Over the course of the next half hour, Arthur and Linda, Finn, Ada, and Michael arrived at the Arrow House. Tommy had eventually joined Evelyn and Polly in the drawing room partially because he was bored and tired of waiting for his family's arrival, but also because he was dying to know what the two other women spoke of.

It was more than relief that washed over him when he found the two ladies sharing cigarettes over a light conversation. They didn't care to entertain him when he refilled their empty glasses and lowered into a tufted leather chair and withdrew a cigarette of his own.

That cigarette turned out to be the first of five as Tommy pinched another between his lips. In the chair next to him, Arthur fidgeted with his glass of whiskey, twirling the cup over the dark wood. His attempt at sipping the booze for Linda's sake only made him anxious and crave it more.

A cold, thin hand slid over his bouncing knee. He glanced at his wife, but she wasn't looking at him. Her attention wholly on the opposite head of the table. She pressed her fingers gently around his kneecap, an action meant to calm or alleviate his nerves, and Arthur willed his mind to focus on Evelyn - or rather Ada as she spoke.

"This will put your… reputation among that party to waste, Tommy." Ada raised a brow at her brother.

"We'll have a target on our backs," Linda piped up.

Across the table, Polly rolled her eyes. "We've always had a target on our backs." She wrinkled her nose. "This is nothing new for us Shelby's."

Arthur huffed a laugh. "Aye."

Linda's eyes snapped to him, but it was Tommy who met his brother's gaze.

It was true - this was nothing new to them and in fact, it was something that every Shelby had grown used to, if not yearn for. It was the fight - the threat that had the men ready to bear arms for any occasion. It appealed to their most innate senses and just a taste was never enough.

"It will," Tommy said. He scanned the table, rubbing his chin as he looked at Michael and Finn, then drifted to Polly and Ada, then finally on Evelyn.

She hadn't eaten her dinner. The roast chicken and cubed potatoes were tossed over, but he had only seen her take one measly bite when it was first served. It was her nerves, her anxiety, that made her sit stiffly in her seat. Her spine unbearably straight. Even with the wide, rectangular table between them, Evelyn felt Tommy's presence among his family, felt his eyes course over her. She matched his gaze. A hardened stare yet there was a message in them - between them.

"My role in the party was never meant to last," he said finally. "But we do this as discreetly as possible. Slowly. Evelyn has contacts that - "

"You're sure you can trust 'em?" Michael spoke up. His folded hands had moved to rest on the arms of his chair. Evelyn nodded once.

"There are only a few people, but that's all we need. All I need." She squared her shoulder back to face the whole table. "If I do this slowly, ensure everything is under their noses, let them make the changes on their time, it will be less likely Tommy will be exposed." And you, she wanted to add.

"Less likely," Linda scoffed. Evelyn and Tommy's eyes flashed to her, but she ignored them, crossing her arms instead over her chest.

"I assume these contacts are people of power?" Ada asked, steering the attention back to her. Evelyn gladly answered the question, while Tommy kept his gaze trained on his brother's wife.

"Yes, they are. And they were closely connected with my family. I know I can trust them."

"So, then what's your first move?"

All heads shifted towards Evelyn. Each person keen on hearing what she would say, even Tommy who already knew what it was, but now it was time for her to say it aloud, to make it happen.

"A trip to London…" Evelyn rolled her shoulders back against her seat. "To see Lionel Rothschild."

"Rothschild?" Linda gasped. Evelyn's eyes slid to the blonde.

"Yes."

A low snort sounded from the other side of the table - Polly.

"Well," Ada said, a surprising small smile forming on her lips. "You seem to have it all sorted."

Evelyn grimaced. "It's a start. Lionel will be a big help. Not just with me, but… with the entire situation."

"When do you plan to see him? Does he know you're here?" Michael asked, his voice deep and even. Evelyn looked over the young man.

"No, he doesn't." She glanced at Tommy. "As for the visit…"

"We go in two days," he finished for her. "Arthur and I will go for the purpose of other business. It should take no more than two nights."

Arthur nodded to his brother, confirming their plans. He was in full agreement with what his brother and Evelyn wanted to do. He would always stand by him and as such, he'd stand by Evelyn in these matters. No matter what his wife thought. This was who he was at his core. A Shelby blood and bones. Until he died.

"What exactly are you going to tell him?" Linda asked directly to Evelyn.

Evelyn didn't need to be around the woman much longer to know what kind of person she was. She couldn't hide her emotions. They were clear on her smooth, round face. She didn't like this - this involvement with her. It was a wonder how she got on with the family to begin with.

"That I'm alive to start," Evelyn said, some humor playing in her tone, but at Linda's stone cold expression, she said more seriously, "He'll help me acquire the paperwork to put everything in my name, and he'll know the proper contacts to keep it hidden as long as possible."

Linda didn't miss a beat as she asked, "And in return what do we get for this?"

"Linda," Arthur cautioned, but she went on.

"Once they know you're alive, they're going to come after you - after us. You're putting us in danger," she persisted. "Pitting all of us against the British Union of Fascists, a group who does not mind getting rid of people - established, famous people."

