Chapter 13
Molly had never been to Leo’s house before. If she had, she’d have waved goodbye to him—not because the place was a hellhole, but because the place was so luxurious that this man was way above her league, even as a friend.
Her mouth dropped open at the massive chandelier hanging from the ceiling and the curved staircase leading to the first floor. When they’d walked in, the actual fireplace in the living room had blazed to life, along with an instrumental song strumming away in the background.
Fresh flowers decorated the space, and not the sort from the supermarket. They had a sweet aroma to them.
Rose wasn’t feeling any of Molly’s qualms. She squirmed in her arms to be set down. For all her introverted-ness at nursery, Rose was quite happy to explore new places.
But the last thing Molly needed was for her daughter to crash into something.
Leo came to a halt by the foot of the staircase. Should I give you a tour, or shall we settle Rose down first? I’m sure she’s ready for her dinner.
Molly took a step to follow Leo when she stopped herself. No, no, she had a plan. Hell, she’d been thinking of a plan before she’d seen Johnny that afternoon.
I think… I think we should check into a hotel room for the night. Tomorrow, we can go look for new flats to rent. Molly bit her lip, her heart squeezing at the words she’d just spoken.
Leo frowned, then shook his head. Don’t worry about it. The driveway is long, and Neil updated the security system here when I moved in. This place is better guarded than Holyrood. Johnny won’t find you here.
She looked at Rose. Her daughter’s eyes were busy roaming the space before she grew bored and held her arms out for Leo. Plane!
Leo smiled at Rose and reached out to hold her.
This. This had been the issue. Leo and Rose were too close.
The two of them had a bond like a father-and-daughter pair.
And that was just bad for Rose. What happened when Leo met someone he loved and had a family with them?
Rose was already too attached to Leo. But now she was going to nursery, and then she’d be in school.
She’d learn that most children had two parents.
Johnny is keeping an eye on you, Molly said, interrupting Leo from making engine noises as he rotated Rose like a plane sailing through the air. What if he realises who Rose and I are?
Leo balanced Rose on his hip. I can’t promise you he won’t figure it out. But I can promise you I will keep the two of you safe from him. Whatever it takes.
Why?
Leo tilted his head. Molly, he whispered, as if she should know the answer to that.
And fuck. With him holding Rose, looking at her like that…
Molly knew. But she couldn’t allow herself to acknowledge it.
Thank you for everything you’ve done for us.
For being there and rushing to my aid. But we’ve taken enough of your time, Leo.
I’ve been selfish expecting you to help out with Rose, with the house, with keeping us safe, with everything.
We are not related, we aren’t involved. Rose is not yours.
You have a busy life, and you need downtime too. And we’ve been taking up all of it.
Leo was in front of her in a heartbeat. He set his free hand on her arm and squeezed.
As I told you when we left the pub with Rose, this is your choice.
You are free to leave, but you and Rose are not a burden.
Never have been. You’ve both kept me sane these last couple of years.
And you’ve brought me out of my funk. You said yourself that Johnny’s got connections in Glasgow.
And while I don’t have those sort of connections, I am part owner in a company which keeps people safe. So please, let me help you.
But—
And you’re in no way obligated to me. If you want to stay separately, I will arrange that for you. I’ll even stay at a distance. But you can’t push me away completely. I’m not going to leave your or Rose’s safety in anyone else’s hands.
Molly shut her eyes. This man had the ability to destroy her by simply existing. Johnny had laid his hands on her. Still, two years later, here she was rebuilding her life. But they didn’t have a romantic relationship. They had never kissed or had sex.
And yet, if this man hurt her, Molly wasn’t sure if she’d ever stand back up.
That was fucking scary, especially given her past.
He had a valid point, though. He protected people for a living. If she ran with Rose now, it was only a matter of time before Johnny found her. Then where would she be?
But what if he is no longer interested in finding me? Molly said.
Leo breathed out deeply. He might not be anymore.
But frankly, the man’s obsessive. I don’t think he’s willing to let go of anything he thinks belongs to him.
So I’m not taking the chance. But I do understand you don’t want to be seen around with me.
If he did find out, that would just be fuel to fire.
Molly swiped her hand over her face. I’m scared, Leo.
This time when he pulled her in his arms, she didn’t hold back. In fact, she hugged him and Rose back.
I know, Molly. But I also know you’re strong.
She squeezed him and once more gave into what her heart wanted. Okay, so what’s the plan?
***
Leo was the worst kind of bastard.
After making the room for Molly and Rose—Molly had insisted Rose be in her bedroom—he had made them dinner. Molly had turned in for the night, which was understandable, given the day she’d had.
He could still see Molly’s face. The woman had been ready to leave him that night, taking Rose with her. Molly was right. She nor Rose were related to him in any way.
But when she’d told him she wanted to go, something caveman-like had taken hold of him and made him behave the way he had.
He had assured Molly he would do anything it took to keep her and her daughter safe. That much was indeed true, but wasn’t that almost like twisting her arm until she stayed?
Then he’d dropped the real bomb: Stay indoors until Johnny is no longer a threat.
Now Leo’s guilt tore into him. He was the reason Johnny was after Molly and the reason Johnny knew Leo had a family. Surely someone like Johnny would have found Molly by now if he’d been actively searching. Even though he’d been out of the country for the last two years.
The only reason Molly and Rose were safe was that Johnny hadn’t been looking for them. Until Leo had led the bastard to their doorstep, literally.
A smart man would let them go, maybe help Molly and Rose escape Glasgow and make a life elsewhere.
But he couldn’t watch them drive away from him.
