He nodded. His bottom lip twitched, and I could tell he currently had his molars clamped down on the inside of his cheek. She got into her car and drove down the gravel road, kicking up a small dust cloud in her wake as she pressed down on the gas pedal.

It was just Noah and the boys left. Tristan sighed, his brows dipping downward in the same direction as his frown. “Are you two good? Want one of us to go with you?”

“I think we’ll be okay,” Noah said. “Thanks, though. I’m sorry any of you even have to worry about this. I hate it. So much.”

“We hate it for you,” Tristan said, giving Noah a friendly pat on the shoulder. “Let’s just stay positive. At least we have someone to point to now. We know who to be careful with.”

“Tristan’s right.” Eric stepped forward. He was about five inches taller than both of them, his shoulders broad and his beard thick. They were all in their midtwenties, but Eric carried himself like someone much older. It was likely all the shit he had seen when he used to be a cop, which got me wondering why he gave in his badge at such an early age. “We’ve got a clear suspect. Maybe he’s made a mistake already, and now that we know it’s him, we can tie those two things together. Just hang out in that other cabin you’ve got for a couple of days. Let’s see if we can sort this out. Tristan and I can do a little drive around your block and see if we can spot anything suspicious.”

“You don’t have to do that. I really don’t want either of you guys getting hurt.”

“The only person who’s at risk of getting hurt here is Robby.” Eric’s light brown eyes lit with anger, his nostrils flaring. He turned to me, a hand on my elbow. “Keep him safe, alright?”

I nodded, although Noah huffed next to me. “Jake asked me to kill a cockroach last week. I think you should be telling me to keep him safe.”

“Wait, and you killed it?” Tristan asked with an arched brow.

“Of course not. Jake ended up throwing a shoe at it from across the room and managed to hit it. But still.”

That got the four of us laughing, some of the icy fear that had coated us beginning to crack. Laughter had a way of making the sun shine bright, even if there was an active rainstorm pouring down on you.