Page 114 of Echoes of You

Lawson grinned at Maddie and me. “First official family dinner. How’s it feel?”

“I was a little nervous,” Maddie confessed.

Lawson squeezed her shoulder. “You’ll do great. It’s Nash who needs to worry about being on his A-game. Mom and Dad will never forgive him if he upsets you.”

The light in Maddie’s eyes danced. “It’s good to have that trump card in my back pocket.”

I narrowed my eyes on them. “You know, it’s not nice to gang up on someone.”

Lawson chuckled, but the action didn’t reach his eyes.

“Is everything okay?” I asked.

He glanced over his shoulder at the crowd in the kitchen. “There’s something I need to talk to you about. Can you take five in Dad’s office?”

Maddie stiffened. “Does this have anything to do with me?”

Lawson’s gaze shifted back to us, but he didn’t say anything.

“If I’m involved, I deserve to hear what’s going on,” Maddie pushed.

Lawson let out a sigh. “Okay.”

We moved farther away from the living area, slipping into my dad’s study.

“What’s going on?” I asked.

Lawson looked between the two of us. “I got a call from the mayor a little while ago. There are now two complaints against you.”

My jaw worked back and forth as Maddie gripped my hand. “Who else? Jimmy?”

Maddie’s hand spasmed around mine.

Lawson shook his head. “Adam Westchester. He said you’re harassing him and that he wants you fired from the department.”

37

MADDIE

“This isn’t your fault.”

Nash’s voice filled the darkened space of his SUV as we drove home. I’d tried to keep it together for family dinner. I smiled and laughed when Nash’s siblings and parents teased him about finally making a move. I answered questions and made conversation.

And the truth was, they’d made me feel incredibly welcome in my new role within their ranks. It should’ve been a moment I relished. But instead, worry had gnawed at me the whole time.

“It’s my fault he’s here. That he’s making trouble for you. I should’ve had better radar for this. Then we wouldn’t be in this mess.”

I’d never forgive myself if Nash lost his job because of me.

He reached over, taking my hand and interweaving our fingers. “Whatever we’re facing, we do it together, remember?”

My stomach twisted. Nash didn’t know how deep Adam’s hatred of him ran. Didn’t know how Adam fixated on him.

Nash also didn’t understand the true depths of how manipulative Adam could be. How good he was at bringing people to his side. At using the powers that be to his advantage.

I’d seen him do it before: cast doubt on a competitor’s character, twist things so people wanted to go to his fundraisers and not another charity’s, get dirt on the leaders of those charities and leak it to the press.

I couldn’t let him do that to Nash.

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