“He’s right,” my dad said. “This wasn’t your fault in any way, and I have insurance. I can get another boat, but I can’t get another Daphne.”
“I don’t know what to do, Dad.”
“That’s okay, because I do.”
“What?” I asked in confusion.
“Come sit down,” he said and ushered me to the couch. “We need to move you somewhere that doesn’t have ties to me or you. Somewhere that whoever is doing this can’t get to.”
“I can’t just up and move again. Plus, I have a job here.”
“That’s not what I meant. The Blackwings have a large property with numerous businesses and houses,” he said.
“You mean the compound with the dairy farm?” I asked.
“You know of it?” Phoenix asked.
“I don’t think there’s a realtor in this area who doesn’t know about it. It’s an impressive piece of property.”
“It is,” Phoenix agreed. “It’s also gated and guarded. The entire perimeter is covered by security cameras. If someone did manage to get in, we’d know within seconds.”
“That’s impressive,” I said, unsure of how that pertained to me.
“We have several houses on the property that are currently vacant. You and Diablo can stay in whichever one you want until your situation is sorted.”
“This will be in addition to the precautions we were already taking,” my dad said. “Someone will escort you to and from work, someone will escort you to appointments, and Dice will stay with you at night.”
“Okay,” I agreed. I didn’t like having to leave my home, but I liked being scared even less. The sooner things went back to normal, the better. And if moving somewhere else for a period of time would make that happen, then so be it.
“Well, that was easier than I thought it would be,” my dad said.
“Give our girl some credit,” Uncle Buck said. “She knows what’s in her best interest.”
“I’ll need to pack. Am I allowed to go to the house?”
“Yes,” Dice answered. “It’s been cleared by the police and the fire department. Are you ready to go now?”
I sighed. “I’m as ready as I’m going to be.”
“We’ll go with you,” Phoenix said.
After everyone said their goodbyes, Diablo and I walked back to our house surrounded by two retired professional boxers and a pack of bikers.
When we reached my house, I went upstairs to pack my clothes and toiletries while my entourage congregated downstairs. Since I didn’t know how long I would be gone, I shoved the majority of my clothes into two suitcases. I had a feeling my problems wouldn’t be resolved within a few days, and I didn’t want to have to come back to get more stuff.
While I was packing my belongings, my mood changed. I had taken everything in stride and kept moving forward, but I wasn’t sure how much more I could take. If I had done something to deserve the things happening to me, I might have felt different, but I hadn’t. I was a good person. I tried very hard to be kind, even to people who didn’t deserve it. I just couldn’t understand why someone was out to get me. And I hated that I was having to turn my life upside down because of them. Part of me wanted to raise my hands in the air and surrender, but I knew that wasn’t the answer.
“Do you need any help?” Dice asked from my bedroom door.
“You can take those suitcases downstairs,” I said without turning to look at him.
“Hey,” he said softly, suddenly much closer than he was seconds before. “Are you okay?”
I sniffed and cleared my throat. I hadn’t been crying, but tears were definitely on the horizon. “Yeah, I’m just tired of this shit.”
He placed his hand on my shoulder and gently turned me so he could wrap his arms around me and hold me against his chest. “This is a lot to deal with. You don’t have to be strong all the time. It’s okay to break if you need to.”
The permission to break down was exactly what I needed. “I don’t know what I did to deserve this,” I cried against his chest.