Book 1 - Complete
Book 2 - Ongoing
If you asked their family, they'd tell you Thomas and Maude were surely soulmates. The two had a bond so strong, that anyone who believed in reincarnation, would tell you that they were certain, Thomas and Maude lo...
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XX. Welcome home.
The day Tommy met with Michael for the first time since his return had arrived, and Maude dreaded the whole meeting. She had dropped her children off with Anna, so she drove separately from Tommy, who had been in his Shelby Company Limited office since early that morning.
She walked into the Garrison, finding only Polly inside, sitting at one of the tables. "Pol." she greeted as she shrugged off her coat and hung it on a hook by the door. "No one else is here yet?" she questioned as she rounded the bar.
"Not yet," Polly replied as she smoked a cigarette, looking rather nervous about this meeting and how it would play out. "What does Tommy say?" she asked immediately.
"I don't know, he's speaking in fucking riddles," Maude replied with a tired sigh as she grabbed two glasses and a bottle of whiskey. She went over to the table where Polly sat and poured them both a glass of whiskey. "Says someone wants his throne because they think he's falling," she said as she sat down, taking a few sips of the whiskey.
"He thinks Michael wants his throne?" Polly questioned as her eyebrows furrowed, her worry growing.
Maude's lips pulled into a tight line as she sat back in her chair, crossing one arm around her waist. "He thinks everyone wants his throne," she muttered as she shook her head.
A second later, the door in the back room opened, and Tommy and Arthur came walking in together.
"Polly. Maude." Arthur greeted both women with a nod of his head.
"Sweetheart." Tommy greeted his wife softly as he pressed a kiss to the top of her head before taking her half-full whiskey glass and drinking it before going to stand by the bar.
"Are you armed?" Polly asked the men as she raised her eyebrows.
Tommy and Arthur shared a brief look before Tommy turned to his aunt, nodding his head. "Yeah," he confirmed.
Arthur was silent for a moment, looking at his aunt like she had asked a rather silly question. Of course, they were armed. "Yeah," he confirmed as well, raising his eyebrows as he nodded his head.
"Would you please consider putting your weapon behind the bar in case feelings begin to run high?" Polly asked as she looked between the two men with a pleading look in her gaze.
"Behind the bar, Poll, eh?" Arthur questioned in disbelief. He huffed before reaching into the inside of his coat and ripping out his gun. "Behind my own bar, yeah?" he questioned again before emptying the bullets onto the table and putting his gun down. "I prefer it there," he said as he pointed to the gun on the table.
Maude looked at her husband who stood there, staring blankly at everyone. "My love?" She urged him softly for Polly's sake.
Tommy looked at his wife in silence for a second, his tongue pushing against the inside of his cheek. He inhaled sharply through his nose before sighing deeply. He pulled his gun out of his coat and handed it to his wife. Maude let the bullets fall with Arthur's before stuffing the gun into her clutch.
