Page 149 of The Stalker

21

The Date

Tatiana tooka seat across from Jesse at a dining table in Hayden’s hotel suite.

“No issues overnight?”

He shook his head. “Boring as shit.”

“Good to hear. Unfortunately, the stalker sent another email at about three this morning. It was forwarded to me just after I woke up.” She shuddered as she thought about the message. “It’s the usual stuff. We’re meant for each other. We’ll be together soon. I’m getting everything ready.” She cringed and blew out a breath of air, trying to control her anxiety, which peaked whenever she thought about the stalker somehow getting access to Hayden. “Anyway, I’ve forwarded it to you, so it should be in your email.”

“Okay, thanks for letting me know.”

“One other thing before you go. You’ll probably get some personal time this evening. Hayden has a date with April.”

She forced herself to keep her face completely neutral as she said it. Jesse, however, made no attempts to hide his surprise as his eyebrows flew so high they almost hit his hairline.

“Really?!”

“Yes. Why is that so surprising?” She raised an eyebrow at him.

“It’s not. I mean, it’s just that I thought—never mind. April Conway, huh? He’s never really shown any interest in her, so it’s just a bit of a surprise, that’s all.”

“I see. Well, anyway, I’ll escort them on the date wherever they end up going and let you know when we get back to the hotel suite so you can start your shift.”

Jesse scrutinised her face, and she was careful to show no signs of positive or negative emotion. Of all the people in their lives, Jesse was the likeliest to guess the truth because of everything he’d seen.

He tilted his head to the side and asked, “You’re happy to do that?”

“Yes. It’s part of the job. Why?”

“I can do it if you want me to, and you could have the evening off.” He gave her a kind smile, and Tatiana was touched by the gesture.

Little did he know that she and Hayden were planning to have their own date after his one with April was over.

“I appreciate it, but I’m fine. Really.” Jesse looked unconvinced, and Tatiana knew the only way to change his mind would be by sharing some of the truth with him. “Hayden and I have talked about things. His safety is the most important thing, and I will never do anything that might risk it. He understands that.”

Jesse frowned at her. “So, then he decided to go on a date with your favorite singer?” He muttered under his breath, “I thought he was better than that.”

Tatiana cringed; she hated that she’d caused Jesse to think less of Hayden, and she quickly added, “I’m honestly okay with it. I thought it was a good idea and encouraged him to say yes.”

Taking her conversation with Hayden entirely out of context, she was able to defend him while giving nothing away.

Jesse stared at her for a few seconds, then shrugged. “Okay, then. Well, I guess I’ll enjoy my evening off and await your call. Any idea what time it’ll be?”

“Depends on how well their date goes, I guess.” She hated lying to Jesse, but reminded herself that what she’d said was true—Hayden’s safety came first. That meant keeping Jesse in the dark. “If it gets to midnight, I’ll probably call you so I can get some sleep.”

“Sounds reasonable.”

They finished up their meeting, and Jesse left the hotel suite. Tatiana nodded at Daryl, who was stationed in the corridor across from Hayden’s room, before she closed the door to the suite and headed to the bedroom.

She found Hayden lying in bed and reading a book. He looked up at her, and his face brightened into a smile.

“Good morning, preciosa. I missed you. Come join me.” He patted the bed next to himself.

Tatiana dragged an armchair across a few feet to block the door, carefully disarmed herself, and kicked off her shoes before slipping into bed with Hayden.

She kissed him and smiled before saying, “Good morning, Mr. Vega.”

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