The Darkness Within (Peaky Blinders) Thomas Shelby

24. A Smoke In The Rain

Don't make me sad, don't make me cry

Sometimes love is not enough and the road gets tough I don't know why

- Born To Die, by Lana Del Rey

The next day was like any other; busy and fast paced in the betting shop. Tommy went to have his meeting with the Chief Inspector. He was to make a deal. Tell the man he had the guns and offer to give them back when the time was right so long as the Inspector left him, his business and his jurisdiction alone. He told his wife of his plan early in the morning before he left as he was throwing on his coat. She was still in her nightgown, sitting on the edge of the bed, her black hair a mess of long curls around her.

Tommy was distracted, busy with business, to busy to notice the toll their last argument had taken on her. They argued, they got everything out in the air and they moved on. It was how they worked, but they never had two separate arguments this close to one another and they were rarely that heavy.

"Good luck." She had called after him as he walked out the door before slowly getting to her feet.

She didn't see him again until lunch when he returned from the meeting. He went to work with the other blinders, organising the gambling business they ran after throwing her a nod, a silent way of saying the meeting went according to plan. She gave him a small smile in return that he took and set to work as Kiara went into the main section of the house with a few deep breaths, exhaustion engulfing her body.

"Everything alright?" Polly asked as she came across her niece-in-law.

"Everything's fine." She got sick of people asking her that question. She only had to drop a smile for a few minutes and there it was, echoing around from Polly, John, Riley or Tommy, sometimes even Ada and Arthur. "Just a little tired today, Poll." She responded. "Didn't sleep very well after last night." She said.

"Nor I." Polly shot back. "I'll make us some tea." She woman offered taking Kiara's word for it, before heading to the kitchen.

The night came before long and Tommy once again went to bed early, his busy day taking its toll. Kiara came upstairs just as he was closing his eyes after he had placed his pipe of opium down. She sat on the edge of the bed, running her hands through his hair soothingly as he drifted off. Once he was out she smiled softly down at him before rising and heading to her dresser.

'Gone to the Garrison.' She wrote on a piece of paper and left it on the side table for him to find when he inevitably woke from a nightmare in an hour or two and found her not there. It was a short, but cold walk down the road to the pub. It would be quiet this time of night, but still open. That's what she needed; the quiet and a drink with a cigarette or two.

But she didn't head straight there. In stead she found herself wondering around the streets for some time. Enjoying the cool breeze that came just before the rain. It would be pouring soon. It was after she'd come to that conclusion that she finally decided to make her way to the pub.

She walked through the door to find the place all but empty, two men in the back corner and Grace wondering around and cleaning up after the day's worth of drunkards. Kiara had never worked this late before. Riley would never allow it when she started working there at age 17, being alone in a pub this late at night and then having to walk home at midnight in the dark. The only time she did was during the war, when there were no men to tell her what to do and the streets were a safer place, everyone away fighting. There were a few shifts when the men returned that she had to take. The Garrison was packed nearly every day for several weeks and she didn't want to leave Harry alone with all the work. Tommy had stayed there till the end on those nights, waiting for her to finish so they could walk back together.