Page 66 of Our Little Dove

I feel relieved but sadness lingers, lurking in the shadows of my heart. “You are free to go.”

Fintan and I stare at her, the tension in the room seems to stretch on endlessly. I can feel his anger boiling and the heat radiates off his body as he stands, mulling her words over.

I don’t think twice before I bolt toward the staircase and rush up to the door. She was telling the truth, this time.

There is no fucking keypad.

My heart races a million miles per hour as I reach out and grip the handle, swinging the door open with no resistance. She has been manipulating and lying to us for days, maybe even weeks.

I suddenly feel faint and turn to rest my back against the wall, still not daring to set foot through the doorway as I catch my breath.

Did she lie?

Every day, we heard the sound of the deadbolt being locked from outside. However, neither of us bothered to check the door when she started allowing us to explore the room on our own.

Was it a fucking test when she said she has the code to the door?

I turn, pushing off the wall and head back down to the basement. Alex is still seated in her chair and the sight of her makes my heart thud louder. I want to rip her heart out for what she did.

“The door is open, Fin,” I say through gritted teeth. My blood boils in my veins as I scan every inch of her again, the anger nearly evaporates when I see her hazel eyes find mine.

Her newly died hair falls over her face as she leans forward with her elbows on her thighs. The sight nearly makes me wince. But I can’t let her distract me. Not now.

Fintan is seething beside me, his jaw clenched as he watches Alex with a mixture of disbelief and anger. “Let’s fucking go,” he sneers, clearing his throat. “Or I can fuck her within an inch of her life for what she’s put us through!”

I move closer to her, my hands balled into fists at my sides. She doesn’t flinch, doesn’t look away. It’s almost as if she’s daring me to do something. “Do what you want. I’m done with her. I’m fucking leaving,” I growl, letting my emotions take their toll.

“You manipulated us,” I say, the words heavy with accusation. Her lips curl into a sad smile, and I don’t fucking buy it. I realize that this was all a game to her. She got her revenge.

“Did you really think we would just walk away; knowing now that we were not actually trapped? Locked up like fucking animals?” Fintan’s voice is cold, cutting through the tense air like a knife.

Alex meets his gaze unwaveringly before turning to look at me again. “You chose not to attempt an escape whether you wantto admit it or not, but like I said, we’re even. I am giving you a chance to leave, now go,” she says softly.

“Fintan, let’s go!” I yell, starting toward the stairs. “For what it’s worth, I am grateful that you saved me and unlike you, I do feel some remorse for what I have done to you,” she mutters as Fintan turns to follow me out.

“There are duffle bags by the front door. Your phones, keys and clothes are inside. I’ll be in touch when I need more answers,” she says, following us out of the basement. “Like hell you will!” Fintan growls as he pushes past me in the hallway.

“Don’t call or text, we are fucking done here,” I growl, not daring to look at her as Fintan and I finally leave the basement for the first time since she brought us here.

A few days later

Molly called me a few minutes ago when Joel dropped her off at her apartment. They just got back from their trip, and I expected her to be on cloud nine having spent two weeks on a romantic getaway with Joel, but I immediately got a feeling that something wasn’t right.

I told her to come over and spend the night since I absolutely hate the silence of my house in the evenings since I let Fintan and Kieran go. I could use the company. Now that I got my revenge, I want to get back to my life beforethem.

Closure would have been ideal but if I have any hope of moving on from this, I need to get to the root of the problem. Hush needs to be taken down.

I realize now that I cannot blame them forever, especially since they were doing their jobs, fucked up as that may be.

While I wait for Molly to arrive, I call Joel, hoping he will tell me everything is okay, but he doesn’t answer. After trying to reach him for the second time, I give up and toss my phone onto the couch, assuming that he’s either busy at Hell’s Playground after being gone so long or he is ignoring me.

Just as I sit down, I hear Molly’s car pull up to the house and quickly move to the front door to greet her with a tight hug as soon as she is within arm’s reach.

“Thank you for inviting me over. I really didn’t want to be alone tonight,” she whispers against my shoulder as she tightens her arms around me.

“I really missed you, M,” I say as I let her go with a warm smile. My expression falters as soon as I notice her red-rimmed eyes and slightly smudged mascara.

“What’s wrong? Did something happen on your trip?” I ask as I pull her inside and lock the door behind us.

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