CHAPTER TWENTY NINE.

               "GET YOUR COAT," TOMMY declared from the very moment he stepped inside the room, his eyes falling on the woman that had taken to lying in bed when it was nearly noon, sprawled across the sheets as she struggled to keep her eyes open. "Or rather, get changed, then get your coat."

The blonde frowned up at him, lifting her head up ever so slightly so that she might rest it on her palm. "Where are we going?"

"Away from the city. Anywhere."

"And you're not going to tell me where?" 

Tommy nodded once. "When you put on a fucking dress, yeah, I will."

Felicity could've groaned at his stubbornness. As much as she loved the man, his tendency to do anything without specifying the details to her infuriated her to no degree. His obstinacy countered her own and whilst the two lovers adored each other with every fibre of their being, that didn't help the fact that both were far too stubborn for their own good. He was determined to keep her safe ― or at the very least, keep her in a state where she knew nothing about the business and nothing about any surprises he might have for her. She was annoyed by each secret he kept, but managed to not show said annoyance too often.  

"Pass me the burgundy one, then," she eventually said, pushing herself into an upright position and looking at him expectantly. When he stared back at her blankly, she did groan. "The red ― purple one on the back of the door."

He obliged, crossing the room in two large strides and extending his arm to her with the fabric cascading over his fist. "Be quick."

Felicity rolled her eyes with bemused laughter and watched as the man left, closing the door heavily behind him.

When she got downstairs fifteen minutes later with her hands behind her head as she tried in vain to twist her golden hair into a bun, she caught sight of the man, where he stood at the other end of the parlour with his back leaning on the wall and his features twisted into frown as he spoke with the older woman before him. Both he and Polly went quiet when Felicity entered, however, leaving her to wonder just what they were talking about that was so important and worrisome that they felt the need to cease conversation when she came about them. 

"You're ready," Tommy noted. 

Felicity did a little twirl in response before she stopped and looked at him expectantly. "Aren't you going to tell me where we're going?" 

"Coventry. Now, we'll have to go if we want to get there before two."

"Coventry? Why?"

Tommy sighed and almost didn't answer ― when he did, though, he chose to tell a lie that would only be relevant for about an hour, for he would tell her when they got there. . . or even in the car, away from the ears of Polly, who was forever becoming more and more cautious about undiscussed expansions away from Birmingham. 

"We need a day out, and Coventry's a lot closer than London." His voice softened with the next two words, perhaps after he realised just how harsh they had been close to sounding. "Come on."

⎯

               The first thing Felicity noticed was that the roads were not quite so dust―ridden and dirty as those that could be found in Small Heath, and as Tommy drove down the high street and made his way towards a backroad, she watched as people went about their day, unknowing of the gangster that drove alongside them with the angel at his hip. Eventually, he pulled into a lane and stopped the vehicle a little way on, so that it would be out of the way of the bustle and busy lives of those they had intruded upon. 

And with that, they walked: her by his side, him by hers, her arm looped through his as he led her down the street and towards a factory. Past a butcher's shop, where conversation echoed inside as customers argued over joints of meat and carvings; past a small local goods store, which was near to empty other than the few shoppers that were determined to shop before the weekend came around; past bakeries and bookshops and seamstresses and all those convenience shops that could be found in the less―rural of towns. 

"I've got business to sort out in the Marsh factory," Tommy spoke lowly as their paces slowed down, careful to not bring attention to either one of them or risk anyone around them hearing his words. "I'll be finished in twenty minutes and I'll find you here, or in that little café. . . you see that one with the red and white banner? I'll find you there in twenty minutes, promise."

Felicity agreed to this arrangement instantly. "What sort of business?" She then attempted to pry.

"Don't you worry about that. All you need to know is that it'll be dealt with quickly, and we'll then have the rest of the day to ourselves."

"You're not doing anything stupid, are you?" 

He shook his head. "You're going to have to trust that I know what I'm doing here, Lis," Tommy told her, almost shortly, before kissing her forehead softly and leaving her to her own devices. She watched for a second as he left, creating a path in front of him despite the fact that these streets were not the ones he reigned. Because that was one of the things that Felicity loved ― he had a way about him that made people stop and stare and wonder just who that man was, and why he resonated a deep sort of fear within him even if they hadn't seen him before in their sorry little lives. Because he was fearless. . . or at the very least, he came across as though he was, and that made the others inhabit all of the fear that he didn't and show it outwardly themselves.

Before she even knew what she was doing, Felicity pelted down the street in the hopes that she could remember just where the library was that they had passed, just five minutes earlier. They were sure to have a telephone inside ― or at least, they were probably the best to ask where one might be, if they did not have one themselves ― and she knew that the quicker she got to that, the better. She only had twenty minutes, after all: twenty minutes before Tommy would return and they would have the whole day to themselves, just as he had promised.

Twenty minutes wasn't long enough. . . but at the same time, it was far too long: far too long a time for her to spend with her own thoughts doing unspeakable deeds and praying that they would all be worth it in the end. 

She got to a telephone in two minutes, managing to find a box on the corner of the road that, to her immense luck, had no one inside. Spun the wheel so that each number clicked into place and the buzz of the machine resonated in her ear; held her shaking breath as the pause ensued; almost yelped when a familiar voice boomed in her ear, deep and angry and far too annoyed with the caller already. 

"Who is it?" John Woods asked gruffly, unaware that the being on the other end was the golden―haired girl of whom he was too afraid to call his daughter. "What in God's name do you want? I'm busy ― I told everyone that."

"No." Her voice rattled as she answered. "Expansion, it's an expansion. They're expanding down south. Marsh factory, a bakery, something. South. Coventry. London."

And then she hung up before her overwhelming guilt overrode every other emotion and made her say something terrible. . . something that might fuck up all that she was doing once and for all.

AUTHOR'S NOTE!

i love writing them, i really do. tommy and felicity are my actual babies and i will never replace them. ok? ok. also i'm writing this whilst applying lots and lots of aftersun because i got burnt today and now my arm hurts like a bitch

(also this chapter is short because i'm determined to get these updates out ― if i have time, i'll edit them so that they're a bit longer or something idk yet)