WHILE RUNNING from monsters, the last thing Vivian expects is to run right into the hands of another one - a man determined to move up in the world, no matter what it takes, even if it means employing Vivian Carter to make his business an honest one.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
The sound of shoes scuffing echoed in the early evening hours of the home. A middle aged woman sat at the kitchen table, sipping the stiffest gin and tonic she could muster. She drank it like a medicine, poured herself another, and drank that one too. She could feel it dampening her mind, loosening her muscles, and soothing her jangled nerves.
Deborah couldn't remember the last time she allowed herself a glass of gin. She had cut herself off after her last drink confined her to bed-rest for several days. It had been okay when she was twenty, but she just couldn't shake off the hangovers like she used to. However, she felt like she had to make an exception after watching all five of her grandkids alone for an entire weekend.
She loved her grandchildren, but after their visit, all she wanted to do was sink into her bed for about a week and a half.
Deborah hadn't even realized she was drifting off until a firm, but urgent knocking on the front door caused her head to jerk up from the table and her elbow jolted to the side in surprise, knocking off her glass and sending it shattering to the floor.
She bit back a curse and scurried to her feet, trying to gather the pieces of glass in her hand. The pounding on the door wouldn't let up, and Deborah eventually left the mess on the floor to answer it.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm coming. Don't get your stockings in a twist," she muttered to herself as she padded down the hall and towards the front door.
Her front stoop was bathed in shadows as it always was. Again, she thought about how she needed to invest in an outdoor light, if only to see her keys during nighttime. But even through the darkness, she could see the outlines of blonde hair and a shimmering substance that seemed to cover her visitor.
"Deb?"
"Vivian?" The older woman focused her eyes, trying to make out her oldest grand daughter's features. She fell a step back and pulled the woman into her home, but immediately after the light grazed over Vivian, Deborah fell back in horror. "Oh my days, please tell me that isn't blood." The woman squeezed her eyes shut, suddenly feeling queasy at the sight of the shiny, red substance that soaked Vivian's hands and the fussing baby in her arms.
"I - I don't know what happened," Vivian sobbed, and Deborah opened her eyes to see Vivian's expression twisted in a mixture of absolute horror and despair. "He...he came at me. I didn't know what else to do."
She would've crumbled to the floor if her aunt hadn't caught her. Deborah could feel her trembling, and she slowly took the newborn child from her arms before Vivian could lose her grip on her.
"Is he dead?" Deborah whispered. As a follower of Christ, and an active church goer, she didn't want to admit that she was hoping it wasn't too good to be true.
![Animal Instinct | Peaky Blinders [Thomas Shelby]](https://img.wattpad.com/cover/65817301-64-k680569.jpg)