Page 121 of Echoes of You

A muscle ticked in his jaw. “You need to learn to watch your tone when you speak to me. If you did, I wouldn’t lose my temper.”

“I’m never going to be able to watch my tone enough to keep you happy. And I will never put up with someone who shows his displeasure by hurting the person he’s supposed to love.”

“Is this abouthim?”

I blinked a few times. “Is that really what you took from everything I said?”

“He’s staying at your house,” Adam growled.

A shiver swept over me, but I shouldn’t have been surprised that Adam knew. That he had been keeping tabs or had hired someone to do it. I took a deep breath and stared at the man who had caused me more pain than I could put into words. “I love him.”

Redness crept up Adam’s throat. “You were cheating on me the whole time, weren’t you?”

“No. I was never unfaithful. But I’ve always loved him, and that will never change. Go home. Get the help you need. We’re over.”

Adam leaned forward, closing the distance between us. “Do you really think I’ll let you get away with this? Making a fool out of me? I’ll ruin you. One piece of your life at a time. And I’ll start withhim.”

40

NASH

I kickedback on the Adirondack chair I’d picked up in town. It came with one of those footrest things that made for perfect lounging. I grabbed the tennis ball from my lap as I took a sip of my beer.

“See, being suspended isn’t so bad.”

Clyde stared up at me doubtfully.

“Don’t give me that look. It’ll be awesome. I’ll be here to hang out with you all day long.”

He barked.

“Okay, okay.” I lobbed the ball from the back deck into the yard.

Clyde bounded after it. At least it wasn’t my shoe. I’d come home to another one destroyed. And he never went for the same set. Always a single one from each pair.

I took another sip of beer. I wanted the relaxation of the moment to really kick in. But it didn’t. Instead, that low hum of anxiety still coursed through my muscles.

“Keep the faith.”That was what Lawson had said as he drove me back to the station and deposited me at my vehicle. I wanted to trust the system I’d spent my adult life a part of, but I knew it didn’t always work the way it should.

I’d called my dad on the way home. To say he was pissed would be an understatement. He wanted me to hire a lawyer. Said it was the way these people played ball. But the idea of suing Adam for defamation of character just made me feel slimy.

With Dan, I knew everything would get sorted out easily. He’d burned enough bridges that he didn’t have a leg to stand on. And no one in the county wanted him on their SAR team. But Adam was different. He had made manipulation into an art form.

The sound of tires on gravel carried from around the house. Clyde let out a bark of warning.

I glanced at my watch. I should’ve guessed that Maddie wouldn’t make it to the end of her shift. Not when she was worried about me.

I hated that he’d done that, too. As if all Adam had put her through so far hadn’t been enough.

The front door closed, but Maddie didn’t say anything.

“Back here,” I called.

Clyde dropped the tennis ball beside my chair, and I threw it again. He took off after it.

The back door opened, and Maddie stepped out. The second I took in her face, I knew something was wrong. Her skin was far too pale, and her eyes were wide.

I kicked my feet off the footrest and stood, crossing to her. “What happened?”

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