“Ryn isn’t a fan of sleeping alone, especially now this shit is going down, because you were in a bind that got her into a firefight in the parking lot of a mall,” Boone reminded him.

“And I’m sorry about that too,” Brett said, and the look on his face said those words were no lie.

Fuck.

When someone apologized, and meant it, like this guy just did, you were screwed.

Even if he couldn’t push that, he pointed out, “And she was holding it together when I left, but a man was shot dead when she was hiding in the bathroom, so my guess is, she’s not gonna be good with sleeping alone for a long fuckin’ time.”

Cisco flinched before he muttered, “I’ve been wanting to ask how she’s taking things.”

“You’re not the only shit she has to deal with in her life, just that, today, you’re the worst of it and we can say her morning didn’t start off real great.”

He nodded knowingly. “Her brother and his ex.”

Jesus, how much did Ryn share with this guy?

And now Boone was getting a new sinking feeling.

Because maybe she was something to him.

But the only people who could know that were…

Before Boone could finish that thought, Mamá cut in.

“In all of this, you’re missing something, Cabe,” Mamá noted.

“I’m not,” Hawk replied. “They left his brother alone.”

She inclined her head.

Hawk hadn’t missed that.

But Boone did.

Fuck!

They were going after women.

They didn’t go after Cisco’s brother.

They went after his sister.

And after she was out of reach, they went after Corinne, not the brother.

They didn’t kill Corinne Morton’s husband as a message to Corinne, and through her Cisco.

They killed Corinne.

Now with Corinne gone, they were after Ryn.

Not the brother.

“Why are they targeting women?” Hawk pushed.

“Maybe because a man like Brett will think another man can handle himself, but he’ll do quite a bit to protect a woman,” Mamá answered.

It was whacked, but now Boone was beginning to like this guy.

Mamá continued, “But more likely it’s because they don’t like women. Especially not ones who hold power, influence or know their own minds. Men like that, I don’t understand how they work. I also don’t want to. And neither does Brett. At this point, it’s important to point out, Brett is not instigating. He’s responding. Take that into account, Cabe.”

Hawk gave her a chin lift then asked, “We’re not going to get any more, are we?”

She slowly shook her head.

Hawk (and Boone) looked to Cisco.

He shook his head too.

“Then we’re gone,” Hawk murmured.

On that, Hawk went to Mamá and bent to kiss her cheek.

When he pulled away, she lifted both hands and patted him on his cheeks.

Boone wished the circumstances were different, because as it was, he couldn’t give Hawk shit about that.

There was a lot of shifting around to get out of her little kitchen, but once they were on the back stoop, Hawk ordered, “Rendezvous at the office.”

“I need to get back to Ryn,” he told his boss.

“Mo’s got her. Rendezvous at the office,” Hawk said. “You can go to her after we debrief.”

They all had shit to do that day, and Hawk had clients that were paying them to do it.

But in that moment, they went to their vehicles in order to drive to the office, doing it on the lookout. They did this even though Mamá’s soldiers would be stationed in a way that no one would see them, but if someone was there watching that shouldn’t be, Mamá would have known before they walked out the back door.

As Boone drove, he debated who to call to check in on Ryn, Mo…or Ryn.

He picked Ryn.

She answered the phone on the first ring.

“Hey.”

“How you hangin’ in?” he asked.

“Lottie’s here. So’s Pepper and Hattie.”

Her girls were there.

Good.

“You call off for Smithie?” he asked.

“Why would I do that?” she asked back.

Boone didn’t know how to answer considering the answer was obvious.

“Boone, I need money to flip that house,” she reminded him.

He could share that she also needed to be breathing to flip that house, but he did not.

As far as she knew, Cisco’s shitstorm had meant that she’d had an attempted intruder.

Not something worse.

He had to figure out if he was going to share that and flip her out more, but she’d be safe because she’d be cautious, or be double cautious for her and keep her safe from that information.

He let the Smithie thing go and said, “We’re done with Cisco and I gotta meet with Hawk. Then I’ll come to your place.”

“What did Brett say?”

“I’ll fill you in when I see you,” he evaded. “Now, I gotta go, sweetheart.”

“Okay, be safe.”

“You too. Later.”

“Later.”

They hung up and Boone turned the conversation with Cisco and Mamá around in his head the rest of the way to the office.

He thought he had something by the time he got through the door and was keen to talk it out with Hawk and do that immediately, because if he was right, they had another problem.

A big one.

And what he meant in that “they” included Cisco.

And now, Mamá Nana.

But mostly, it involved Kathryn.

However, he did not talk it out immediately with Hawk.

This was because Mag and Auggie were already there, he knew Axl was right behind him, caught at a light that Boone made, but also Jorge was huddled with them standing outside the conference room.

And so were Hank Nightingale and Eddie Chavez.

This wasn’t bad, as such.

What was bad was that expressions weren’t annoyed, frustrated and alert.

They were annoyed, frustrated, alert, wary, troubled.

And pissed.

“What’s happening?” he asked, joining the huddle.

Hawk, as usual, didn’t sugarcoat it.

“We got bad news and no good news.”

Boone nodded and did it bracing.

“They got an ID on the dead guy. Sex offender. A collar of Mueller and Bogart when they were partnering for the DPD,” Hawk said. “Paroled two months ago.”

Boone heard the door open behind him but didn’t turn to look at Axl as he walked in.

Sex offender.

They hadn’t picked someone to go in and scare her or beat her or even kill her.

They’d picked someone to go in and rape her.

Boone had tripped Bogart’s trigger, and maybe Ryn had too.

This was payback.

“Boone.”

Boone didn’t move because now his skin wasn’t itching, it was so tight all over his body, it felt like if he moved, he’d shatter.

“Boone!” Hawk clipped.

He came to and focused on his boss.

“Keep your shit,” Hawk ordered.

“I’m keeping my shit,” Boone lied.

“No, you’re not,” Hawk returned.