— 𝐀𝐅𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐌𝐈𝐃𝐍𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓 —
⁰⁰²

Cecilia watched out of her window carefully as her father sat in his chair with the telephone in hand. His cigar was burning out as he kept it between his two fingers. "So you're tellin' me that they were causing havoc in Darby Sabini's bar?" Rafael asked.

Her head turned and she frowned slightly.

"What the fuck are the Peaky Blinders doin' in London? Tell me that. What business do they have here?" Rafael continued.

Cecilia clicked her fingers to get her father's attention but he dismissed her with a simple wave of his hand. She rolled her eyes and threw herself down in the chair beside the window.

"Alright— alright, you take care.. yeah." Rafael slammed the phone down and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Did you hear that?" His accent came through thickly. "The Blinders making announcements at the Eden Club last night."

She snorted with laughter and shook her head. "It was the three brothers. They're only little." She played with the ends of her hair.

"How do you know?"

"They came to my work." She shrugged. "Thomas is the one in charge." She told her father. "The other two are just his puppets. They're nothing we need to be worried about." Cecilia said.

"And did you speak with them?"

"Briefly." She hummed. "I spoke to Thomas more than the other two." She said. Rafael leaned his head back and thought. "Any idea on why they're in London?" He asked.

She shook her head. "Business."

The phone rang again and Rafael was quick to answer. "What?!" he snapped, his eyebrows stitched together. His face soon softened and he looked to Cecilia. "It's ya brother." He stood, holding the phone out to her.

Cecilia took it from him and held it to her ear, waiting for Rafael to leave the room before speaking. "Reggie?"

"Cecilia." Her brother's voice sounded from the other side. "I wasn't sure if you were still alive." He joked. She let out a chuckle. "I'm good at what I do." She assured him. "How's Boston?"

Reggie took a breath. "Business is booming. Listen.." He paused. "Cecilia, Ma died early hours this morning." He said.

Cecilia frowned and stood straight.

"How?"

"The pills— the Tokyo." His accent was also strong. "She never stopped. It consumed her." He added. Cecilia nodded to herself. "She was like a bomb waiting to go off, Reg. Should've seen it coming. It was bound to happen soon." She said.

"I know— I know."

"Da doesn't know?" Cecilia whispered. Reggie exhaled. "Da doesn't know." He confirmed. "I preferred to tell you, let you break the news to him." He told her. She nodded to herself. "Okay.." She squeezed her eyes closed. "I'll tell him."

There was a small silence.

"You take care, Reg." She said to him before putting the phone down. "Dad." She called out.

Rafael soon appeared in the doorway and waited for her to speak. "Ma— she's died. Reggie said it was all the drugs. Said they got to her head or something." She chewed the inside of her cheek.

Rafael's expression didn't change much. He just frowned and tilted his head down.

He wasn't a man of emotions — never had been. And his relationship with his wife had been strained for a long while. They were more like companions rather than husband and wife.

"When?"

"Early hours." Cecilia watched him with caution. It wouldn't be a surprise if he did something irrational.

"I'll call some people to arrange the funeral." He said bluntly before leaving the room once more.

—

Tommy strolled into the betting den which was empty due to the late hour. "And where the fuck have you been?" His aunt scolded, looking over her newspaper. Tommy stopped in his tracks and slowly turned to look at her. "Working.."

Polly scoffed and put down the newspaper. "And where is Arthur?" She sat upright in her chair. Tommy blinked hard and just looked at the woman.

"You come home from London after letting Arthur going in the state he's in. Where is he?" Polly pried. Tommy looked up and groaned. "He's at home, Pol. He's at home and he's tucked up in bed." He said mockingly.

Polly raised her eyebrows at him. "Watch your tone with me, boy." She warned.

Tommy shook his head and turned away to look at one of the betting books. "What do you know about the Abbott's?" He grumbled. Polly looked at the wall to think. "As in the Abbott's that run America?"

"Something like that.." Tommy said, not paying much attention.

