A Woman's Empire

LXVII

Chapter Sixty Seven:

Audrielle stared at her reflection in the mirror. Tonight was the night. Tanner would be dead. No more nightmares. No more worrying about him lurking in the dark. Leo was outside the bedroom, in the living room talking to his men who obeyed every order handed to them. While Audrielle wanted to know what was happening, she was grateful that Leo didn't go into full detail with her. Just the bare minimum so she could expect what was happening, rather than feel even more on edge if things didn't go exactly to plan.

Blinking the tears away so they wouldn't ruin her makeup, Audrielle quietly left the bathroom and headed to the entrance of the penthouse, where Leo was waiting for her. His voice was dominant and stern, his attention focused on the details of the plan, but once she stepped into the room and he caught a glimpse of her, no words, not even a noise, fell from his lips.

The dress was sparkly, a show stopper. With hand sewn crystals covering every inch of fabric, waterfalling down like long droplets of rain and ending just below the knee. The dress was strapless and showed off her glowing sun kissed skin from the tan in Miami. Her silver heels clicked against the marble floor as she walked up to Leo who straightened his posture, tugging on his jacket.

"You look beautiful, Audrielle. You always do." He commented, leaning in and placing a gentle kiss on her cheek. Audrielle thanked him and mustered a small smile, completely hiding the fact that she almost broke down in tears just a few seconds ago. Maybe she inherited that from her mother. Being able to muster up fake, million dollar smiles in worst case scenarios.

"Thank you."

Leo stood back and ran his eyes over Audrielle once more. "Let's get the show on the road, yes?"

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The crowds of the casino were partying their night away, accompanied by bottles of alcohol in their hand. Audrielle sat at a bar table, her legs crossed and a glass of champagne growing warm on the table next to her. Her eyes kept skimming the large room, scanning through the waves of unfamiliar faces just in case she would spot Tanner before Leo could. It had been six years since everything had happened. Six years since Tanner and Lucy tried to kill Audrielle and steal her son. And somehow, they were both still alive.

Leo was busy playing a game, and according to the smug smirk on his face, Audrielle could tell he was winning. Her eyes remained glued on Leo as she reached for her flute of champagne, taking a sip before scowling her face at the now warm liquid. The opponents of the game were mostly in their fifties, maybe even sixties but somehow, the women that sat perched on their laps or hanging off their arms were younger than Audrielle, their skin glowing and their makeup flawless. Their young faces plastered with white, toothy grins and Audrielle could basically see the dollar signs roll in their eyes as they watched on with the game.

Throughout the night Audrielle stood back, watching Leo win more and more money. When the women realised that Leo was the only one who seemed to be walking away with the winnings for the night, a couple were brave enough to try to flirt with him. Their manicured hands reached out, brushing against his arm. But everytime, Leo politely declined, gently guiding them away before he would quickly cast a small smile of reassurance to Audrielle.

She didn't know what time it was but Leo was playing another game and everyone had seemed to crowd around to watch. Her eyes roamed through the rather empty halls of the casino and then, lurking in the dark shadows of entrance, there he was. Audrielle's posture suddenly became stiff as she watched Tanner walk through the casino towards the elevators with a woman hanging off his arm. He seemed oblivious to the large crowd, he seemed oblivious to the fact that tonight, he was going to die.

Gulping back the nerves, Audrielle stood up and walked over to Leo, running her hand along his shoulders and his head snapped up at the touch. His facial features softened when he realised it was her. Audrielle took a seat on Leo's lap, her hand looped around Leo's neck as she crossed her legs and leaned into the crook of his neck.

"Having fun?" He mumbled, brushing his lips against her cheek.

"He's here." She whispered and she could feel Leo tense underneath her.

Leo stared longingly into Audrielle's eyes. He could feel the fear oozing out of her pores, the tips of her fingers trembling against the skin of the back of his neck. Trying to not make a scene, he pecked her cheek, and quit the game. He didn't care if he just gave away fifty thousand dollars, he had already made a comfortable quarter million tonight.

Audrielle and Leo walked away from the table, four bodyguards following them as Audrielle guided him into the halls towards the elevators. Quietly, they both stepped into an empty elevator and Audrielle reached out for Leo's hand, holding onto it for support.

"He had a girl with him." Audrielle mumbled as she stared straight ahead.

"Company or no company, he will be dead, okay? No more need to worry about him, Audrielle." Leo grumbled,pulling something out of the inner suit pocket.

"If I can't save you, I want you to use this, Audrielle. Do not hesitate, you hear me?" He stated, firmly placing a pocket knife in her hand. Her eyes stared down at the knife, the sharp blade bouncing off strands of light and suddenly the room became smaller. "Audrielle, it's your turn to promise, okay? Promise me that if someone tries to hurt you, you kill them. It's either them dead or you. Promise me that Orlando will continue to grow up with his mother around."

"I-I can't kill someone, Leo." Audrielle broke into a sob, her hands trembling and Leo pulled her into an embrace.

"It's for your safety, princess. A last resort, just in case one of us doesn't make it out alive, yeah?"

Audrielle removed her head from his chest and Leo started to wipe away her tears that stained her cheeks. "Don't you dare say that, Leo. Orlando needs both his parents, not just one."

The doors to the elevator suddenly dinged and slowly rolled open to reveal two bodyguards already waiting for them. Leo pulled off his suit jacket and tossed it to one of them, pulling out a gun from his waistband and taking off the safety on it.

"What room is he staying in?"

"Room 408, Boss, down the hall."

Leo grinned and guided Audrielle down the hall with one hand resting on the small of her back and the other tightly gripping the gun in his hand.

The number 408 was neatly drilled into the door and was painted gold, almost blending in with the cream colour the walls and doors were painted. The interior design of the hotel was rather bland and Audrielle couldn't help but think that blood would definitely stand out. Maybe even stain the walls too.

Leo waited a couple of seconds until he aimed the gun at the card lock on the door and fired a bullet at it. The small lights on the door fuzzed out before quickly turning off and Leo pushed the now unlocked door open with his foot.

Audrielle wasn't prepared to see Tanner's face again. But two familiar faces that gave her nightmares in the same room, was something she definitely wasn't prepared for.

"Well, well, well. Look who we have here. Guess I can say I'm killing two birds with one stone tonight." Leo chuckled as all Hell broke loose.