“Jack!”
I roll my eyes.
I could’ve done that.
A second later, Jack strolls in like nothing in the world is wrong, wiping his hands on his jeans.
“Yo? What’s up? Oh—hi, boss.”
“Okay,” I say, not even pretending to be calm. “Listen carefully. We might get some unexpected visitors today, and I need you to understand they are not welcome.”
Jack’s brows lift.
Tommy leans in.
“And I mean not welcome,” I continue. “They do not go past the front. They do not go upstairs. They do not get access to anything. Got it?”
Jack sniffs, then grins.
“You hooked up with the Tiger,” he says, like he’s just cracked the code. “So what, you want us to fight him for you?”
“What—no!” I snap. “Shut up! I’m not talking about him.”
Both of them go still at that.
“I’m talking about my mother,” I say, the word tasting bitter. “And my sisters. And possibly my very stupid ex who is also a lying, cheating?—”
I cut myself off before I say something I can’t take back.
Jack tilts his head.
“Oh,” he says. “Okay. So you want us to fight your mom?”
“No!” I groan, dragging a hand down my face. “Just—if they show up, do not let them upstairs.”
Because that’s my space.
My home.
The one place I carved out for myself where no one gets to tell me who I should be.
“Okay, boss. You got it,” Jack says, more serious now.
“Sure thing,” Tommy adds.
I nod once.
Because I mean it.
I am not letting her show up here unannounced.
Not without a fight.
I hit call.
The line barely rings once before my mother answers.
“Hadley, thank goodness?—”
