Hi guys! Sorry for the big paragraphs and another week of some mild filler, I had a lot to explain. Thank you so much for reading, reviewing, and dealing with my endless supply of run-on sentences and mistakes. And before anyone asks, I will not be time-jumping past the engagement party, which will be fluffy as heck. Thank you again, enjoy! xx

So in addition to mentioning the music I put in the story, I'm going to add a song or two that I listened to while writing the scenes as well, separated by a little / Even if I can't fit it in, it's what I always picture them listening to while I'm writing anyway, so it deserves to be shared!

Grace's Car/ Her and Polly's little excursion:

West Coast - Lana Del Rey

/

Arabella - Arctic Monkeys

Alfie's Office:

I Want Some More - Dan Auerbach

PDA - Interpol

/

When The Levee Breaks - Led Zeppelin

Flickers - Son Lux

Young Men Dead - The Black Angels

Chapter 5

Grace swore and threw her pen at the screen that she realized she'd been doing nothing but staring blankly at for the past twenty minutes. Michael raised his eyebrows but stayed silent, knowing better than to intervene.

It had been a long week, and the fact it was Friday unfortunately wasn't making the Shelby's pile of troubles shrink.

Alfie had cancelled their meeting on Monday without saying why, and it had launched Tommy into a mode that Grace hadn't seen in three years. Instead of his presence, Tommy and Michael had received nothing from the lawyer but emails that confirmed their fears without any offer of help. The Fairchild's contract was intended to undo Shelby Brothers Ltd. after all, hidden in the fine print like a snake in the grass. Alfie apparently was heading off on a three-week-vacation with his wife and Tommy's horse trainer, May, to a country that Tommy and Grace had googled after never hearing of it. In typical Alfie sarcasm, the country he claimed they were going to was not even a real place. Grace had texted May, who was eight months pregnant and could definitely not be on a plane anyway, and she'd had no idea what Grace had been talking about. John and Arthur had thought it was hilarious, Tommy had not. But troubles with Alfie aside, knowing what was coming from their American opposition had made things both better and worse.

Work hadn't been ending when they left the office, Tommy and Grace's living room had been littered with debating Peaky bodies until the early hours of every morning since Tommy had filled them in on Tuesday night. They voted, argued, voted again, and argued some more. It was split down the middle between fight or flight. Tommy, of course, leading the fighting front with his now overused phrase that had stuck with him since Monday: "fuck them harder than they're trying to fuck us". On his side were his brothers, and most of the Blinders that were easily swayed by fear of Tommy and the old hunger for blood. The junior Blinders were especially angsty, wanting any excuse to burn off their testosterone, even if it was via a legal document that they really didn't have much immediate involvement in other than a vote. Polly, and surprisingly Michael, were desperate in leading the argument to back out, claiming that they'd lose nothing by doing so, that they could regroup and resume the fight in a year, with a plan and a lawyer who wasn't avoiding them when they needed him the most. Grace thought everyone was right and was caught in the middle. Bouncing between Tommy's angry eyes and Ada's scared ones was going to give her a concussion, and there was no end in sight.

If they got away with it, and Tommy was now more ferociously adamant than ever that they would, they would be farther ahead than they had thought. Grace had done some investigating of her own, much to Tommy's dismay but utter lack of surprise. The Fairchild's were more involved in the stock market and the American political landscape than Tommy had known. Patrick was looking to rise within government, much like Tommy was, and the Fairchild money Shelby Bros. Ltd. would have in their accounts was being put there to buy the political influence that Tommy wanted for himself. What would eventually undo the company were logistics of the law it seemed only Alfie understood, and he was nowhere to be found. But Tommy knew that the point of what Grace had discovered was that he was in over his head, and his refusal to admit it or change his plans was throwing the family into turmoil.

The debate was getting more and more complicated, and personal goals had become the driving force behind everyone's opinions as the stakes got higher by the day. Tommy had his sights on Parliament, John had his sights on defending the Shelby name while Meghan had her sights on making a baby to carry that name into a safe future. Michael had his sights on a promotion in a functioning company. Polly had her sights on keeping her family alive and out of ruin. Grace wasn't sure what her sights were on anymore, and it seems like the only one that had been watching out for her sanity was Ada, sleeping with Grace in her and Tommy's bed since he hadn't been.

