Page 65 of The Stalker

10

The Resistance

Tatiana was runningthrough procedures for the evening as she sat stiffly in the back of a town car headed to the venue for the soundcheck. Hayden was sitting between herself and Jesse, and she was on edge at being driven by someone else. She knew she’d have to get used to it, given they’d be leaving on the buses tonight, but she didn’t think she’d ever like it. She felt a strong need to be in control of any vehicle she was in, just in case there was some kind of emergency.

She was relieved when she saw the arena in the distance, and she let out a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding.

“Not a fan of being a passenger, Tati?” Hayden asked her with a grin on his face.

“What gives it away?” she asked.

“Hmm. Was it the grinding of teeth, the white knuckles, or the massive sigh of relief when you realized we were almost there? How to choose?” he teased her.

Tatiana forced her jaw to relax and realized she had been grinding her teeth.

“D. All of the above,” Jesse said, and Hayden laughed.

It had been awkward at first when they left Hayden’s apartment to take their gear to the tour bus. Hayden had apologized to Jesse, who accepted it with far less commentary than he’d had for Tatiana. By the time they’d sorted out their stuff on the bus and driven back to Hayden’s apartment, tensions had eased.

Tatiana couldn’t allow herself to think about her conversation with Hayden at all. She knew she would dwell on it if she did, and she needed to focus solely on the soundcheck and the concert tonight.

They pulled into the venue and drove past a group of Cruise Control fans who had obviously camped out for their chance to get close to the band. Many of them had signs, and a lot of them screamed when they saw the town car, correctly guessing that one of the band members was inside.

“I don’t know why I’m surprised by that,” Tatiana murmured.

“That some of our fans are already here?” Hayden asked, and she nodded. “We’ve got the best fans. Sometimes I can’t believe that anyone likes us at all, especially when you see the amount of time and energy they put into stuff. One guy makes covers of our songs using samples of other songs that he modifies. I watch his videos on YouTube. It’s crazy complex and takes him hours and hours to get it right. I almost feel like it’s cheating to just use instruments,” he laughed.

They pulled up behind the venue as Sebastian was getting out of a black SUV nearby. Tatiana opened the door and exited the car, holding it open for Hayden as she saw Sebastian lean back into the car and carefully pull his daughter out of a car seat. He stood holding her as Lita climbed out of the car, and Tatiana followed Hayden over to them, constantly scanning the area as she did.

“You came in one of the SUVs?” Hayden asked.

“They don’t exactly have car seats in town cars, Hayden,” Lita laughed.

“I bet they could’ve put one in for you.”

She shook her head. “I wouldn’t trust one I don’t know the crash history of or haven’t researched.”

“Which is why we’re taking our own car seat with us for the tour.” Sebastian grinned at him.

Daryl was indeed removing the car seat from the car as they spoke, and Tatiana was amused by the new parents. She supposed it must be a scary time for them.

Not as scary as it was for her when Sebastian said to Hayden, “Come on. Let’s go see the fans.”

“I’m sorry, what?” Tatiana said.

“We always go sign autographs and stuff before the soundcheck,” Sebastian told her.

“Hayden, you can’t do that.” She shook her head.

“But they probably camped out overnight to see us,” he objected.

“No.”

Sebastian looked between the two of them and raised his eyebrows. “Well, I’m going to go see them.” He turned to Lita and smiled at her before saying, “Can you hold Mira, please?”

“Of course,” Lita said as she held her arms out.

Hayden was frowning at Tatiana, looking disappointed but not saying anything. She was glad that he was following her rules, at least.

---