— 𝐀𝐅𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐌𝐈𝐃𝐍𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓 —
⁰⁰⁶

Cecilia stood a few metres away from Reggie as he stared down at their mother's grave stone. He hadn't noticed her yet. The wind was tangling between her blonde curls, her hands shoved into her pockets. With a final sigh, Cecilia began walking forward. "I knew I would find ya here, brotha." She spoke.

Reggie didn't even flinch.

"You still upset?" She asked him, standing beside him and looking out at the field as the sky grew dark. Reggie took a deep breath in. "Suppose." He tried not to seem saddened. Cecilia glanced up at him. "A man who don't tell the truth is no man."

Reggie snapped his head toward her. "Yes." He sighed, admitting that he was still upset after the weeks that had passed since their mother's death.

"It isn't something to be ashamed about." She assured, taking out a cigarette and lighting it. She took a drag before offering it to him. "Grief will kill you if you let it." She turned serious. "Don't let it grab you by the neck."

He didn't really understand her but nodded anyway.

"I think it's time we go back, no?" She suggested, linking her arm around his and giving him no choice as they turned toward the exit of the graveyard. "You'll be pleased to hear that business is boomin' recently." She told him once they started walking.

He hummed. "It is?"

"Yeah. Thanks to the Shelby's and their connections." She expanded. He huffed and shook his head. "I don't like 'em Cecilia." He said honestly. "They're dirty Brummies who live off the pension's of war widows."

She scoffed. "And you're sayin' we're good people? Reg, this is the life we live. No one is innocent. Everybody has blood on their hands." She spoke. Reggie looked ahead and breathed heavily as the cold consumed him. "I just want you to be careful. Dad can't loose ya, neither can I but— it'd kill him." He told he'd

She watched her feet as she walked. "I know what i'm doin'— I swear it. I know who to be careful with."

"Sure you do."

"I'm capable of more than you think. Why do ya think he brought me to London and not you, hm?" She insulted. Reggie glared down at her and shook his head. "Keep walkin' Cecilia." He hissed.

She rolled her eyes and did as he said.

"I'm goin' back to America." He finally told her. She tilted her head. "When did you figure that one out?" She asked. They got to the house. "Last Thursday. Already spoke to dad." He said.

"A you didn't think to tell me earlier— when do you go?" Cecilia hung up her coat and walked around the table to pick up the newspaper.

"Didn't think it mattered." Reggie responded harshly.

"Yeah and I didn't think it was necessary to tell you that you look like an idiot." She insulted, looking him up and down and leaving him in confusion as she ascended the large staircase.

No matter how old they got, the pair always argued like they used to.

—

"Cecilia!" Rafael roared from the office. She didn't rush to answer him. She walked from her bedroom to the office and hovered at the door. "A phone call." He held the phone for her to take it.

She hummed and took it, holding it to her ear. "Who's speakin'?"

"Hello, Cecilia." Tommy spoke smoothly from the other end. She glanced at the door that her father had just left from and leaned against the desk. "Haven't heard from you for a while. I was hoping you'd died." She said bluntly whilst examining her painted nails.

Tommy let out a dry laugh. "That's no way to speak to the man who's just had some of his men placed to watch over the club you work at." He replied cockily.

"Oh, he has a heart?" She mocked. "Maybe Thomas Shelby isn't as cold as he wishes to come across as." She said. "You're not as scary as people think you are. D'ya know that?" Cecilia asked seriously. He hummed and leaned back in his chair. "And you're not as charming as you think you are." He retorted.

"Oh, yes I am." She laughed. "No man I have been set to go after has thought twice about following me through the dark. I think that says enough." She said confidently.

Thomas knew she was beautiful. He just didn't want her to know that he thought that.

"I have a job for you." He finally said. She nodded. "Proceed." Cecilia poured a glass of gin. "My sister— Ada. She works at the library. She refuses to answer my calls nowadays. I was wondering if you could go and keep an eye out for her— whilst she's at work."

"Did it ever occur to you that maybe she has a life— maybe that is why she doesn't return your calls. She has a young lad, no?"

"Indeed she does. But our Ada has no busy life. She is simply just stubborn." He corrected.

"What's in it for me, anyway?" Cecilia pressed. Tommy tutted. "What is it that you want?" He asked. She thought for a moment. "I wish to see Charlie Chaplin." She said, meaning to see him in the cinemas.

But Tommy thought further than that. "I can do that." He assured.

"Then expect a call from me by tomorrow evening." She said. "Goodnight, Thomas." Cecilia breathed. She didn't wait for a response. Instead, she just put the phone down and finished off her whiskey. "God, Tommy Shelby and his regrets." She sighed, knowing slight detail about the reasons Ada was living in London instead of at home with her family.