Tommy was on the edge of a razor at all times, and Grace was trying to be there in any way she could. But she had awoken with his sister instead of him every morning this week, walking downstairs to find Tommy asleep on his desk, if he had even slept at all, and if he hadn't he was already back at the office. She hadn't seen him smile in days and they talked of nothing but business even when they were alone, Tommy pacing in front of her and venting, splitting more cigarettes with her than Grace would have preferred. Taking the stairs was starting to get her out of breath again. Their love making was a thing of the recent past, having turned into Grace getting fucked on desks at strange times of every day, Tommy desperate for release as his hands left handprint-shaped bruises on her ribs. They used to thrive on it, alternating between scheming and fucking. When they had lived in London, their old little townhouse would be alive with smoke and sweat and ideas, and they'd eventually both fall asleep in Tommy's office chair, Grace curled up in his lap. Either her memories were deceiving her or Grace was sure she used to enjoy it far more than she was now. The past year had been full of things her and Tommy had talked about wistfully before falling asleep in that chair, not thinking it would ever actually happen. But it had, and the stark contrast of this week was exhausting against the Tommy she'd been living in bliss with for the past months. She preferred the fruits of legality after all.

Tonight was their engagement party, and the thought of watching Tommy put on a happy face to soothe the Blinders and the Lees made her nauseous. It was supposed to have been a surprise for the two of them, which Johnny Dogs accidentally ruined thanks to not understanding how Facebook works.

"Grace." Michael snapped her out of her trance and back into the present, and she looked across their office at him in annoyance.

"What?"

"You just broke your pen in half."

Grace looked down to see her pen spewing ink all over her paperwork and the white keyboard of her iMac. She swore once more and threw her hands up in the air. "I'm taking the day off. Order me a new keyboard, will you? See you tonight, don't be late please."

She stood up shakily, swinging her bag over her shoulder and ignoring Michael's chuckle as she rounded her desk and headed towards the stairwell. Halfway down she stopped and sat to pull out her phone, looking at her last text to Tommy. Her offer for lunch sat unanswered, inbox as empty as their house had felt this morning even though most of the Peaky Blinders had slept there. That house was supposed to be filled with guests to celebrate them tonight, and her fiancé wasn't answering her. Grace wasn't worried, she just wished she was wherever he was. Mentally as well as physically.

Grace threw her phone back in the purse and put her head in her hands, remembering the first time Tommy had ever asked her to help him. Laying together in her apartment that had just been for show, well under her means and a part of her ruse. But her love for him never had been, and she had acted on nothing but that love from the moment his tired voice had asked for her help, nothing else had mattered anymore anyway. The whole fucking thing.

Grace stood up with a sudden energy and flipped her hair, pulling out her phone again to dial Alfie for the thousandth time this week, who she knew wouldn't answer but it wasn't going to stop her from trying. The promise she had made Tommy to help him no matter what had stood strong through a lot of things, and this was going to be another one, whether he liked it or not.

Once she reached the parking lot she picked up speed, feet trying to keep up with her thoughts. Grace's Audi was in sight but unfortunately Aunt Pol was closer, leaning against Isiah's Audi of the same model on the phone, smoke and huge sunglasses covering most of her face in the second Grace spared to look at her. They had been getting along this week but Grace wanted to keep it that way, so she ignored the matriarch and continued, willing her car to be closer than it appeared.

"Where are we off to?" Polly ended her call without saying goodbye and crossed the parking lot to walk next to Grace.

Honestly. "I'm taking the day off."

"A little pre-engagement party relaxation?"

"Yes." Grace didn't slow down, walking almost comically fast at this point.

"And where might that be happening? I could use some myself."

Stopping short, Grace crossed her arms and cocked a brow. "I don't owe you an explanation for where I'm going. It's not to the police, if that's what you were wondering." Grace was extra snarky, and no longer in a mood to value their peace of the past few days.

"Oh, I know sweetheart. You wouldn't make it there anyway if it were up to me. But if I had to guess-"

"No one asked for your guess."

Ignoring her with an expression unchanged, Polly continued, talking louder to drown Grace out. "But if I had to guess, you're going to find Alfie yourself, since Tommy is distant except for his ridiculously insatiable cock needs, and he's handling this like an idiot without wanting your help. Am I right?"

