Page 117 of Echoes of You

My jaw worked back and forth. “He also knows it’ll get to Maddie. That she’ll blame herself for this.”

“We may have to go public with the information we have about him,” Holt said. “My guys are still digging, but we can slip it to the press anonymously. It might be the one thing that’ll get him to back off.”

But it would mean exposing Maddie. Because the press would look at his fiancée and wonder if she was one of his victims. She’d experienced that kind of attention before, after her father’s attack. It had only been local, but it had still made her beyond anxious and self-conscious.

“I can’t do that to Mads,” I said quietly.

Both Lawson and Holt were silent for a few beats and then Holt spoke. “Just keep it in our back pocket in case things get worse.”

“Sure.” But I knew I wouldn’t. I loved being a cop. It brought with it a sense of purpose I’d been missing in my life for so long. The fact that I could help people like Maddie before things got that bad had been something I desperately needed. But I’d give that up a million times over if it meant protecting Maddie.

“I’ll keep digging and let you know what we find,” Holt said.

“Thanks.”

“Good luck today.”

My fingers tapped the back of my phone. “Text you after.”

“You better.”

I disconnected and looked at Lawson. “We’d better get in there. Don’t want to be late to my disciplinary hearing.”

He stared back at me. “Maddie is really lucky to have you.”

Something burned deep in my chest. I wasn’t sure there was a compliment that would’ve hit me harder. “I’m the lucky one.”

“You both are.”

I shoved my phone into my pocket and opened the door. “Let’s get out of here before we start singingKumbaya.”

Lawson chuckled and climbed out of the SUV. “Wouldn’t want that. Your singing voice would break all the windows.”

“Like yours is any better? Pretty sure you failed choir.”

He grinned. “I got an A for effort, though. I really went for those high notes.”

I shook my head. God, I was lucky to have the family I did. My siblings would do anything for me, and I knew it.

We strode across the lot and into the building. Being that we were such a small town, it housed several facilities: the mayor’s office, some meeting rooms, including one for town council meetings, a courtroom, a handful of offices for those who worked for the town, and a community hall.

Lawson turned down a hallway that would take us to one of the meeting rooms. Anxiety gnawed at me, and I took a deep breath, trying to calm the worst of it. The last thing I needed was to bite someone’s head off in there.

Lawson lifted a hand to knock on the door, then paused. “You ready?”

I nodded. “Let’s get this over with.”

His fist connected with the door in two short raps.

“Come in,” a feminine voice called from inside.

Lawson opened the door, and we walked in, shutting it behind us. My throat went dry as I took in the five people sitting on the opposite side of a long conference table. The setup being this official put me on edge.

“Thank you for coming, Nash. Lawson,” Mayor Higgins said, gesturing for us to sit.

The fifty-something woman had been mayor for several years. I didn’t have any issues with how she ran things, but I knew she was very aware of theopticsof every situation. I could only imagine that this one had her pulling her hair out.

Lawson and I lowered ourselves into chairs opposite the council.

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