Dylan felt a hand on his back. He wasn’t sure who it belonged to, but it was nudging him toward the whiteboard. Cubby picked up the marker.

“No, I can figure this out myself.” He tried to put a halt to the insanity.

“It’s how this thing called friendship works. We work through stuff.”

“I don’t even know you.”

“But you know us, and we’re friends, so he is by extension. And I can tell you right off, he is not smart enough to do this to Charlie,” Fin said.

“I object,” the sheriff said, taking the cap of the marker. “Okay, so I’m in charge of the whiteboard.”

“Who made you boss?” Luke asked.

“My badge.”

“No arguing with that,” the youngest Trainer added.

“So tell us about this copycat dude.”

Dylan found himself talking, and the others threw in questions. An hour later he felt like a large weight was suddenly sitting on his chest. The facts were there before him, startlingly clear on the whiteboard.

“Okay, so Operation: Protect Howards has just commenced,” Joe said. “We need to make sure you guys are watched until this is dealt with.”

“I can look after my family.”

“Sure, and we’ll tag along. Don’t worry, I’ll stay out of your mom’s way. She won’t even know I’m there,” Joe said.

“I don’t want Chief Blake to know yet.” Dylan looked around the group of men. “Not until I can lay it all out for him clearly. At the moment it would be hard to get him to believe me.”

“We do,” Ted said.

And they did, Dylan thought, looking around the faces of the men he now thought of as friends. How the hell was he going to keep them safe as well if they didn’t keep their distance?

Chapter 31

Piper heard the rumble of an engine pull up outside the house. She was tucked out of sight soaking in the hot tub, as she often did in the wee hours of the morning after she’d put Grace back to sleep. Tonight she needed it more than ever, as her body ached from the fall she’d taken today.

She heard the voices approaching and ducked under the water, but her cousins simply went up the front steps and inside the house. They’d be asleep in minutes, especially if they’d had a few beers. Piper didn’t want company; this was her time. Time to reflect and regroup.

The sound of footsteps had her sinking below the water once more. Maybe they hadn’t both gone inside. She hoped they didn’t want to join her.

The view here was spectacular, especially when the moon was high as it was tonight. She could see the mountains outlined and it felt wonderful to be the only one seeing it.