Page 64 of Between Regrets and Promises

“I didn’t need you in the first place,” I spit out, wishing he wouldn’t have come.

My words cause my father to let out a hearty, sarcastic laugh. “That’ll be the day.”

“Try not to kill anyone else while you’re out, got it? Your tallies are adding up,” he snaps before leaving.

I’m two seconds away from telling him to go fuck himself when Serena grabs my arm and squeezes. “It’s not worth it.”

I suck in a deep breath, trying to calm down. “You’re right. But damn, sometimes he’s intolerable.”

She snorts. “I think he means well. He doesn’t want you sitting in jail and rotting. That’s not a life for you.”

I let out a steady breath, though I’m pissed the hell off. “He’s more concerned about himself and how it will affect his reputation if I sit in a cell, not the fact that I’m there.”

Serena shrugs.

“You look good,” I tell her as we walk outside. It’s nearly midnight, and I’ve had a hell of a day. I want to go home andsleep in my bed because, for a moment, I thought I’d be sleeping on a cold bench.

She smiles. “Thanks.”

Her heels click on the pavement as we walk across the parking lot toward her BMW. After she unlocks it, I slip inside. The car is an upgrade from what she was driving while in law school. When she gets in, she bends over to remove her six-inch heels and throw them in the back seat. It causes me to laugh.

“You could kill someone with those heels,” I tease.

She laughs. “They’re my secret weapon.”

I wouldn’t put it past her if she felt threatened.

I’d trust Serena with my life. She knows the legal system like the back of her hand, and she’s an up-and-coming lawyer in Sacramento. Serena’s worked her ass off to get where she is in her profession. She’s one of the best criminal defense attorneys in this city, and I’d almost be willing to bet in the state. Hard-ass is her middle name, and she doesn’t take no for an answer. Not from anyone, not even my father. The girl is a genius but also has street smarts too—a lethal combination. And damn, I’m happy she’s on my side and has been for years, even before she could legally practice law in California.

“So tell me what happened,” she says as she backs out of the parking lot.

“Is this on the record or off?” I quip, and she playfully rolls her eyes as she takes the ramp to the highway.

“Start from the very beginning. If you want me to represent you and get your ass off for murder, then I need to know it all, know what I’m up against. I’ll put on the record what needs to be there. The rest is between us.” She smiles.

I try to think back to when this all started, and I know I need to be open with Serena. Not only is she representing me, but she’s my friend too. I tell her about Sophie and how Weston gotinto the picture of all of this, and why I looked into Weston’s past.

“Does anyone know you did that?”

“Liam and Jerad. Liam isn’t gonna say shit. Jerad won’t either, considering he wasn’t supposed to do it in the first place. I trust him, and he’s holding a position for me in his department, if I didn’t ruin my chances,” I continue, explaining how I tried to warn Sophie about Weston being dangerous.

“But she didn’t take your advice, obviously.”

If she would’ve, maybe none of this would’ve happened, or maybe she’d be dead. There’s no way to predict what could’ve happened. “No.” It’s all I can say as I temporarily get lost in my thoughts, but Serena quickly pulls me out of my head.

“So what happened tonight?”

I think back to the evening’s events, and everything seems like a weird blur. Maybe it’s because I’m somewhat in shock. There was a point when my friends and I could’ve died. Being held at gunpoint is scary as fuck, and nothing could’ve prepared us for that. I try to replay it all, from the confrontation to the parking lot fight when he pulled out the gun. Serena listens carefully, and I know she’ll probably remember this conversation word for word because that’s how she is.

“Well, considering there’s no open carry in the state of California, we’ll have that on our side. Not to mention, he pulled it out with intention to threaten and kill. That’s essentially assault with a deadly weapon. Doubt it was registered to him, considering he had a record. Either way, you acted in self-defense since he pulled it out and threatened you and your two friends with it. Hopefully between the witness statements and him breaking the law, this’ll be an open and shut case without contest. Of course, we’ll see what we’re up against at your plea hearing on Monday.”

“You think it’ll be easy to prove self-defense?”

She grins as she takes the exit toward my house. “Absolutely. Considering who your daddy is, I’m sure it will be no issue.”

“Oh, shut the hell up.” I groan. “It’s gross when you call him my daddy.”

She snorts. “Your father is probably gonna be there. He already mentioned as much when we were waiting for you to get released. Lay low for the rest of the weekend. Considering who you are, people will be talking. The rumors are gonna go wild if they aren’t already. I’m surprised the news station wasn’t waiting for you when you were released, considering how high profile your father is.”

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