Page 90 of Echoes of You

“I’ve got the shampoo and some towels,” Nash said quietly from behind me. He knew enough from working with me previously not to make any sudden movements or loud noises.

When we got him into the bathroom, I bent and lifted the dog into the tub with one swift movement. My ribs cried out at the motion, but it couldn’t be helped.

“You shouldn’t be lifting him.”

I breathed through the pain. “It’s okay. He wouldn’t have gotten in on his own, and you’re not allowed to lift anything with your shoulder.”

Nash sent me a stern look. “I could’ve helped.”

“Too late now.” I gave the pup another treat and praised him. When I turned on the water, he let out a mournful howl. “It’s okay, buddy. It’ll be over before you know it.”

I unhooked the handheld shower nozzle and switched it on. This would have to be quick and dirty. I doused the dog. He barked, making his displeasure known, but didn’t nip or cower. Nash and I tag-teamed with the scrubbing efforts, soaping him down.

“I’m gonna rinse him.” Just as I reached for the shower nozzle again, the dog decided he would help us with the rinsing efforts. He shook with a force I’d never seen. Soap flew everywhere. All over the tub, the walls, the floor…covering Nash and me.

I looked down at myself. I was completely soaked.

Nash started to laugh, shaking his head. “I can’t even be mad at him because he’s giving you one hell of an entry into this wet T-shirt contest.”

I turned the spray on Nash in retribution.

30

NASH

Maddie handed me a travel mug,a hint of anxiety playing across her features. “Are they sure it’s a good idea for you to train again?”

I wrapped my arm around her and ghosted my lips across her temple. “Lawson is keeping an eye on things. And we’re double-checking any gear we use.”

There had been no progress on finding out who had tampered with the SAR gear. Holt had changed the locks on the storage shed where things were kept and installed a camera to prevent any further issues, but it was still unsettling to think someone wanted to mess with us this way.

Maddie rolled her lip between her teeth. “Did he talk to Dan?”

I tried to keep the grimace from my face at the name.

Maddie pulled back. “What’s that look for?”

“We have to tread carefully when it comes to Dan because he filed a report against me with the mayor’s office.”

Her jaw dropped. “You have got to be kidding me.”

I ran a hand up and down her back. “I doubt he’ll see the complaint through, but we need to be cautious.”

“I can’t believe the mayor’s office would even take that seriously.”

“They don’t have a choice.”

Maddie’s mouth pressed into a hard line. “That’s just another reason why Lawson needs to question him. He obviously wants to hurt you.”

I shook my head. “But he’s also lazy. I have a hard time imagining Dan getting his act together enough to break into a storage shed and so carefully damage equipment. You’d have to research just how to cut the ropes so people wouldn’t notice at first, too. I heard he lost his job at the hardware store because he couldn’t be bothered to even show up half the time.”

Maddie’s thumb swept back and forth across my stomach. The touch was so casual, as if she’d been doing it for years. “I guess I can’t really see that either.” Her ministrations paused. “What about Adam?”

I pulled back a fraction. “Seems like a stretch that he’d do something that could hurt anyone and not just target me.”

Her fingers twisted in my T-shirt. “You might have a point, but he doesn’t care who he hurts as long as he gets his way.”

A weight settled in my gut. “I’m sure Law will check him out, too. But he’s also talking to everyone else who didn’t make the team, and the family and friends of anyone we failed to rescue.”

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