Page 155 of The Stalker

There was a man at the urinal, and he glared at her when he saw her. “Hey! This is the men’s room.”

“I know,” she said. “Can you make it quick, Hayden?”

He nodded and walked into the stall as the guy goggled at him. The man finished up his business, and as he was washing his hands, he asked Tatiana, “Is that Hayden Vega?”

She nodded, and the man’s mouth dropped open. He looked at the stall again, and for a second, Tatiana thought he might stick around to ask Hayden for his autograph, but he sighed and left them alone.

When Hayden came out, he continued their conversation from before as he washed his hands. “I don’t ever want to go on a date with anyone else, Tati.”

He wiped his hands dry with a paper towel and Tatiana walked over to him. “I know, Hayden. I love you, and I just want you to be safe.”

He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her to him before kissing her deeply. She felt so perfectly at peace in his arms, and his woody, aromatic scent invaded her senses. She wound her arms around his neck and kissed him back.

“Wow, so Heather was right after all.” April’s amused voice came from the entrance to the men’s room.

Tatiana and Hayden sprang apart, then they both turned to stare at the blonde woman who was grinning at them.

“This is the men’s room, April,” Hayden exclaimed.

Tatiana was horrified, and the implications of April discovering their secret started running through her mind while she and Hayden continued their conversation.

“So I’m led to believe, yet here Tatiana is, and you’re kissing her while on a date with me! I’m shocked. Shocked, I tell you!” She put her hands on her hips and shook her head but was chuckling as she said it.

“We can explain,” Hayden said.

“That you and Tatiana are having a secret love affair? No, I got that. Oh my god, I can’t wait to tell Heather.”

Tatiana’s blood ran cold at the words. This was exactly what they’d needed to avoid. Images of a situation where she was unable to protect Hayden because she had no backup ran through her mind.

She shook her head and said desperately, “You can’t, April. You really can’t.” She turned her face up to look at Hayden and forced herself to try and calm her breathing before she turned back to the pop star. “Look, can we go upstairs and talk? I just need you to act like you’re still on a date with Hayden until we get to the suite, then we really can explain everything. Just please don’t tell Heather what you know.”

April flushed red and said, “Um, I already texted her and told her I was going to try and catch you two in the act.”

“But she doesn’t know you found anything out. Just hear us out, and we’ll explain.”

You have fucked everything up. You should never have agreed to any of this.

Tatiana hated herself for putting Hayden at risk, but was grateful when April nodded, and she escorted them out of the bathroom in silence. They didn’t return to their tables. Instead, they caught hold of their waiter, who agreed to charge their meals to Hayden’s hotel suite, and they headed upstairs.

Daryl and Ethan were in the hallway guarding the rooms when they reached their floor, and Tatiana nodded at Daryl as she led Hayden and April past them to his suite. She led the way over to the living room and sat down next to Hayden on the sofa while April sat in an armchair across from them.

“Okay, so tell me why the hell you’re trying to keep a secret from Heather, Hayden Vega. I know you guys, and you just don’t have secrets. Ever.”

Tatiana felt guilty for being the reason that Hayden would ever have to keep a secret from his friends, and she wondered if she was doing the right thing by being with him.

“It’s for my safety. Tatiana can explain better.”

They both turned to look at her, and Tatiana sighed heavily, pushing away her doubts and fears before facing April.

“I can’t do anything that risks Hayden’s safety. I’ve been in this business a long time, and it’s hard enough convincing men that I’m capable of doing the job. If the other bodyguards find out that I’m in a relationship with Hayden, there is a good chance that they will write me off as being useless and in an emergency situation that can be incredibly bad.”

She didn’t want to go into detail about the times this had actually happened in her past. Particularly before she went into business for herself. It had been a constant battle during her career to fight against the assumptions that were made about her.

April frowned at her for a few seconds, then said, “Okay, but that’s the bodyguards, not Heather.”

“You have no idea how much security personnel hear,” Tatiana scoffed. “I know state secrets from several different countries. I can’t divulge them, obviously, but it doesn’t mean I don’t know them.”

April and Hayden both stared at her, then looked at each other and back to her again.

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