Page 107 of The Stalker

The fans all seemed delighted, and the band took photos with them, with everyone smiling brightly.

They’d been there for about ten minutes, and the group of fans was growing, with a couple of new faces approaching. Tatiana watched as a group of five women who weren’t from the core group of fans appeared. They looked nervous, and Tatiana’s attention was immediately drawn to the hip of a brunette woman. She was carrying a gun, which wasn’t a total cause for concern, but the women were talking in a low tone with one another, and they kept looking over at the group as they took photos with the fans.

Tatiana’s heart was in her throat and she couldn’t take her gaze away from them. The second the woman placed her hand near her hip, Tatiana couldn’t risk it. She positioned herself between Hayden and the new group of people as she grabbed his arm and yanked him out of the photo he was taking.

“We’re leaving,” she hurled at him, pushing him away and behind the other bodyguards, who were pulling the other guys back from the fans as well.

The woman still had her hand on her holster, but she looked surprised and disappointed. Tatiana knew this might be an overreaction, but an unknown quantity who was armed wasn’t something she was willing to deal with today.

Her heart was still pounding in her chest as she made her way through the bodyguards, reached Hayden, and said, “Let’s go.”

She kept her eye on the woman with the gun as they headed to the arena, but she had dropped her hand to her side and was pouting with her friends as the rest of the band followed Tatiana and Hayden away from them.

“What the hell went wrong?” Hayden asked.

“When we’re inside.”

He nodded, and Tatiana focused on her breathing to let the adrenaline dissipate as they made their way into the arena.

Hayden had the soundcheck to do straight away, so she led him toward the stage as she said, “One of those fans was carrying, and she had her hand on her gun. Probably instinct, but not worth the risk.”

It had taken her a long time to resist the urge to check her weapon every five seconds, so it’s likely that was all that was happening. Still, given the emails from Hayden’s stalker, she didn’t want to take any chances with his safety.

The rest of the band joined Hayden for the soundcheck, and she’d been standing there watching the group for about ten minutes when Daniel walked over to her.

“Hey, Dan,” she smiled at him.

“What’s up, Tati?” he asked as he smiled back at her and rubbed his hand over his bald head.

“Just the usual. You?”

“About to get some lunch,” he said.

“Nice. Enjoy.” She nodded at him, then turned back to watching the soundcheck.

About ten minutes later, Daniel walked toward her. He was carrying two sandwiches and two bottles of water.

He gave her a chagrined smile and said, “I don’t know if you’re hungry, but I always see you standing around for ages and feel bad for you. I didn’t know what you’d like, but I’ve got two options, chicken and salad or ham and cheese.”

He held out a hand with the two wrapped sandwiches, and Tatiana took the ham and cheese, feeling grateful that he had done this for her. She hadn’t ended up eating anything other than the granola, so she was hungry.

“Thank you. I actually haven’t had lunch, either, so this is awesome.”

She unwrapped the sandwich and ate it, chatting to Daniel while she watched the soundcheck and then drank the water. She was just finishing it when the soundcheck ended and Hayden came offstage.

He looked at the two of them standing together and raised his eyebrows. “Hey, Dan.”

Heat rushed to her cheeks, and guilt washed over her from being caught eating food with Daniel, even though it was completely innocent. He was always friendly toward her, and they often talked when she came across him backstage.

“Hi, Hayden.” Daniel nodded toward the stage. “You guys were great, as always.”

“Thanks. You ready to go, Tati?”

Tatiana nodded, then smiled at Daniel. “See you later. Thanks again for the sandwich.”

She led the way to Hayden’s dressing room, where they would be spending their time until the concert.

“I think he likes you,” Hayden commented as he dropped onto a sofa in his dressing room. “You should go for it.”

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