Page 95 of The Stalker

Do you see now, Tatiana? If you care about him at all, you need to keep him safe.

There was no getting around it. The kiss from yesterday might have been amazing, but it couldn’t happen again. She needed to focus on what she was here to do, and that was to keep Hayden safe.

She closed her laptop and headed out into the living room, where she found Hayden sitting on the sofa and reading a book.

“Morning,” she said with a nod at him.

“Shh, not so loud,” he groaned.

Tatiana couldn’t stop herself from grinning at him as she asked, “Got a hangover?”

“Yes. I’ve been waiting for you to wake up so I can go get a cooked breakfast in the Club Lounge.”

“Sorry, I would’ve gotten up earlier. Let me go see Jesse quickly?” she asked him.

Hayden nodded, then looked back down at his book. She walked to the entrance of the suite where she found Jesse sitting, and he looked up as she approached.

“Morning, Jesse,” she smiled at him.

“Morning, Tatiana. Did you sleep well?”

She nodded. “Okay, so Hayden got another email overnight. As always, Cooper doesn’t want us to tell Hayden anything, but it’s concerning to me. We can’t let him out of our sight for any reason from now on.”

“Agreed,” Jesse said somberly.

“He just told me that he wants to go to breakfast in the Club Lounge. Are you okay to come with us so I can have some food? I’d normally be okay taking him solo and having breakfast myself, but I’d like the backup this morning,” she admitted.

“Not a problem. I wouldn’t go to sleep for another couple of hours, anyway.”

Tatiana thanked him and headed back to Hayden. She didn’t want to tell Jesse just how shaken she was by the email, or even really admit it to herself. How many letters or gifts had she seen from stalkers in her past? More than a few, even from Hayden’s stalker. Why was this one so scary?

Because you got too close to your client.

She knew that was the truth. Instead of being secure in her knowledge of her ability to keep him safe, she was simply terrified that he might be hurt. There were thousands of ways that he could be harmed in any situation, and her fear of that happening seemed all-consuming. She looked at him, sitting on the sofa as she approached him and with his eyes dark with desire as he watched her. She desperately needed him to stay safe.

“Okay. Jesse’s going to come to breakfast with us so that I can have some, too.”

“Cool. Let’s go. My head hurts, and I want to eat some bacon.”

She nodded and led the way back to Jesse. They took the elevator down to the fifteenth floor, where they headed to the hotel’s restaurant for any guests staying in a certain level of room. Tatiana was glad it was exclusive, so there would be a lot fewer people than in any of the restaurants downstairs.

When they got there, a hotel staff member’s eyes widened with recognition when she saw Hayden before she politely asked, “Room number and name, please?”

“2310 and Sherlock Holmes.”

The woman looked down at a list and nodded before ticking off the name, then looked back up at their group. “Excellent. Table for three?”

“No. Two, please,” Hayden smiled at her.

She looked a little surprised, then led the way to a table by a window with a great view of the city below them. Jesse stood near the entrance to the restaurant, and Tatiana caught his eye as the hotel staff member walked away after asking if they wanted coffees. He smiled at Tatiana, and she smiled back.

“I’m dying for food,” Hayden said.

“Let’s get something to eat, then,” Tatiana told him and stood to lead the way over to the food.

They each got a plate from the buffet, Hayden choosing to pile his high with eggs, bacon, toast, and even a stack of pancakes. Tatiana got herself a bowl of granola and some toast. They took their food back to their table where coffees had been set out for them.

Tatiana took a sip of her coffee and said, “You seem hungry.”

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