Page 32 of Claimed

“There’s another option,” he drawled, flicking his wrist to glance at his watch. “We live together, under my roof.”

“Move in with you?”

“Believe me, it’s not my preferred choice. You’re nothing more to me than an inconvenience. I could get rid of you, but what kind of damage would that inflict on my son?”

“You’re despicable.”

“Not as much as I could be,” he said with a wink. “I guess fatherhood is already changing me.”

I shook my head. “What makes you think you’re fit to raise a child?”

“It’s not about that.”

I let out a harsh laugh. “Shows how screwed up your priorities are.”

“My priority is claiming my son. Raising him in an environment I approve of.”

“The one where he gets shot at?”

“The one that keeps him safe. I can’t protect him if he spends half his time at your apartment with zero security.”

He had a point.

I licked my dry lips. “How long would we live together?”

“Until you beg me for a divorce.”

I blinked. I’d heard wrong. Divorce implied we’d marry, and there was no way he meant that.

“I’m not marrying you.”

“Well, I’m not moving you in unless you agree to marry me.”

“But—why?”

“I don’t want to spend weeks in court, Bumpkin. God only knows what state Jack’s in after his mother was murdered. And when I win, he’ll be in a new house with strangers. It’ll fuck him up. I know it. But if we’re engaged, we bypass all that pain.”

He sounded less like a hitman and more like a dad worried about his boy. It threw me off balance, made me reconsider the man sitting beside me.

“You don’t care that you’re gettin’ hitched to a stranger?”

He shrugged. “Marriage gives me everything I want right now.”

I took a deep breath. “So this is a…a convenience for you?”

“It’s the best solution for everyone involved. You keep Jack in your life, and I ensure he’s safe and cared for.”

“But what about me? What do I become in all this? Just a pretend wife?”

He leaned back, his expression unreadable. “You’ll have financial security, a roof over your head, and you won’t lose Jack. Isn’t that what you want?”

I licked my lips, the reality of the situation dawning on me. This wasn’t a fairy tale. It was an agreement for the sake of a child. My nephew. My sister’s son.

“What happens if I say no?”

“I’ll have my lawyer draft a lawsuit, and when I get full custody, I’ll make sure you’ll never see him again.”

I gulped down a huge breath. Did I have any hope of winning a court battle? Maybe, but his lawyer could drag out the process for as long as he wanted. His resources far outstripped mine. The idea of losing Jack, the last piece of Elise, clawed at my ribcage.

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