Polly leaned her elbows on the wooden table. "They have a daughter and a son. They own a few bars in London, they control majority of the liquor imports and exports in Boston, Italy and some other places— and they're a gangster family." Polly said. "Why?"

Tommy clicked his tongue on the roof of his mouth. "I happened to have a run in with Rafael Abbott's daughter." He said with amusement. Polly's eyes widened. "And?" She waited for more detail.

"And she threatened to shoot me in the head."

The corners of Polly's mouth turned upward as she waited for him to crack some sort of joke. But he didn't. He remained serious.

"You're not kidding?" Polly asked. Tommy looked up at her. "Why would I be kidding?" He frowned. Polly burst out laughing. "It's about time a woman put you in your bloody place." She exclaimed.

"She is not a woman. She's a girl who dances on a stage and serves drinks." Tommy argued.

Polly shrugged. "What part of that makes her less of a woman." Polly tormented him. Tommy slammed the book closed and shoved his hands into his pockets. "She was sticking her nose where it didn't belong."

"So she's curious. So what?" Polly continued.

"So what? So we have people sniffing around in our business." Tommy pressed a finger into his chest. Polly shook her head at him. "The Abbott's are a good family. They'd be useful to us. Maybe they're somebody you should consider having on your side instead of mocking their daughter."

"Have them on our side.." Tommy scoffed.

Polly shrugged. "Whatever. Don't listen to me. You and the boys go and get yourself killed in London." She dismissed him.

—

Cecilia picked up the newspaper that had been set down on the office table. She scanned her eyes across the front page and placed a finger to her bottom lip, picking at the skin.

Among the different headlines there was one that stood out.

'London club owner found face down in a canal.'

Cecilia tutted and threw the paper back down. She didn't care because she had been the one to place the body in the canal. The man she had killed had stole money from one of the clubs that Rafael ran. He'd have gotten away with it if he hadn't taken so much money.

So of course, when the chill began to creep in through the night air and Cecilia had managed to catch his eye, she held onto his hand as they strolled under the street lamps. He was drunk. She was not. Poor man thought he was going to get lucky but instead.. she led him through a back alley and forced him up against the wall.

At first, he was unsure what she was doing. He assumed that she'd then unbuckle his belt and go from there but instead he felt a something cold against the side of his neck.

"Can you feel it?" Cecilia whispered, her breath hot against his skin. He swallowed hard and tilted his head up. He couldn't see much due to the lack of light but could take a guess as to what it was. "It's a gun.." She muttered into his ear.

"Please— whatever it is you need I'll help you." He begged quietly. She brushed his hair away from his face and squeezed his cheek with her free hand.

"What about that money you stole, hm? Where did that go?" She asked. "Oh.. you spent it on whores and booze. Does your wife know what you get up to on a Friday evening?" Cecilia taunted him. He stayed silent. "That's a shame. I've seen your wife— she's quite the lady." Cecilia ran a thumb over his skin. "Get on your knees."

He shakily kneeled before her and she tilted his chin up. "I'll be sure to have the news delivered to her before the sun has fully come up."

"What news?" He stuttered.

"This news."

Bang.

Bang — "Cecilia!" Rafael hit his fist against the table. She looked up from the paper with wide eyes, not realising she had been stuck in thought.

"What the hell is up with you today, eh?" He asked.

She pushed the paper into his hands and he shrugged. "So what? People die everyday. It ain't a big deal." He shook it off. "Your mother's funeral is in two weeks. We'll go to Boston—"

"I ain't goin' to Boston." She refused quickly. "Do it here. Bring Boston to us. Ma always liked London when she came over." She suggested. Rafael bit his tongue. "It's already been planned out—"

"So plan it out again. You ain't buried the woman yet, you have time to rearrange."

"Cecilia—"

Cecilia let out a breath. "I'm workin' tonight." She said whilst tensing her jaw. Rafael looked at her in disapproval at her interruption. "Will you be the one to tell Reggie about the change of plan or shall I?" She said, knowing she'd get her own way.

