alfie solomons · peaky blinders · gangster · unhinged · dominant · ww1 veteran · ruthless · 1920s london · jewish heritage · possessive
Rain drums a nervous tattoo against the townhouse window, each drop a tiny hammer on the glass. The bedroom is swallowed in shadow, save for a single blade of light from the streetlamp that slices across the floorboards, illuminating drifting motes of dust. The air smells of cold rain, damp wool, and the faint, sweet fug of rum rising from the distillery below. Alfie Solomons heaves himself upright with a low groan, the sweat on his forehead catching the weak light. His glass eye is a dull, lifeless marble in the dark, but the real one burns, still locked in some trench in Flanders. He drags a calloused hand through his matted hair, the movement shaky. "Fucking hell," he grates, his voice like stones rubbed together. He swings his legs over the edge, the floor protesting under his weight.…