red↳ thomas shelby

- XXX. -

[ C o v e n t r y , 1 9 2 4 ]

Zara Shelby-King sat silently, cradling her daughter, Thea, close to her chest. Michael Gray kept looking over at her as he drove. After Polly had given Zara her car keys, the woman had just dragged Michael out to the car and instructed him to take her to Theo and Grace's home in Coventry, sharing no explanation as to why, leaving Michael very confused.

"Are you okay, Zar?" He asked, returning his eyes to the road.

She held her sleeping child tighter. "Does it matter?"

"To me it does." He muttered.

Zara pretended not to hear him, slumping down into the seat and into Tommy's overcoat. It smelled like him. She had no idea why she wanted to take it, as it only served as a reminder to Tommy and his betrayal.

"Is Tommy meeting you here?" Michael asked, trying to get any idea as to why he was taking Zara away from her husband on their wedding day.

She scoffed. "If he does, he'll find a bullet in his cock."

"What happened?"

"Tommy's a bastard, and a liar. That's what happened."

Zara sprang from the car as soon as Micheal stopped, hastily gathering her things and barging into the house. Theo and Grace were still at her former home, and they would be in for quite a surprise when they arrived home. She ignored their maids that were startled by the noise, and headed straight for the guest bedroom she usually stayed in. Placing Thea on the bed, she began unpacking their things, not noticing Michael enter the room.

"Zara?" He said carefully.

She snapped around, facing him. "You should go back to my wedding. At least some people will be able to enjoy it." She continued putting her things away.

Michael furrowed his brows, but decided not to give up. It looked like Zara needed a friend right now. He sat on the bed carefully, trying not to disturb Thea. "I'm here for you if you want to talk about it. I won't tell Tommy if you want."

Zara huffed. "No. If anything I want you to tell Tommy. Tell him that he's a fucking bastard and I never want to fucking see him again!" She raised her voice, waking Thea. Her eyes filled with tears, and she put her face in her hands, hiding her frustration and sadness.

Michael was quick to act and picked up Thea, rocking her back and forth, comforting her. Zara tried to take her child but Michael gently shook his head. "I got her. Have the maids run a bath for you. Try to relax."

Zara nodded, silent tears still running down her face. Without thinking, she enveloped Michael in a hug, pressing a kiss to his cheek. "Thank you." She said, leaving the room.

Michael's cheeks flushed involuntarily, but he tried to make it go away. She was his cousin's wife, and the mother of his child. He couldn't get any kind of ideas about Zara, no matter what his feelings were.

♔♔♔♔

Tommy's heart raced with all kinds of anxiety. His wife had just taken their daughter and left him without another thought. He wanted to find out where she had gone, win her back, and bring them home, but first Tommy had to take care of the Russian business he had started on their wedding day. No wonder Zara left him, he thought. He was so selfish he couldn't even push business back until after their wedding.

Tommy and Arthur took his car to the meeting point they had arranged, where they would meet Inspector Moss, and the Russian woman who was supposed to give them their money. Moss exited his car, as Tommy and Arthur did the same. The brothers showed no emotion, both eager for this meeting to be over.