Grace said nothing as it began to drizzle, the two women staring at each other, blue vs. brown, mild shock vs. knowing amusement. Grace broke the stare and looked to the distance, watching the clouds creep in to cover the tops of the dark trees. "I'm going to tell him later. I'm not going to lie. But-"

"Don't feel guilty, luv. Had the same idea. He's not thinking, so you and I are."

"Yes." Grace said quietly, bitter at Polly's intuition that seemed to be extra keen today. Polly being right, and knowing it, was a very annoying animal.

"Right. Let's go then. You drive." Polly tossed her cigarette on the ground and strolled towards Grace's car.

Grace snorted. "No thanks. I know Alfie better than you do."

"Perfect, I'm glad you're with me then. Unlock it will you?"

Grace's eyes widened in exasperation as Polly blew past her and looked up to Tommy's window on the top floor, wishing he was in it to see this situation and stop it from happening. Instead Arthur and Finn caught her attention a few floors below, who were in the window of her office with Michael, all of them pointing and laughing.

"It's raining if you haven't noticed, I would thoroughly enjoy getting in your car."

Grace flipped the boys off and sassily raised her arm to click her car remote, hearing the doors unlock. She turned away from the building with a huff and ignored Polly's satisfied smirk as she got in the small black Audi.

"Please tell me you know where you're going." Polly said, buckling her seatbelt and adjusting all of Grace's carefully set temperature controls as soon as Grace turned the engine over.

Grace watched her incredulously before responding with a curt "Yes."

"Good. The last thing we bloody need is to make ourselves look like idiots by getting lost. Plus, I don't think we would function well in an emergency situation together."

"I'm pretty sure we're already sort of in one, and I'm not planning on recommending it to a friend."

Polly laughed. "That was funny. Turn the music up, will you? Hell of a voice, that Lana."

Grace gritted her teeth and complied, repeating the whole fucking thing over and over to herself to remind her why she was doing this in the first place.

Polly's monotone voice rang out once more, and Grace almost hit the brakes to launch the woman forward out of sheer spite. "I thought you said you knew where you were going."

"I do." Grace spat, Irish face flushed red with frustration as she drove down the same street they'd been on three times now. "The office is hard to find."

"Clearly."

Grace ignored Polly and picked up her phone, dialing Alfie for the second time today, again knowing that once again it would go unanswered.

"Oh good, kill us both."

"Gladly." Grace muttered, listening to the ringing sound echo before it dumped her into Alfie's voicemail that she'd grown all too familiar with. "I'm parking and we're walking until we find it."

Polly nodded in agreement and said nothing, thankfully. Grace slowed her breathing as she found a parking spot and paid for it, before marching her heels forward, not looking back to see what Pol was doing, which was unfortunately matching her speed and meeting Grace's side. They walked in silence for a few blocks, ignoring each other until Polly handed Grace the last half of her clove cigarette, which Grace raised her eyebrows in surprise at but took anyway. The day she knew how Polly felt about her for certain was the day Grace would give up cigarettes for good.

"So what are you wearing tonight?" Polly attempted small talk with Grace as they walked on, which was equal parts confusing and unsettling.

"I don't know. This way." Grace made a sharp left down a familiar looking narrow alley and knew she was on the right track when the stone path turned to a brick one.

"Do we have a plan?"

"Confrontation, I don't really see what else there's left to do." Grace said. They rounded a corner and faced the brick complex. Between being hard to find, and an odd combination of a law office/distillery, Grace always thought that the strange and winding system of brick buildings that sat on the Thames was rather apropos for the person they belonged to.

Polly strolled past Grace with confidence into the square of the business complex that was lined with gorgeous flowers, thanks to May, who Grace was sorely missing at this moment for some reason. "Well then? Which door?"

Grace sighed and pointed to the left, starting to think that perhaps this was a bad idea. "That one."

She followed Polly through the huge lobby and up the spiral stairs, ignoring Alfie's secretary as she shouted after them. Alfie's office doors were closed, a foreboding dark block at the end of his white-and-black tiled hallway. Polly beat Grace to them, pounding on the black doors until they opened to reveal the lighter wood tones within, which intentionally or not, Alfie Solomons had color coordinated himself with today. Grace almost grinned at the sight of his face, her grudge of the week pushed out of her mind briefly. Even when he had been trying to literally murder her boyfriend something about the man had always been contagiously amusing.

"Y'know, something told me I'd be visited by some Shelby's today, and I have been, but technically that's not either of you, is it? Like you're sort of Shelby's, but not really, you know what I mean?"

