Page 51 of Let Me Keep You

“Trust me, she won’t mind. I bet she’d love to hear from you. She actually asked about you before you got out.”

“Send me her number.”

“Will do. I’ll text it right now.”

“Thanks, Liam. Appreciate it.”

“I got you. Let me know what she says, okay?”

“I’ll message you as soon as we’re done.”

We say goodbye, and then I call Serena. I’m nervous as hell as the phone rings.

“Hello?”

“Hi, Serena. It’s Tyler Blackwood.”

There’s a beat of silence at first. “Tyler? Oh my God!”

Her ecstatic energy brings a smile to my face. “Yeah, it’s me. Been a while. How are you?”

“I’ve thought about you a lot over the years.”

“Same here.”

Serena was my lawyer and represented me when Victoria planted drugs and illegal guns in my truck. While Serena did everything she could, it wouldn’t have mattered because Victoria had already sabotaged the outcome. I know she felt bad, but there was nothing more she could do.

“So tell me, how’s life? What’s new?”

I chuckle at her eagerness and give a quick update.

“I’m glad, Tyler. You deserve good things.”

“How’s your little guy?”

“Not so little anymore! He’s six and going into first grade this year.”

“Wow, time flies, huh?”

“Yes, it does.” She pauses. “I have a feeling you didn’t call for small talk. What’s going on?”

“It’s Victoria.”

“What the fuck is that bitch up to now? Is she trying to pin something else on you?”

“Not exactly,” I say, then tell her about Eric and Amara.

“Oh my God.” She gasps. “That woman is worse than the devil himself.”

“What do you think I should do? Will this somehow backfire on me? Will she know I did a deposition?” Sassy finishes sniffing around a fire hydrant, then we continue down the sidewalk.

“It’s possible. Your name will be on the witness list, but whether she sees it or not, I can’t say. More than likely, she’ll use the family money to buy her way out of it.”

“I want to help Eric if I can, and if I can help fuck her life up the same way she did mine, that’d be a nice bonus.”

“I agree, but without specific details, it’s hard to give a green light on this. Can you have him set up a conference call with you, me, and the prosecutor? That way we can ask more questions before you make a decision.”

“Yeah, I’ll ask him as soon as I get home.”