Page 164 of The Stalker

“Yes.”

“Okay. Well, I can find out where they are without you telling me if I need to, but all of my stuff is on the bus. So if Cooper wants to be an asshole about you telling me where the tour buses are, tell him I threatened a lawsuit if he withheld my items from me.”

Jesse sighed and said, “Come to the Marriott Riverwalk. I’ll let you on the bus to get your stuff.”

Her driver took her to the hotel and she gave him a massive tip as she thanked him profusely for his service. She headed into the hotel and met Jesse in the lobby.

“Have they got any idea where he is yet?” she asked him straight away.

“I can’t tell you anything, Tatiana. I told Tanya that I’m taking you on the bus to get your things, and she’s fine with that, but Cooper is insisting that nobody says anything to you. He thinks Hayden is going to fire you for what happened.”

Shame flooded through her at how miserably she had failed this contract, and she wanted nothing more than to just fall to pieces. Her fear for Hayden’s safety was all-consuming, and it wrapped around her heart, constricting it and causing intense pain in her chest cavity. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath before nodding.

“Sure. Take me to the bus.”

Jesse escorted her to the bus, and after they made their way onto it, he locked the secure door behind them.

“Okay, I couldn’t talk in the hotel because I didn’t want to risk being seen by any of the other bodyguards, but there’s no sign of Hayden. The FBI are trying to track down Daniel’s family members, but they haven’t been able to contact any of them, and they think he may have been using a fake identity.”

Gratitude that he was willing to give her this information flooded through her. “Thank you. I appreciate you telling me.”

“I know how much you care about him.” He gave her a rueful smile.

She sighed and nodded. “I really do. I just want him back safely.”

“Of course. Me, too. Well, you’d better get your stuff. Tanya will ask questions if I take too long.”

“Yeah, okay.”

She started walking toward the room at the back of the bus to collect her things and Jesse burst into laughter behind her. She turned to face him, her cheeks flaming with heat.

“Why am I not surprised?” he grinned at her. “Sorry, I know it’s not the time, but I did wonder which room you would be collecting your things from.”

“Look, all I’ll say is that I doubt Hayden will be firing me when we get him back, which will happen even if it kills me.”

“I can imagine, but what I’m hearing is that there was a spare room on this bus after all.”

Tatiana cringed at him and nodded. “Yeah, I’m so sorry you had to sleep on Harrison’s bus. We didn’t want to risk anyone knowing about us, not that it mattered in the end.”

“I wish you’d trusted me. I would’ve kept your secret. I will now,” he told her in a solemn voice.

“Thank you, Jesse. It’s probably best that people don’t find out right now. Cooper’s already written me off, and him finding out is just not something I need to deal with at the moment.”

“I understand. Do you need help getting your things together?”

She shook her head. “I don’t think so. I’ll let you know if I do.”

He nodded and sat on the sofa while she turned and continued to the bedroom. As soon as she entered it, everything hit her at once. Memories of being in bed with Hayden this morning. Her love for him, and her fear for his safety. The knowledge that he was somewhere with Daniel having god knew what done to him. It overcame her again.

Even the room smelled like him. She dropped onto Hayden’s side of the bed, then leaned down and placed her head on his pillow. His scent was held there and she could envisage him here with her. She closed her eyes as she sat up, pretending she was wrapped in his arms with him safely here behind the locked door on the tour bus, and she couldn’t stop the tears from falling again.

“Hayden,” she moaned softly.

There was no reply, of course, and she picked up his pillow, which she clutched tightly against her chest. The pain was intense, and the thought of him locked away and being hurt was killing her. She couldn’t even allow herself to think about a scenario where Daniel did worse than that.

Focus, Tatiana. Now is not the time to lose control.

She took a deep breath and blew it out slowly, frowning deeply. She could not fall to pieces. Not while they still needed to find Hayden. If, heaven forbid, the worst happened, then she could lose her shit. But for now, she needed to keep a clear head.

---