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“Where’s Andi?” she asked, cutting him off.
“She left. Wasn’t feeling good.”
When he leaned away from her ear, he found Christina’s expression pinched with concern. She jerked a thumb toward the left. “We need to talk. Come next door with me for a second.”
“I’m supposed to let Andi’s friends know where she is.” He glanced their way again, but they hadn’t noticed him yet.
Christina grabbed his elbow. “In a minute. This is important.”
Hill sighed. He didn’t have the energy for another conversation. He wanted to go home and forget this night ever happened. But Christina looked like she wasn’t about to be put off. He nodded and followed her back into the room where the auction had taken place.
When the door shut behind them, the off-key singing blessedly turned to a dull throb. Christina let go of his elbow when they were a few steps away from the door and turned to him. “I tried to call you earlier.”
He frowned. “My phone’s been on silent since I got here a few hours ago. Ramsey’s orders for the auction. What’s going on?”
Christina was in a black, dressy jumpsuit thing, and after setting her drink on a nearby table, she put her hand into some hidden pocket and pulled out her phone. “I’ve been digging into Andi’s trolls for you, and last time we talked, I hadn’t really found anything. But this afternoon, one of the searches I set up pinged with a hit.” She touched her phone screen, entered a code, and then found what she was looking for. “There’s this obscure message board where a few people were discussing Andi—people who hate the podcast, people who don’t like her or what she stands for. Typical toxic shit.”
“Okay…” he said, her tone making him nervous.
She looked up, her expression the one she used when she told people bad news. “Hill, they doxed her.”
His heart dropped. “What? When?”
“A few days before that night she called us out to the house for the break-in.”
The words took a second to register, the gravity of them. But when they hit him, they hit hard. “Jesus. You mean…”
Christina nodded, face grim. “Someone from that message board broke in.” She handed him her phone. “Someone posted that he’d been in her house.”
Fear crawled up Hill’s spine. He stared down at the screenshot Christina had taken.
KingXLeer:Bitch thinks she’s so safe. SO SMART. But guess who was able to jimmy her door open and LITERALLY stand in her house while she was home with her never knowing. The things I could’ve done to her stupid ass. For those wanting to visit, here’s where you can find Ms.What Can We Learn from This?Maybe we can teach her some things.
The guy then posted Andi’s full address.
Hill went cold all over, the idea that one of these psychopaths had been inside Andi’s kitchen shaking him to the core. “These sick fucks.”
“Yeah,” Christina said, taking her phone back. “I’m so glad you installed an alarm. That’s probably deterred more visits. But Andi needs to be made aware that her information is out there. This is going to become part of the break-in investigation now, so if I can find out who this asshole is, I can charge him. But until then”—she gave him a pointed look—“she needs to keep an eye out. And maybe you could put in some motion lights or a camera or two outside the house just to be safe. Someone could be creeping around in the dark.”
Creeping around in the dark. When Andi went home alone.Oh, God.“I have to go.”
“What?”
“Andi just headed home—alone. I need to go,” he said, already turning toward the door.
“Do you want me to come for backup?” she asked.
He wanted to say yes, but Chris was dressed up and here for a fun night. The chances of something happening to Andi when she got home were slim. Her information had been on the board for a while. If they were going to make a move, they probably would’ve already. “No, you go have a good time. I’ll text or call if I need anything.”
She crossed her arms and nodded. “Okay. Be careful.”
“Thanks, Chris. For doing all of this.”
“Of course,” she said with a brief smile. “Andi seems great and you seem happy with her. I’m pulling for you guys.”
The words stung like vinegar in an open wound, but he forced a nod. “Thanks.”
With that, he was out the door. His heart was pounding fast, and electricity was moving through his veins. He knew it was unlikely Andi was in trouble at this very moment. And she wouldn’t be happy to see him on her doorstep, but something in his gut was telling him that he needed to get to her.
Right. Now.
