Leigh leaned back and exhaled her relief. The conversation with Aaron hadn't gone as badly as she anticipated. Oh, it was bad to be sure, but at least he hadn't hung up on her immediately, which is something that she had been steeling herself for.
It occurred to her that if Seth had already been to see Aaron she may have gotten to him too late. Not that Aaron had any reason to trust her, but he had less reason to trust that bastard and his harpy less.
What if he decided not to work with her? What if she was left to face her former crew by herself? It was not a comforting thought, but it was a probability that she had to face. A shiver ran through her, and then she suddenly was filled with self contempt. Why the hell was she the one afraid? Why weren't they the ones who were worried? "Because they think this is only about the money. They don't understand what's really at stake," she immediately answered herself.
Well, enough. The two years she had spent recreating herself had made her soft. That had to end. Now. It had only been a few hours, but she already knew that she couldn't just stay here like a caged animal waiting for Aaron to decide. If they wanted to bring the war to her, she would go out and face them. She knew they were at the Hilton - at least Vivian and Seth were - and more than likely Sam too. If her brother was here with his usual arsenal, then better that she find out now, rather than waiting in a penthouse like a coward. Once she decided to stop waiting, she felt better. And then she began to move.
She quickly got out of her chair and practically sprinted across the large apartment to the master bedroom. She pulled the original Picasso off the wall (she never liked it, the man couldn't draw a proper face - two eyes on one side of a head? She preferred the work of the starving street artists that Aaron had admired, but there was no time to think about that now, she told herself) and after entering the electronic combination, she opened the safe that lay behind it. She didn't hesitate as she reached in and withdrew her Glock 17L and tucked it between her Gucci belt and her back. She paid good money to make sure that it was untraceble with the unspoken hope that she would never have to use it.
She still hoped for that even now. But a girl couldn't be stupid. She would go, assess the situation, confront them if she had to and deal with the ramifications. If things got bad...she didn't want to think about it, but she was a much better shot than Vivian ever was and if she went down, she promised herself to place a bullet in Sam's heart before she went. One for Seth too, if she was lucky enough to have the extra seconds.
She buzzed her driver, Michael, ordered her car, threw on her blazer, pat her gun for reassurance and was on her way to face her past.
