Chapter 28
Chapter Twenty-Eight
The King’s Head was as packed as it always was following a Manchester Central match, although Minnie never minded the crowd. She enjoyed the energy of all the people around her and liked talking to those she hadn’t met before.
Tonight, however, was a different story. Feeling under threat, Minnie found she was constantly looking over her shoulder, terrified that one of Blackwood’s men would be standing there, prepared to take her against her will again.
Which, to be honest, made her just as angry as it made her scared.
She was sick of being used as a pawn. She was ready to become a player in this game.
She was a married woman now — a happily married one at that, she thought with a quick smile — to a man who saw her as not just a prize, but a partner.
A man who considered her. Who listened to her. Who wasn’t afraid to give her power to make decisions and have a say in her own life.
Unlike her father, who had bartered her hand in marriage to save himself.
Minnie watched Tommy now as he spoke to his teammates and accepted congratulations from fans, while his eyes kept darting over toward her.
She wished it was only in appreciation, but she knew that he was watching her to make sure she wasn’t going anywhere — just as he had throughout the game.
She had noticed Garrick standing at the edge of the stands, his eyes on her. Ada had put herself in charge of keeping an eye on him, and when, after the game, he began making his way toward them, they had managed to evade him.
Fortunately, Tommy hadn’t noticed his presence until closer to the end of the match. Otherwise, Minnie was sure that he would never have been able to focus on the game for any length of time.
“Excuse me?” came a voice at her side now, and she turned to find a man she didn’t recognize staring down at her.
He was taller than Tommy, and the cut of his clothing was expensive. A small mustache hovered over the top of his lip, his black hair slick against his head. He was handsome, but in a cold way that had Minnie shrinking away from him.
“Yes?” she said, the hairs on the back of her neck rising. She had a feeling that even if she wasn’t on edge, there would be something off-putting about this man.
“Are you Minnie Draper?” he asked.
“Minnie Ward,” she corrected firmly.
“Of course,” he said with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “I have been hoping to speak to you for some time.”
“I have not had the pleasure of an introduction,” she said, although her tone did not match the long-trained politeness of her words.
“Arthur Bellingham the Third.”
He reached out to take her hand. She gave it, but when he lifted it to his lips, she pulled it back before he could touch it against his mouth.
She nodded curtly. “Pleased to meet you, Arthur Bellingham the Third. Forgive me for my forwardness, but I must return to my husband shortly. What did you wish to speak with me about?”
“I would prefer we speak somewhere more private,” he said, his eyes glancing around the tavern. Minnie wasn’t certain she had ever seen anyone more out of place in the establishment.
“That will not be happening,” she said, jumping when she felt an arm against her back, but sinking into it when she quickly recognized Tommy’s hold.
“No, she absolutely will not,” he said, a stern, unfamiliar look on his face. “What business could you possibly have with my wife?”
“It is business regarding her father,” Mr. Bellingham said, unfazed.
“Whatever you have to say to me, you can say to my husband,” Minnie said, feeling Tommy’s arm wrap protectively around her side.
“It can wait for another time,” Bellingham said, his lips curling up in a smile that caused a sinister shiver to run down Minnie’s spine. “Quite the game today, Mr. Ward. You have my congratulations.”
At that, he turned and walked right out the door of the tavern. Minnie looked up at Tommy, who was still staring after Bellingham with a deep frown.
“What do you make of that?” Minnie asked.
“Nothing good, Min,” he muttered, but they were interrupted before Minnie could ask him any further what he meant.
“Minnie?” Lily said, placing a hand on her arm. “When you have a moment, Jonny would like to speak with us.”
“Of course,” Minnie said, turning to follow her, Tommy at her side. It was one of the few nights Lily had left her baby with Colin’s mother, and Minnie was grateful, for she knew that her friend had done so for her.
Soon, at Jonny’s request, they were all gathered around the table in the corner that Rhys used as his informal meeting place whenever a private conversation was required.
Tommy, apparently, was no longer content with simply holding Minnie against his side and hauled her right on top of his lap, despite the few stares that they received from around the tavern.
Emmaline and Rhys sat across from them, Rhys’s arms folded in front of him, Emmaline leaning forward, her eyes bright.
Lily was leaning into Colin’s side, while Jonny’s expression revealed nothing, as usual.
Ada, who had joined them at the match, was on the other side of Minnie and Tommy.
She had told Minnie that while she knew she wouldn’t be much help, she would support her, however possible.
“Any news, Jonny?” Tommy asked impatiently.
“I’ve just heard some murmurings,” he said. “Blackwood wasn’t happy about the incident at the docks, of course, although he couldn’t outright say anything, as kidnapping a woman is pushing it too far for most. I’d imagine he’ll take action soon.”
“By trying to take me again?” Minnie asked, unable to help the shiver that ran through her body, one Tommy tried to smooth over by running a hand down her spine.
“Let’s hope not,” Jonny said, his angular face becoming sympathetic. “He was willing to look the other way, however, if Tommy would throw the game today. Now that he clearly hasn’t, we need to be ready.”
“No more waiting,” Tommy said. “I know we said we’d try to provoke him into coming to us, but we can’t keep looking over our shoulders, waiting for him to take some kind of action against us. We need a plan ourselves.”
Jonny’s lips curved into a smile that Minnie recognized as one that frequently graced Tommy’s mouth. While Tommy’s plans were often harmless pranks, from what she had learned about Jonny, most of his had far higher stakes.
