“Oh, yeah. Of course. I could have changed the passcode for all you knew though,” I add.
“But you didn’t.” He holds up the phone as evidence.
“You think he’s going to make me move home?” I ask quietly.
“He’ll certainly try.”
“I don’t want to, Jax. I love my parents, but I love my independence, too.”
“I know,” he replies with a nod, because he gets it. He’s lived alone since his mom died when he was seventeen.
“Will you back me up?” I whisper.
“Luce,” he sighs. “Don’t ask me to come between you and your father.”
“I’m not. I’m just asking for you to be the voice of reason when he starts foaming at the mouth. Because you know he will.”
The faintest smile plays on his lips. “If he gets completely loco, I’ll help you talk him down.”
“Thank you.” I smile.
By the time we reach my father’s office half an hour later, he’s pacing the floor waiting for us.
“Papi,” I say as walk into the room.
“Mija,” he pulls me into a hug.
“Hey amigo,” Jax says as he takes a seat.
My father simply nods in greeting, his attention focused on me. “I’ve spoken to your mama, and we both want you to come home—”
I shake my head. “No.”
“At least until we can find out who tried to get into your place last night and Jax can find out who this creep is who’s sending you messages.”
“That could take months!” I reply.
“Hey!” Jax interrupts us. “When has finding some asshole online ever taken me that long?”
“That app has billions of users, Jax.” I frown at him; he’s supposed to be on my side.
“So?” he scowls and I realize I have insulted him, because he is the best at what he does. I have no doubt he could hack into the White House if he wanted to.
“I don’t want to uproot mine and Matthias’ life, Papi.” I turn back to him.
“And I’m not asking you to,mija. All I’m asking is that you stay with us for a few weeks until we figure out who was behind this.”
I look between him and Jax.
“Think of it like a vacation. The boys are going to be thrilled to have you and Matthias around.”
There he goes, playing his trump card. He knows I would die for those boys.
“Two weeks, Papi,” I agree because I know I’m not going to win this argument, and also because last night, along with all the talk of stalkers in the car with Jax, has me spooked.
“Perfect!” He winks at me. “I’ll have someone move your stuff.”
“No,” I shake my head. He will have my entire apartment moved in the blink of any eye. “I’ll get our stuff together. This is just a vacation, right?”