Page 56 of Worth the Risk

“Fuck,” he muttered.

Before he could shoo Bella into the kitchen, Allison barged right in.

“Is that your piece-of-shit Toyota in the driveway, Dan? What happened? Did you get fired?” Her smug smile faded when she spotted Bella beside him.

From her narrowed eyes and the bitter twist of her lips, he knew she was going to be difficult. When wasn’t she?

“And who’s this?” Allison asked, gesturing toward Bella. “Your newest kinky piece of ass? Have you checked her ID? Or is barely legal what you’re into now?”

“Don’t start.”

She snorted. “How can I start when I never finished? Besides, you give me so much ammunition.” To Bella she said snidely, “Shouldn’t you be getting home, honey? You’ve probably got homework, and it’s getting dark. Your parents might worry.”

“I’m twenty-seven, not seventeen,” Bella informed her.

“It’s best not to even engage, darlin’,” Dan advised.

“Twenty-seven.” The smug smile had returned to Allison’s face. “Gee, Dan. That makes her closer to Caden’s age than to yours.”

“That’s enough.” He took her arm and turned her toward the door. “Since you can’t be civil, you can wait in the car. When the kids have finished their dinner, which I had to feed them since you’re almost an hour late, I’ll send them out with their stuff.”

“Back off, macho man, I’m not your submissive,” she hissed as she twisted to get free. “I have more self-respect.”

He let her go on the front porch, using his big body to block the door and prevent reentry. “You have no clue what you’re talking about. Which is part of the reason you’re abitter, unhappy woman. Do us all a favor and try not to let that wear off on the kids.”

“Fuck you, Dan. Or should I say Master Dan? I bet that’s what little Bella calls you.”

Taking his own advice about engaging with her, he started to close the door, planning to lock it.

“Wait,” Allison suddenly exclaimed. “I needed to talk to you about something.”

“You should have thought about that before. I’m not in the mood to listen to your bitchiness.”

“But it’s important and involves the kids.”

That was the only thing that kept the solid oak door from slamming shut in her face. “What about the kids?”

“I need a new car and am a little strapped for cash for the down payment.”

He angrily crossed his arms over his chest and glowered at her, astounded by her audacity. “The car you have is only three years old. I know, since I paid for it.”

“Yeah, well, now I need a minivan or an SUV at least because I’m hauling your kids around to all their activities and carpooling with the other moms. Of course, if you don’t like it, we can go back to court and air all your dirty laundry.”

That was always her threat.

“I don’t give a fuck what you air. I’m done. You get what we agreed to, which is more than generous, and not a penny more.”

“You’re working at Rossi Security. They’re in the papers every day, so I know they’re raking it in hand over fist. And look at this house. Who needs three thousand square feet for one person? Obviously, you can afford to help me out.”

“If I help, we renegotiate the custody agreement. Quarterly weekends aren’t cutting it for me.”

When she narrowed her eyes at him, he knew she was biting her tongue to stifle another catty remark. “Fine,” she finally snapped.

“Have your lawyer call mine.”

“Can’t we do this between us, like we used to?”

“No. Those days are over. From now on, no friendly agreements. That would mean a personality change for you, and there isn’t enough money in the world.”