Page 190 of Hayden's Stalker

“Huh? Why?” I whip my head around to look at her as we make our way to the elevators.

“He’s been a real fucking dick to everyone, especially Tati.”

She says the last two words while giving me a shrewd look. I have nothing to hide now, but I want to tell everyone together, so I still don’t want to give anything away.

“Really? Why? What did he do?”

“Because she was the one who was watching you when you were taken. He fired her, and she said that only you could do that. He tried to keep her away from us, but Sebastian let her into Gabriel’s room because she was trying to find you, and fuck knows Cooper wasn’t telling us anything. So then the next time he came to see her, he told her that Sierra wasn’t going to be paying her any more money, so she might as well leave if she didn’t want to work for free.”

Anger boils in my stomach to hear that Cooper was a dick to Tati. I’m infuriated that he would overstep and try to shut her out, especially when she was trying to help find me.

“I told him I held a power of attorney for you, so I’d pay her if she needed me to,” Harrison says with a grin at me.

“I bet he loved that,” I smirk at him.

“He didn’t seem to be a fan. Seb got so pissed off that he almost punched him, and Tati had to hold him back.”

My jaw drops, but I can totally see this happening, and I’m once again in awe of Tati’s skills.

“Joke’s on Cooper, though,” Heather says. “Tati’s the one who found you in the end.”

My heart beats faster as I think about what might have happened if she hadn’t found me, and sweat pools on the back of my neck because the idea of it is horrifying.

“I’m glad she did.”

Heather throws her arm around my shoulders. “Me, too.”

“Me, three,” Harrison says with a smile at me.

As we make our way along the corridor on the upstairs floor toward Gabriel’s room, my stomach churns because I’m already exhausted from the conversation I had just now. I honestly don’t know how I’m going to make it through another one. At the same time, I’m comforted to know that Tati will be there.

As soon as I walk into the room, I see her. She’s sitting in an armchair by the window, facing the room, and it makes me smile because, of course, she has her back to the wall.

Everyone notices me as Heather and Harrison take seats in chairs near Tati. I give everyone hugs as I make my way through the group, greeting everyone and drinking in the sight of their faces and the sounds of their voices. It’s so good to be back in a room with them again.

Finally, I end up in front of Tati’s armchair, and there’s an empty one next to it, which is perfect because I need to be near her. Especially today.

I take a seat and look at my friends, their expressions somber again after the greeting. “So, a lot has happened over the last few days.”

“Understatement of the year right there,” Sebastian says through gritted teeth, and I can’t help but laugh.

“True. So, I went through all of this last night with the FBI, and it was really hard.”

I look over at Tati, and she smiles at me, giving me the strength I need to have the conversation I need to have. I want to hold her hand for comfort, though, so I figure now is the time to tell my friends about us.

“The thing that helped me get through it was having Tatiana there with me. So I guess I have to start with some positive news, at least. Tatiana and I are together.”

Everyone looks either pleased or confused, while Heather looks as smug as hell when I take Tati’s hand in mine and turn to smile at her.

I turn back to my friends and ask, “Any questions?”

“About a million,” Lita says, looking stunned.

“I figured,” I tell her, amused at her reaction.

“I knew it,” Heather announces from her position sitting next to Harrison.

I’m so relieved that I no longer have to try and hide anything from my friends. It was definitely strange not to just tell them, especially when I’ve been so extremely happy with Tati.

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