Nicotine // [michael gray / peaky blinders]

Twenty-Eight

"I've been meaning to tell you something, but haven't seen you." Polly says when I walk into the office the following morning.

"Yes, Pol?" I ask with a smile, looking at my future mother-in-law.

"You're not going to love it." She says and I sigh.

"This is my life. Let's go." I walk with her into Michael's office, shutting the door, since he's not even in for the day yet. "I'm fucking terrified, and if you tell me that he was cheating I think I'll cut his dick off myself." I say and she chuckles then shakes her head.

"Two nights ago, the night that Thomas left, when you were putting Karl down for the night with Ada," She starts and I nod. "Did you hear the gunshots?" I nod, I did hear them, figured it was Arthur and John finally shooting some fucking pheasants. "It wasn't just Arthur and John." She says and I sigh.

"Michael as well, then? They were just shooting pheasants, right?"

"I walked outside and Michael had a gun pressed against John's forehead, and then against Arthur's neck, under his chin." She says and my blood runs cold. "They said that they were teaching their boss. I told him to go inside to you and he said he wasn't a fucking kid anymore, but he did it. I don't know what's going on with him."

"I don't know if it's my place to tell. But I don't like that they called him boss, and I don't like that he had that gun against either of them. Do you know who's it was?"

"I believe it was John's."

"Jumps on the hammer." I whisper, shaking my head slightly. "Idiot. I'll have a word with him. And I know it doesn't look like I'm annoyed or have any feeling towards that, but I just can't show it because I'm pregnant and it'll end in tears." I say and she nods with a laugh.

"Oh, I have no doubt in my mind that you will go at him. That's what he needs to hear." She says and I smile. "You're the perfect fit for him, Florence. I've never doubted that. Even when you were small, I knew you would be a fantastic couple." She brings me in for a hug and kisses the top of my head. "I'm so happy you'll be my actual daughter," She whispers, her voice shaky like she's got tears in her eyes. "Instead of the girl I took care of like one."

"Love you, Pol." I squeeze her once more before pulling back and wiping under her eyes. "There. Perfect as always."

"I'm far from perfect, but thank you, dear." She laughs. "Alright. Let's go. Race starts in just over five minutes."

She'll be in pieces if she ever hears that it's Michael set to kill Father Hughes. But then again, if she heard about why Michael's adamant that it's him, I'm sure it would make her feel better. Knowing it was a revenge kill, like with how she got Inspector fucking Campbell.

-

"Your mum told me that you held a gun against John's forehead and Arthur's throat." I say to Michael as I spoon soup into bowls for us.

Linda's started to make us dinner because she can't stand the idea of us eating sandwiches for meals.

"What?" Michael chokes, before coughing a few times and I turn to him with a smirk.

"At Tom's the other night. You were drunk. I thought you lot were shooting pheasants, but apparently you were going for each other. The gun has a bad trigger. You could've killed them. You don't want that." I put the bowls down in front of each of us, sitting down across from him.

"Have you killed?" He asks and I shake my head.

"You'll tell me when it happens, right?" I say and he nods.

"I think you'll be able to tell." He says and I nod.

"I'll be sure to tell Thomas in advance that as soon as he knows I need to know. Whoever calls him needs to call me." I say and he nods.