Page 100 of The Liar's Reckoning

“No. I don’t know. I’m like—numb.”

“Wait for my mom, okay? She’ll know what to do.” Because I sure the fuck don’t.

Avery’s four months pregnant. Not even twenty weeks along yet. There’s no way this is good. But how bad it is, I have no idea. Maybe not catastrophic. Maybe this happens all the time?

With shaking hands, I get off the phone with her and call my mother. Once she understands the situation, I check the train schedule, and then I check for flights, trying to decide which one will get me to Manhattan faster.

The train? I think. Fuck…fuck…

“Hello?”

“Avery thinks her water broke. I need to come home, but I don’t know whether to take a train or a plane.”

“Do you need me to go check on her?” Silas asks. He must be at the building. I forgot.

I’m desperate. I must be. “Please.” Panic makes the word sound harsh and thin at the same time.

“Take the train,” he says. “You won’t have to deal with security. You’ll be here faster.”

“My mom’s on the way. To take her to the—” I can’t even fucking say it.

“Graham, baby. Take a deep breath for me.”

He’s never called me baby before. Puppy. Senator. Slut. Never baby. I must truly sound like I’m breaking.

“Baby,” he says again. “Breathe.”

I suck in a breath and realize how empty my lungs were.

“The elevator’s here. If I lose you, keep breathing, and keep moving. It’s gonna be okay.”

Silas’s words are the only reason I manage to get back on my feet.

31

SILAS

I’m shocked to see Graham with Avery as I’m about to leave Hanover Gardens at the end of my shift.

He’s home.

Avery looks pale and blank, but she’s walking with her hand in his.

She reaches out for mine as she passes me on the way to the elevator. “Thank you,” she tells me.

“Is everything okay?” I ask. I’ve done quite a bit of research tonight, and while water breaking at her gestational age usually ends in a miscarriage, it doesn’talways. She gives my hand a squeeze before dropping her eyes and letting me go. I meet Graham’s troubled gaze. “I’m glad you made it,” I tell him.

He nods, swallowing hard. He’s even paler than she is.

Jesus Christ, I can tell how much he needs me, and it hurts not to be able to reach out for him, too.

Avery may know Graham has a lover, but we decided it’d be too weird to know it’s me. I can see why Graham cares so much about her, though. She’s genuine and kind. Beguiling in the way she seeks casual touches and isn’t shy about showing her feelings.

It’s hard not to know what’s happening—I’d like to know—tobe prepared. But in this, I respect their need for privacy. This has nothing to do with me, which should sting, but instead it aches.

As I leave the building, I understand there’s no chance he’ll be headed to Chelsea, so I take the subway to the East Village, skipping my run. The night was exhausting enough, waiting and wondering. I feel heavy and depressed, but I don’t want to be alone.

I wind up snuggled up next to Christian who is dead asleep, which puts me to sleep fast. I wake up to a text. The light outside the curtains indicates it’s afternoon. Christian is now in a fitful sleep, maybe dreaming. I reach for my phone.

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