Page 77 of The Stalker

“Not a problem.” He smiled at her and went into the bathroom.

Jesse had already started looking through the gifts. “We’re just looking for anything out of the ordinary, or that might be from the stalker, right?”

“Yes,” Tatiana nodded.

She set about looking through the gifts. Pictures and letters from fans were easy to deal with, but she had to open the gift baskets and look for anything strange. She was peering through one from a local radio station when Jesse spoke, and something in his tone gave her chills.

“Tatiana, come here.”

She whipped her head around to look at him and strode over to where he was holding the card taken from a bunch of white orchids.

“Read this.”

He held the card out to her, and she shook her head. “If it’s from the stalker, the fewer people who touch it, the better.”

Jesse nodded, then turned the card toward her, and Tatiana looked at the message on it, chills running down her spine as she read the words.

Dear Hayden,

I couldn’t let this moment pass without sending you a gift. I can’t believe it’s the first night of your tour. A momentous occasion, my love. I hope that you look at these flowers and know that they aren’t half as beautiful as you. I wish we could be together forever, but I know that patience is a virtue. I have been patient, I can continue to be patient, and we are meant to be together.

XOXO

“‘My love’ is what the stalker called him in those emails, right?” Jesse asked.

Tatiana swallowed heavily and took a deep breath before saying, “Yes. Take a picture of that card and flowers. Try not to touch the card too much, then put it on the table. Don’t touch the flowers. Find out who delivered these and where they came from. Get Cooper, too. I’ll speak to Hayden.”

Jesse nodded and left the room. Tatiana strode over to the bathroom and knocked on the door.

“Are you decent?” she asked, unable to keep the fear and worry out of her voice.

“Uh, yes?” Hayden replied, sounding unsure.

She pushed the door open and understood his hesitation at once. He had a towel wrapped around his waist, but other than that, he was completely naked. However, Tatiana’s fear outweighed any arousal she might otherwise feel.

“I need your phone,” she told him.

“What? Why?” He frowned at her.

She sighed. “I have to call Blake and ask him if he sent you any flowers, even though I don’t think he did.”

“What’s happened, Tatiana?” She could hear the fear edging into his voice, and she hated it.

She couldn’t lie to him, and she wouldn’t, even if she hadn’t made that promise. “You got some flowers and a card from someone that I think is your stalker. It’s the kind of thing that a boyfriend would say, though, so I need to make sure that Blake didn’t send you them.”

He stared at her with wide eyes for a moment, then nodded and walked into the other room. He picked up his phone and unlocked it before handing it to her. She went into his phone app and checked his recent calls. Sure enough, there were multiple from Blake during the concert.

Tatiana pressed his name, and it only rang twice before Blake answered, “Hayden. You’ve rethought what you did to me?”

“Blake, do not hang up. I need to know if you sent Hayden flowers tonight.”

“You fucking bitch, I don’t want to talk to you,” he spat and hung up the call.

Tatiana rolled her eyes, sighed, and called him back.

“I said I don’t want to talk to you,” Blake said, his voice full of venom.

“And I said, don’t hang up. You can answer my question, or I will come around to your house and ask it in fucking person. Did you send Hayden flowers?”

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