Chapter 10
Two Years After the Dangerous Escape
No!
Leo held Rose on his hip as he tried to get the sock on her foot. Come on, Rosie Bear.
Piggies. I want piggies.
Leo crouched next to the tiny toddler’s shoes by the door and stared at the girl in his arms.
It was weird to think that two years ago, he hadn’t ever held a baby. Now, here he was, having one manipulate him with crocodile tears. Your mum said you used those yesterday.
Rose kicked her sock-free foot. Piggies!
The three-year-old had recently grown fascinated by Peppa Pig.
It had partially been his fault. He’d been away on a business trip to London and found the books and a toy of the famous cartoon.
Thinking of Rose, he’d bought them, much to his and Molly’s dismay because Peppa Pig was either constantly on in the flat or Rose was demanding piggie stuff.
Fuck, that sounded so domestic.
To someone looking in, they appeared like a family. But if they saw what things were like behind the scenes, if someone ever found out, they would realise how fucked-up this arrangement was.
No, he wasn’t going there. Not when they were late, and Rose was hung up on her piggie.
Okay, how about you wear pink socks? They are the same colour, aren’t they?
Rose stopped squirming, then gave a small nod just as the bedroom door opened and Molly hobbled out.
She had on her usual uniform of joggers and a tank top with a slight sheen of sweat on her forehead from the online self-defence class she’d been attending.
Her hair was tied up in a bun on the top of her head. Her gorgeous eyes blinked up at him.
Sorry, class ran over. She held her hand up, showing Rose the pink socks. You’re always good at getting her to do what we need her to.
Leo dropped the other pair on the kitchen counter and grabbed the pink socks. Apparently, he was. Ever since that first spoon of mashed potatoes Leo had fed Rose, he had been able to pacify and soothe her. Almost like a father.
But he wasn’t her father. Nor was he related to her. Hell, he was nothing to either of these two women and yet here he was, in their living room, living out a domestic lifestyle and trying hard not to stare at the rosy colour on Molly’s cheeks or the sensual sway of her hips. That woman was fire.
Thanks for dropping by and babysitting her. Molly tucked a strand of her red hair behind her ear. Especially when the meeting last night dragged on as long as it did.
She never had to apologise. He’d told her that, but she always did. Spending extra time with Rose wasn’t work, it was a treat, especially now that she was older and growing up to be an actual human being.
He had loved her babbling stages, but this one where she could talk was even better.
Not to mention the kick he got by teaching her things, like the alphabet and colours.
The other day, they had made Molly a card.
Which brought him to the other bonus that he received from babysitting Rose: admiring Molly.
God, the woman was gorgeous. If it weren’t for Johnny and what she’d been through, and the fact that Rose meant so much to Leo, he’d have made a move on her. But now he was firmly in the friend zone. And he would never risk losing what he had with these women for some kind of romance with Molly.
Leo ran a hand over Rose’s hair and tried to get her to put on her socks. Although that was one lesson he hadn’t been successful at imparting yet.
He sat Rose down on the kitchen counter as everywhere else was a mess, then rolled the pink socks on. You’re going to have a great day today, Rosie Bear.
Rose scratched at something on her pink dress, this one also featuring a farm of animals, but mainly pigs. ’Eo coming?
It was Rose’s first day of nursery. Molly had been worried that Rose had little exposure to the world, so had enrolled her as soon as Rose became eligible.
Even if they took Rose outside, mostly Leo driving them, they never hung out in Glasgow or any crowded spots. There was always a danger of Johnny or one of his pals seeing them.
While Molly still hadn’t told him much about the man, she had said Johnny had his gang of thugs. His network extended mostly around Glasgow, so staying away from the city didn’t get them noticed.
Besides, Molly looked different now. She’d changed her hair and her dressing style. Not to mention Rose was older, and to most people the three of them appeared like a normal family. Johnny’s pals would probably notice if it were just Molly and Rose.
You’re going to have a wonderful time. Molly came over and smoothed the ponytails Leo had managed to tie Rose’s hair into.
Rose shook her head, immediately disturbing her red curls. No.
You’ll make new friends, baby.
Rose’s face scrunched.
Hey, Mum will be there, okay? Leo intercepted the potential tantrum. Molly had told him Rose had bawled her eyes out when she’d told her about nursery.
Apparently, the girl didn’t need fwends. Secretly, Leo agreed. Where had the eleven-month-old he’d met a couple years ago gone? She was too young to go to school.
Maybe he started, then reached out to remove the socks from Rose’s feet. She could start next year?
Molly swatted his hand away. I’m going to get changed. And you need to head to work.
When Molly walked away, Leo grimaced at Rose. I tried, sorry.
Thirty minutes later, they were at the nursery. The original plan had been for Leo to drop them off. The nursery was a five-minute walk from the flat so Molly could walk back later.
However, Rose had insisted he come in with them, and Leo hadn’t been able to drive away. He held her hand, longer than Molly had. The teacher, a kind lady in her fifties, had almost slapped his hand away when he’d continued to hold onto Rose.
Rose had cried; he had almost shed a few tears too. Then he’d nodded at Molly wordlessly and gone to work.
Rose wasn’t even his daughter. But she was growing up too fast.
