A/N Hey everyone! I hope you enjoy my new story! I haven't written for a few years but I hope you like this.
I will be sticking with the plot of the series with some little twists here and there to keep it interesting :)
Let me know what you think!
I leaned over the books as coins were dropped onto the table around me. "You could stack them nicely." I told the men without looking up from my calculations. They chuckled and some nudged my shoulder, clearly thinking I was joking with them. I rolled my eyes at them and continued to count the money around me.
Over the noise of John calling races and the men talking, I heard the door open but I didn't bother to look up at the man that started all this commotion. "Tommy! Tommy! Tommy, will you just look at the book. Will you just look." John shouted from beside me, running over to my table, a grin in his voice. He pulled the book from under me and showed it to Tommy. I looked up at the men. "All on Monaghan Boy." John told him, running his hand down the page. "Powder trick, eh, Tommy?" I commented. "Aye, Eves. Powder trick." He responded, a smile in his voice.
Another door opened and I braced myself for the shout. "Tommy! Get in here now!" Arthur shouted angrily before slamming the door again. I rolled my eyes and went back to counting the newly dumped coins. I heard Tommy going towards the office, he wasn't worried. John handed me the book back and looked at me suspiciously. "This was your idea then?" John asked as I jotted down numbers in the worn book and sat back with a sigh. "An old gypsy magic, John." I responded, looking around the room that was still filled with men putting on their bets. I looked to my side to see John had gone back to the board, turned his back to me and was writing on the blackboard again. "What are we doin' tonight, John?" I asked, pulling a curl loose from my updo and twirling it around my finger. "Probably the same as every night, Evie. Go to the Garrison." He told me. I rolled my eyes and scraped my chair backwards. "You really know how to treat a girl, John Shelby." I told him, sarcastically. "You know me." He chuckled without turning around.
The office door opened and Tommy stormed out. Arthur appeared at the door. "Tommy! I'm calling a family council tonight at eight o'clock! I want all of us there. This time you be there Tommy!" Arthur shouted through the smoke. Both John and I turned to look at them, Tommy continued walking. "You hear me?! There's trouble coming." Arthur finished. Neither of us was surprised when Tommy continued through the curtain and out of the betting shop, Arthur retreated into the office and slammed the door once more. "There you go, Eves, we are going to the family meeting." John said, turning back to the blackboard. I fought the urge to throw something at his back and walked towards the main house, the same way Tommy had gone.
I heard the front door slam as I made my way into the kitchen and I was pulling out the pins out of my long black curls when John came through the door behind me. I felt around in my hair, looking for the missing one before John came over and quickly but gently pulled it out, letting the rest of my hair fall around my face. He wrapped his arms around my waist from behind and rested his chin on top of my head. "Do you know what Arthur was going on about?" I asked him, resting my arms over his. "Not a clue. I don't get told much these days." He told me, I could hear the resentment in his voice. "I am sure Tommy has a plan, he always does." I assured him, lightly rubbing his arm. "Yeah, that's what bloody worries me." John mumbled.
I laughed and turned in his arms to face him, I stood on my tiptoes to kiss his lips. He responded instantly to my kiss, squeezing me closer and splaying his hand across the bottom of my back. "C'mon, let's go have a drink before this bloody meetin'." I said, pulling away from him slightly and rubbing his back. He gave me a final squeeze and allowed me to leave the warmth of him. "I think we are going to need it." I laughed, heading towards the door, picking my hat and coat up on the way. He chuckled, grabbing his flat cap from the table and putting it at an angle on his head. He had his trusty toothpick between his lips and he gave me a cheeky smile that made my stomach flutter.
When we got to the Garrison, it was busy with a few regulars and I noticed Tommy sat by himself at the bar. John nodded at him in greeting but opened the door to the snug and waved me forward. "Such a gentleman!" I told him, squeezing his arm as I walked in. I took a seat on the sofa as John went to the hatch. He quickly ordered our drinks, a rum and a whiskey, and placed them on the table. He came around to sit next to me after shutting the hatch, throwing an arm around my shoulders and pulling me into his side. I smiled at him as I picked up my glass of rum and took a sip. I rested my head on his shoulder and we sat in comfortable silence for a few minutes.