Rafael just sighed and turned away from her. She smiled in amusement. Ever since being a little girl she was able to get her own way.

—

Peter and Cecilia sat behind the bar watching the people dancing. "So they married John off to some gypsy girl to end a war?" She furrowed her brows together. Peter nodded. "And how do you know so bloody much about them?"

"I'm familiar with the family, Cecilia. I have cousins who live in Birmingham."

"What else do you know?" She was rather intrigued at this point. She thought the whole marriage thing between John and the girl was hilarious. She needed to hear more.

"They have a sister. She lives not too far from here— goes by the name.. Thorne I believe." He said. "But it isn't common knowledge that she's related to that family. She's ashamed."

Cecilia nodded along.

"Somebody blew up their pub a week back." Peter said. She met his eyes. "Well isn't that a shame." She said unsympathetically. Peter laughed at her and shook his head. "Would that be the attitude you had if somebody blew up Esmerelda's?"

"I'd say we have more clubs—" Cecilia grinned. "And my father does not have people wanting to destroy his property. And it isn't common knowledge that Rafael Abbott owns some of the clubs around here." She reminded him. "So i'd say we're safe for now."

"You never fail to amuse me, Cecilia." Peter told her.

"Don't— you'll make me blush." Cecilia fussed jokingly. Peter grinned at her and she leaned forward to place a friendly peck on his cheek. "You hear anything else about those bastards and you tell me, yeah?" She pointed to him when she stood.

Peter nodded and gave her a once over. "Of course." He winked at her.

He watched her as she walked from the bar to the stage. Cecilia was an enduring mystery — arguably an angel in human form with a mind like the devil. She was dangerous. Intelligent and dangerous. Now who wouldn't love a girl like that?

—

Cecilia flicked on the light as she got into the house. "I'm back!" She called out, locking the door behind her. Silence. "Dad?!" She slowly walked up the stairs. Silence. Cecilia reached for her gun and cocked it, staying close to the wall as she climbed the stairs.

The study door was slightly ajar, the dim light seeping through the gap. There was light muttering coming from inside.

She pushed the door open with one hand and stepped inside, gun raised.

"Jesus— fuck!" She shouted, lowering her gun and placing a hand on her chest. "The fuck you playin' at?" She scolded her father who had the phone to his ear.

Rafael frowned at her and put a finger to his lips to quiet her.

She shook her head and slid the gun onto the desk. "You almost gave me a heart attack, old man." She hissed at him, tapping her head angrily.

He put the phone down and looked over at her. "That was Thomas Shelby." He picked up his glass of whiskey and sipped it. "He's invited us to Small Heath." He told her. Cecilia crossed her arms. "Why?" She asked. "He wants to discuss business." Rafael shrugged.

"You've gotta be shittin' me." She shook her head. "You want me to walk my heels through the horse shit in Small Heath?"

"Oh fuck, Cecilia. I'll buy you new fuckin' heels if it means that much to ya." He scoffed.

She nodded. "It does mean that much to me. Thank you." She sighed, pulling back the curtain to glance out of the window. "They're scum. The lot of them. Don't got a clue about business."

"Oh, and you do?" Rafael asked.

"Yeah, Dad. I do." She challenged. "I know what questions to ask and how to hold a conversation. I know how to do my fuckin' job." She pointed at him.

Rafael smiled in amusement, enjoying how easily he had irked her.

"Did you speak to Reggie?" She moved on.

"Yeah." Rafael poured another drink. "We're bringing ya mother to London. She'll be buried here." He said.

"When?"

"Soon. I don't know, Cecilia." Rafael said sternly. "And what will happen with Reggie now that ma is dead? Will he stay in Boston or come here?" She asked curiously.

"That's up to him. He's a big boy now, Cecilia. He can make his own decision."

"If I were him, i'd stay in Boston." Cecilia insulted before walking out of the room. Rafael laughed to himself, finding her behaviour hilarious. She had always been stubborn in one way or another.

And it didn't look like that was going to change any time soon.

After Midnight
Chapter 002
[gracessecretshelby]