NEW REIGN || Tommy Shelby

X. DAMNING TRUTHS

- DAMNING TRUTHS -

She could see the resemblance; not in their faces but in their eyes- she could see the icy blue determination marking them.

"I'm Roseanne King," she said, taking his extended hand.

He nodded once, enough to show he how nervous he was.

"Yes, I know. Arthur told me not to mess with you and Tommy..."

He let out a breathy laugh, looking to Tommy and then back to her.

"Well, he didn't have to."

She smiled, the same kind she had seen Polly make a hundred times. If he recognized his mother's smile, he said nothing.

"Why are you here, Mr. Grey?"

He opened his mouth and closed it again as if even he didn't know the answer.

"I'm here to meet my mother," he said quietly. Ashamed.

"You better speak up when you're around her," she said, unsure of where the steel in her voice was coming from. Unsure of the uneasiness sinking in her chest as she looked at the young man. "She doesn't like mumbling."

"And you'll never get a word in edgewise," Tommy added.

She turned to see a small, almost invisible smile curling his lips. She glared and turned back to Michael.

"I'm going to see Polly now," she said. "I'll take you with me- I'm sure she's worried herself sick about you."

Micheal nodded, pulling his coat over his shoulders. While he did, she turned to Tommy, taking a slow step towards him.

"You're a bastard, you know that?"

His smile widened as he took a step himself, meeting her in the middle.

"You're just figuring this out now?"

She laughed, low and slow, slowly sliding her hand into the pocket of his trousers. She smiled up at him, batting her eyelids in a way she knew he couldn't resist. He leaned in, but she leaned back only slightly and before he could do anything, she grabbed the car keys and pulled the from his pocket, leaving him in a stupor. She pointed the key at his chest as he came around.

"No more lies," she hissed, pressing the metal against his chest, right above his heart. "You said you could trust me, so trust me. Hide something like this again and-"

"Ya, I think I get the point, Rosie," he said, taking a shallow breath. Still, he leaned in, pressing a achingly light kiss on her lips. He whispered against her skin, "No more lies."

She pulled away and smiled, walking to the door of the station where Michael was waiting.

"I need those keys, Rose," he called.

Jingling the keys, she looked over her shoulder and winked.

"Walk home, big boy."

With another fleeting smile, she let the door shut behind her.

***

Michael was quiet company as they drove through Small Heath and he directed her to Polly's new house on the edge of the city. Looking at the new, white-walled house with the pristine garden, Rose wondered if her neighbours knew they were living next to a gangster.

Michael knocked on the door, looking over at her quickly before flicking his gaze back to the door as if she couldn't see him out of the corner of her eye.