— 𝐀𝐅𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐌𝐈𝐃𝐍𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓 —
⁰⁰⁸

"Cecilia get in here!" Rafael shouted from down the hall. With a quick turn, Cecilia walked toward the office. "What is it? I need to leave for work." She said sternly. Rafael looked up at her. "What's this i'm hearin' about you a some peaky blinder." He asked.

"What're ya talkin' about. Dont be stupid." She scoffed, trying her best not to give anything away.

Rafael stood and put his hands on the desk. "Don't fuck with me, Cecilia." He warned. She shrugged. "I ain't fuckin with you." She said, walking across the room to pick up her lipstick she happened to leave in there.

Rafael sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "So you're tellin me that whoever it was that saw you out with a peaky blinder is lyin' to me?"

"Maybe." She shrugged again. "Listen— all i'm tryna say is that maybe you shouldn't trust everybody, hm?" She offered, "if I was going off somewhere with a blinder, i'd let ya know." She said.

"An id have him killed—" Rafael shouted as she walked out.

"Oh, i'm sure you would." She said sarcastically.

—

When Cecilia walked into the bar, she was greeted with the same pleasant face as always. "Peter," she sighed with relief. He offered her a warm smile as she stepped behind the bar. "Feels like years since you've been here." Peter joked.

She tilted her head and smiled. "It's been a week." She corrected.

"I'm only playing with you." He assured, patting her back as he went to take a drinks order.

She, like always, scanned the crowd of people. It was lively as always. Seeing such a busy club made her feel successful. "Has it been busy this week?" She asked Peter when he returned. He shrugged. "As always. Monday not so much." He said.

"Mondays are always like that." She hummed, slipping off her coat and placing her hands on her hips. "Have you had any trouble?"

Peter shook his head. "Men now sit not too far from my home." He said. But not like he was complaining, more like he was glad. "Good. That's good." Cecilia nodded, "if you have any trouble you give me a call. And i'll have it sorted for you." She pointed a finger at him.

"Of course." He nodded.

Just as she turned to walk from the bar, the door burst open followed by a plethora of shouting and clashes. With a swift turn, Cecilia saw a crowd of not-so-wanted men storming in. "Fuck." She mumbled, scurrying behind the bar to get her gun.

The men started causing havoc. They were punching the doormen and the people who tried to intervene. They were smashing glasses and flipping tables.

"Gentlemen." She announced, standing before them. "What reason do you have for making such an entrance?" She asked sternly.

They came to a strange stop and exchanged glances. "What's a girl like you gonna do to stop us? This is our club now. Sabini's orders." One grinned. She tilted her head in amusement. "Really?" She asked, "oh well, go ahead." She said sarcastically as she stepped aside.

Just as they began walking, she lifted her gun and shot one of them in the back of the shoulder. He fell to the floor, screaming in agony and they halted once more.

"You dirty fuck—" one pointed at her and grabbed her wrist, twisting it and kicking her gun from her hand. She winced in pain and sent her elbow backward, straight into his stomach. He coughed and doubled over but kept a firm grip on her. "You'll be killed for this!" She threatened as she was pinned up against the wall.

And that's when a fist collided with her face.

The moment her head hung low from the next two punches was when Peter came from behind the bar. He scurried to pick up her gun and pressed it to the man's neck. "Get off her—" he said shakily.

The man put his hands up in defence and as he let go, she slid down the wall, unconscious.

Peter had wide eyes and stepped away. He lowered the gun and shot the man's knee before running behind the bar to the phone. It rang a few times. "Mr Abbott—" he whispered, "Sir, there's been trouble here at Esmerelda's." Was all he could get out before slamming the phone down. He then had his hand hovered over it and thought. "Fuck it." he said, picking it up once more.

"Hello?"

"Mr Shelby— i'm sorry to disturb you but you said to call this number if we ever had trouble." That was true. "And there's been trouble." He said.

"What type of trouble?" Tommy asked.

"Sabini's men have stormed Esmerelda's. At least ten of them. They're fucking destroying the place." He said. And that was all he had to stay before Tommy put the phone down.

Peter panicked and practically ran to Cecilia. He kneeled and grabbed her face. "Cecilia—" he spoke. She said nothing. Her eyes remained closed. "Fuck." He said, putting his arm underneath hers and dragging her to her feet. He pulled her behind the bar and placed her down in one of the back rooms.

The fight had gotten worse. People were fighting on the dance floor whilst others still danced with fear in their eyes. The band still played but the volume had intensified.

After a few moments, the door opened and in came another group of men.

This time, Rafael Abbott stood at the front. "Gentlemen, gentlemen." He called out. Everything came to a stop. Everything. The music, the dancing, the fighting. "What is the reason behind this." He asked, keeping his calm.

Calm avoids problems, no problems avoids enemies.

"We're here on behalf of Darby Sabini." One shouted confidently.

