place. Walking over, the sound of her shoes grabbed his attention, a smile on his face as she got close enough for him to recognise her.

"Irina! What a lovely surprise, beautiful day, isn't it?"

"Is it true?" She asked immediately, pulling her sunglasses from her face and staring at him with narrowed eyes.

"Is what true?" He said, acting dumbfounded with his arms by his side.

He wore black suit trousers and a crisp white shirt, though the waistcoat that was over top looked like it had seen better days.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about. Luca? You following me?"

Alfie laughed, shaking his head, "Do you really think I have enough time in the day to follow you around, love? If I had any spare time at all I'd be walking my dog, trust me."

He turned away from her and continued to smoke his cigar, watching crates of his rum being loaded onto canal boats a short distance down the water.

Irina let out a sigh and folded her arms, huffing in dismay. Thomas' conversation had unsettled her and she wanted some answers. She knew Luca would lie, but for whatever reason, she didn't think Alfie would. He was a man with no ties to her, no interest in buying her vodka or her warehouse, and certainly not sleeping with her, either. The only thing he did have was an alleged allegiance to Tommy, but if what Irina knew about gangs like the Mafia was true, even that didn't mean anything.

"Am I in danger, Alfie? That's all I need to know."

Alfie blew smoke from his lips once more before turning to look at her. He pulled his eyes up across her petite frame, settling on her eyes that in that moment, no longer held fire, they held innocence.

"That depends," he coughed, "Is Luca Changretta in love with you? Because if he isn't, then yes, you're in a hell of a lot of danger, darling."

He watched as her eyes fell to the ground, narrowing in private thoughts and she worked out what her next move was. Thomas had told Alfie everything he knew about Irina, including the fact that she had no family in England to look out for her. She never came across like she particularly needed anybody there for her, but once Alfie saw Irina leaving the restaurant arm in arm with Luca Changretta the other week, his opinion on that changed.

The Peaky Blinders and the Italians were most definitely at war with one another, but that didn't have anything to do with Alfie Solomons. At least, not until Thomas had asked him for help keeping things under control in the south while he handled the midlands. Alfie wasn't one to always get involved in conflict, but he owed Tommy a favour and so, he'd ended up right in the middle of a nightmare.

Now, though, it seemed like a beautiful woman had been caught up in the middle the same as he had, only Alfie knew how to use a gun and was pretty sure Irina didn't.

"Luca wouldn't hurt me, not like that." She said, swallowing and shaking her head in denial.

"He knows you know the Shelby's and he knows you went to their party at The Eden Club. There's a vendetta at play here, Irina, and if you end up on the wrong side of it, it could be the worst mistake you'll ever make. And probably the last."

Irina chewed on her lip impatiently, staring up at Alfie, expecting him to say something else, though he stayed quiet. She didn't want to ask any more questions, she didn't need to know any more information than what Alfie had just told her, but a million 'what ifs' were now floating around in her mind.

"I have to find Luca." She mumbled, turning in the opposite direction and taking a step away from Alfie.

He quickly reached out and grabbed her arm, pulling her back towards him, their faces inches apart, so close she could smell the rum lingering on his clothes and see the faded skin around the scar beneath his eye.

"Irina," he said in a hushed tone, his finger pointed in her face, "You don't know what you're doing. You need to stay away from Luca, alright? He'll get you killed."

"And why do you care what happens to me, Alfie?" She spoke in barely a whisper, narrowing her eyes at him as his grip stayed tight around her forearm.

"I don't," he said, "I'm just trying to do the right thing for once in my life."

He let go of her, giving her one last stare before returning to his cigar. Irina turned and left in a hurry, heading back in the direction of her office.

The world had felt so much simpler yesterday, and now, she was in the middle of a battlefield. Nothing made sense to her in that moment, not the sun in the sky or the ripples in the water beside her feet, not even the beating of her own heart. Everything she thought she knew, she had to now question, and everything she thought she'd escaped from in Russia, seemed to have followed her.

"Irina!" Luca spoke her name with urgency when she walked back into her office.

She glanced to Kristian who was sat at his desk with his head buried in their accounts book, not daring to look up at the dark Italian who had been waiting there for God knows how long.

"Luca," she said with a weak smile, "How can I help? Please, come inside my office."

She quickly ushered Luca into her office, giving Kristian a calm nod before closing the door behind her. Irina knew Kristian would be listened to every word that would be said in that room, but she trusted him to not tell a soul.

"I know Thomas Shelby came to see you." Luca said as Irina hung up her coat by the window.

"Yes," she replied, "He wants to buy my warehouse but I keep telling him it's not for sale."

"No. I know that's not what he said to you." He shook his head, his eyes dark, serious in a way Irina had never seen them before.

"What else would it have been about?" Irina lied.

Luca let out a frustrated sigh, removing his hat for a moment to run a hand through his hair before placing it back down, walking over to her slowly.

"Irina, they killed my father. Shot him in cold blood, and we have a vendetta to respect, justice for my father. Do you know what I'm saying?"

Irina nodded her head, her eyes fixed on Luca.

"He's coming to you because he knows I care about you, he wants to get you on their side, use you as leverage against me. You don't need to be caught up in this, let me protect you."

Luca's hands were now set on Irina's waist, the feeling of his touch making her gasp softly as he held her, feeling on edge yet strangely safe with him.

Everything Luca was saying made sense. Irina had expected him to lie to her, but she believed every word that he'd said. The dinner invitation from Tommy, the party at The Eden Club, it all added up.

But what didn't add up, was Alfie.

"What about Alfie Solomons?" She said, nervously flickering her gaze from his eyes to his lips.

"That idiot? He's been on our radar for months now, Thomas Shelby asks him for help every now and again but the fool doesn't care what happens as long as he gets paid. In fact, he even fucked the Peaky Blinders over not so long ago and I wouldn't be surprised if he did it again."

Irina still believed Luca, she had no reason not to. Although she'd known him just six months longer than she'd known Thomas, he'd proven himself to be a good and honest man, to her, at least.

She glanced out of the window, still in Luca's grasp. Feeling him brush her hair away from her face, her eyes fell upon Alfie's factory which was only just in view, all the way down the canal in the distance.

Irina most definitely wasn't going to listen to anything Thomas Shelby had to say, and she hadn't planned on listening to Alfie, either. Only now, knowing what she knew about Alfie's relationship to the Peaky Blinders, an inkling grew in the back of her mind that the man with the cigar might've been worth a few more minutes of her time.