Total pages in book: 40
Estimated words: 37734 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 189(@200wpm)___ 151(@250wpm)___ 126(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 37734 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 189(@200wpm)___ 151(@250wpm)___ 126(@300wpm)
Trix rolled her eyes. “You’re making way more of this than it really is. I’m leaving her with her father. That’s not the same thing.”
“It is when you want five million dollars for the exchange.”
“So you’re telling me your daughter isn’t worth the money?” Her sneer told me she thought she had me.
“Not saying that at all. I just want to know how you feel about our daughter finding out about this arrangement. Because I will tell her everything before I agree to anything.”
With a shrug, Trix turned her head to the ocean. “She’s more work than I have time to deal with in my life right now, Jude. I’m not going to be home much, and I don’t want a teenager running around unsupervised.”
“Then why not say that? I’ll be happy to take her in. I begged to take her in when we first split. Why do you want even more money?” I knew the answer. I wanted to see if she’d cop to it.
“The way I see it, you owe me that money. If you hadn’t gotten your lawyer buddy involved, the one who is now district attorney for the Palm Springs area, I’d have gotten a fairer settlement from our divorce.”
“Try again, Trix.” I smirked at her. She was good at bullshit, but I’d always seen through her. I knew how her mind worked. “You got more than you earned. We were only married for nine years. You thought you’d make me take on more work, and you could milk me for more in a couple years, claiming inflation or some shit. The ten thousand a month you get now more than makes up for any hardship you had while we were married. No. You got more than you deserved, considering you quit your job the day before we got married and never worked again.”
“You’re a bastard, Jude. Always have been.”
“Yeah?” I stood so I towered over her. I’d never hurt her, but I wanted her to be intimidated by me. While I’d always been in top shape, since I’d left the Air Force, I’d bulked up from the lean ParaRescue officer to a hulking biker. “How about this. Our daughter is going to be eighteen in a couple of years, and you don’t want to lose that income. Sure, you could hold on to at least some of it while she’s in college, but Linnie will likely move out on her own and support herself. That’s who our daughter is.” When she glared up at me, I added, “At least own that shit, Trix. If you’re going to trade our daughter for five mil at least be woman enough to admit you love the money more than you love her.”
“I hate you,” she hissed. “The only thing you were ever good for was the money.”
“Fine.” She’d enjoyed the sex enough, but I wasn’t rising to that bait. “If I do this, you’ll give up my last name and take your own back. I’ll insist on it.” Before she could reply to that, I asked the question I was most concerned with. “Now, where’s your fuckin’ pretty boy and my daughter?”
She huffed but took out her phone and shot off a text. Presumably to Chucky. I scanned the parking lot behind us, looking for my daughter. I always kept Trix in my line of sight because that bitch was as likely to try to kill me and collect Linnie’s inheritance as she was anything else.
Fifteen minutes later, Chucky still hadn’t answered her text, and Linnie hadn’t answered mine. Not surprising, since Trix took every phone I gave her and pawned them. Linnie had a burner phone for emergencies, but if she wasn’t in trouble, she might not even have it on.
“I swear to God, Trix, if something has happened to Linnie…”
“She’s fine, Jude,” Trix snapped at me. But her brows were knitted together, and she was calling Chucky over and over. Apparently it was going straight to voicemail.
“Dad!” Linnie called out to me from the parking lot. I hadn’t noticed her right away because the car she got out of wasn’t the car she was supposed to be getting out of. Instead of the sleek red Mercedes I knew Chucky usually drove, she got out of a light blue Taurus. Car had to be at least fifteen years old. Judging by the slight trail of smoke coming from under the hood, the poor thing had had it.
Relief flooded me, but I did my best not to let it show. Instead, I lifted my hand and waved to my daughter, plastering a big welcoming smile on my face. “Hey, sweet Caroline!” There you go, Trix. She wanted me to use Linnie’s given name? I hoped she never got the song out of her head.
Linnie ran around the front of the car to the driver’s side. She appeared to be begging the person driving to get out of the car. I was prepared for some sixteen- or seventeen-year-old punk wanting to date my daughter. It was bound to happen sooner or later, though I’d hoped she’d be at least forty when it did. What I wasn’t prepared for was the slender beauty who stood and allowed Linnie to snag her hand and lead her toward me. Wasn’t expecting this. If this was Linnie’s girlfriend, I was so fucking fucked, because I was sure it was bad form for a man to lust after his daughter’s girlfriend.