Andi held his gaze. “And us?”
“Yes.” He paused, lowering his voice. “Especially us.”
The tension between them wasn’t fear—it was something heavier. Shared responsibility. Shared risk.
Whoever was behind this had made one thing clear.
They weren’t done.
Not even close.
CHAPTER
FORTY
The team clusteredin the hallway outside the radio studio, coffee cups in hand, badges still clipped to their jackets. A producer paced nearby, murmuring into a headset while a muffled burst of laughter drifted from behind the closed studio door.
Andi wished they could talk on-air about what was happening. Maybe someone out there knew something that would help them find Gina.
But one wrong move, and Gina could die.
She didn’t think the man who’d sent her that message was bluffing.
Andi stepped a few feet away and tried Kate again.
The call went straight to voicemail.
She lowered the phone slowly, resisting the urge to stare at the screen as if it might explain itself. People missed calls. Phones died. Meetings ran long. She knew all that.
People also changed. Maybe Kate wasn’t as responsible as she once was.
Still.
She slipped the phone into her pocket just as the studio door opened and the producer popped her head out. “We’re ready for you.”
The radio spot passed in a blur.
Headphones on. Voices bright and friendly. Questions about the tour, about LA, about what listeners could expect over the weekend.
Andi answered her questions smoothly, the rhythm of it all muscle memory by now, even as a quiet part of her mind kept circling the same unanswered questions.
When it was over, the team filtered back into the corridor.
Andi checked her phone again.
Nothing.
She leaned briefly against the wall and pulled up a search, typing Kate’s name. A moment later, an address appeared.
She lived less than fifteen minutes from the studio.
If something had come up—a last-minute obligation, a forgotten meeting, a sick pet—Andi would feel ridiculous for worrying this much.
But the fastest way to quiet the unease was to see for herself.
She caught Duke’s eye and tipped her head toward the elevators. “Can we talk a second?”
He followed without comment.
