That was followed by something hitting into the sliding doors. Andrew had remembered to draw the curtains, so she couldn’t see what it had been. The temptation to open the blinds a crack and see was overwhelmed by her fear.

“What are they doing?” she said, on the verge of tears.

Andrew’s voice sounded cold and heavy, coming out of the darkness.

“They want to scare us.”

Rocks and other things continued to bounce off the house, Kate flinching every time. Her shoulders felt like they were going to break, her heart banging in against her chest.

“Ahoo!”

It was loud this time. So loud, she was sure the sound caromed off the still lake, slipping into the bedrooms of the houses nestled in the woods. To Kate, that yelp didn’t sound entirely human. Nor did it sound like any of the animals they’d listened to. It was something entirely…other.

“That’s it,” Andrew said. His footsteps thumped on the hardwood floor as he ran to the bedroom. “They’re fucking with the wrong guy.”

“Andrew? What are you doing?” Buttons started barking. She so wanted to turn a light on. The dark felt tangible, cloying. She heard Andrew open the closet door, boxes being thrown aside.

The rocks continued to pelt the house, that gut-churning Ahoo! on steady repeat.

“Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!” Kate shouted, feeling like her heart was going to burst. She was feeding off her husband’s rage. Enough was enough.

Andrew strode into the living room, fully dressed and holding a huge flashlight. When he flicked it on, keeping it pointed at the floor, the entire cottage lit up.

Shielding her eyes, she said, “Where did you find that?”

Before he could answer, she saw the rifle in his other hand.

A rifle?

His breathing was ragged.

“No, you are not going out there. Where the hell did you get a gun?”

He tucked the flashlight under his armpit and grabbed hold of the doorknob to the front door.

“We’ll discuss this later,” he said. His eyes were flat and cold with fury.

“I don’t want you going out there with a gun, Andrew. Have you ever fired one before?”

What worried her more was her belief that brandishing a gun led to the other person taking out theirs. So far, their night stalker had been content to pitch rocks and make a lot of weird noises. Neither was going to hurt them.

What if they saw Andrew with his rifle and, sensing the stakes had risen dramatically, decided in a flash of anger to have the final word?

Kate could tell there was no stopping him. The moment he opened the door, Buttons rushed into the night.

“Buttons, get back here,” Andrew snapped.

He followed the beagle, slamming the door behind him.

The rain of rocks suddenly stopped.