Suddenly, there were shouts coming from the bar. John and I shared a look before both of us going towards the door. John caught my wrist as I went to open the door, pulling me behind him as his other hand went towards the gun at his ribs. He opened the door and paused while he took in the scene before him. I couldn't quite see past John but I knew who it was as they barrelled around the pub. Danny Whizz-Bang. He had crashed into the pub and I heard tables and chairs being hurled and scraped along the floor as people moved to get out of his way. Glasses began to smash as John ventured out into the pub, it looked like he was going to move to stop Danny but something stopped him.
As I came out of the snug, I saw why. Tommy and Freddie Thorne were already there. They work skilfully together to restrain him and once on the floor, Tommy quickly lied across him, pinning him to the floor. Tommy was talking to Danny but I couldn't make out what he was saying. Danny tried to get Tommy off him a couple of times but eventually he came around. Tommy knelt up and dusted himself off. He looked up at Freddie and they exchanged a small smile. They said something else to Danny as he was getting to his feet. Freddie held out a hand to Danny. John and I went back into the snug to down our drinks then quickly left, not wanting to watch the awkward reunion between old friends.
John was walking ahead of me down the alley towards Watery Lane, one arm trailing behind him to hold my hand. As we came out of the alley, John quickly stopped and almost pushed me away from him. I quickly noticed the gun to his head but could not see who was holding it. John visibly relaxed as he recognized the assailant. "Look at the gun. Recognize it?" the familiar asked. "What the bloody hell did you do that for?" he said, scurrying backwards as Aunt Polly whacked him around the ear with her hand. I slipped out of the alley behind him so I could see Polly. "Aunt Polly…" John started but she quickly cut him off. "Don't you Aunt Polly me. Look at this gun." She told him, holding up a Webley revolver for us to see. "You recognize it?" she prompted him again. I recognized it and I knew he did too.
"This afternoon Finn was playing with it by the cut. It was loaded. He nearly shot Ada's tits off." She told him, I fought back a giggle and quickly disguised it by slapping the back of Johns head. "Hey!" he cried out. "Start being more responsible!" I told him, folding my arms over my chest. He reached for the gun but Polly wasn't going to let him go that easily. "He found it on the sideboard in the betting shop." Polly continued. "It must have dropped out of my pocket… " John started to explain, he was looking at me out of the corner of his eye. Something was going on. "When you were drunk." Aunt Polly stated. He turned back to Polly, "Aunt Pol. I'm sorry." He apologised again, Aunt Polly softened. "John, I'll keep this among the women if you swear not to leave guns laying around." She told him. It took him a moment but he finally nodded in agreement. She handed the gun to him and he put it in the back of his trousers. "You two better hurry up or you are going to be late." Polly told us before turning and walking away.
We both watched as Aunt Polly walked away, down the road towards Watery Lane. I looked up at him. "You need to be more responsible." I reminded him. He looked down at me. "Finn is 10, he usually listens. But what happens when we get married and have children? Toddlers aren't going to listen, you know. I don't fancy being shot by a baby." I told him, wrapping my arms around his waist and looking up at him through my thick eyelashes. He paused for a moment before a cheeky smile erupted on his lips. "Marriage? Children? Is the wild gypsy girl thinking of settling down?" He joked, wrapping his arms around me. I slapped his back. "Not quite yet." I laughed. "Got to find me a nice, responsible man first." I told him, a hint of a smirk on my face. "Well, I'm not nice and I am not responsible and I am not letting you go." He told me, peppering kisses on my face before finding my lips and kissing them passionately. We stood like this for a moment before he pulled away. He looked into my eyes for a moment, deep in thought. "C'mon, they will have a fit if we are late again." I told him. He reluctantly pulled away from me, taking my hand instead.