BLINDING LIGHTS || T. SHELBY (2)

TWENTY-FOUR (RE-EDITED)

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR: Too Much Death

IT WAS FEBRUARY 5TH.

The day Thomas and Polly carried out the plan to trick Luca Changretta and his men and to finally kill him after all. Tabitha stayed home with Polly praying while Thomas pulled off the plan to trap Luca, and Polly read her tea leaves. Tabitha decided to have Polly read her leaves instead of going to the doctor, because the tea leaves were never wrong.

And the tea leaves weren't wrong like the times before. Tabitha was indeed pregnant, and it was the reason for her nausea those past couple days. Her mind went back to several weeks before, when Thomas took her to the river under bridge. They had been intimate and Thomas didn't pull out like he normally did. That's how she got pregnant, but she had tears of joy because Polly said since it was a couple ago that it was a high possibility it was a boy. The leaves said so, and she knew Thomas was going to be excited to have a son.

Thomas came back to the Shelby family home unharmed but upset he gave Tabitha a kiss on the forehead and sat in the chair near the unlit fireplace. Tabitha sat on the floor beside him as Maggie was on the floor playing with her toys. Polly was leaning on the table near the vodka and whiskey, pouring her nephew a drink.

Tabitha placed her hand over Thomas' hand as he was deep in thought with an unlit cigarette in his mouth. She lit the cigarette in her husband's mouth, moving away from the coming smoke as Polly sat down the glass of whiskey on the small table. Thomas took the hand Tabitha placed hers on and softly touched her cheek, his eyes on Maggie playing with her toys.

"Do you know, I remember the very first time you head-butted a policeman," Polly said, breaking the silence. "But after you and Tabitha got your APs from the King, I didn't think there would be a next time."

"What do you think you're going to tell Arthur?" Tabitha asked Thomas.

Polly looked out the window as Arthur pulled up with Linda and Finn.

"I will tell him the truth," Thomas answered Tabitha, clearing his throat.

"They are here," Polly said, leaving the window.

Tabitha decided to wait to tell Thomas the news of the baby since it wasn't the best time. Arthur, Linda, and Finn were back and there was going to be a family meeting about the plan to kill Changretta. Everyone was gathered in the dining room, and Arthur sat at the table putting out some snow to snort. Tabitha stood beside Thomas near the door frame of the living room, their fingers interlocked as Thomas kept her close. Theo and pregnant Lizzie Hearn were there along with Johnny Dogs and uncle Charlie.

"So... what the fuck happened today, Tom?" Arthur started with a question. "We all heard. Shooting in Artillery Square."

"Yeah, there was," Thomas nodded once. "Today, I killed three men."

"Now our enemies will have to wait," Tabitha said.

"I suppose they, uh...I suppose they took you by surprise, did they?" Arthur asked Thomas.

"No, I knew they were coming," Thomas shook his head.

"Just after Christmas, I received a letter from Luca Changretta offering to spare my son if I gave up Tommy. And I gave Tommy up," Polly spoke up.

"Because that was the plan, Polly. Tabitha, and I agreed on. I knew that Luca would want to pull to the trigger himself..." Thomas trailed off as Arthur snorted up the snow. "So I used the set up as bait to bring him in."

"You are a fucking idiot, Tom," Arthur sniffed.

"Look, didn't get Luca, but I got three. Alright. That's it. That's what happened," Thomas replied.