Grace and Polly both scrunched their faces in confusion at his cryptic comment until Alfie opened the door wider with an exaggerated gesture to reveal Tommy standing behind him, leaning against Alfie's desk with what thankfully appeared to be a smirk instead of the anger Grace would have expected.

Fuck.

Tommy stood straight and started slow-clapping sarcastically, before beginning with words dripping in a matching tone. "I admire you both, really, I do. Taking matters into your own hands, eh?"

"What can we say, wasn't looking like you were going to." Polly snipped.

Grace did nothing but glare at Tommy as she entered the office, who walked forward to meet her before sticking a cigarette between her lips. He cocked his head at her and winked before lighting the cigarette, which he immediately took back. Searching his face with knowing ease, Grace found nothing but Tommy of their blissful year, anger of the past week nowhere to be found. The irritation of clearly having missed something crossed her face and Tommy snickered before gliding a thumb across her cheekbone. He turned from her and tipped his glass at Polly before walking back to lean in the same spot he previously occupied, whistling along to the Dan Auerbach song that was playing as he left two wide-eyed and puzzled female Blinders in his wake.

"Don't be rude, you cocky bastard. They're here because they love you sweetie, just like you're here because you love me. That is why you came to see me, right?" Alfie's signature voice rang through the room and Polly jumped a little in surprise.

The two men stared at each other in mock disdain before bursting out laughing. Tommy was laughing. Grace thought she was going to have a stroke.

Grace watched Alfie as he laughed with Tommy, having forgotten why they actually came. The brown of his suit vest complemented the huge bronze vats of Solomon's Co. alcohol, of varying types, that sat in the distillery beyond his indoor window, also matching the light wood of his office walls. His face looked the same as it had when she saw him last for dinner at their house with May, laugh lines having replaced the ripples of aggression that had been constant when he was at odds with Tommy. Thankfully those days were behind them. The past year of legal partnership had brought on quite the bromance between Tommy and himself, although neither would admit it, which both Grace and May rolled their eyes at endlessly. At least they weren't trying to kill each other anymore. Tommy and Grace had taken a few bullets for each other, but Tommy and Alfie had put bullets in each other. They liked to compare their scars, arguing like little boys over who had gotten a better shot in. Grace honestly couldn't believe her life in moments like those. Neither one of the men knew how to have a best friend, but they did have an interesting version of attempting it.

Alfie stopped laughing abruptly and held his arms out to Grace. She finally allowed herself to smile, it was almost impossible not to as she hugged their old friend. "Grace. Like Venus on the fuckin' half-shell ain't ya. Beautiful, beautiful. Pollyanna, what a pleasant surprise, haven't aged a bit. Sit, sit. Whiskey? Gin? I think I have almond milk somewhere…" He scratched his head as he gestured to the chairs and then his office. Grace bit back a laugh as she wondered why he would ever categorize the last beverage with the other two, slightly off-center as he ever was.

"Whiskey for me, thanks." Polly said, unamused and not moving her eyes from Tommy's annoyingly smug face.

"Me as well. Thank you. How's May? About to pop I bet. I miss running circles around you two with her." Grace smiled at the memory of setting her and Alfie up together, which Tommy had thought was completely ridiculous. But the plan had worked, and May thankfully ended up bringing the two men together, in a sense. Alfie was a sucker for the woman he loved asking him not to kill someone.

The pretty brunette had been training Tommy's racehorses for years, but was now on hiatus since she hit her second trimester a few months ago with her and Alfie's first child. Their wedding had been the wildest party any of them had possibly ever attended, and Grace grimaced internally at the thought of Tommy trying to top Alfie's nuptial festivities with their own, which was no doubt bound to happen. Grace remembered watching the boys board the jet bound for Las Vegas for Alfie's bachelor party a few weeks before the wedding, scenes from The Hangover flashing in her mind as she prayed she'd see them all again. Tommy and Alfie had apparently ended up playing poker and drinking together like two old men at a casino table practically the entire weekend while the rest of the invited Blinders did things Grace had zero interest in ever finding out about.

"Grand, grand. She misses you too, we'll be seeing you tonight though, yeah? Congratulations are in order, quite the fuckin' rock you have on your finger there. Rings like that are measured in bullets instead of carats, good lord. Anyway, shame your little surprise got ruined, never seen this bastard surprised before, I was looking forward to that one." He settled in his chair and threw a pen at the back of Tommy's head, who laughed, again.

