The vehicle came to a screeching halt, making my body jump off the seat, but Leo being the ninja that he is, swiftly puts his strong arm in front of me, preventing me from opening my head open on the metallic end of the small bar.

"You should have put your seatbelt on, love."

"I think you should remove your arm from my boobs, love." I mock him in a stern tone with a coy smile dancing on my face.

"Sorry," he says and quickly rips his arm away from me, "I didn't mean to." I raise my brows making him look away as a laugh escapes my lips. Scooting in front of the bar, he opens up a small drawer below the dangling wine glasses that were hung upside down reflecting the blue and purple lights shining from a thin line along the top corners of the vehicle as he retrieves a wooden box. He lifts the latch and unlocks the box to reveal a handgun. "This is for you. Use it if necessary."

          I pick up the gun and tilt it from side to side. "Where do you suggest I hide it?" I indicate at my wallet that sure as hell couldn't hold a gun.

          He smirked and laid out his hand for me to place the gun back in. After grabbing the gun, he slid back next to me, pulling me closer to him and sliding my ass against the leathered seat, bringing my face closer to his. Our noses brushed together as we both stared into each other's eyes. There was a certain sparkle in his eyes that seemed to make my heart flutter. I could feel him snaking his hands around my waist towards my back. Under my blouse, his fingers left a trail of burning hot sensation behind them as the cold gun sizzled against it, cooling it down a bit, but not enough to settle down my throbbing heart. My body shuddered slightly, taking in more of his touch and his staring orbs.

          He smirked again at my tomato red cheeks and jerked me even more closer almost making our lips meet in a fiery embrace. My breathing hitched in my lungs when I felt his hand lightly graze my ass and tug on my leggings. Holy shit! My eyes widened almost making them pop out of my sockets as he held my gaze with a hint of mischief in them. I was too frozen to even swallow my saliva and drool that was building up in my mouth. My mouth sealed itself in order to not let out a shriek in titillation. His nostrils released a warm breath that stroked my burning face. We were only centimeters apart. Hell, only millimeters which made my heart run faster than flash. The urge to kiss him was so tempting but I decided against it. Wouldn't want our first kiss to be in the back of a limo.

Letting out a shaky breath through my nose, I scrunch my eyes shut and whip my head away from his godly face, placing it on his shoulder. His shoulder rumbled as he let out a chuckle making the warm air from his nose to hit my neck. My shoulders arched backwards from the contact and sent millions of chills down my spine. I ripped my head from his warm shoulder and looked at him with confusion prominent in my eyes when I felt a cold object pressed against my lower back, between the waistband of my leggings.

"That's where you hide it," he whispered sensually and let out a low laugh. I cock my head to the side and stare at him completely dumbfounded as he exited the vehicle from his side just like that. My heart was still running a marathon while he just left. Oh God! I felt a warm breeze hit my back as light entered the vehicle from behind me. "Let's go, love!"

I turn around slowly, still in absolute frenzy from the recent event and see his hand waiting for it to be taken by me. I'm going to do more than just take it one day. Placing my hand in his, he pulls me out and closes the door. He then yanks out his stupid phone again and barks orders into it. "Take your positions and be ready if it happens. You know what to do."

His right hand entangles its fingers with my left one and holds it tight. "I'll be by your side so don't worry." He places a kiss on the side of my forehead and gazes into my eyes. "I promise." A smile erupts on my face as I nod my head in acknowledgement. He then looks around and crosses the busy street, pulling me with him. My eyes wander up the stupidly tall building that made us look like ants before walking through the revolving glass doors.

My heart constricted as my eyes scanned over the name "Aguillard" that was engraved in bold gold lettering into the tall white wall behind the reception counter. Leo's hands squeezed mine, compelling me to look at him. "Love, I'm not gonna force you. Say the word and we don't have to do this," he spoke softly, running his other hand up my arm soothingly.

"No," I say, "we have to do this. I have to face my fears, don't I?" My lips curl upwards a little as I try to keep up my strong facade and steady my feet that threatened to give up.

He smiled sweetly at me with pride and affection in his eyes. "You're the strongest person I know, my love. I'll be right here next to you and I'll never leave you. I promise." He brought my hand up to his lips and pressed his sweet, soft lips against the back of it gently while his eyes stared into my broken soul that he was slowly mending. It was being patched up by his mere presence, his face, his voice, by the man himself.

"You two stay down here and wait for my signal," he ordered the two men who were silently watching our little show. "When you get the signal, bring the men up to the top floor." They both nod in unison and stride towards the seating area on the right side of the lobby where multiple couches were arranged and were occupied by a few people.

Leo pulls me towards the elevator and says, "let's go!" We step in and Leo shoots for the corner leaving me to stand to the left of him with my ass pressed against the steel railing hugging the pastel blue walls. The doors were closing when a hand interrupted the smooth motion of the door. A blonde haired lean man stood on the other side, smiling wide. His green eyes begin scanning my body from bottom up slowly as he still stood at the entrance of the elevator, making me shift uncomfortably. I was about to give this man a piece of my mind when Leo stepped in front of me immediately and growled. "You like what you see?"

I peek my head around Leo's nicely carved bicep and see the man's brows furrowed together. "Why do you care?" He spat.

