Page 53 of Call It What You Want
She’s closer to the mark than she knows.
I flash her a tight smile. “What can I say? We’re a law-abiding family.”
Silverman laughs under her breath, like,yeah, right.Her gaze shifts again to Ava, who’s standing next to me, watching the exchange. “Ava, are you here by choice?” she asks with a note of manufactured concern in her voice. “If you’re not, if someone is forcing you, you can tell me. I can help you.”
My heart stops. The anger radiating off Ava is almost electric, like a live wire snapping between us. I can feel it in the way she’s holding herself. She’s coiled like a spring, ready to snap. The need to hurt,to break, crawls through my veins. Less than an hour ago, Ava made it clear just how much she hates me. Christ, she could say anything right now. And if she talks, she could destroy everything.
The silence stretches, and I can practically see the cogs in Ava’s brain rotating—Talk to Silverman. Don’t talk to Silverman. Which option will get me out of this faster?
Fuck. Me.
I did this to myself. I mean, fuck, I knew what I was asking—no,demanding—from Ava when I dragged her kicking and screaming back into my life. I knew she’d be desperate to return to her old life, but I told myself her anger would be worth the reward.
Now I’m not so sure. If Ava is desperate enough, and Silverman is giving her a “get out of Rush House free” card, then she might just spill everything.
Several tense seconds tick by before Ava pushes out a breath. “No, I’m good.” Her gaze flicks to me. “Thanks for the concern, though.”
Silverman doesn’t look convinced, but that overly polite smile returns to her face. “Around here, it seems like a lot of girls are forced into things they’d rather not do, so you can’t blame me for asking.” She motions to the leather sofa. “A quick chat wouldn’t hurt, would it?”
Ava pinches her bottom lip between her teeth and glances over at me, her eyes pleading for, I don’t know—Help? Permission? Not sure, but it doesn’t matter, because right then, my uncle barrels into the study. His short dark hair sticks up at odd angles, like he just woke up. His white dress shirt is only half-tucked, one side escaping his tailored navy slacks.
My uncle’s gaze sweeps the room like he’s cataloging every threat. It lands briefly on Sean with the kind of squint that sizes up loyalty, followed by a curt nod of acknowledgment. Then he fixes Silverman with a glare that could draw blood. “What’s this about?” he barks.
“Let me guess, you’re the uncle/lawyer,” Silverman says with a self-satisfied smile, like she’s just aced a test that literally no one asked her to take.
“Mr. McKnight exercises his right to remain silent.”
“Actually, I’m here to talk to—” She glances down at the marriage certificate in her hand, “—Mrs.McKnight.”
John’s eyes widen, then dart to me. I can see the question on his face—What the fuck is she talking about?Yeah. I didn’t tell him about my plan to marry Ava, but I have my reasons for that. Like any good lawyer, he would have tried to talk me out of it, and that shit wasn’t happening.
“Regardless,” John says, recovering quickly. His gaze shifts back to Silverman. “You’ll need a subpoena if you want a conversation with anyone in this house.”
Silverman’s smile doesn’t waver. “We’re not here to arrest anyone,” she says smoothly. “We’re here to give Mrs. McKnight the opportunity to clarify the events surrounding Senator Davis’s death.”
I know John, and he’s a predator in a thousand-dollar suit. He’d sooner bite his own tongue off than let Silverman ask a single question without a court order.
“You’re trespassing,” he snarls. “Should we see what the courts have to say about you violating my client’s basic legal rights?”
“Okay. Okay. We’re leaving.” She hands the marriage certificate back to me, then removes a business card from her pocket and holds it out to Ava. “If you decide you want to talk, give me a call. I’ll be around for a few more days.”
I watch them file out. Silverman first, then Sean, trailing behind with an apologetic glance over his shoulder. The study door clicks shut, and suddenly the silence feels heavier than ever.
John levels me with a glare that could melt steel. “Mrs.McKnight? Are you fucking kidding me, Jackson?” He snatches the marriage certificate out of my hand and reads it quickly. “For fuck’s sake, this is actually legal.” He tosses it onto the desk. “You didn’t think to give me a heads up that you were getting married?”
I shrug. “What’s done is done.”
His eyes flick over Ava. “Has she even been initiated into the society?”
“Sheis right here,” Ava interrupts with that signature snark. “And apparently, yes, Ihavebeen initiated into this fucking shitshow.” She glares at me. “Against my will, I might add.”
I ignore her barbed comment.
“Is Silverman going to be a problem?” I ask my uncle.
“I’ll see what I can find out,” John says on the heels of a sigh. “In the meantime, keep your head down. They’ll be itching for any excuse to drag you into the police station. Smile at the wrong goddamn mailbox, and trust me, they’ll slap your ass with a summons so quick, your head will spin.”
“Jackson never smiles, so no worries there,” Christian says, smoke curling up from the corners of his mouth.
