𝐁𝐀𝐂𝐊 𝐓𝐎 𝐁𝐋𝐀𝐂𝐊 ʲᵒʰⁿ ˢʰᵉˡᵇʸ

- 𝟎𝟎𝟐

𝐁𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐓𝐨 𝐁𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐤
-𝟎𝟎𝟏-
𝐒𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡, 𝟏𝟗𝟏𝟗

Valerie sat on the edge of her bed, her knee bouncing aggressively as she began thinking of ways she'd get all her money back. It would take her weeks to get it all back just by taking on customers.

Since finding out about her money being stolen the night previous, she found herself wracking her brain all afternoon for how it was even possible that somebody had gotten into her bedroom and taken it.

There was a knock on the door and she looked up and quickly tucked her hair behind her ears. The door slowly opened and the man who ran the whole business appeared. "Mr Peterson." She greeted, standing to her feet.

"Florence," he nodded, looking around the slightly trashed bedroom. Despite knowing her real name, he always used her whore name. "There's somebody who wants to see you tonight." He seemed nervous. Valerie was now paying full attention. "A usual?" She asked.

"No.. er, Florence, it's a Shelby man." He spoke with some type of sympathy lacing his voice.

Her face dropped slightly. "Arthur or Tommy?" She asked, bringing up the names of the only two Shelby brothers she had ever really seen.

"Thomas." He told her. "He wants you at the house on Watery Lane before it hits seven."

Valerie nodded and glanced at the small clock that sat on her drawers. She didn't have long. "Thank you," she nodded, waiting for him to leave before taking a seat at the desk.

Valerie stared at herself for a few moments as her heart pounded like mad. A Shelby wanted her? Usually they'd have whores from the brothel on Coventry Lane. Carefully, Valerie painted a dark red lipstick onto her lips and took a deep breath. She ran a brush through her dark hair and tucked it behind her ears. What was the worst that could happen? She knew they were bad man but surely they would never dream of laying a hand on a woman.

-

Valerie entered the home on Watery Lane which was surprisingly empty considering the betting shop attached to it was usually booming. "Can I help you, love?" An older woman who Valerie believed to be Polly Gray spoke from the table.

She held her coat closed and looked toward Polly nervously. "I'm here to see Mr Shelby."

"Well, love, there's four of them and i'm gathering you aren't on about our Finn." She chuckled, placing down her cup of tea. Valerie's lips parted and she forced a smile, "my apologies. I'm here to see Tommy." She explained.

Polly raised a brown but nodded toward the office at the back of the room. "Tell him that me and his brothers are down at the Garrison." Polly brushed past the girl and left the house. Valerie swallowed hard and slowly walked to the office with her hands still clutching onto her coat.

She spotted him through the window and assured herself everything would be fine. Knocking on the door, Tommy looked up and nodded for her to come inside.

"You must be Florence." He said, putting out his cigarette and getting up from his seat.

"And you must be Tommy." She pushed away her doubts and chose to be confident. "What's your real name?" He asked. She stared him in the eye. "Florence." She said bluntly. Tommy gave her a once over and noticed how young she was. "How old are you, Florence?"