Rafael laughed. "No— no, you must be mistaken. This is my club. I own this place." Rafael looked around, his arms raised slightly as he gestured to the club.

The men looked at each other.

"And I don't believe that Darby Sabini wishes to make any more enemies than he has already." He spoke. "Where is my daughter?" He asked.

Peter looked toward the back room and slipped back into it. Cecilia had awoken. She jumped up and searched for a gun, Peter calmed her quickly. "Your father is here." He whispered, helping her back out to the bar.

Rafael's blood boiled at the sight of her. "Who did this?" He asked. "Who the fuck touched my daughter?!" He roared. Peter looked toward the man who was holding his bloodied knee. And within seconds, a shot had fired, landing between his eyes and killing him. "You tell Darby Sabini that he has a new enemy." Rafael hissed. "And that if my daughter is harmed once more i'll kill every fucker that works in his organisation."

The men practically ran out and everybody remained silent.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, we apologise for the disturbance." Rafael sighed, "drinks on the house— play the music!" He called out. And within seconds, people returned to their original state and began dancing and laughing.

Cecilia touched her lip gently and felt the blood coming from the small cut that had been left there. Her skin was bruising ever so slightly and she was ever so annoyed.

"Cecilia," Rafael called to her, "you're coming home." He said.

"Da, i'm fine." She huffed. Rafael shook his head. "It wasn't a question, it was an order. Let's go." He said sternly.

Cecilia rolled her eyes and wished Peter a quick goodbye before following her father and his men out of the club. "See, I told you something like this would happen. Didn't I tell you? Now look. Look at you."

She said nothing. She walked ahead and said nothing.

—

Cecilia had cleaned up her face once getting home and sat in the office, looking over things she needed to sign. That's when the phone rang. With a sigh she picked it up and lazily held it to her ear. "What?"

"Your friend called me. I've been told there was trouble at Esmerelda's." Tommy spoke from the other end. "Sabini's men." She said with slight anger. Tommy took a deep breath and closed his eyes. "Are you hurt?" He asked. "And i want honesty. Not strength."

She bit down on her lip. "A few cuts. Nothing too bad." She admitted.

"I'll have something done, Cecilia. More men will stand at the door— or something, I don't care."

"You don't need to do that." She denied. Tommy raised his brows. "I don't care. I'm doing it." He said.

"Thomas—"

"Do not tell me you can handle yourself because I know you can. You can handle yourself perfectly— I know. But we cannot risk something like this happening again." He ranted quickly, frustration lacing his voice.

She raised her eyebrows. "We can't risk it happening again or you can't risk it happening again?"

Tommy paused. He said nothing for a few seconds. She waited. She waited patiently. Tommy had his eyes fixated on the desk. "Me." He replied quietly. "I cannot risk this happening again." He admitted.

Cecilia's eyes widened ever so slightly and she began picking at her lip, a strange feeling filling her.

The same feeling she had felt those days ago when he had taken her to see Charlie Chaplin.

The same feeling she felt those months ago when he turned up outside of her door to take her to one of Sabini's clubs and he watched her dance.

"Why can't you risk that, Tommy?" She asked curiously.

He swallowed hard. "Because—" he paused. "I cannot bear the thought of not playing by the rules of my own business contract." He clenched his jaw, knowing that wasn't what he wanted to say.

A slight defeat washed over her as if she had wanted him to say something else.

And then the line went dead. She held the phone beside her ear for a few moments, processing what had just happened. She then took a deep breath and put the phone down.

She looked back to the paper before her and scanned her eyes over the diary.

"Derby Day" it said.

With a raised brow, Cecilia stood from her chair. "What's this about the Derby?" Cecilia asked as she walked to the drawing room. Rafael look up from his newspaper. "Epsom Races." He said, "we're goin' with the Blinders. They plan to take down Sabini and his men."

"Seriously? You ain't kiddin?" Cecilia asked.

Rafael shook his head and took a puff of his cigar. "I ain't kiddin." He confirmed.

"And he has it all planned out— Thomas?" She continued. Rafael hummed. "Every single part. Y'know, I was unaware of his capability. He's a smart man. I've grown to respect him." Rafael said honestly.

"Ya think?" She asked.

He nodded. "The Race is next week— buy yourself a nice dress." Rafael said, delight filling him at the look of excitement on her face. "You're comin' with me."

Cecilia stood up straight and nodded once. "I'll look for a dress."

"You might wanna get some ice on ya face whilst you're at it. Wouldn't want that pretty face of yours to bruise would we?" He joked. She cracked a smile and nodded, spinning on her heels to leave the room.

It had been a while since Rafael and Cecilia had been able to share a joke with one another. They were so busy as of late. With Reggie gone, Rafael now had to focus on business again. Cecilia had to keep her eyes on the club.

And she was feeling all sorts of ways. Her young mind was oh so confused about Thomas Shelby.

And Cecilia Abbott wasn't sure if that was a good thing.

After Midnight
Chapter 008
[gracessecretshelby]