Roguish Women- Tommy Shelby

I'll Follow You

            When Michael returned to the office, it was tense, to say the least. He and Tommy got into shouting matches a few times and everyone could clearly hear them in the office. But it seemed that Michael was too invested in the company to let things get in the way. As well as Tommy wasn't willing to give up his accountant.

So, things died down a couple of weeks after he returned. Meanwhile, the deal was written and the company was now working with the Forty Elephants. Kate kept in regular contact with Alice and Maggie, building a repertoire as she did with Alfie. Of course, like with Alfie, she found she enjoyed the women's company. They were women who understood her, understood the things she did. Before, Kate had no one who really understood her other than a group of men. Still, how could they understand what it was like to be a woman in their line of work?

So, being friends with Alice and the rest of her close cohorts was refreshing.

"So, Alfie told me you were in Boston for some time."

Kate had invited Alice and a few of the other women to join her for lunch at Arrow House. Maggie came along as well as Ruby Sparks and Lillian Goldstein. What looked like a typical ladies' lunch out on the patio was actually a gathering of some of the most dangerous women Britain had ever seen. And Kate felt right at home with them.

"There were things from my past that caught up with me," Kate admitted. "Things I needed to take care of."

While Alice looked genuinely interested, Maggie seemed a bit more intent on digging for anything that might garner mistrust. The contract was signed, but that didn't mean they completely trusted each other yet. They were women who knew the true value of loyalty and how rare it was to find.

"Stuff like what?" Maggie inquired.

"A man I had dealings with." Kate realized that there was no reason to skimp on details. These girls would understand. "I hired him to kill the man who killed my mother. A man in the Chicago Outfit. I promised him money for doing it but fell through. The deal was either I paid or I married him."

Ruby made a noise of disgust. "Fucking pig. Who on Earth does he think he is?"

It made her smile a bit even though the memory was so painful. "He caught up to me eventually so I had to return to Boston."

"Do you need him killed?" Alice asked bluntly. "You name the day and way, love."

"Fucking castrate him and throw him out on the streets," Ruby muttered into her teacup.

"Thank you, but he's dead," Kate assured them. It was different, hearing them become angry about it. The reactions were similar to Alfie and Tommy. They all wanted to kill the man who treated her poorly. But Alice and the others were acting on empathy instead of sympathy. They understood the plight of being a woman. Struggling under the thumb of a man. They understood the anger and desire to change the tides. To make other men feel the pressure on the back of their necks. It was a shared existence. And as hard as he could try, Tommy wouldn't understand.

"Good." Alice nodded. "You killed him?"

"I wouldn't let him kill me." Her voice quieted as her brow furrowed in thought. "He took so much from me."

Lillian, who seemed to be the gentlest of the group touched Kate's arm. "You're still standing. You're still here. He couldn't take that away from you."

She nodded, not sure what else to say about the matter. There was comfort in knowing she had allies who understood. Then, Kate noticed the ring on Lillian's finger. "Oh, I didn't know you were married."