Bad News

Richard’s POV:

I thought you were joking about earlier yesterday,’ came Arielle’s voice through the mind link, just as I was sitting down on my comfortable swivel chair behind my desk. I raised my left hand to stop Darren from talking, as I could see that he was ready to burst with everything he had discovered in the last 24 hours.

I focused on the sound of my mates voice, confused as to what she was taking about.

She sounded a little bit exasperated, but also had humor injected into her tone. That alone made me feel a bit more relaxed than I normally would be.

‘What’s the matter?’ I asked her, taking another sip of my whiskey and feeling the alcohol burn pleasantly down my throat and pool in my belly. ‘What did you think I was joking about?’

‘You asked Ethan to come guard me, didn’t you?’ Her tone was accusatory. ‘And on top of it, you probably told him about Renee.’

‘If that’s what you’re accusing me of, then yes,’ I smiled to myself as the feeling of fond but ever amusing frustrati