Grace and Polly both looked to Tommy and then each other before Grace answered. "Well we weren't sure if you were coming, you've been rather distant this past week."

The awkward silence was suffocating until Tommy turned to nod at Alfie as if to grant permission, who leaned forward on his desk and opened his arms in a shrugging motion as he broke the silence.

"Yeah, well, here's the thing right? Not gonna dance around the great big fuck-off-elephant in the room, yeah? Tommy got into this Fuckchild bullshit, and with the baby on the way and all I was kind of preferring to stay out of it until it was over, you know what I'm saying? Ambitious bastard, ain't he? Stupid git. Any-fucking-way, that's why I cancelled our little pow-wow on Monday, right? But as I'm sure your loving fiancé here will tell you shortly, Grace, he got some information this fine morning that changes things quite a bit, so I'm all in now, as they say. All in, yeah."

Grace's eyebrows crinkled as her mind tried to keep up, listening to Alfie was like processing a different language. Her mouth opened but Polly spoke first. "What information would that be? Are we signing the contract?"

Alfie stood up to pour himself another whiskey, waving his arms around. "Fuck no, you're not gonna sign it, no. Postponing it, pushing off the deal until everything happens, right? I told Junior here that if he figured out a way to get through this little Fairchild revolution, without anyone thinking it was me and coming to fucking shoot me…I'd write the contracts for the deal after it all goes down, right?"

"Fairchild revolution? And pray tell, Thomas, what might that be?" Polly prompted, getting nothing but music in her ears. "Well? One of you. Out with it."

Alfie glanced back at Tommy, who was staring at Grace in anticipation, but whether it was good or bad she couldn't tell. Alfie darted his eyes back and forth between the couple quickly.

"Yeah mate, I'm gonna go ahead and express my humble opinion that you should probably be the one to tell them."

"Later." Tommy shook his head and finished his whiskey.

"Oh no no no, I've been through this with you all week. If you get to laugh again, I get to laugh again. Now." Grace said, daring him with her eyes to try and brush her off, which of course he did anyway.

"Not now, Gracie. Later." Tommy raised his eyebrows at her and held their cigarette out when she stepped forward to take it from him.

Grace put the cigarette on pause in Alfie's gold ashtray and held Tommy's face in her hands, strength finally breaking now that he apparently no longer needed it from her. Tommy grasped her wrists and his eyes softened as he blinked at her slowly, a silent apology. Grace knew that he was grateful to have her by his side, and that he felt guilty for sometimes forgetting that her soul felt everything his did.

"Tommy. I want to help you. Tell me." Grace's voice cracked and he winced at the sound, cold eyes closing. He pressed his forehead to hers as they ignored the other two people in the room for as long as they could, which unfortunately wasn't as long as either of them would have liked.

"Happy wife happy life mate, I'm tellin' you, know what I mean?"

"Shut up Alfie. Fine. Jesus Christ. Alright." Tommy sighed loudly and ran both hands over his face, wiping away his gentle expression. Grace backed away from him to sit down in the deep chair behind her, picking up the cigarette and blowing smoke through the corner of her mouth towards the gold ceiling. "We got some good news today."

"Yes, Thomas, we know. And?" Polly said, barely giving him time to finish.

"The deal is off. For now."

"Why? On what side? Finally come to your bloody senses?"

"Pol, we called it off because this information came from the Fairchild's." Tommy was clicking his jaw non-stop and it was driving Grace insane.

"What? Thomas, say it." Grace leaned forward and reached for his jaw to halt it but he was faster and caught her hand.

"Are you armed?" His voice was quiet and sort of cute, or at least Grace would have thought so if the question wasn't what it was.

"Of course I'm armed, why?"

They stared at each other for a testing moment before lurching towards her bag at the same time, Tommy faster once again as he snatched it from her, hugging it to his chest like a boy and pushing Grace back down into her chair with his foot. Tommy swore as Grace sunk her teeth into his ankle, darting away from her behind Alfie's desk, the lethal Marc Jacobs behind his back in one arm while holding Grace away from him with the other. He said her name over and over, watching her face grow more murderous by the second.

"Oh, honestly." Polly complained while Alfie egged Grace on in the background. "Can we get this over with? Sling your hook, Grace isn't going to fucking shoot you."

