Chapter Two: Leo Decides She’s His Problem

Leo didn’t sleep that night.

Which wasn’t unusual—sleep was optional when you ran half the city—but this time it wasn’t because of work. It was because every time he closed his eyes, he saw pink curtains, steady hands, and a girl who looked at a gunshot wound like it was a spilled drink.

“She should’ve been scared,” Leo muttered, standing in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows of his penthouse.

Behind him, Jin sat stiffly on the couch, replaying the night in his head for the tenth time.

“Boss,” Jin said carefully, “you collapsed. That’s already weird. But the real issue is—you let a civilian take you home.”

Leo shot him a look.

“A civilian who stitched you up,” Jin added quickly. “Perfectly. Like… scary perfectly.”

Leo poured himself a drink. Didn’t touch it.

“She’s a risk,” Jin continued. “We should move her. Somewhere safe. Somewhere we control.”

Leo turned slowly.

“No.”

Jin blinked. “No?”

“She stays where she is.”

“That’s—uh—dangerous?”

Leo’s lips curled. “Exactly.”

Ava woke up to knocking.

Not aggressive. Not polite either.

Just… confident.

She padded to the door in socks, hair messy, strawberry milk already in hand. She peeked through the peephole.

Three men in black suits.

One of them waved at the camera.

“Oh,” Ava murmured. “That track.”

She opened the door halfway.

“Yes?”

Jin bowed slightly. “Miss Ava. Apologies for the intrusion. We’re here on behalf of—”

“Leo,” she finished.

Jin froze. “You know his name.”

She shrugged. “I Googled ‘dramatic bleeding man.’”

One of the guards snorted. Jin elbowed him.

Ava leaned against the doorframe. “If this is about him dying in my living room, he didn’t. So we’re good.”

Jin cleared his throat. “The Boss wishes to ensure your safety.”

She raised an eyebrow. “From what?”

“…Everything.”

She smiled. “That sounds expensive.”

By noon, Ava had a tail.

She noticed instantly.

Black sedan. Same turn twice. Too clean to be a coincidence.

“Cute,” she muttered, sipping her milk.

She walked faster.

The sedan followed.

She ducked into a convenience store, waited exactly thirty seconds, then exited through the side door.

The sedan screeched to a halt.

Two men jumped out.

Ava sighed. “Guys.”

They froze.

“How did you—”

“You’re not subtle,” she said. “Also, you walk like you’re expecting bullets.”

They exchanged looks.

“Tell Leo,” she continued, “that if he’s gonna stalk me, he should at least send someone hotter.”

One of them choked.

Leo heard about it fifteen minutes later.

“She noticed us,” Jin said.

Leo leaned back in his chair. “Of course she did.”

“She threatened our pride.”

Leo smiled faintly. “I like her.”

“That’s not comforting.”

That night, Ava closed her clinic early.

Yes. Clinic.

A tiny, legally registered medical clinic tucked between a bakery and a tattoo parlor. Leo’s men had found it within hours.

“Boss,” Jin said, holding a tablet. “She’s licensed. Top scores. Ridiculous credentials.”

Leo frowned. “Age?”

“Mid-twenties.”

“Too young.”

“That’s what I said.”

Leo stood. “Take me there.”

Ava was locking up when Leo stepped out of the shadows.

She didn’t jump.

Didn’t scream.

Didn’t even look surprised.

“You’re healed fast,” she said.

“Good doctor,” he replied.

She turned slowly. “You followed me.”

“I protected you.”

“By stalking.”

“Same thing.”

She crossed her arms. “You’re gonna scare off my patients.”

“You have patients?”

“People get sick,” she said. “Even in your city.”

He studied her face. “You’re hiding something.”

She smiled. “Everyone is.”

A drunk stumbled out of the bar next door and bumped into Ava hard.

“Watch it, sweetheart,” the man slurred, grabbing her wrist.

Leo moved.

The man was on the ground in half a second, gasping, arm twisted at an impossible angle.

Leo hadn’t even broken a sweat.

“Touch her again,” Leo said coldly, “and I’ll remove the arm.”

The man sobbed.

Ava stared.

“Leo,” she said calmly, “you’re breaking my no-violence rule outside business hours.”

Leo looked at her. “You’re not scared.”

She knelt, adjusted the man’s dislocated shoulder with a sharp twist.

The man screamed.

Then passed out.

Ava stood, brushing her hands. “There. Fixed.”

Leo’s eyes narrowed.

“That was… fast.”

“Practice.”

“With what?”

She met his gaze. Something old flickered in her eyes.

“Life.”

Silence.

Then Leo laughed.

Low. Dangerous.

“You’re not a normal girl,” he said.

She took a sip of strawberry milk. “And you’re not a normal criminal.”

He stepped closer. “From now on, you don’t walk alone.”

She leaned in, voice soft. “From now on, don’t assume you’re the scariest thing in my life.”

For the first time in years—

Leo felt challenged.

And thrilled.

As he walked away, Ava watched his shadow disappear… then turned, unlocked a hidden door behind the clinic, and descended into darkness.

Weapons gleamed.

Files lined the walls.

And at the center—

A symbol every major syndicate feared.

Ava smiled.

“So,” she murmured, opening a fresh carton of strawberry milk,

“the Ghost Boss wants to protect me.”

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