Page 88 of Our Little Dove

Molly sobs from the entryway, her voice so timid, it’s barely a whisper. “Please stop.”

“You wantmeto stop?!” he barks at Molly before turning his hellish gaze back to me. “Fine! Yes, Alex, I work for Hush, and I feel fucking sick knowing I paid these predators for theircontent. What is wrong with you? How could you fuck these guys knowing what they did?”

Time seems to slow as Joel’s confession takes its toll. Fintan’s arm drops from my shoulder and I can feel the anger radiating off him as the truth permeates the air.

“Oh my God,” I cry, stumbling back until my legs meet the edge of the kitchen stool. Taking a seat, I drop my head in my hands and sob, trying to process it all.

Joel’s jaw tightens, ticking with rage before he steps toward me, but Fintan blocks his way. “Don’t,” Fintan warns, but the tension in the room is a taut wire ready to snap.

Joel lunges forward suddenly, aiming a punch at Fintan. A loud crunching sound echoes in the small apartment as we watch Fintan’s head fling to the side, his ashen hair falling into his eyes as he licks the blood from his busted lip with a predatory smirk.

Before I can react, Kieran intercepts another blow from my enraged cousin with surprising speed. Kieran spins him around and his fist connects with Joel’s jaw. Hard.

Joel staggers back, his hand flying to his face as he glares at Kieran.

“Touch him again,” Kieran growls, “and you’ll fucking regret it.”

“Fuck you!” Joel spits, rubbing his reddening jaw.

Careful Kieran, I don’t think getting my dick hard is good for this little shitshow.

My inner monolog has me smiling wide as I observe this fine display of testosterone. I must look deranged with my bloody lip and the dull throb that spreads across my mouth. My smiling must be making it worse as the blood starts trickling from the small wound.

“Stop!” Alex cries as Kieran advances on Joel again. “Just fucking stop.” Her sobs make me angry and all I want to do is get the fuck out of here. Two crying women is too much.

Fuck, I hate it so much. I want to make it stop.

“Listen, we are going to need you to step up here and do the right thing. Alex wants to take down Hush,” I say, wiping my mouth with the back of my hand.

“No fucking way,” Joel scoffs. “Alex, I’m sorry you got dragged into this but that is not going to happen.” Alex practically vibrates as her crying stops –thank God– and she steps toward her cousin with a sneer plastered across her flushed face.

“I will burn your little dark web porn site to the ground, with or without your help. And you shouldn’t just apologize to me. Molly fucking loved you and you ruined that too! Joel, you are my only family, please help me put an end to this.”

Joel’s expression tightens, a mixture of anger and guilt flickering across his features. He runs a hand through his tousled hair, eyes darting between Alex’s intense gaze and the unwavering presence of Kieran and me.

“You want me to help you end this?” Joel’s voice trembles slightly, his frustration palpable. “I never wanted any of this to happen, but I can’t do that, Alex.”

Alex’s jaw clenches, tears threatening to spill again. “Why?! Help us make things right.”

I step forward, my voice calm. “Joel, she needs your cooperation. We need to know everything you can tell us about Hush. You make their content payments, correct?”

Joel hesitates, his gaze dropping to the floor. “I can’t. You don’t understand what they’re capable of. Their reach is endless and I’m not about to give up my livelihood.”

“What the fuck are you talking about? You have the club. Hell’s Playground should make you enough or am I missing something?” Alex questions in a shaky tone but I hear her beautiful anger slipping through the cracks in her sadness and confusion.

“I’m sorry, Alex. I don’t want you poking around where you don’t belong. I’m not unsympathetic to your cause but this is a suicide mission,” Joel says, raising his hand to rub his jaw again.

Kieran steps closer, his stance imposing. “You love pussyfooting around questions, don’t you?”

Joel snaps his head toward Kieran with annoyance blazing in his eyes. “Fine. Yes, I make the payments. Which means I unknowingly paid you two for kidnapping and recording what you did to my cousin, you sick fucks!” His expression twisting with disgust.

Molly, who has been silently listening, speaks up softly. “You are just as guilty for what happened, Joel. Don’t pretend that your hands are clean. How much do they pay you for what you do?”

Joel meets her gaze, guilt flickering in his eyes. “Molly…”

She shakes her head, tears still streaming down her cheeks as she moves closer to us. “Please, Joel,” she says, holding up her hand before he says anything else. “I need to know why. I need to know if that site was worth it. Worth breaking my heart into a million pieces.”

Joel’s jaw tightens, emotions warring within him. “I never wanted to hurt you, Beautiful.”

---