"She's right about that," Michael added. Evelyn glanced at him, noting the iciness in his stare. Though his face was calm, serene, his eyes told a different story.

"Are we so different?" Polly questioned. "Getting rid of people in our way…" she said slowly, pursing her lips. "Is that not what Moseley is to us?" Her eyes flicked to Tommy. "To you, Tommy? Someone in your way?"

He lowered his head in the barest of nods.

"And for Evelyn, it isn't just Moseley, it isn't just someone in her way. Her whole family was wiped out. Don't pretend like you wouldn't be doing the same thing if it were any of you." Polly brought a cigarette to her lips and sucked in a long breath. "Besides," she added as smoke pooled from the corner of her mouth. "Gettin' rid of people in our way is what we're good at. Kill. Kill... Kill. It's one of the reasons why we're still here."

Evelyn glanced around the table and for a moment she imagined that it was her family she was sitting with. That it was her father at the head of the table, her mother beside him, and that it was her sister instead of Linda, her brother in Michael's seat.

"So, what changes for us?" Michael asked Tommy, nodding to his family. "It's already getting heavy enough with the opium."

"Nothing changes," Tommy answered sternly. His eyes sharp on Michael. Evelyn didn't know of the opium, and he knew that was no slip of tongue on Michael's half. "Business runs the same. We'll meet after London."

Polly angled her head to Evelyn. "Next time I see you, girl, you better be a millionaire."

It sounded like an order. Evelyn gave her a tight-lipped smile. Millionaire didn't even cut it.

X

Evelyn didn't linger after dinner. Instead of lounging in one of the rooms with the Shelby's, she retired to her room and drew a hot bath. She needed time to think and to think alone.

In just a couple days, she would see Lionel. It would be the first time she'd see someone from before - someone that already knew who she was, and hopefully he'd give as much help as she anticipated. Another betrayal would be the end for her and even for Tommy, and if that happened… He had done so much for her already and now he was doing the most by risking his life and his family's.

Evelyn dipped her head beneath the water. This had to work - it will work. Lionel wouldn't let her down. Neither would Henry Brose. She'd take back her family's name and shine the truth on what happened to them. No matter the cost, she owed it to them.

X

The halls of Tommy's home were quiet as Evelyn strode lightly to his office. She hadn't spoken to him since dinner and she felt a weight on her chest from all the things she did want to say to him. He no doubt felt it, too.

It wasn't just a lucky guess to assume he was in his study. The door cracked just enough to show the faint sliver of light from his dim lamp. She knocked softly before slowly stepping in.

"You're still awake," he said. He leaned back in his chair, away from the light so shadows grew on one side of his body, as if they were concealing him.

"I… had a lot of thinking to do," Evelyn admitted as she lowered into a seat across from him. She folded her robe over her crossed legs. Tommy knew she wore a long night dress beneath the silk garment, but still, for her to come to his office dressed in something only a husband should see… He reminded himself that she was comfortable with him - around him.

"And how'd that go?"

She shrugged. "As thinking always does - do too much of it, and it can ruin you."

He grunted in agreement. He couldn't imagine the overthinking she must be doing.

"Smoke?" A dark brow raised at her.

"Please."

Tommy swiveled back and forth in his chair, his head resting against the cushion, as they smoked together in silence, each recounting different times of the night.

"You've won over Polly," he said suddenly.

Evelyn blew smoke from her nose. "And here I thought that was going to be the hardest battle of them all."

"Aye." Tommy swiveled once more and stopped. "I think she… she sees herself in you." Evelyn's hair fell over her shoulder as she tilted her head at him. "During the war, she ran the business. Kept our name alive. And even though Ada was young, she was the last Shelby woman. She's been through her own Hell."

For Tommy to say such things, that Polly might see herself in Evelyn, was such a rare compliment - words that Evelyn didn't think she'd even take as a compliment. But in that moment, knowing what she did about the Shelby's, it was an honorable one.

"I'm happy to have her on my side, but... her son. Michael. I don't think he agrees with it. Any of it."

Tommy chewed the inside of his cheek. So, she had noticed, too. He anticipated a question about the opium, but none came.

"Don't worry about Michael," he said. A reminder for himself. "We continue with the plan."

Tommy rolled his head to fully look at her. He was about to cause Hell with her. He'd not only protect his family, but save another.

"What?" Evelyn asked.

Tommy blinked, realizing that he had lost focus on the present and was staring at her.

"Thinking."

"Don't do too much of it," she said, smirking. "It might kill you."

"If that's how I end, put it on my grave."

Evelyn laughed. "Ah yes, Thomas Shelby, OBE, The Man Who Thought Too Much."

Though Tommy knew deep down, it was never going to be something so simple that would kill him.

Hi Peaky Fam and hello to all new readers :) I have not forgotten about you. Finally getting back into the swing of things with my writing and stories. I do apologize that this isn't the lengthiest chapter. I'm currently watching the newest season and I cannot wait for this story to progress :) Stay tuned.

Also its been almost two years since I started this story... Insane! Thank you to all the day one readers. Xx.