Page 34 of The Stalker

5

The Club

Tatiana was distractedthe entire drive to Club Delirium. She could hear Hayden and Sebastian talking in hushed tones, but she didn’t make an effort to try and hear anything. She was pretty sure she didn’t want to know what they were discussing.

Bullshit. You want to know. Especially if it’s about you.

As soon as they arrived at the club, though, she switched into protection mode. Daryl Kelly dealt with the car while she and Jesse were escorting the men inside the club. She forced her body to relax and put a smile on her face.

Tatiana walked next to Hayden and scanned the entryway they’d arrived at. There was a coat check to her left, staffed by a bored-looking man in his early twenties. As they continued into the club, Tatiana scanned it under the guise of checking it out.

Unlike every place she’d been with Hayden so far, there were a thousand threats here. So many ways someone could get to him, despite her presence. Her entire body was on edge, and she worked hard to look as though she was just a friend of the band joining them on their night out. They made their way to the bar, and the guys ordered drinks before Hayden looked at Tatiana.

“Can I get a virgin Tom Collins, please?” She smiled at the bartender, and he nodded.

Hayden dropped his head close to her ear and asked over the sound of the music, “Is there a reason you order a cocktail but get it as a virgin?”

Sweet. Fucking. Jesus. It was a completely and utterly innocent question. A natural one, even, as he was curious about her work. But, holy shit, did the word ‘virgin’ coming from him suddenly make her think of sex.

He has a boyfriend, Tatiana. One you’ll be meeting in a few minutes.

She forced herself to stay cool, calm, and professional before smiling at him and nodding. He dropped his head closer to hers as she replied, and she ignored how good he smelled when he did.

“It’s part of blending in. People notice if you’re not drinking, or are only drinking sodas. They assume a mocktail is alcoholic.”

“Makes sense,” he said, standing up again, allowing Tatiana to breathe.

She turned away from the bar to scan the big room while their drinks were made. There was no way she could ever be comfortable with a client in places like this. She had to be attentive at all times, assuming anyone could be a threat. There were more obvious ones, of course. It was all in the body language someone displayed, and in a place like this, she had to try and watch everyone.

“Here, Tati,” Hayden said as he handed her drink to her.

“Thanks.”

She took it off him and had a sip as they walked away from the bar to the VIP area. It was a relief when they entered the space. It was upstairs and behind a wall of glass. It was also much quieter and there were far fewer people than in the main club below.

She scanned the VIP area and saw Blake Stirling standing nearby with some people she didn’t recognize. Blake was a good-looking man, tall and well-built, with sandy blonde hair. He had a smirk on his face and was saying something to the group.

At the other end of the room, Gabriel and Harrison were sitting on a banquette and talking, with drinks in their hands.

Sebastian headed straight over to them and she followed Hayden as he made his way over to Blake.

“Hi, Blake,” he said with a smile.

“Hey, sexy,” Blake grinned at him. He kissed Hayden, then looked at Tatiana and asked, “Who is this?”

Hayden glanced at the people standing with Blake, who were all looking at her with interest, before saying, “This is Tatiana.”

“This is Tatiana?” Blake’s gaze roamed over her from head to toe, and he narrowed his eyes at her. “She doesn’t look anything like I expected.”

Tatiana focused on her breathing. She had guessed that Blake was an asshole, so she shouldn’t have expected any better of him than talking about her in the third person.

“Can we talk about this later?” Hayden asked.

Blake shrugged and looked Tatiana over from head to toe again before saying. “Sure, I guess.”

“Cool. I’m going to go sit with the guys. Come join us when you can.”

Tatiana held her tongue as they walked toward the rest of Cruise Control. She’d been in Blake’s presence for less than a minute, and he was just as unlikeable as she’d imagined. She glanced over at Hayden, who had a frown marring his beautiful face.

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