"Harper—"
"How many people, Dad?" My voice rises. "How many people lost everything because you were too scared to do the right thing? How many people died?"
"I was protecting you!" he shouts, his face red. He surges up from the chair and it crashes backwards, but he ignores it, focused on me. "Everything I did, I did to keep you safe. You think I wanted this? You think I'm proud of what I've become?"
"Then why didn't you stop?" Tears well in my ears, making my nose itch, and I blink hard to keep them from streaming down my face. "Why didn't you just stop?"
"Because it's too late." His voice drops to a defeated whisper. "Turner's too entrenched. He has too many people in his pocket. Even if I wanted to stop him now, I couldn't. It's useless."
"So you're just going to keep doing it." I stare at him, unable to believe the man before me is my father.
"I'm going to keep you alive." He steps closer, his eyes desperate. "Harper, listen to me. Turner knows about Blackthorn. He knows Jake Callahan and his team are operating out there. He knows they're involved in things they shouldn't be, and he wants them."
My blood runs cold. I stand up and edge away, hugging myself.
"Stay away from that ranch," he continues, his voice urgent. "Stay away from those men. They're in Turner's sights, and if you're with them when he moves, you'll get caught in the crossfire."
"You mean Luke," I say, my voice hoarse.
He nods. "I know you've been seeing him. I know you've been spending time at Blackthorn. And I'm telling you, as your father, to stay away. Turner's going to move on them soon, and when he does?—"
"When he does, what?" I cut him off. "You're going to sign off on whatever happens? You're going to look the other way while Turner kills them?"
"I'm going to keep you out of it." His hands grip my shoulders. "That's all I care about.You. Keeping you safe. That's all I've ever cared about."
I look at him—really look at him—and I see it. The fear. The desperation. The years of compromise that have hollowed him out from the inside. I want to try to find a way to fix this, to resolve the situation and have things go back to normal.
Only there's nothing left to save. Dad betrayed me, going back on everything he ever told me he stood for. There’s no coming back from this.
"I can't do this," I say quietly, pulling away from him. "I can't be your daughter and pretend I don't know what you've done."
"Harper—"
"You made your choice." I pick up the folder from the table. "You chose Turner. You chose fear. You didn't choose the people you were supposed to protect. You didn't choose me, despite what you think."
"That's not fair?—"
"Fair?" I laugh, and it sounds broken even to my own ears. "You want to talk about fair? Tell that to the families who lost everything. Tell that to Emma, whose father died in a single-vehicle accident that you signed off on. Tell that to the people Turner's trafficking through this county while you look the other way."
His face goes white. "What are you talking about?"
He knows about the trafficking. My heart drops, and I hug myself harder. "You really don't know? Or do you just not want to know?"
He doesn't answer.
I walk past him toward the door, the folder clutched in my hand.
"Where are you going?" he asks, his voice small.
"Somewhere I can still look at myself in the mirror."
"Harper, please?—"
I stop at the doorway and turn back. He's standing in the middle of the kitchen, still in his uniform, looking smaller than I've ever seen him.
"I love you, Dad," I say, and my voice breaks on the words. "But I can't pretend this didn't happen, and I can't protect you from what's coming. So consider this me giving you notice. I’ll go on leave until you can process the paperwork."
"Harper—"