Page 15 of Hacker Beloved

"You can just ask. No need to raise your hand," I commented.

"Who helped you take out these men?" Zayla asked.

Kat's eyes narrowed. "Why would I need help?"

Zayla continued. "Only reason I'm asking is Asher and CJ said the killer couldn't be a woman because moving my body would be too hard for a female."

Now Kat's narrowed eyes were glaring in my direction, and my brother covered his mouth. "Hey! Kat, you are a trained assassin, and always come prepared."

"Wait, what?" Zayla asked.

CJ pulled her close and murmured something into her ear. Tension hung thickly in the air, so I spoke up to try to defuse it. "I was wrong. It is plausible the killer might be a woman. It's just that not many are as talented as you."

"We need a second," CJ said as he clicked the mute button on the screen. "Who's going to tell Kat she needs a bodyguard? The person earlier today was Zayla's neighbor, and when Zayla didn't comply, she was killed. There is no doubt in my mind that Kat will be at risk."

Fuck. "She's not going to like this," I added.

Zayla pointed at Kat, "But she insisted I have you guys come to help protect me."

CJ nodded. "Except Kat will think she can take this on herself."

There was no way around what I had to recommend. I motioned for CJ to unmute the meeting. "Kat, you know I love you," I said cautiously, eyeing Antonio. He grinned at me from behind Kat's back.

Kat crossed her arms over her chest and glared daggers in my direction.

“You are not on my good list tonight,” she muttered through gritted teeth.

I struggled to find the right words, knowing that this next sentence could be my last one ever.

“We have reason to believe the killer is coming after people close to Zayla. So until we solve this, you’ll need a—"

“I swear if you finish that sentence, I’ll send Patty after your ass,” Kat shot back.

Patty was part of our group and an excellent hacker. When her father’s indiscretions came to light, he stepped down as king, and Patty was forced to take his place as Queen of Shailia. She spent most of her time in meetings with world leaders. Her true passion had always been cybersecurity. So, if she got a chance to hack someone, technically whenever someone asked her to hack, she jumped on the chance. My only saving grace had been the fact that CJ could fix anything they sent our way.

Zayla leaned forward. "Can you send me all the notes you have on these men? Maybe I can start the podcast talking about the gang and how the seven went missing. Highlight the crap they did too, so nobody will care when we don't solve who the killer is."

Kat's nodded, "I'll also reach out to the new leader. We had an understanding. My guess is he's the one who ratted me out. Looks like it might be time to look back into the Scarlet Scorpions."

"Anything we find on the Scarlet Scorpions, will be turned over to the police," Antonio muttered.

"Sure," Kat said a little too quickly. "Though I'm not sure how I feel about being the star of your serial killer podcast. Technically, I'm a vigilante."

Antonio ran his hand through his hair. "Kitty Kat, you and me are going to have a long talk after this meeting."

Kat bounced on Antonio's knee. "Will said talk involve spankings?"

"I swear you don't make a single day of my life boring." Antonio turned his eyes to Zayla. "Please don't lead the cops back to my wife. Her heart is in the best place."

"Okay," Zayla responded.

"Thanks. Kat will send her notes in a minute. If you have any questions or updates, text them to me. I'm going to be busy for a while," Antonio grumbled before he closed out the meeting, and the screen went black.

I glanced over to Zayla, and she was chewing on her bottom lip.

"What's going through your head?" I asked.

Zayla waved at the black screen. "I don't see how she could take out seven men."

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