Page 137 of Between Regrets and Promises

“Is there anything else you two can share or think of that would help the case?” he later asks, but we both shake our heads. “If you think of something, please don’t hesitate to call me. I’ll give you my card. I’m sure you’ll know where to find me.” He directs that last part at me.

Great.He knows exactly who I am and who my father is. Not that I should be surprised.

“Let me guess. The DA’s already been called?” I sigh.

He slumps his shoulders. “Afraid so. As soon as your name was brought up.”

Lovely.

“Thank you for your time and for being so thorough,” he says as Liam and I stand to walk them out the door. “If she remembers anything else, she can call anytime.”

“Will do,” Liam says. “Oh, his car was down the block behind the house. I shot into his tires in case he got away.”

“Got it, thanks. We’ll search it,” he reassures us. “We’ll let you know what we find.”

“Thanks, officers.”

Liam shuts the door behind them, and we stand in ear-piercing silence.

“This is fucked up,” he finally says. “Now I wish I’d shot him in the goddamn face.”

I snort, agreeing. “Yeah, but then you’d be going through the same shit I did to prove self-defense. At least this way, he can go to prison, and we can let the other inmates take care of him.”

Liam’s grin widens. “Fuckin’ right. In fact, maybe I’ll make a few phone calls.” He winks, which makes me chuckle. Liam knows too many people. He’s on a first-name basis with guards at the jail, and I’m pretty sure he sweet-talks the receptioniststo get their numbers. Liam goes there when he has to check in an inmate, and I wouldn’t put it past him to know people at the prison either. He’s nothing if not resourceful.

“In case I forgot to say it, thanks for having my back, man.” I slap him on the shoulder, and he pulls me in for a hug. “You’re a good friend to have in my corner,” I say in a mocking tone. He doesn’t like mushy shit.

“I’d do it again in a heartbeat,” he says before walking back into the living room. I follow him, and he sits next to Sophie, pulling her into his arms. He was as worried about her as I was.

“I can’t say I wasn’t scared, Soph, but I held onto hope that you were staying strong,” Liam tells her. “I hope you know how much I love you. I would’ve killed him if I knew the backlash wouldn’t come back to bite me.”

Sophie nods, and tears fall down her cheeks. Liam is a different guy with her, and I appreciate how good of a friend he’s been to her all these years.

“Death would’ve been the easy way out,” she says, her words sounding stronger. “He can rot in prison for the rest of his life.”

“Damn straight,” Liam cheers with a proud smile.

“Lucky that you were home for once,” Sophie says when I come to sit on the other side of her.

“Well, I’m starting to think I can’t leave you two alone.”

I roll my eyes at his comeback. “How long have you had that gun anyway?” I ask.

“Long enough.” He winks. “I’m licensed and trained. Don’t worry.”

“I wasn’t,” I tell him honestly. I trust Liam with my life, literally.

Sophie pulls him in for another hug. “Thank you again, Hulk. I owe ya one.”

Liam chuckles at her nonchalant way of thanking him. Joking or acting strong is how Sophie deals with emotionalsituations, but after what she already went through with Weston, I can only hope this incident hasn’t broken her for good.

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

SOPHIE

The last timeI stayed in bed like this was when I was sixteen and had a nasty flu virus. Everything ached, my stomach hurt, and my head pounded nonstop. It was the most miserable I’d felt in my entire life.

Until now.

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