Chapter 6: The Contract

Sin's hand was warm against mine, and he held me loosely as we took the private elevators to the top floor. He let go of my hand once we entered it, and I swallowed, watching as the rest of the people were cut off from us, letting us be alone in the elevator.

I bit down on my lips and turned towards him, my chest lightly heaving.

"Uh, hi."

If he heard me, he did not make a point of it, and only let my words hang between us.

I swallowed down the embarrassment, then cleared my throat. "Uhm... I am sorry about yesterday. And your watch, too. I swear, I had no choice. I was desperate and..."

The words died in my throat as he slowly turned to me, his right brow rising. My lips parted as I blinked rapidly, my heart thumping loudly.

I struggled to form a coherent sentence, and he only looked at me like he was expecting me to keep mute. I finally stopped trying, then swallowed, my hands coming in front of me.

Without a word, he turned away, his face expressionless.

I nodded, understanding what he had meant now. Silence. I was going to keep that silence until he asked me to talk.

The elevator stopped, and the door opened. Sin walked out, and I quickly followed behind him, my hands held in front of me.

We got to a large custom suite, and he put in the pin. The door opened, and he walked inside. I stopped outside, my chest heaving.

Did he want us to be alone in his suite? But... what if he forced himself on me? As it was, this place seemed to bow to him already, so I probably wouldn't get any help.

I felt a lump rise in my throat as I slowly took a step inside. To my surprise and utmost relief, two men were sitting on the seats, a few papers spread out on the table in front of them.

Sin was nowhere to be found, and I walked forward, my eyes darting around the room. The walls were painted a pure white but had dark art on them. I swallowed, my eyes falling on the large bed. It was round and had a canopy hanging above it.

There was a mini bar to the right, a large dresser to the left, on top of which were carefully arranged cigars and a gun. I felt my throat go dry as one of them suddenly turned to me.

"You are Annalise Jones, I presume."

I slowly nodded, then walked closer. "Yes. How can I help you?"

He nodded. "I understand you are the second party in a contractual agreement with my client?"

My brows furrowed as I leaned closer as if that would help me hear better. "Sorry, what?"

"Sit."

I turned sharply to Sin. He was now wearing black suit pants and nothing else. His hair was ruffled, and he had only unlit cigar between his lips.

I swallowed and immediately sat next to the men, my chest heaving. I turned to him, and he had turned away, his brows furrowed as he lit the cigar.

I let my eyes roam down his upper body. He was fit, slim, but deathly ripped. On the right side of his back was a crown tattoo. It seemed like it was on fire, with the three letter word, Sin written in the middle. It seemed I had met a man who knew of the essence he held and wasn't ashamed of it.

He slowly turned to me, then took one puff of his cigar. "Go on."

The man that had spoken earlier cleared his throat, and I turned to him.

"You are to go through the details of this contract and sign."

I leaned towards the papers, then looked up. "A contract? For what?"

"For stealing from me, Annalise. I shall grant you mercy in the form of a contract that states that you are to pay me back in the form of services for the next five months." His voice was calm, and I started to wonder if it was like that because nothing could move him or because there truly was no emotion involved.

I bit down on my lips. "Am I going to be paid for this?"

"You took your payment yesterday. But you will have shelter. Food. Clothes and opulence like you have never seen before."

"And just for five months?"

The man in front of me nodded.

I leaned forward. "Are you a lawyer?"

"Yes, I am," he said, adjusting his tie. "I am Mr. Sin's personal lawyer."

I nodded and moved closer. "Does signing this contract pose a threat to my humanitarian rights? Am I going to be used? Exploited? If you were my lawyer, would you advise me to sign this?"

"Yes," the lawyer said simply. "But instead of asking me when I am clearly not on your side, you could read it and request for a change of clauses if that is what you want."

"I doubt we will be working by her terms, consigliere. And I highly doubt that she has a choice. Do you, Annalise?"

I turned to Sin, and his head was lightly tilted to the right, his eyes thin. My lips parted as I turned to his hand that was resting on the dresser. The smoke from his cigar was lightly moving upwards, and his fingers rested a little distance away from the gun.

Probably the same gun he had killed James with.

I swallowed, beads of perspiration covering my forehead. I don't think I had any choices and... consigliere. I knew exactly what a consigliere was. Had I somehow gotten entangled with the mafia?

I bit down on my lips, then pulled the papers to me. I could read a few lines but could hardly comprehend it. It isn't like it made a difference anyway.

I let out a shaky breath, then grabbed the pen that was lying next to the papers. My fingers were shaking, but I flipped to the last one and signed on it, my eyes looking up to the lawyer once I was done.

"That was easier than I thought. Thanks for a smooth one, Annalise."

I nodded as the two men stood up, and I heard them talk to Sin in hushed whispers. Once they were done, they walked away, leaving us alone.

For the longest while, we just stayed in complete silence, my heart thumping hard.

I slowly stood up, then turned to Sin, who seemed occupied by a tablet in front of him.

"So... when do I start?"

"Now," he said simply.

"What... what do I have to do?"

He turned to me, his brow raised. "Be my wife. That is what you have to do."