Page 181 of The Stalker

His concern was evident in his expression as he looked down at her with a frown on his handsome face.

“I’m fine. I got cleared at the hospital, mostly I was just worried about you.” He kissed her before she settled herself against him and allowed the peace of being here with him to envelop her as she looked up at him. “I truly didn’t think this was how today would end.”

He looked dishevelled, his hair messy, and his stubble grown out a few days longer than she’d ever seen it. There was a cut on his right cheek that had scabbed over but had clear signs of bruising around it.

“I didn’t know it would be today, but I knew you’d come find me.”

Tatiana laughed. “In their defense, it was actually the FBI who came and got you while I was a good little girl and stayed in the car.”

“At gunpoint, I might point out,” Derek said from next to her.

Tatiana smiled and admitted, “Okay, yeah. There was a moment where I considered not being a good little girl and Derek talked me out of it.”

“Why am I not surprised?” Hayden chuckled.

She wanted to ask him what had happened from the moment she last saw him, but she knew he was going to have to relive everything for the FBI when he gave a statement and she didn’t want him to have to do it now.

She pulled her phone out of her pocket and unlocked it. Sebastian’s number was near the top of her call list, so she dialed him, and he answered almost immediately.

“Is everything okay?”

“Yes. Hayden’s here with me. Let me put you on speaker.”

As soon as the call was on speaker, Hayden said, “Hey, Seb. Anything interesting happened lately?”

“Holy fuck, it’s really you. Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. Tatiana came storming in, guns blazing, and took down my attackers single-handed. It was very impressive.”

Sebastian gasped, “Are you serious?”

“No,” Hayden chuckled. “I couldn’t resist.”

“You fucking asshole,” Sebastian groaned. “We’ve been thinking you’d been killed for two days, now isn’t the time for jokes.”

“Sorry. She did come to the place I was taken to with the FBI, though. They stormed in while she stayed in the car like a good little girl.” He grinned down at Tatiana, and she smiled back at him.

“I can’t imagine Tatiana doing that,” Sebastian laughed.

“Apparently, there was a gun involved in keeping her there.”

“Okay, that makes more sense. Hang on, let me put you on speaker.”

Sebastian did so, and Hayden talked to his friends, who all sounded relieved, and she heard a sound that she was sure was Ariana crying in the background.

“I have to go give a statement to the FBI, but I’ll come—wait, where are you guys? I just realized we weren’t even meant to be in San Antonio overnight, let alone for two days.”

“We’re at the Marriott Riverwalk,” Heather said.

“Okay, well, we’ll head there after we’re done.”

They ended the call, and Tatiana slipped her phone back into her pocket before resting against Hayden again. She didn’t have to give instructions on where to go, so she didn’t focus on where they were, just on the man next to her.

“I’ve never been so relieved to get a client back in my life,” she told him.

“You’ve had to get a client back before?” He asked, sounding surprised.

“I’m the best,” she laughed. “Which means I take some cases that are high-risk, including ones where I started the contract without my client. So yeah, I’ve had to get a client back before. I’ve just never lost a client permanently. Thank fuck today wasn’t the day for that to start.”

“I’m glad, too.” He squeezed her shoulders. “I’ve missed you. I was worried about how you’d been feeling with me being kidnapped.”

“I set an alarm for midday to worry about you,” she admitted.

“They took my watch, so I had to keep my eye on the clock to make sure I didn’t miss when it ticked over to twelve,” he laughed.

She wanted to tell him that she wanted to marry him, but she didn’t want to do it here with an audience of FBI agents, so she just turned her face up to his and smiled at him.

“I love you,” she whispered, even though she knew basically everyone in the car would be able to hear, and then she kissed him.

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