He folds his lean arms across his chest and slips his tongue out to wet his lips, the glint of a metal piercing reflecting in the sunlight, his dark gaze boring into me.
“You okay?” Jaxon asks Blaise, his brows crinkled, appearing confused for who the hell knows what reason.
“Yep,” Blaise says while staring at me.
Holding my gaze for a slamming heartbeat longer, he then tears his eyes off me and strides toward the house.
“See you around, Hadley,” he calls over his shoulder.
What the hell? How did he learn my name? And why did he pretend earlier that he didn’t know it? Maybe he heard one of my sisters say it.
Great. I don’t want him knowing my name. I don’t want him knowing anything about me or my sisters.
Alex jogs after Blaise, catching up with him on the front porch. With a heavy sigh, Jaxon pushes to his feet and walks away, too.
Once they’re gone, I twist around to face Bailey. “Well, that was intense.”
“Super intense.” She looks over at their house then back at me. “Dude, I have a bad feeling about those guys. Like, they’re going to try to get you back for threatening them.”
I know that, and I’m worried I might have just poked a sleeping badger. Not wanting to freak her out, though, I put on my fake smile. “Everything’s going to be fine. I’m sure they’re all bark and no bite.”
She gives a pressing glance at my car. “Yeah, that’s why you have four flat tires and just spent the last half hour putting your car back together.”
I dismiss her with a wave of my hand. “It’s just a car. No biggie.”
No biggie, Hadley. It’s our only source of transportation at the moment.
But I keep my calm face on, faking it like I often do.
“No biggie?” Bailey shakes her head incredulously. “We currently have no place to live, no power, no food, and now we don’t have a vehicle. We’re seriously screwed up the ass.”
“Hey, watch your mouth,” I scold, but she only rolls her eyes. Sighing, I circle my car to examine the tires again. “I wonder if they slashed them or just let the air out.”
“Did you see the evil smirks on their face?” Bailey questions. “They definitely slashed them.”
A sigh slips from my lips. “Yeah, I know.”
Bailey kicks one of the tires with the tip of her boot. “How are we going to get them fixed? We can’t afford it.”
“Yeah, I know.” Those seem to be my go-to words at the moment.
Usually, I’m better at hiding my worry from my sisters, but those guys have me frazzled.
I need to get my shit together.
“Here, give me your phone.” I stick out my hand.
“Why?”
“Because I’m going to get a quote on some tires, then I’m going to call Dad.”
“He’s not going to pick up.” She hands me her phone. “Londyn already tried, like, five times this morning.”
“Well, I’m going to try again.” I open her internet app and search local tire stores.
“Why? It’s pointless.” She plops down on the blanket I used while putting together the carburetor. “Even if he does answer his phone, he’s not going to help us.”
“He can give me the name of the landlord and their phone number.”