Page 75 of The Stalker

11

The Gifts

The restof the party passed without incident, but Tatiana was intensely uncomfortable with all eyes being on her as she escorted Hayden around the room.

She heard her name spoken a few times in quiet conversations, as well as both Hayden and Blake’s names.

After the room had sung a rousing chorus of “Happy Birthday to You” to Heather, Hayden was getting himself a drink and there was no one nearby, so Tatiana asked him quietly, “Are you okay?”

“I’ve never felt fucking better, friend,” he told her with a grin on his face.

Heat flooded through her at his emphasis on the word. He was single now.

Doesn’t. Change. Anything.

“I’m glad, but remember, this doesn’t change anything,” she warned him.

“Shhh, don’t ruin this for me. Seriously, I didn’t realize how much I’d been dreading this tour being a repeat of Heart Wide Open. I guess I’ll just have to find somewhere else to get good sex. Got any ideas?” He ran his gaze over her body.

“My offer to find you a nice boyfriend or girlfriend tonight still stands. That’s the best idea I’ve got.”

She shrugged her shoulders casually, even as she fought off images of her in bed with him.

“I’ll still pass, but keep thinking, and I’m sure you’ll come up with something.” He grinned wickedly at her, then took a sip of his drink and turned to the room. “I have a concert to perform, and I’m suddenly very excited to do that, but not as excited as I am to have a bath in my tour bus tonight as a single man.”

Tatiana practically groaned at the image he’d put in her head.

“You’re not very nice, Hayden Vega,” she scolded him.

He put his mouth close to her ear and said, “I can be very nice when I want to be. If you want me to be nice to you, just ask.”

She shuddered and shook her head. “No, I don’t think I will. You behave yourself, because I need to focus for the next few hours, at least.”

“Fine.” He held his hands up in a placating gesture. “I’ll be a good boy…for now.”

Give me strength. He is going to be the death of me.

She escorted him along with Jesse to the stage for the concert and the energy in the arena was palpable. She followed him up to his drum kit in the darkness of the stage. She would be no further than ten feet from him during the concert, behind him on the stage, but out of sight of the audience. Jesse would be in front of the barrier with the venue security.

The other band members took their places as well—Gabriel in the center of the stage, Harrison to her left, and Sebastian to her right. The music that had been playing over the speakers cut off and the venue erupted into screams as anticipation built.

Sebastian started playing a riff on his guitar and pyrotechnics went off around him as the podium he was standing on became bathed in light. The crowd went wild, and Tatiana tried to focus on anyone in the seething mess that might be dangerous.

Sebastian grinned at the crowd as he played, then Hayden started drumming and his pyrotechnics went off along with lighting above his riser, too. Her position had been chosen with this in mind to ensure she wouldn’t be harmed by the explosions.

Harrison joined in with the bass and the process repeated, followed by the same for Gabriel when he started singing.

The audience was screaming while the guys played one of their biggest hits. Hayden had been right—the energy in the arena was electric. She couldn’t focus on it, though. She had to keep her eyes on the crowd.

The points in the concert when Hayden made his way to the front of the stage were far more terrifying than Tatiana had even imagined. She could barely breathe through the fear, and she heaved a sigh of relief each time he returned to his drum kit.

When he sang his solo, she made sure to keep her focus on what she needed to be doing and that she wasn’t simply watching Hayden.

Jesse would be proud of you, no doubt.

Objectively, Tatiana could see that the concert was fantastic. In another life, where she wasn’t who she was, she might have been in a crowd like this and enjoying the show, rather than standing behind the drummer with her heart in her throat.

The moment the concert was over and she followed Hayden off the stage, Tatiana’s anxiety eased immensely.

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