Alfie chimed in with a high-pitched cringing noise, squinting his eyes and moving his head back and forth as if weighing the odds. "I mean, she might not shoot you if you word everything right, but I wouldn't give her the bag back just in case mate, you know?"

"Shut up Alfie." The pair said at the same time, and Grace took three deep breaths before her voice continued alone. "What is it, and who told you?"

"We're only going to be doing business with the Fairchild children. Not Patrick."

Grace backed away slightly and narrowed her eyes at him. "What? How? Which children?"

Tommy stretched his arm out further to meet her chest again, resting his fingertips on her skin, voice lowering. "The warning fax came from Georgina. It was her idea to help us."

"Why?" Polly asked tentatively, standing up out of her chair. Tommy's eyes blinked between Grace and his Aunt, indecisive as to who was going to take it the worst. Alfie walked over to his indoor window to watch his employees below, standing between the braced couple and the view of his distillery, humming along to his music like none of the people in his office existed.

"They may or may not be having their father murdered in a New York airplane hangar tomorrow. Georgina was just here and told us everything."

Polly swore loudly in Romani as Grace lunged for her bag again, Tommy catching her with one arm, his voice straining as he wrestled with her.

"Georgina is next of kin and the board said they'll make her CEO. It was their family's decision, it was a company decision and it makes sense for them to do for reasons beyond us. It helps us, and we won't be associated with it. It's their business." Tommy's volume steadily increased, trying to drown out the two yelling women.

"It makes sense?! You think this is better? Was little miss Children of the Corn trying to sit on your face as she told you this?" Grace tried to knock Tommy over at the waist but she was too small and he laughed instead, making her want to add his name to the main attractions at the impending Fairchild assassination.

"10 points for the reference." Alfie mumbled, not turning around even though Grace accidentally kicked him in the head as Tommy threw her over his shoulder.

"This is good news? Christ, Thomas. Now instead of dealing with Patrick we're dealing with his usurping bastard children. What makes you think they won't do the same to you?"

"Pol, it is good news, listen-"

Alfie swung around suddenly, holding Grace's feet as she furiously tried to kick her fiancé so he would put her down. "I got your back mate. But yeah, she's fucking crazy that little one. Georgina, yeah. CEO, yeah. Women's world, ain't it? You watch Game of Thrones right? You know what Tommy and I started calling her?"

"Not now, Alfie." Tommy growled.

"Kingslayer. Kingslayer! Get it? No? Ah, well, anyway. Should May and I bring anything tonight? Does Finn still like those little tarts May makes? Fuckin' delicious, those."

"You've got to be fucking kidding me." Polly pinched the bridge of her nose and started muttering to herself in Romani again.

Grace had tired herself out and laid weakly across Tommy's back, punches that he probably barely felt raining lamely into his muscled side. Georgina's face flooded her vision and it gave her one more rage-filled wave of strength as she tried to tear her feet from Alfie's grasp. "Why is she here Thomas Michael? Did you know she'd be here? Did she fucking touch you? I swear to God-"

Tommy held Grace tight with his arms behind her knees and over her back, rubbing her bare leg which she tried to jerk away but failed. "I didn't know, Gracie, I didn't know, and no she didn't touch me. Christ. I came to track Alfie down and she was waiting in the fucking lobby. She came to bring Alfie the original contracts and all the copies for safekeeping so the police won't see our name anywhere near the murder. That deal could frame us, it's motive, Grace. They're all here, they're out of the US so they have an alibi."

Polly nodded slowly. "They could have set us up but they didn't."

"Nice of her, really, if you ask me. Quite an opportunity, honestly." Alfie mumbled, finally letting go of Grace's legs.

"Oh yes so precious, I can't wait to see what kind of thanks she's expecting." Grace muttered spitefully, not caring for the truth in Polly's statement. She was being petulant but she didn't care about that either.

"Stop it, Grace. Tommy wouldn't touch her with a stick and you know it. You're not helping, luv. Are they going to get away with this Tommy?" Pol asked, calming down far faster than Grace was, clearly.

"Yes." Tommy nodded, speaking quietly but surely. "They're more powerful than we thought they were. Patrick's children aren't the only ones that want him dead, they have a lot of people backing them up, the police included."

Grace gave up after Polly chided her and after a peaceful minute with no struggling Tommy set her down, clasping his hands behind her head and looking at her expectantly. Grace laid her hands on his chest and fiddled with the buttons of his shirt, saying nothing.

