Page 191 of The Stalker

28

The Return

Jesse arrivedat Tatiana’s room the next morning to escort them to the airport. The victim liaison officer, who was Hayden’s point of contact now, had confirmed that he was okay to return to Chicago.

Jesse’s eyes immediately landed on the ring on her left ring finger, and he grinned at her. “Congratulations are in order, I see?”

“Indeed they are,” she told him.

“I don’t think I’ve ever been happier,” Hayden said, as he moved to stand next to Tatiana and put his arm around her shoulders.

It took a second for Tatiana to relax, because she was still so used to trying to hide their relationship, but she had to remind herself that everything was in the open now.

Jesse nodded at him. “Well, I’m happy for you guys. In the meantime, the media is going bananas about your return, Mr. Vega, so we can expect some drama at the airport.”

“At least the band is going together, so there will be plenty of assistance,” she pointed out.

“Oh, shit”—Jesse’s eyes widened, and he gaped at Tatiana—“are you even on bodyguard duty, anymore?”

She realized that, technically, she wasn’t. On any given contract, she would’ve seen her client’s safe return, been involved in a debrief, and then been on her way. Maybe, she would be involved in this trip back to Chicago and then be out of their lives forever.

“Well, technically, probably not.” She looked up at Hayden and laughed. “Actually, since Sierra cut me off while you were gone, I should be insisting that you pay me the money you owe me before I head off on my merry way.”

Hayden laughed and raised an eyebrow at her. “Maybe we could come to some sort of arrangement?”

“I think we’ll be able to figure something out.” She smiled at him.

They collected their belongings and headed downstairs, where they met the rest of the band to travel to the airport.

“Oh my god!” Heather gasped the second Tatiana stepped out of the elevator with Hayden. “You got engaged?”

Hayden laughed and said, “Yeah, Tati and Jesse really hit it off while they were working together.”

“Shut up, and congratulations,” Heather said with a big grin on her face as she pulled him into a hug.

They were congratulated by the rest of the band, and when Ariana hugged Tatiana, she said, “I’m so happy for you guys. It’s good to see Hayden with someone who deserves him.”

You’d better make sure you always deserve that man, Tatiana.

She smiled at Ariana and nodded. “Thanks, although Blake did set the bar pretty low.”

They laughed together as the group was notified that the vans were ready to take them to the airport. They headed out the back of the hotel, and Tatiana loaded into a van with Hayden, Gabriel, and Ariana. She carefully eased herself against him, and he put his arm around her as they traveled.

When they arrived at the airport, however, they were swarmed with media attention. Tatiana immediately fell into protection mode and assisted the bodyguards in clearing a path for the band.

“Hayden! What happened when you were kidnapped?”

She wished she could hold him and protect him from his memories, but he was two feet away from her, and she saw his body tense up at the question.

“No comment,” Sebastian said.

“Special Agent McGuire said you were held hostage for two days. Is that true?” someone else called.

As if the FBI would make things up for fun.

The person who asked the question moved forward to shove a microphone toward Hayden, and Tatiana pushed them back.

“Step away, sir.” She glared at him, and he narrowed his eyes at her, but moved back.

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