Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
❝ the vipers were on head to head. ❞
As soon as Maude inhaled the dirty soot that lingered in the air from countless factories that held burning crimson embers behind rusting metal ⎯ she knew that the metaphorical door she had stepped through had slammed shut behind her.
This was made apparent by the withered door to the Shelby family betting den that she so intently glared at, as if it would turn into dark ash right in front of her clean, shiny heels that rested against the concrete walkway of Watery Lane. The subtle pattern of her breathing had hitched by only a few seconds that if the gears were to turn in her head, she would be able to estimate the three second pauses between inhaling and exhaling the toxic air.
However, there was no fear that wrapped itself around Maude's bones like it used to. No longer lingering in every joint nor vein or blood cell that she had within her, deliciously feeding adrenaline to her bruised heart.
Fear was no longer existent in Maude Abston and it hadn't been ever since she let the muggy soil mark her past with a single bare footprint when she woke up from her trance all those years ago.
"Maude, where should I move the vehicle to?"
The rumble of the engine reminded her that she was not alone, nor did she have time to waste and think about the woeful 'what if's?' Those thoughts held even the most damaged of souls back, she knew that for sure.
Maude licked her lips, slowly letting her green eyes wander around the mostly deserted street, weighing her options.
"Leave it right where it is, William. This will only take me a couple of minutes." One thing she wasn't sure of, was if Thomas Shelby was indeed here, and if he wasn't she'd try the local pub located a few streets away. She refused to leave without making her presence in his kingdom known.
Maude turned to William, leaning closer to him so that there was only little to no space between them, her voice low. "Should anything happen in this home ⎯ on this street, do not hesitate to flaunt your gun."
She could see the foundation in his stony face crack, something she knew all too well. William Horton was fairly tall in stature, skinny and sickly looking. Maude had first met him when she was twenty after he came to her rescue in a dingy, piss-smelling alleyway in the city and county of Bristol way past dusk.
She was thankful when he fought off her potential murderers, telling herself that a man like him could be her knight in shining armor for a lifetime if she kept him around long enough. She did.
