I nod at that, glancing at my sister. “Right, I know. It’s just a tiny possibility.”
One that Chance didn’t think was so very tiny and he does know more about the men who shot at us, but still, he could be wrong.
“What did you get us into now?” Dad says. “Going head-to-head with a bunch of criminals and on their territory no less. I told you and told you that those interviews of yours can’t possibly lead to anything good in the long run. You’re stepping on too many toes and now you’ve stepped on the wrong toes.”
I’m numb inside from what happened last night, and then not sleeping more than about an hour on top of it, but his words sting badly.
“I’ve done a lot of good,” I tell him. “I’ve helped hundreds of women live a normal life, and I’ve empowered hundreds more. What I do is important. It saves lives.”
He’s blinking at me once I finish, opening and closing his mouth with no sound coming out. “I didn’t mean it like that… I’m sorry, Nic… it’s just…”
“It’s like she said,” Ariel interjects. “Chance and his friends are the best protection we can have now. The police can’t protect us like they can.”
This wasn’t her initial reaction when I told her about it last night. But she did come to this conclusion on her own in the end.
“They can’t guarantee your safety,” my dad says.
“No one can,” Ariel counters.
“I think maybe you three should pack up and go to the beach house,” I say.
It’s an idea I had during the night, while I watched the rippling turquoise waters of the pool. I don’t know what Chance would say to that, but to my thinking the more distance I put between my family and the men that could be a threat to them, the better.
“No,” Ariel says while my parents are still glancing at each other, her and me as though they’re considering it. “I will not run. I’m sick of hiding from everything.”
“Ariel, sweetie,” Mom says.
“No,” Ariel insists. “All I’ve done for the past five years is hide. I don’t want to spend the rest of my life just hiding.”
“But this wouldn’t be like that,” Dad says. “This is a real threat.”
He doesn’t even look at me as he says it, but I feel the words slice through me like a sword anyway. Yes, this is a real threat. One that I brought to us.
Chance’s words about letting go of the guilt sounded nice, but in that way that something you’ll never have sounds like a nice thing to have. It is my fault. All of it.
“We don’t have to decide right now,” I say.
Honestly, I’m as shocked at Ariel’s reaction as my parents clearly are. Up until less than a year ago, she refused to leave the house alone. One of us always went with her wherever she went.
But she’s been venturing out on her own more and more lately, I suddenly realize. Like the time she came to my office to tell me she was worried about Harper. Or her going to the concert in the first place. She’s been working on breaking through her fears for a while now. But this is not the time to go totally brave and fearless.
“So what happens now?” Dad asks. “Are we supposed to just sit at home?”
He’s got me there.
“I don’t know,” I answer truthfully. “Maybe it’d be better. Just for today.”
“Well, I can’t,” he says and stands up. “I have meetings all morning and an important lunch. And your mother has a house viewing up in the hills.”
He looks at her and she nods but makes no move to stand up. Panic is rising in my chest. I shouldn’t let them out of my sight. What if they go to the cops? What will happen then? How can I even prevent it?
“Maybe we should cancel everything for today,” my mom says and I just want to hug her tight and not let go. “In light of all this… just until we know what we’re facing…”
Dad remains standing but doesn’t move from his spot between the table and his chair. “There must be a better way of handling this situation.”
She looks at him, pleadingly, but sternly at the same time.
“What if there isn’t, Clyde?” she asks. “I don’t want to be away from my daughters today. Do you?”