Polly moved to the corner of the office, looking at the leather books mindlessly. "Our new world is no different from our old one, is it?"

"No, Pol. No it's not." Tommy said matter-of-factly, breaking away from Grace to get her the whiskey Alfie forgot to pour. Grace fell backwards into Alfie's chair and rubbed her eyes, careful to avoid her mascara. Georgina's name was as equivalent to Voldemort's for Grace at this point, but she had to admit she was relieved by the change in plans. She couldn't have cared less about Patrick's murder, really. It was none of their business, and Grace had become numb to mindless killing long ago. It had always been kill or be killed, and it was obviously no different now. Fine print wasn't the new bullet after all, violent men still reigned supreme. Or women.

Grace sighed as her concerns moved to business, falling back into sync with Tommy for the first time all week. "What do they want? Georgina just saved us, they have to want something." The words tasted bad.

"After it all calms down and the bastards are done fake-grieving, they want to do business with us. They have no interest in politics, just investments. Georgina said if we help them get involved in the American racetracks she'll give us half the shares."

Polly smiled her pursed smile, wary but obviously as relieved in the change of direction as Grace was. "That sounds far too good to be true but we'll decide when we get there. We'll vote again when the time comes."

Tommy nodded and the group sat with their thoughts for a few minutes after Alfie put on an Interpol record. But their meditation came to an end when Alfie's protégé Ollie knocked at his door sheepishly, giving Grace a small wave after greeting everyone else. "Hey Grace. Congratulations and stuff."

Grace smiled at Ollie, he'd always been a shy soft spot in the hardness of meetings with Alfie. "Hi Ollie, thank you. You should come tonight, we'd love to have you."

"Yeah, thanks, maybe." The gangly young man's words said yes but his mildly terrified eyes had moved to Tommy and were definitely saying no. Grace often forgot that most people found Tommy to be various levels of scary. "Alfie, Heather wanted me to tell you there's a client here to see you."

"Oh! Did she now? Good, that's super, you tell her to send them up, and that if I wanted two fucking secretaries I would have hired two fucking secretaries." Alfie shuffled back behind his desk and Grace laughed for the first time in what felt like forever as she gave him back his chair.

Ollie nodded too fast and shut the door behind him as he left without another look at any of them before Alfie continued. "Fucking hell. Anyway, we'll be seeing you tonight then, go on now, yep. Good talk."

Alfie was never great at ending conversations, so Tommy rolled his eyes and chuckled before leading Grace out of the office and into the hallway. He side-eyed Grace as she reached in her bag for her keys, and she gave him his favorite small smile. "I'm not going to shoot you yet; I can't attend my engagement party alone now can I?"

"Defeats the purpose, I'd say." Tommy made a serious face before pressing his lips to hers, dipping her over and having no regard for public displays of affection as Alfie's client walked past them.

"I'll wait." Pol spoke up, waiting for them to finish, they both had forgotten she was there. Grace looked at her, and even upside-down she could see that for the first time in a long time, possibly ever, Pol's look of disapproval seemed to be a joking one. "I'd like to get out of here sometime this year."

Tommy straightened them both up but didn't let go of Grace, taking her keys out of her hand and tossing them to Polly before either of them could protest. "Go home and update everyone on the Kingslayer. I want everyone in a good mood for tonight, alright? We'll be back later, I owe Mrs. Shelby here lunch and some quality time in an actual bed."

"Didn't need to know that." Polly sighed with a curled lip as she slid on her sunglasses and walked past them.

"If you crash my car I'll know it was on purpose." Grace yelled after her, half joking, half not.

"Just make sure your brakes aren't cut before you get in it again." Polly quipped back from the stairs, hopefully completely joking. Grace would check anyway.

Once his aunt disappeared, Tommy threw Grace over his shoulder once more, ignoring her squeals. "So Mrs. Shelby, lunch first or a bed first?"

"I don't think I can make it to either, how about that closet?"

Tommy laughed a laugh that was just for her as he threw the door open and pulled her from his back to face him in the dark, voice growing raspy as Grace wrapped her legs around his waist. "Didn't lose your passion for unconventional surfaces after all, eh?"

"We haven't been conventional since 2008, beds are overrated." Grace gasped and said nothing more as Tommy pushed into her. She felt more at home than she had all week while Tommy murmured his love like a prayer, making it to her in his best friend's closet.