"What floor do you want to go to?" Leo asked sweetly. I knew he was cooking up a plot against this man already and now I had to just wait for the show.

"50th," the man replied, walking in beside me and shooting another smirk my way, making me scrunch my nose in disgust. The doors began to shut us three in with me behind Leo and the man's green eyes still staring at me. As soon as the doors closed, Leo turned around and grabbed the man by his throat, lifting his lanky body off his feet. "You see, this woman right here is not a piece of meat that your mouth keeps pissing itself due to the drool." The man's pale face turned red due to the lack of blood circulation to his head.

"Leo," my hand shoots up to his left shoulder in fear, "let him go. You can't kill him."

"Fine!" He drops the man whose body went limp and hit the elevator floor with a loud thump. "I won't kill him, I got something else in my mind instead." He bounced back revealing a smug smirk planted on his face. "Get up!" He yelled at the man who immediately mounted up to his feet, his face still red from the impact and a slight bruise on his neck that he tried to rub the pain away from. "What you're going to do is when we get to the top floor, you're going to take the stairs all the way down to the ground floor which is only sixty floors, not too many. And when you do that, you take the stairs all the way back up to the 50th floor which is your destination. That'd add out to be 110 floors. Yeah?"

The man's eyes widen in shock. "If you don't do that," Leo continued and stepped closer to him, intimidating the man with his stature, "I will snap your twig-like body in half and the sound of your bones breaking will satisfy me immensely." The man nodded his head frantically in fear and looked towards the door, temporarily gluing his eyes to them, making me laugh internally at Leo's sudden demeanor. It was all very comical and made me smile. Was he jealous?

          "Who's going to apologize to her?" Leo voice roared again in the little confined space.

The blondie turned around at once and looked at me. "I'm so sorry, miss. I'm really am." He then looked at Leo who gave him a little nod before returning his eyes back to the shiny elevator doors. Now that I was somehow in the corner, Leo moved himself to the left of me, smiling wide like he just won a game of poker and earned a million bucks. He slowly intertwines his hand with mine and leans his head against the wall. The doors swooshed open letting us all out.

"Get to it," Leo glared at the man, making him scurry hastily to the stairwell.

"Was that necessary?" I laugh and look at him.

"He dared to look at you. Be glad I didn't snap his neck in there," he said with a hint of anger in his voice and continued escorting me down a long, never ending hall. My converse thudded on the polished marble floor where I could clearly see my face. This floor was eerily quite with just a few lads surrounded around the counter when we exited the elevator.

"I need to use the Ladies' room before we go in," I stop and look at the restroom.

"Sure," he says and follows me towards it, but luckily doesn't come in with me.

          I walked into the empty bathroom and my hands immediately grip the long counter before my legs gave out. I was going to see Astor today for the first time after Leo's party. Leo proposed an idea since Astor was a friend and ally to his family, they should talk and strike a deal so that he doesn't hurt Aunt Wendy or Ashton in order to get to me and start a bloody war between the Bonferronis and Aguillards that would definitely result in massive casualties and innocent lives lost in the crossfire of it. I couldn't let people die because of me and I definitely couldn't risk Aunt Wendy and Ashton at any cost. They are my only family and the thought of something happening to them shakes me to my core, but I also want Astor to pay for what he did so that he doesn't do it to anyone else and put any other girl under the horrendous experience.

          I agreed to it without a second thought, but then Leo assured me that he would humor Astor and let him think that the deal is on when in reality Leo is setting a trap for him and at the right time he'll take him down like a tiger. That was what I was clinging to with all my might. I can't let him get away with what he did to me and Leo won't either. He will always protect me with his life for which I trust him with mine. He holds the strings to my life in his hands and could unravel me anytime.

Letting out a shaky breath, I look at myself and whip my hair back. My eyes fall on the beautiful piece of jewelry Leo gave me. It wasn't a diamond but it wasn't any less either. It was priceless and will always be close to my heart because it came from the man that stood right out of that door, the man who stole my heart like a little thief, the man who I trusted with my life, and the man who I'm in love with.

          I pull myself out of my thoughts when my hands begin to hurt slightly, turning my knuckles to a sick white shade. I shake my hands and regain the blood flow. Turning on my heel, I proceed towards the door and open it to find a woman talking to Leo with her back towards me.

Leo smiles lightly when he sees me. "Belle," he refers to the woman who wore a black dress that ended right above her knees with her dark hair flowing down a little past her shoulders, "meet Arie Noelle."

The woman turned around swiftly with a small smile lingering on her face as her ocean blue eyes looked into mine. My heart almost bounced out of my heart as my brows furrowed in absolute confusion and shock to see this woman here. "Arabelle?"

"Hello, Arie!" She spoke softly as she walked closer to me. "It's good to see you."

Dumbfounded, I shake my head and look at her. "What are you doing here?"

"How do you know her?" Leo queried as he looked between the two of us.

"I think it's about time you found out," she puts her hands forth with intentions to shake mine, "I'm not Arabelle Leon. My name is Arabelle Aguillard. I'm Astor's wife and I'm really sorry for what he did to you."

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Arabelle is Astor's wife. Who saw that coming? 😂

What do you guys think is gonna happen in that meeting? Will everything go as planned or will something else happen?

I hope you guys liked this chapter. Much love ❤️
~Reet