But I looked to where Elvira was looking.

Ryn’s laptop.

The diagnostics were no longer running.

“Yeah,” Axl said. “Yeah.” Pause. “You got a location?” Listening. “Leave it to us. Thanks, Brody.” He disconnected and announced to all, “She’s been hacked.”

“Fuck,” Boone clipped.

“I’m so sorry, Hattie,” Ryn said.

“Why?” I asked. “You didn’t stalk me.”

“Brody doesn’t have a location yet,” Axl kept going. “We need to get on that.”

“Dude’s name is Laszlo Kovack and I know where he works and where he lives,” Boone supplied.

Both Boone and Axl looked to Hawk.

“Go,” he bit out.

Boone turned to Ryn and Axl looked down at me.

“You stay here until Sly gets here or you hear from me, okay?”

I nodded.

He bent in and kissed me quickly.

Then he and Boone took off, both of them with their phones to their ears.

I thought about Laszlo Kovack.

And what I thought was, I’d like to have a conversation with him about why he played this the way he did.

Not that I wanted him to play with Boone and Ryn.

Just that…I didn’t get it.

“Did he like you?” I asked Ryn.

“Well, we connected, so he was attracted to me,” Ryn replied. “But for me, he was definitely a one and done.”

“I think he didn’t want to be a one and done,” I surmised.

“Just, you know,” Elivra began, “takin’ up the slack while Hawk here tamps down his inclination to chase up Axe and Boone so he can work out his current murderous tendencies, this Kovack guy thought you’d share with her.” She tipped her head to Ryn. “My guess, this started before you and Axe got together?”

I nodded.

“So…yeah,” Elvira said in conclusion.

“But then he knew I was with Axl,” I pointed out.

Elvira shrugged. “That, I don’t get. Unless he got into it and found he was getting off on it and didn’t feel like quitting.”

It was more than that.

I felt it.

But I focused on Ryn. “You okay?”

“Yeah.”

She didn’t sound convincing.

“I’m sorry that happened to you.”

“No big deal, it’s over. I’m sorry it leaked to you.”

“That isn’t on you.”

She nodded.

“He bi?” Elvira broke into our back-and-forth to ask Ryn.

“No clue,” Ryn answered.

“He’s bi,” Elvira said.

“And?” I asked.

“And, have you seen Axl?” she asked back. “Or Boone?”

Well then.

There you go.

“He wanted him,” I surmised.

“He wanted him. He wanted you. He wanted Ryn. Maybe even wanted Boone. Who knows? That video,” she tipped her head to my laptop, “says ‘Come and play.’ It does not say, ‘Come and play, and after, I’m gonna wear your skin.’”

Yeah, just like I thought.

Totally no Silence of the Lambs vibes.

Totally an invitation.

But…who does that?