Page 76 of Our Little Dove

Alex’s eyes find mine and I can see her thinking hard before I practically observe a light bulb flicker with an idea. “We have a digital paper trail,” she says, gears grinding as her eyes dart tothe men. “Email me the latest payment notification you got from Hush.”

“Um… You sure about that? Remember what you did the last time you saw a payment from Hush come through?” Kieran asks rhetorically and I am officially curious.

What did she do? Alex better spill all the tea when they leave.

At first, she fixes him with a look sharp enough to draw blood but then guilt flashes in her eyes before shaking it off.

“I can access the data embedded in the email and track the IP address of whoever sent it,” she states, not allowing the raw emotion I can see in her gaze to filter through her words. “Hopefully, they used a phone, or a computer registered to them.”

“Woah, you can do that?” I ask, my tone taking on a much higher pitch. “Well, yes, in theory. I have done a lot of not-so-legal work for clients. The best we can hope for is an address—if Joel is the one making payments on Hush’s behalf, it’ll be easy to prove,” Alex states as she looks down at her plate.

The mention of Joel’s name sends a sharp pain to my heart for what feels like the millionth time tonight. It’s been a few hours since he broke up with me. This is all too much; I should go to bed.The vodka from earlier has all but left my system and there is nothing left to numb the heartache.

I wish I never went through his stupid phone. I suppose ignorance really is bliss.

“Sure. I need your email, Dove,” Fintan announces as he hands his phone to Alex, and she hesitantly takes it and taps away on the screen.

Dove? What’s that about?

“Have you thought this through?” Kieran asks in a deep voice, concern dripping from his tone. “What will you do if your suspicions turn out to be true?”

Alex regards him with an unsure expression and I clear my throat. I can’t listen to this anymore. If Joel’s name is mentioned one more time, I don’t know if I will be able to keep my already fragile emotions from shattering me completely.

“I think I’m gonna turn in… Lexi, I hope you find what you are looking for. I’ll talk to you in the morning,” I say, moving my chair back as I stand.

“Are you okay?” Alex asks and the question brings stinging tears to my eyes. “Yeah, I… I just can’t listen to this anymore. Joel and I broke up a few hours ago. I’m sorry, I just need to get some sleep and clear my head, this is a lot to deal with.”

Alex’s expression falters and she looks at me with pity for a moment. “Fuck, M… I’m sorry. We’ll finish up here and I’ll take them back so we can have the house to ourselves,” she says as she walks toward me and hugs me so tight, I might break. “You can go to my room, and we can watch a movie when I return?” she whispers on my shoulder.

“Thanks, I’ll be okay. I think I just need to sleep it off. I’ll take the guest room,” I mutter, trying to keep the tears from rolling down my cheeks and failing miserably. With her hands on my shoulders, she pulls away from the hug and offers me a sad smile but nods in agreement before whispering, “I’m sorry,” one more time.

I hate that look. I don’t want her pity. I just wanted to spend time with my best friend and take my mind off Joel and the sudden break up.

Blowing out a heavy breath, I manage a weak smile before I grab my overnight bag by the front door and disappear down the hallway.

The sound of whispered chatter grows softer as I make my way inside the guest room and shut the door with tears running freely down my face now that I don’t have their eyes on me.

My heart aches for Molly. She must think I’m a terrible friend. If Joel is working with Hush, I don’t know if I will be able to forgive him and I’m relieved that he broke up with her before things got too serious between them.

My stomach lurches at the thought of my cousin, my only family, working for such an evil site. “Hey, come on. I’ll drive you back to the studio,” I announce as I step toward the table. After gathering the empty plates, I set them down next to the sink in the kitchen.

Fintan and Kieran exchange a knowing glance before nodding at each other. “Sure thing,” Fintan states firmly. Kieran simply stands up, a resolute expression on his face as he gets ready to leave.

As we walk out to the car, the night air is cool and weightless, a stark contrast to the heaviness that still lingers from the conversation back at the house. The only sound that breaks the silence is the rustling of leaves in the wind and the echo of our footsteps on the pavement as we approach my car.

Once we’re inside, I start the engine and begin driving back towards Clover Ink. The streetlights blur past us in a hypnotic rhythm, casting fleeting shadows across our faces.

“So,Lexi,” Fintan speaks up from the backseat, breaking the silent tension. “What’s your plan now? Are you going to confront Joel about Hush?”

I glance at him through the rearview mirror. “Don’t call me that,” I bark in annoyance. He has no right to use Molly’s nickname for me.

“I don’t know,” I admit when he just shrugs, my grip tightening on the steering wheel. “But I can’t just ignore it. I need to find out the truth.”

Kieran hums from the passenger seat, his gaze steady as his eyes settle on the side of my face. “We’ll help you figure it out,” he says.

I know they have different reasons for agreeing to help me with this but hearing him say that has my heart fluttering in my chest with a hope that maybe I…Wecan do this.

“Perhaps we should meet at our place in the future to talk Hush business?” Fintan suggests behind me, his tone sounding with a hint of annoyance. “Why?” I ask, suddenly feeling their gazes heat my flesh from all sides as I try to navigate my way back to the studio as calmly as possible.

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