Chapter Two
"De Oro, I have an assignment for you."
Leon de Oro groaned as he turned to face his boss. "I just got off a two-week surveillance detail. All I want to do is go home, shower, eat something, and then sleep for the three days you promised me when I took that assignment."
Spending a week in some dingy apartment watching the building across the street was not a walk in the park. He was cold, hungry, and tired. He'd done what he needed to do to complete his assignment, but now he wanted time off.
Gareth grimaced. "I know, but I need you on this one."
Leon tugged at the piercing in his lower lip for a moment before rolling his eyes. "Fine, but I want a week off after this one. Paid."
"Done."
Leon's eyebrows rose. "Really?"
What kind of craptastic assignment had he just agreed to? It had to be something pretty bad if his boss was agreeing to pay him for a week off.
"Who do I have to kill?"
"No one. This one is strictly protection."
Leon groaned. Again. "Do I have to shave?"
He hated the protection details where he had to be clean cut and in a suit. Suits made him itch. Standing guard next to some bleach-blonde bimbo as she got sloshed and hit on anything with a pulse, including him, was not his idea of a good time.
He'd much rather be at a bar, preferably one where men were men and they liked playing together. Funny, he'd never been given an assignment in a leather bar, where he'd fit in a whole lot better. He was the twink mothers forgot to warn their kids about.
"No, it's not that kind of protection detail."
"Okay, I'm listening."
And intrigued.
"Come into my office. This is need to know only."
Okay, now he was really intrigued.
Leon followed his boss into the man's office, shaking his head as he went for the metal folding chair across the desk from Gareth's. "It amazes me that a man who runs a multi-million-dollar security company has an office that looks like you didn't spend more than thirty dollars on it."
Metal chairs, a cheap pressboard desk, and an assembly of papers and books littered the room. The artwork on the walls were maps and wanted posters. There was a potted plant in the corner. It was dead.
Gareth snorted. "People don't pay me for my decorating sense."
That was a good thing. He'd be broke in two seconds flat. But considering the high level of clientele they tended to get, he might want to consider investing a little money in a better decorated office.
Leon wasn't stupid enough to mention that, however. Gareth was built like a Mack truck. He'd take Leon apart without breaking a sweat.
"So, tell me about this assignment."
"This is strictly off the books." Gareth gave him a sharp look. "You understand that?"
"Yeah, sure."
Gareth's attention dropped back to the file in front of him. "An old friend of mine called. His nephew recently came into some money, and he's worried about the boy's safety. Apparently, there has been trouble with his parents in the past, and he's afraid if they learn that their son is suddenly rich, they will cause problems."
Leon couldn't prevent his eyes from rounding. "How much money are we talking here?"
Gareth glanced up. "A lot."