Was this how his mother had felt when she’d waved him off for school every day? Valentina Ricci hadn’t had the time between her three jobs. He certainly hadn’t cared, eejit that he was.
An incompetent son who’d let his mother die.
Leo erased those thoughts, replaced instead by Rose’s crying face. He should have saved Rose from going to nursery this early on.
His guilt spiral was interrupted by the door to his office bursting open and his assistant shouting something before Knox stormed in with a strong sense of fucking déjà vu.
Leo scrubbed his eyes.
What the hell’s wrong with you? Knox asked before throwing a leather-bound file on the desk. A break-up?
No, this was worse than a break-up. He looked at his watch. Two more hours, and Rose would be done. He would call then and ensure she was okay.
Much worse, Leo said. What do you want?
Knox frowned but didn’t probe further. Barker Constructions. They need security for their construction site at Candleriggs. It’s a luxury apartment build, but they’ve had some equipment stolen and some vandalism against the construction.
Leo opened the file.
The last time Knox had burst in here and thrown that ultimatum at Leo, things had changed. For one, Leo had taken a look at his life and realised he had to become a master of planning and delegating to balance everything. So that’s what he’d done.
He delegated a lot of tasks to his staff so he could oversee the work, which was his focus from eight a.m. to five p.m., after which he rushed out of the office.
Everyone thought he had a secret double life—everyone apart from Knox, who thought he was a slacker for not working twelve hours a day at the minimum.
But Rose and Molly were his top priority, and he refused to drop the ball on them.
It had been too late for David’s money to save Leo’s mother, but he would ensure he used his resources to help Molly.
Over the last year, Leo had been extra cautious. Seeing as Knox had threatened to set Johnny on his tails, and Leo still wasn’t bosom buddies with his brother, whenever Leo travelled to or with Molly and Rose, he made sure he wasn’t being followed.
Thus far, he hadn’t spotted Johnny sniffing into his life. Apparently, the eejit was on an extended business trip to Canada. Leo didn’t have a clue what Foundation business took a year to set up, but he wasn’t going to be up Johnny’s business and attract his attention that way.
Now, he flicked through the Barker Construction project. Isn’t this job more for police and, well, Neil?
When it came to properties, they had various tiers.
This had been Knox’s business brain at work.
They offered standard options to individuals and businesses who needed security systems installed.
Personal protection was an entirely separate department.
Leo looked after the personal security projects because they required a bit more in Human Resources.
And Neil focused on the IT and the security systems.
They want personal security because they’ve had bomb threats and there was a IED found in one of their other sites.
And they don’t want cops involved because it’s bad press.
Knox sat down in the chair opposite Leo.
If we do this successfully, we’ll get more jobs from them.
Construction site security pays well and usually has low stakes.
Leo knew that. Protecting workers and ensuring they had the safety gear they needed was the job of the construction company. Buchanan Security only looked at the property and made sure it was safe from vandals. Usually, a job like this was easy, not like protecting actual humans.
Besides, Cramer Barker, the owner—
Leo laughed. Wait, that’s the owner’s name?
Knox scowled. Has received threats. He needs protection, personal security. I need you to send him the best of the best.
And protect his corrupt arse, Leo thought.
Although he did this for a living, he had noticed a couple things in the year he’d been focused on his work.
The people who could afford their personal security and needed the highest tier possible were always the arseholes who had upset enough people in the world that they received death threats.
It may sound like victim-shaming, but in his opinion, people like Barker deserved it.
He evicted a bunch of people to build this new swanky place. I don’t think people are wrong in trying to destroy the site. Leo snapped the file closed. But it’s the job, so I’ll do it, he added to shut Knox up from delivering a lecture and throwing any other stupid ultimatums.
Another thing. Knox crossed his legs. The office security jobs on St Vincent Street and Bath Street. Did you look at those?
Those were small, regular jobs where an office complex required security.
He knew Neil had installed the system for them, but he had also supplied staff for surveillance.
The whole block from Bath Street to St Vincent Street near Charing Cross employed them, so Leo had a separate team leader managing those contracts.
Those offices were plush spaces, all newly built, and bursting with equally impressive businesses. Having good security was just a selling point for the owners, so Buchanan Security had supplied it.
I monitor them, yes. Once upon a time, Leo would have tried to manage it all himself, resulting in a few tasks falling through the cracks. Now, he’d delegated it so his team leader briefed Leo about the project every so often. What about it?
Knox looked at his fingers, then towards the door. Are you sure you’re monitoring it?
What’s the problem? Leo tapped his now-full desk. Spill it, Knox. I have work to get done, and I don’t sleep in the office.
I was at a dinner last night, and Sam Wilcox told me confidentially that he’d been approached by this firm, Newtar. They are providing Sam’s company much cheaper rates and promising more than we do.
Leo crossed his arms. You think I’m padding the numbers?
No. Knox sighed. No, I just… If you see anything about them, Newtar, watch out. Especially if they’re trying to poach our clients.
Someone offering a better deal to one of their clients wasn’t poaching exactly. But explaining that to a high-strung man like Knox would be like explaining Rose what quadratic equations were.
Fuck, she’d be learning those for real in no time.
Leo scrubbed his eyes and nodded. I’ll look into it. Now, may I work in peace? And cry at how quickly Rose was growing up.