“I can’t do this,” I told him. “I don’t want to do it ever, but if you feel you must, I can’t do it now. I also don’t want to do it over the phone.”

“Then let me bring our son over.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” I told him firmly. “It goes without saying I want to see Travis, but Joker will be here soon. If you’re fine with him being here then okay. Joker can look after Travis while we talk. He’d like that. But if you come, I want you to bring the boxes, and before you come, I need to talk to Joker to ask if he’s okay with that.”

“Why would you need to ask him?” he asked. “It’s your house.”

“Because we have plans,” I answered. “I’m making him dinner right now, and it’s rude to change plans at the last second or force someone to spend time with someone they might not wish to spend time with after they’ve had a long day at work.”

“You do know he belongs to a motorcycle gang,” Aaron suddenly informed me, and my head jerked as frost formed all over my skin.

“I do,” I said slowly. “However, it’s a club, not a gang,” I corrected. “Though, what I’d like to know is how you know.”

“Were you meaning to keep that from me?” he asked.

“I wasn’t. It’s just that Joker really isn’t your business,” I shared.

“He spends time with my wife and son.”

“Your ex-wife, Aaron,” I corrected again. “And yes, he spends time with your son. So does Tory. Shall we go over Tory versus Joker, or did I make my point the last time?”

“That might factor if Tory was going to be in my life for very much longer.”

I drew in a hissed breath.

There was the answer about Tory.

“This isn’t you, Carissa, spending time with some guy in a biker gang,” he told me.

“You don’t know me,” I whispered. “We spent a decade together, and in that time you didn’t make the effort to know me.”

“I certainly didn’t, if you’re the kind of woman who thinks it’s okay to expose her child to a biker gang.”

“Club,” I snapped.

“Whatever,” he snapped back.

All right.

I was done treading cautiously.

“It’s not whatever. It’s important,” I educated him. “And further, in not taking the time to get to know me, you failed to learn that I’m not stupid. I may have done stupid things because I loved you, but I’m not stupid. And not being stupid, I know this is a threat.”

“Riss—”

I cut him off.