This was a repeat of his past behaviours.
His insistence as a teenager on joining the boys’ football team while his mother slaved away at her several jobs had been pure selfishness.
If he’d stepped up and got a better-paying job than his part-time one in retail, would they have found out about his mother’s cancer earlier?
He dropped his head into his hands.
When his mother’s sister had told him he’d caused his mother’s death, young Leo had believed her. He had been too selfish to save his mother.
And now with Molly, history was repeating itself.
The worse of it was, Molly had agreed to his plan of her and Rose staying put. Her only request had been to get her work laptop tomorrow.
He hadn’t said yes or no. He’d pulled a real charming move by saying, We’ll see.
Leo pulled out the papers he’d been studying in the office that afternoon.
He’d taken the afternoon to dig into Barker Constructions and assure himself as well as Knox that the project was being handled as it should be.
He’d also asked his assistant to fetch a report on Newtar.
Craig had dropped the papers off while Molly had been putting Rose to bed.
Leo reached into his desk drawer and fetched his glasses.
He didn’t use the things at work, but lately, he’d felt the tension in between his eyes, especially when he read at night.
The doctor had suggested he get glasses and see if the stress eased.
It hadn’t yet. Leo rubbed the tension between his eyebrows away, then focused on the two piles his assistant had brought over for him.
Say what he might about the man, Craig did his job well—except for not keeping the CEO out of Leo’s office, but the rest of it was pretty efficient. How else would Leo have everything he needed this quickly?
He picked up the file on Barker. These were all the sheets they had created for the client. Barker had struck a deal with Knox, so he was relatively new to Buchanan Security. Yet his dossier was thick.
The man had specific instructions on the type of men he wanted as security. Leo wasn’t an expert in this field, but that didn’t make him stupid. One of his side jobs had been as a security guard and even a bouncer at a club. He’d had his share of scrapes and bruises from those gigs.
A creak had him jolting. What the hell was that?
The house wasn’t made of wood, so it didn’t settle around him like old houses did. The stairs and flooring were all marble, covered with plush carpet to keep the place warm. A thud followed, the sound so muted he would have missed it if he hadn’t been listening for it.
Someone had to be creeping around in the house. Leo’s heart caught in his throat. Could it be Johnny?
He slipped out the door of his home office, ensuring he didn’t make a sound, then he cocked his head to listen.
Without the closed door acting as a barrier, he could hear the shuffles. Still muted, but he wasn’t imagining it. Whoever had tried to break in was doing a good job of keeping quiet.
He tiptoed towards where he thought the noises were coming from. A weapon, Leo needed one. If this was Johnny, Leo was aware the eejit knew how to fight. Probably had a knife or two on him.
Fuck.
Leo considered running towards the kitchen for a knife, but the kitchen was on the other side of the house. Judging by the sounds, the person sneaking around was in the living room, perhaps heading towards the front door.
Leo would be damned if he let the bastard leave.
He rushed towards the living room. Here the sound of human breathing could be heard. The space echoed even the most silent of whispers.
Grabbing a lamp like a fucking numpty, he barrelled into the room and—
Molly!
She squeaked, turning around with her hands raised. Oh!
Leo set the lamp down and flicked on the lights. What the hell are you doing?
Her eyes darted to him, then to the floor, and around the space, as if she had never seen the living room before. I—I…
Leo sighed, then took a step towards her. Can’t sleep? Molly, you’re safe here. I won’t let anything happen to you or Rose.
She was wringing her hands now, still unwilling to meet his gaze. That’s the issue, she muttered, her voice so breathy, he barely heard her.
But Leo knew Molly’s tells. The softer her voice got, the more important the topic she was trying to broach. So he waited for her to tell him what it was.
Molly walked over to the sofa and cosied up on it. I’m sorry, Leo, for all this. The last thing you ever imagined when you helped us back then was to find yourself in this situation.
Not this again. Mo—
I want to move out. I mean, I think it’s time for Rose and me to move, maybe go to another town.
Leo’s jaw dropped. She had brought this up earlier, but he’d thought it was fear talking. But now she was serious. She wanted to leave him.
You’ve been a saving angel for us. You’ve been the father Rose needed, and you’ve been the best support I never imagined I’d have. But you need to live your life too. And I’ve now brought my troubles to you. I can’t demand more from you.
She didn’t need him anymore, he knew that.
Over the last two years, he’d seen Molly blossom.
She had a well-paying job, an online mother’s support group, and had re-learned self-defence.
But not having Molly or Rose in his life?
He could see the cliff edge rife with memories of his mother’s family turning their backs on him after her funeral, of holidays, heartaches, and life’s accomplishments all celebrated and mourned alone.
Going back to that life, would send him off the edge.
Leo clutched his hands so tight, his knuckles paled. I won’t stop you, Molly.
I know, and I’m so grateful for you. But… I’m such a bitch to ask this, but maybe we can stay here for a while, until Johnny leaves?
Leo blinked, fighting the tears trying to fill his eyes. He never thought Johnny’s presence would bring him hope. But here Leo was, being a selfish prick again. You are welcome here, always.
Molly stood up and touched his shoulder. I’m sorry for bringing this trouble to you, Leo.
He wanted Molly by his side, and the threat Johnny brought kept her there. But Leo would be damned if he didn’t do anything to help Molly.
Johnny had hurt her. Even at the nursery earlier, seeing a strong woman like her so terrified, it made Leo’s blood boil. Johnny had done that to her. He’d abused her, ruined her life, caused her to run with an eleven-month-old bairn clutched to her chest and no money to her name.
It was a solid reason to ruin that bastard’s life.