We are the Answer {boyxboy} ✔ (Dogs, Bats & Monkeys series, Book I | Rhys)

Chapter 17

A/N: I'm doing another character interview and I've asked people on facebook to vote for the character they want me to question. Don't have a facebook? Don't worry: you can vote in the comments! The options are:
- Rhys

- Riley

- Rhys & Riley (joint interview)

- Alec

- Kennedy

- Keri

The links to the previous character interviews with Alice from The Green Girl series and Tyson from Here We Go Again will be in the comments.

Now back to Rhys' POV.

*****

"No," I cut him off.

Shock and rejection replaced his smile.

I immediately realized my mistake and silently cussed myself.

"I'll come pick you up, Riley. I don't want you to walk on your own; it's dangerous right now," I explained.

"You mean that man. Or people." His voice was low. "I hope they catch them soon."

I sighed. I wanted to reach out, hold his hand and console him; I wanted to tell him that everything would be alright.

But I'd have to lie to do that.

"They are doing their best," I began narrating the distressing truth, "but Kelly says there isn't much that they could use. There are almost no traces..."

"Kelly? As in Keri's cousin?" He interrupted and I nodded. "What does she have to do with it?"

"She's a police officer. She works on the case along with Detective Callum."

I resisted the urge to add 'He's human and we needed one of us on the case'.

"Is she the uniformed officer who spoke with the media on the day of the last murders?"

"Yeah." I didn't even attempt to hide the proud smile.

And then I slipped:

"She's one of our best."

I clamped my mouth shut, but it was already too late. My mate looked as if he was about to commence asking a long line of questions I would not want to give an answer to.

I cussed myself again.

I seemed to do a lot of that when it came to Riley.

My shoulders slumped in relief when he changed the topic:

"It seems kind of strange to find out people from the Bullets have regular jobs. I mean, except maybe for running that pub of yours."

"We don't actually have an external income from that place, you know." I was happy I could fill him in on how things were run in our pack without having to worry that what I said would lead to uncomfortable questions. Talking about our jobs was safe; after all, we all had legal ones.

"I mean," I went on, "the only visitors of that pub are us. So when I buy a beer, I'm paying a zero point zero something out of my own salary."

"You mean, because the community pays the Bullets' leader and the second in command to take care of them?"

Okay... I was wrong. This was bordering on uncomfortable and maybe even dangerous. It would be tricky to explain why my best friend and I got paid without using the terms Alpha and Beta in the sense that we shifters did.