—

Cecilia walked through to the large library. She was greeted by a man at the door and she turned to see one of her own men who she had walk with her, "wait here." She spoke.

He did as she said and she went inside alone.

Cecilia wandered up the staircase and scanned the floor for the Shelby woman. Deciding it was best to have a proper look whilst pretending to search for a book, she walked up to one of the shelves.

It didn't take long before the brunette, rosy cheeked female approached her.

"Is there anything I can help you with?" She asked politely. Cecilia turned to look at her. "I was wondering if you had any books on any revolutions." Cecilia asked, making something up on the spot.

Ada's eyes lit up. "We do—" she led Cecilia to another bookshelf and ran her fingers along the spines of the many books before pulling one out. "This is one of my personal favourites." She held it out for Cecilia.

"Thank you..." she waited for Ada to finish her sentence.

"Ada. Ada Thorne." She spoke.

Cecilia nodded. "Cecilia Abbott." She shook Ada's hand and smiled. "It's a pleasure to meet you Ada. Although I cannot help but feel i've seen your face before.."

Ada found herself almost stumbling over her words. "Miss Abbott—" Ada placed her hands behind her back. Cecilia raised her eyebrows and hummed. "I know you. Yeah, yeah I do. You're the sister of those Shelby fella's." Cecilia squinted.

Ada looked away. "It's very rare that I associate myself with them." She admitted.

"Is there a reason for that?" Cecilia questioned. Ada's face fell. "He sent you, didn't he?" She asked. Cecilia sat up. "Maybe." She hummed. "Or maybe he didn't." She added. "You see—" Cecilia stood, "you're a smart girl— you need to stay smart. These next few weeks could be dangerous for a girl like yourself." Cecilia spoke.

Ada's lips parted but no words left.

"Have a good evening, Ada." She spoke before spinning on her heels and leaving.

—

"Mr Shelby, what brings you back to London?" Peter questioned when seeing Thomas approach the bar. Peter placed his two hands on the golden countertop and waited for an answer. Tommy scanned the area but didn't seem to find what he had been looking for. "Business." He answered plainly.

"Anything I can be of assistance with?" Peter offered.

Tommy hummed. "Is Cecilia working tonight?"

Peter glanced over at the paper on the wall and nodded. "It seems that she is, sir. May I ask why?" He tilted his head. Tommy moved his gaze toward the boy. "It's just my colleagues are quite important to me and when a man like yourself wanders into our bar asking for one of them, I can't help but ask why."

Tommy nodded slowly in understanding. "Cecilia and I have some business to discuss." He checked his time piece.

The door opened, following by the familiar sound of heels. Tommy and Peter turned their heads to see Cecilia and her blonde curls as they bounced whilst she walked.

"Gentlemen," she greeted, slipping behind the bar. "Mr Shelby— what is it I can do for you tonight?" She asked.

He tried his hardest to avoid looking her up and down. "I believe there are some things we need to discuss." He replied. Cecilia let out a dry laugh. "So you come to my place of work to disrupt it? Very professional of you, Thomas." She scowled at him.

He bit down on the inside of his cheek and began growing frustrated.

"Peter, get this man a drink." She ordered, disappearing into the back to begin readying to get up on stage.

Peter did as she said and tried his best to hide the grin that had made its way onto his lips. Cecilia was an unpredictable woman. And Peter found that hilarious.

Tommy snatched the drink from the counter and turned away to find a seat.

Cecilia soon reappeared and she watched Tommy from a distance. "Does he always turn up unannounced?" Peter whispered to her. "Sometimes." She responded. "But what Tommy Shelby wants, he always seems to get." She sighed, walking away from the bar and accepting the hand offered to her when getting upon the stage.

But this time she wasn't alongside other girls to dance. She was stood behind the microphone.

Tommy sat up straight, paying attention. He kept his cap. She gripped the microphone and the band started playing.

That's when it started. That's when Tommy got deja vu. He could see Grace stood there, hands clasped before her and a red cardigan hugging her shoulders. And then he blinked. And she was gone. It was just Cecilia now. She had her eyes on him.

There was a certain twinkle in her eye that he hadn't seen before.

There was a certain twinkle in his eyes that she hadn't seen before.

Tommy was looking at her like she was the most beautiful woman he had ever laid eyes upon. And in that moment, that was how he felt. Everything he was feeling about Grace and her betrayal had disappeared. It was Cecilia now. Cecilia was the woman who he wished to lay beside. The woman he wished to share nights with. The woman he wished to walk with and have people stare.

Cecilia was captivating in every way possible. Her eyes told a story.

A story that held both innocence and secrets that she hoped to never let anybody in on. Tommy's eyes were the same. He clung on to the innocence that thrived within him before the war. But as the days passed, it was fading away, being overtaken by the demons in his mind.

