Page 137 of Echoes of You

“The town council removed Nash’s suspension.”

A smile spread across her face. “Thank God.”

“Looks like you can come back to work tomorrow,” Lawson said. “You’ll be on desk duty until those stitches come out—”

“I’m taking vacation, then.”

He snorted. “Thought you might say that.” A grin flickered on his lips.

“What?” I asked suspiciously.

Lawson pulled out his phone and tapped on the screen. “Clint was in The Brew this morning, and Dan McConnell was in there, too. He got the call from the mayor’s office that they were dismissing his charges while he was in line. Want to see a grown man have a tantrum?”

He tapped play. A red-faced Dan filled the screen. He cursed up a storm, called the mayor some very inventive names, and then stomped out of the café.

Maddie covered her mouth to hold in her laughter. “He is a very unhappy man.”

“That he is,” Lawson agreed. “But now he’s an unhappy man who knows he won’t be getting his way. Plus, he made a fool of himself in a public place.”

I shook my head. “What a piece of work.”

“That’s a kind term,” Lawson agreed.

We shifted into conversation about more pleasant subjects, talking about the diorama that Charlie was making for school, and Drew’s lacrosse game. Lawson studiously left out updates on Luke, and I knew it meant that my nephew was still giving him a hell of a hard time.

“Thank you for the delicious breakfast. I could get spoiled with you around,” Lawson said as we walked him to the door.

“Why don’t you and the boys come for dinner this weekend? It would be fun to spend a little more time with them,” Maddie offered.

“That would be great,” I agreed. I wanted to get some one-on-one time with Luke and see if I could figure out what was going on with him.

Lawson smiled as we followed him outside to his SUV. “We’d love that.”

The sound of crunching gravel had us all looking up. A truck barreled down the road, skidding to a stop. A man leapt from the cab, stalking toward us. It took a second for me to recognize Dan, but that twisting scowl gave him away.

“You think you can make a fool of me?” he bellowed.

“Now, Dan,” Lawson began.

“Shut up!” he barked. His gaze jumped from person to person in a manic staccato beat. “You all think you’re better than me. My boss. My girl.” His eyes landed on me. “But you’re the worst.”

The pure hatred in Dan’s expression had shock zipping through me. “I haven’t done a damn thing to you.”

A snarl twisted his lips. “Haven’t you? I saw the way Jane looked at you. How she wanted me to do everything you did. Apply to the force. Get on SAR. I was never good enough.”

Dan’s chest heaved as he glared at me. “You’re gonna know what it feels like. You take from me, and I’m going to take from you.”

Everything happened slowly and yet in the blink of an eye. Dan raised his hand, the metal of a gun glinting in the morning light. He aimed it straight at Maddie.

I didn’t think. I simply dove.

As the crack tore through the air, I collided with Maddie. Pain tore through my back like white-hot fire. All I could think was that Maddie had to be okay. That I wouldn’t be the cause of any more of her pain. And then the world went black.

47

MADDIE

I landed with a thud,Nash’s body covering mine. Lawson shouted something, but I couldn’t make out the words over the blood roaring in my ears.

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