Page 172 of The Stalker

24

The Confrontation

Ariana satwith Tatiana for a half hour and talked about general topics with her to do with touring and the book Ariana was in the middle of writing. By the time they were standing from their seats to head back to the living room, Tatiana had well and truly calmed down.

“Thank you for being so kind, Ariana,” Tatiana said quietly as they neared the bedroom door.

“It’s no problem. I’d like to think that you would consider me a friend, especially if you’re going to be in our lives long term.”

Tatiana couldn’t stop a smile from coming to her lips, and she turned to look at Ariana before saying quietly, “Hayden asked me to marry him.”

Ariana squealed before she quickly clapped her hands over her mouth and whispered, “Oh my god, I’m so sorry. That’s so exciting. I’m so happy for you two.”

“Yeah. Now we just need to get him back so I can say yes.” Tatiana cringed and pushed her worry away.

“They’re going to find him, Tatiana. I know they will.” Ariana gave her a quick hug before they left the room.

They walked into the living room, where Sebastian, Gabriel, and Harrison were having a quiet discussion. Gabriel looked up with concern as they approached them.

“Are you okay, Ari?” he asked.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Tatiana and I were just talking about my book.” She flushed bright pink.

“It sounds really interesting. I can’t wait to read it,” Tatiana said with an encouraging smile.

“Have you heard anything from your contact?” Sebastian asked.

Tatiana checked her phone and shook her head at him. They ordered room service for lunch and ate while discussing Hayden’s disappearance. They’d been eating for a few minutes when there was a knock at the door. Harrison went to open it and brought Heather back in with him.

“Hello, darlings. Any word on Hayden?”

Gabriel answered her question. “Nothing yet. Tatiana’s friend is trying to get information on Daniel, and we think the stalker is actually a woman he knows.”

They caught Heather up on what was happening with the case and when she was up to speed, she turned to Tatiana. “So, how are you feeling?”

“What do you mean?” Tatiana blinked at her.

She thought for a second that Heather was about to pry into the possibility of Tatiana being in a relationship with Hayden, so she was surprised by the other woman’s next words.

“I know that being drugged can be quite difficult to handle, especially if it causes you to do something that you wouldn’t normally do. In this case, it caused you to be incapable of preventing Hayden from being kidnapped. I’m sure that brings a lot of emotions to the surface.” Heather tilted her head to the side as she waited for a response from Tatiana.

“Oh. Yeah, it’s been hard. I’m just trying to do everything I can to make it right now.” Tatiana swallowed and gave Heather a weak smile.

You will move heaven and earth to get him back safely if you have to. Get him back and don’t let him think for a second that you don’t want to marry him.

She wished she could go back in time and just say yes when he asked, because she knew now that it was what she wanted. Being faced with the very real possibility of never seeing him again, she knew that if she ever got the chance, she wanted to spend the rest of her life in a relationship with him.

It was an hour later when Mark finally called her back and she answered the phone without giving any pleasantries. “What have you found?”

“There’s only one woman that Daniel has consistently contacted, and it was very hard to find any communication. I think they must’ve been using burner phones, but there was one night with several texts and calls. Apparently, you talked to him about some drumsticks?”

Tatiana gasped. “Yes, I did. I think now that he set up that gift. It was very clever for him to not be the one to deliver Hayden’s gifts.”

“Correct. He was panicking after you talked to him, and he slipped up and called a number multiple times, along with sending texts. I’ve followed that and have a name. I think you’ll get a kick out of it.”

“A pseudonym, I’m assuming,” Tatiana sighed.

“Yes. Jane Austen, no less. It rules out at least three of the fake ID guys I know. They refuse to use obviously fake names, no matter how much a client is willing to give them. I’m going to start chasing up the others and see what I can find. Now we have a cell number for the stalker, I’m going to see if I can dig up a picture of her or anything.”

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