“We will do so,” he said, looking around at them all. “Do you trust me?”
“No,” was the first answer, surprisingly from Ada. They all turned to look at her, and she shrugged in answer, her eyes swinging round on all of them but landing back on Jonny. “You’ve given us all of this information but provided no inkling of how you’ve discovered it.”
“Have I been wrong?”
“No,” she said. “And that’s what is most worrisome. I know the rest of them trust you because you are their teammate, but how much do we know about you? Jonny, are you willing to tell us who you truly are and how you come across all of this information?”
They all waited uneasily for Jonny to answer her, but he only stared at Ada unnervingly.
She stared right back.
“You’re not scared of me?” he asked, raising one of his scarred eyebrows.
“Do I have reason to be?” she asked, lifting her chin.
“While this is a rather fascinating turn in conversation, it is not helping us,” Rhys said, interrupting, placing his large hands on the table as though to say that his word would be final.
“Jonny’s right. He hasn’t steered us wrong, and, so far, he has always been on our side.
I see no reason not to trust him now, and I’m sorry, Ada, but we have no other choice. ”
“There’s always a choice.”
“Fine, but today the choice is to trust him. At least, that’s my choice. But Minnie speaks for herself.”
Rhys looked at them, waiting.
“Jonny, I’ll trust you. You’re my teammate, and you’ve had my back more times than I can count,” Tommy said. “But it’s up to Minnie.”
Minnie looked at Ada and then at Jonny, before her gaze finally met and held Tommy’s.
“I understand what you’re saying, Ada, truly I do.
I have questions myself about where all this information comes from, to be honest, but at this point, we don’t have much choice but to listen to what Jonny has to say.
He’s proven himself two or three times now, and we cannot afford not to listen to him. ”
“Thank you, Minnie,” Jonny said, nodding his head as though any arguments were over with.
“Now, here’s my idea. We know Blackwood's biggest shipment of the year is coming in three days’ time.
My sources tell me it's his most valuable haul yet – smuggled goods, illicit cargo, the works.
He'll have all his top men there to oversee it. "
Minnie's eyes widened. "You want to catch him in the act."
Jonny nodded grimly. "Exactly. With the customs officials either on his payroll or too scared to act, we'll have to do this ourselves. Gather evidence and expose his whole operation."
Tommy frowned. "That's a huge risk, Jonny. Blackwood will have the docks locked down tight. How do we even get close?"
"That's where Minnie comes in," Jonny said, his gaze shifting to her.
Minnie felt Tommy stiffen beneath her. "No," he said immediately. "Absolutely not. We're not using her as bait."
"Not bait," Jonny clarified. "A distraction. Blackwood still thinks he has a claim on her. If Minnie shows up at the docks, his men will be so focused on securing her, they won't notice the rest of us slipping in."
"I don't like it," Tommy insisted, his arms tightening around Minnie's waist. "It's too dangerous."
Minnie took a deep breath, her mind racing. Jonny's plan was bold and dangerous. But it might be their best chance to take down Blackwood once and for all. She couldn't keep living in fear, jumping at shadows. This needed to end.
She twisted in Tommy's lap to face him, cupping his cheek. "Tommy, I know you're worried. I am too. But Jonny's right. This may be our only opportunity to stop Blackwood for good. I have to do this."
Tommy searched her eyes, his own filled with concern and reluctance. "Min..."
"I'll be all right," she assured him, mustering more confidence than she felt. "You'll be right there, watching out for me like always. I trust you. I trust our friends. Your team. We can do this."
Tommy sighed heavily, leaning into her touch. "I don't like it," he repeated. "But I trust you too. Just...promise me you'll be careful. That you'll stick to the plan."
"I will," she vowed. "I promise. And you’ll be right there the whole time."
Rhys cleared his throat. "Right, then. Let’s knock the details together. Colin, scout out the docks, find us the best points of entry and exit. I’ll come up with a signal system. Tommy, you and Jonny will work out how to cover Minnie."
“There’s just one thing,” Jonny said, and they turned to him expectantly.
“Blackwood can’t know that I’m involved.”
“Why not?” Ada started accusatorily.
“I can’t explain that now. Just know that it will make all of this for naught.”
Ada exchanged a glance with Minnie, and while Minnie could understand her hesitancy, at this point, they had no other choice.
“What about us?” Emmaline insisted. “We’d also like to help.”
“You can’t be there,” Jonny said firmly, shaking his head. “You’ll only be a distraction to the men.”
“But we could help,” Emmaline said, her eyes shooting daggers at him.
“Help Minnie prepare,” he said. “That’s the most you can do without endangering all of this.”
Emmaline ground her teeth together as she glared at him. “I don’t like this. Maybe I’m with Ada.”
“Then be with Ada,” Jonny said with a shrug. “But be with her elsewhere. Not at the docks tomorrow night.”
Emmaline opened her mouth to retort, but Colin held up his hands between them.
“I understand tensions are high,” he said. “But we need to work together, not against one another. I’m sure we will need your help in one way or another. Now, let’s get to it.”
As the group began to disperse to their various tasks, Minnie felt a thrill of both fear and anticipation. There was a lot at risk, and Ada was right. They were trusting someone who could have the wrong motives in place.
But this needed to be finished so that they could move on with their lives. Together.