If anybody would've told him two years ago that he would be sat in a bar owned by one of the most feared yet respected families in London, he'd have shrugged and assumed nothing of it.

But if you would have told him two years ago that he would be sat in that very bar, staring at the daughter of that same family as his opinions toward her were beginning to change, he would've scoffed and told you to fuck off.

Yet here he was. Doing exactly that.

Cecilia still had her eyes on him but eventually, a hand was offered to her and she smiled to anybody who was watching before stepping down and leaving just a quick as she appeared.

Tommy couldn't have stood any quicker. He followed after her. She was so close yet so far. He could see her blonde curls and the shimmer of her expensive dress as she weaved between the crowds. He got closer and grabbed her arm without thinking.

With a prominent frown, Cecilia spun around and looked down at his hand. "what the fuck do ya think you're doin'?" She snapped. Tommy bit down on his tongue when realising he wasn't sure why he had grabbed her. "Thomas?" She asked again when realising he was just staring at her.

"Let me walk you home. There's been some trouble and I know your father would appreciate you returning home safely."

She looked him up and down. "I have a job, Mr Shelby— and I don't intend on passing up on it." She said, her eyes diverting to the two men that sat smoking cigars beside the door.

He followed her gaze and raised an eyebrow. "Are you a whore?"

Cecilia scoffed and pulled her arm from his grasp. "How dare you?" She hissed. "I have a gun with enough bullets in to spend them on you." She whispered.

Tommy scoffed and adjusted his cap. "Oh, you'd be doing me a favour."

"I'd be doin' everyone a favour." She snapped, turning away to retrieve her coat from behind the bar.

Peter had watched the whole interaction and when Cecilia joined his side, he turned his back to Tommy to speak to her. "Is he causing problems?" He asked quietly. Cecilia stood and shook her head. "Don't worry about it," she pecked his cheek with a quick kiss before scowling at Tommy as she approached the two men.

"Gentlemen," she smiled. They both turned their heads toward her and automatically wore a grin. "How's your night been?" She asked.

Tommy squinted and watched carefully.

"Better now that you're here, love." One spoke with a tone that sent shivers up her spine. She smirked and looked over her shoulder. "How 'bout we get out of here, eh?" The other suggested. Her smirk couldn't have grown any wider.

Bingo.

And then Tommy watched the pair leave. The man had turned to wink at his friend and Tommy was quick to follow after them. He stayed a safe distance away from them. He couldn't hear the conversation. But he could see Cecilia's hand wandering inside her pocket.

She then came to a halt. So did the man.

"What's the problem?"

Cecilia wandered further into her pocket and then checked her bag. Her heart dropped. "Nothin'— no problem." She swallowed. She didn't have her gun. How did she not have her gun? Tommy continued to follow and tilted his head down.

"Here we are—" they stopped outside a house. Cecilia took a deep breath. "Actually, i've got someplace to be." She lied. "My apologies." She added.

Then his stance changed. He scoffed and shook his head. "Nah— you agreed that we could go someplace. Now you're backing out? That ain't how I work, love."

Tommy watched as he grabbed Cecilia's wrist. She tried to pull away but the man dragged her forward.

"Get your hands off me!" She demanded, not a single ounce of fear in her voice. She wasn't frightened, not really. She knew that if she really needed to she could fight him off... somehow.

"Get yourself in here now you filthy
fucking—" before he could finish his sentence, he felt the cold metal of a gun pressed into the back of his head and heard the sound of it cock.

"I believe she told you to let go." Tommy spoke lowly. The man slowly released her wrist from his grasp and held his hands up. "Oh, I was only jokin' with her. Just some harmless fun."

Tommy hit the man over the head with the gun and pressed a foot to his chest. His eyes widened. "Mr Shelby—" he spoke, "i'm ever so sorry, sir." He stuttered. Tommy let out a dry laugh. "It's her you need to apologise to." He nodded toward her.

She had anger written all over her features.

Bang.

Cecilia didn't flinch. Neither of them did. She just scowled at Tommy.

"Not even a thank you?" Tommy mocked as she walked away. "I could've handled it myself— I was handling it myself." Cecilia ranted as he followed. "Of course you were." Tommy hummed. "Is that why you're missing your gun?"

"Shut your mouth— and put that damn thing away before somebody sees. You've shot a man on the street." Cecilia spat.

"Cecilia—"

"Shut up." Cecilia stopped him, her heels echoing as they tapped against the cobble floor. Tommy sighed angrily. "Would you just stop for a moment?" He asked.

"Nope." She refused. But then she paused. "Oh, I spoke to your sister. She seems perfectly fine and content with her life in London." She said before walking off again. Tommy huffed in defeat and let her walk away.

A part of Cecilia wanted him to continue to follow after her. Although she didn't understand why....

After Midnight
Chapter 006
[gracessecretshelby]