Page 83 of Our Little Dove

Am I making a mistake by agreeing to see him? Will it deepen the wounds he left in my heart that haven’t yet started to heal?

Despite the uncertainty, a part of me longs for closure, for answers to the questions that have been haunting me since the abrupt end of our relationship.

Alex also deserves closure. What happened to her, despite my involvement, was horrifying and if Joel is working with the people behind all of this, she needs to face him and hear the truth.

“Are we really doing this?” Alex asks, her voice filled with genuine worry.

Taking a moment to collect my thoughts, I finally meet her gaze and reply, “I think I need to face him, and you need to know the truth, no matter how much it hurts us.”

Molly’s eyes are filled with a sea of nerves and pain as she waits for me to respond. For a moment, I don’t– I can’t.I can’t imagine what I would do if the worst-case scenario swirling at the back of my mind actually turns out to be true.

Joel is pulling all the strings behind that memorable logo. Lips around a gag with the name I want nothing more than to erase from existence. Hush.

No. Don’t go there. This is not the truth—it can’t be. He just got caught up in the forbidden content. I can understand the allure, the temptation of doing something that feels wrong but so good at the same time.

Molly steps closer, her fingertips grazing my arm and leaving goosebumps all over as I jolt back to the present. “Sorry. Okay, M, I’m with you. Whatever comes, we’ll deal with it together,” I say through uneven breaths as I wrap my arms around her once more.

“Always,” she whispers with her chin on my shoulder. “Let’s get some sleep.”

I pull away from her embrace and nod at her suggestion. This has been the longest day, and I haven’t let myself feel the drain until now.

I am past being tired at this point. I’ve been running on fumes for hours. Fuck, what a shit-show of a day.

Molly and I wake up a few minutes to eight and groan all the way from the bedroom to my kitchen in desperate need of caffeine. I get started on the coffee while Molly takes a seat at the island.

“You ready for this?” I ask over my shoulder as I grab mugs from the cabinet. “Nope. You?” she bites out before yawning loudly and resting her head in her hands.

“Not really,” I admit. “Drink up, we need to get going soon. Traffic might get us if we don’t leave by nine.” She sighs into her hands as I place the mug in front of her.

“Cool, I should probably take a shower and wash the heartbreak and sadness off before we head to my place…” she trails off and takes a huge sip of the steaming liquid.

“Would you be ok with me asking the guys to meet us there?” I ask, waiting for her reaction.

Molly lets out an incredulous laugh and flashes me a look that screams:“you are insane”before rolling her eyes and giving me a curt nod as she sips. “If you must. Are you ever going to tell me the whole story? I want details so I can hopefully understand your crazy ass,” she murmurs.

Gulping down the contents of my mug, I place it in the sink before turning to face her again. Leaning my backside against the countertop, I clear my throat and wrack my brain for long seconds as I try to think of a way to answer such a loaded question.

Details?

Um, I am fucking both of my kidnappers at the same time because I caught feelings…bad.

Oh, and I also tortured them in my basement the entire time you were on your trip and I made them fuck each other while recording the whole thing and getting myself off, because I thought it would be hot and now, they are…together?

“Honestly, I don’t know but I really want to,” I say and clear my throat. “It’s still new and we’ve got a lot to work through before I can answer that properly.”

“Fair enough,” Molly says, crossing her arms over her chest after handing me her empty mug. I can almost feel the questions she has for me as if my response doubled the amount running wild in her brain.

“I just want you to be careful, Lexi. This seems like a dangerous idea.”

I am thankful that she doesn’t ask me anything else about my situation and I appreciate her worry for my safety but I need to assure her that I can hold my own if things go wrong. Though, that is the last thing I want to think about.

“I get that. But I can’t ignore the way they make me feel. There’s something between the three of us, an inexplicable pull that I can’t ignore.”

Molly looks at me, her eyebrows furrowed, and concern etched on her face. She takes a deep breath, releases it slowly, and then says, “Alright. I trust you, Alex. But don’t forget to take care of yourself, too.”

I nod, feeling a surge of gratitude for her unwavering trust and support. I know I haven’t been the easiest person to deal with lately, but I never doubt for a moment that she’s got my back.

“I won’t forget that, Molly. I promise,” I say, rounding the island to hug her briefly.

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