You are the Answer {boyxboy} ✓ (Dogs, Bats & Monkeys series, Book I | Riley)

Chapter 9

The street lights seemed to be running when in fact it was the car that was moving. It wasn't the same car Everett used to pick us up a week ago; it was Rhys'. The vehicle was a newer model than that of his brother, I could tell that even though I didn't know much about cars. We should be talking, Rhys and I, we were on a date after all, but there was something I couldn't get off my mind: Tim had called his fiancée that Tuesday afternoon and told her that I would be going out on a date and with who. Winnie's reaction had not been what I'd expected though; instead of waiting for me to phone her after my shift, she'd stormed into the Milk & Cream just minutes after Rhys had left. And she had been far less ecstatic than I'd thought she would be.

I didn't need for her to remove the hood to the red raincoat to know who she was. I could tell it was Winnie just by the way she surged in; I could also tell she wasn't happy. There was no "Hello" or "How are you"; she grabbed me by the hand and dragged me to the supply room, not even stopping to peck her significant other on the way there. I stagger when she pushed me in and almost collided with a stack of card boxes. The door was slammed and locked behind us and the red waterproof fabric was removed from her body and carelessly discarded on the floor.

"Are you out of your mind?" She questioned in the strictest of maternal tones, her arm folded at the elbows and her hands touching the sides of her slim waist. "There's a serial killer on the loose and you are going out with someone from the Bullets? Are you insane, Riley? What if it is him? And even I it is not him, what if it's someone else from his gang?"

Everything was asked so fast that it took me some time and a series of rapid blinks to assimilate her words. At least now her behavior made sense.

"No." I shook my head. "I told you before, Winnie, they are not a gang; more like a... society within a society."

"And how do you know that in their society it's not acceptable to kill?" She went on, her head bobbing as she spoke. "It could be a rite of passage for them."

"They are not like that." I protested again. I would've sounded more believable if I could give her examples as to why, but something told me she wouldn't recognize my gut feeling as enough of an evidence.

"Because they told you so?" She went on. "Sure," she removed her right hand from her waist to waive in front of her, "believe everything they say. Have you ever heard anyone outside of their society say anything nice about them?"

"No," I replied again, with less confidence than before; colleagues and patrons had always advised me to keep a distance from the 'gang'. "But I haven't heard of them actually getting arrested for murder either. Maybe the police haven't found anything on the Bullets because there's nothing to find."

"Or because they have at least one of them working at the police station," Winnie contradicted with a smug smile, crossing her arms over her chest. "You said that chick from the news was their leader's cousin."

Even though my friend made a good point, I was not going to give up. I was sure that neither Rhys, nor his family - in the private or broader sense of the term - were capable of such atrocities. How could they? They each raised money to help those in need; you didn't do that if you preached violence and murder.

"Oh, and all the other policemen are in it too?" I asked, mirroring her stance. "That Detective Callum included? The one that everybody in town considers one of the best; the one that your own fiancé keep praising."

For the first time today, Winnie looked as if she didn't know what to say. I'd bet she'd been planning her arguments and my possible counterarguments from the moment the call with Tim had ended to when she burst in the Milk & Cream. She didn't look like she was expecting this one though and I had to fight back a smile as I watched her face go from angry to surprised and then disconcerted.