Page 29 of Sinful Ruin

She leans back on her stool. “You also can’t stop me from volunteering.”

I knew this would be a problem. “The shelter isn’t safe for you.”

“I’ve worked and been safe there for over a decade.”

“Before, you didn’t have a Russian who wanted to marry you or a pregnancy agreement with me. All of that makes you less safe, so someone needs to watch you. I can’t have my men folding blankets and serving food when I need them elsewhere.”

She groans, throwing her head back. “Please tell me you’re not going to bodyguard me up like your brother did with Pippa.”

Pippa is Damien’s wife, and she’s not allowed to go anywhere alone. She and Genesis became friends after Damien asked Genesis to take Pippa out for a spa day before their first date.

Someone is always watching Pippa. For a while, it was my job, which I fucking hated. That ended when I opened the casino.

I hadn’t been made to play bodyguard to a woman I wasn’t fucking.

I had been made to run an empire, to make money, and to get rid of those who got in my way.

I just need one more thing—a child to leave everything to.

“You want to volunteer, I’m bodyguarding you up,” I say, hoping that’ll change her mind.

Genesis is used to doing whatever she wants.

She needs to know that when she signs my contract, her life will change.

As will mine.

7

How stupid wasI not to stash money aside in case my life fell apart?

I have a master’s degree.

I should’ve gotten a job, but I saw my path in life as helping others.

That’s why it’s important I keep working at the shelter. They depend on me.

Julian showed me to the guest room last night and handed me the contract. I took a bath, reread the contract, and couldn’t help but roll my eyes at the handwritten additions he’d added to it.

Can I really give up hope of finding true love and sign my life away to him?

One thing I do know is that I’m never trusting a man again.

Not with my finances, my heart, or any-goddamn-thing.

I wouldn’t even trust one with my coffee order at this point.

Maybe a contracted marriage with no expectations—other than a baby and not marrying someone else—is the answer for me. I have no interest in a relationship that’s doomed to fall apart, and if there’s anything I know about Julian, it’s that he’sstraight-up, no bullshit. So, I have my stipulations to add, and I’ll sign.

“How long will it take me to get my own place?” I ask, changing the subject from volunteer talk. “Since you won’t let me stay in the condo that’s still legally mine.”

He furrows his brow in frustration. “I thought I’d made it clear that you’re staying here until we come up with a better arrangement. Finding you that arrangement is at the bottom of my priority list.”

“What’s at the top?”

“You meeting with my attorney since the Feds want to interview you.”

I draw in a deep breath.

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