the marriage (john shelby.)

Eighteen.

♚

The only noise in the room was the sound of Finn's shoes colliding with the floor as he paved nervously. That boy had grown at an astonishing rate in just 2 years, it was disturbing.

John, Amelia, Finn, Arthur, Daniel, Charlie Strong, Curly and Polly, who was busy cuddling Ciara, were waiting in the betting den for Tommy's arrival.

Arthur had damaged his hand whilst training so left it to Amelia to patch him up. She did so by rubbing the blood off his hand and using a damp cold cloth on it.

"Sit down Finn." Arthur instructed. The air was full of tense silence as Finn followed his brother's instructions and sat down next to Amelia.

"Where the bloody hell is Tommy?" John checked his pocket watch for the fourth time in 5 minutes.

"He's on his way." Polly sighed as Ciara gurgled in her arms.

"Right then while we're waiting patiently-" Arthur stood up and pushed Amelia away. "Whiskey."

Arthur proceeded to pull out a wooden crate of alcohol from under the table. Finn's eyes lit up from the sight.

"Left over from the explosion. Good stuff as well." Arthur poured out some drinks.

"Explosion? What fucking explosion?" Amelia asked, looking at everyone that couldn't look her in the eye.

"The Garrison." Polly piped up. "There was a bomb. It's being refitted and no one was hurt."

"Who did it?" Amelia asked. Again, no one looked her in the eye or gave her a straight answer. "Pubs don't blow up on their fucking own."

"It's a small matter that's being dealt with." Polly handed Ciara over Dan, who balanced his niece in one hand and a glass of whiskey in the other.

"Look, I know I'm not blood family. But I'm married family. If there is anything that's putting my husband's life, or my children's lives in danger than I have a right to know. I'm a trustworthy person that doesn't snitch, so he rest assured. The only person I could tell is my brother and he's part of this team already. This isn't a request it's a demand. I need to know." Amelia stood up and folded her arms.

"I must say, I admire your courage. You've got bigger balls than our John." Arthur patted her on the shoulder.

Once the room fell silent, John folded his arms and stood at the front of the room, ready to make his announcement.

"Right. Before Tommy gets here, I think there's a few things we need to get straight between the rest of us." John tried his best to look convincing but Amelia could see he was nervous underneath.

"You think?" Polly snapped her head towards her nephew with an icy glare.

"Yeah. I do. I want to know, when did we all take a vote on the expansion south?" John asked.

Polly took slow and sinister steps towards the table, her shoes making a loud noise in the deathly quiet environment.

"You have anything to say, you wait for Thomas." She spoke slowly.

"Polly's fucking right." Arthur echoed her words.

"I see all the books. Legal and off track. Stuff you don't see. In the past year, the Shelby Company Limited has been making 150 pounds a day." John's voice started to raise. "Right? A fucking day."