a million years ago. It was nothing.”
Webster wanted to fucking vomit at Dooley’s words. “He’s not my brother!” Webster shouted. “He didn’t need to know. Nobody ever needed to know. You had no right to share that information. Not with Cy. Not with anybody.”
Dooley gave Webster a hard look. “Wait, did you… Are you… Did you and he… I didn’t know you were a…” Dooley fumbled before trailing off, his face somewhere between a smile and a snarl.
“You’re a fucking pedophile, and you’re going to turn your nose up at me because I’m into men? Really? That’s some fucked up moral code you’ve got there, Sheriff.”
Dooley’s gaze flicked away from the television, eyes glittering meanly. “I’m no pedophile. You… You were special. Nothing like that ever happened again. It was your mama’s idea, anyway.”
Webster blinked rapidly, his brain trying to process that information. “What?”
Dooley ignored the question. “What’s wrong? Did your sweetheart not want you anymore after he learned I’d already gotten a taste? I imagine, in there, somebody like him doesn’t have a right to be so choosy. But I guess now that he’s getting out, maybe he thinks he can do better?”
Webster choked back tears, focusing instead on his rage. “Why are you so fucking determined to take everything away from me? Away from us? What did we ever do to you?”
Dooley rolled his eyes. “You think I give a fuck about either of you? I look out for me. Always have. Always will. Your mama learned that the hard way. She thought she was gonna run me around by the nose like she did your boyfriend’s daddy. She thought she’d have me do her dirty work then just take me out like she did him, maybe collect my benefits. It came as a real shock to her when I put that fucking gun barrel between her eyes and shot her.”
Webster’s heart thudded against his ribs, but he didn’t say anything. He had no sympathy for Phoebe. Whatever happened to her had been a long time coming. He hadn’t even attended her funeral. Wasn’t even sure if they’d buried her. With any luck, she was burning in hell.
Dooley laughed at Webster’s silence. “What? No screaming or crying for your mama? Only for your thug boyfriend? What are you gonna do with him, anyway? Huh? I’ve seen that place you work at. They take care of princes and celebrities. What are you going to do with your felon boyfriend with his face tats and prison ink? You think your friends are just going to accept him with open arms? You’ll just live happily ever after, walking hand in hand at the farmer’s market or whatever it is you homos do?”
“My friends love me, and they’ll love Cy because I love him.”
He laughed. “You’re delusional. He’s using you for your salary. He’ll lie around on your couch all day, bleeding you dry, crying about how felons can’t get jobs, probably fucking women behind your back, using you just like your whore mother used men. Once a criminal, always a criminal.”
Webster’s mouth fell open. He couldn’t help it. “What? You’re fucking delusional. You’re the criminal. Not him. You threw him in prison for a crime my mother committed. You used your contacts and your friends to walk him through the system and ensure he ended up with a twenty-five year sentence. He lost a scholarship because of you. He was going to go to college. Have a life. He never hurt anybody. He’s the kindest, gentlest man I’ve ever known, and you are a fucking monster.”
Dooley snickered. “You’re awfully opinionated for somebody who traded the lives of a bunch of ‘innocent’ people to save yourself and your boyfriend. Yeah, I help cases along. I make sure that these prisoners are put before judges who know people like that are better off behind bars. We’re just taking the trash off the street and recycling it. We’re goddamn humanitarians. Why shouldn’t we make a profit? We’re doing what the legal system won’t. We’re doing what’s necessary to make our state safer for the people who matter, the ones who contribute to society and pay their taxes.”
Webster’s heart stumbled in his chest. “Wow.”
Dooley shook his head. “If you were really the fucking saint you claim to be, you wouldn’t be using those people to save yourself. You’d be doing everything in your power to save them.”
“You’re right about that, I suppose,” Webster said before asking, “Did you get all that?”
“What?” Dooley muttered.
Webster gave him