Page 170 of Hayden's Stalker

At the same time, without Sarah, Tati wouldn’t have come into my life, and I’m conflicted by that knowledge. I’d have had Jesse because we were going to get bodyguards anyway before the drugging, but Tati only came into the picture because of the accident.

By the time sunlight is peeking through the cracks in the blinds, I’m thoroughly exhausted. I need sleep, but I can’t get it. My entire body aches, and my mind is in just as much agony from being near Sarah and thinking about everything for hours.

When she stirs, a wave of nausea rolls over me, knowing that I’ll have to interact with her again soon. She blinks a few times before she stares up at me, and her face breaks into a bright smile.

“Morning, baby. I still can’t believe you’re here. Did you have a good night’s sleep?”

“Not really,” I tell her in a stiff voice. “It’s hard to sleep when you’re tied up. My arms and legs are killing me.”

Her smile slips, and she sighs. “I’m sorry. I wish I could untie you, but I can’t.” She strokes the side of my face, and I try not to shudder but fail, causing Sarah to give me a disappointed look. “When I can trust you, I promise that you’ll be untied. I can’t trust you when you have that reaction to me.” Her smile brightens again. “Luckily, we have the rest of our lives together now. I know you’ll love me as much as I love you, baby. That thought is what’s kept me strong for years, and it’ll keep me strong for however long it takes now. I’m yours forever.”

Gross.

I manage not to say it aloud, but the thought is loud in my head as I force a smile at her. “We’ll get there. One day at a time.”

Sarah looks pleased by this response and nods. “Yes, we will.” She runs her hand back and forth over my torso and shakes her head. “I still can’t believe you’re here with me.”

Her path gets longer each time until her hand finally touches the waistband of my jeans. Bile rises in my throat as I think she’s going to touch my cock. She toys with the waistband before slipping her hand under it to find my briefs. My body stiffens in expectation of her continuing this, and I hate the feeling of her skin touching mine just above my pubic bone. I can’t breathe with how much I want her to fuck off and leave me alone, and the fear of what she’s about to do is all-consuming.

Without warning, she pulls her hand back out and pats my chest. “Anyway, I’m sure you’re hungry. Let me go get everything sorted. I’ll be back in a few minutes. Don’t go anywhere.”

Adrenaline rushes through my veins, and my heart pounds in my chest as Sarah stands from the bed. She takes the gun with her and leaves the room, chuckling to herself as I retch quietly, relieved that she didn’t go further, though it feels like it’s only a matter of time.

I tug fruitlessly at the restraints once I’m alone, but they haven’t magically come loose during the night. Once I give up, I breathe in heavily, grateful tonothave Sarah near me. Her scent still lingers in the area, my nausea hovering with it, but at least she’s not touching me now. My skin feels rotten from the infection of her touch.

I want to rub it raw and get rid of the feeling. Even though she’s not here, the memory of the night I just spent with her is too strong, and I can feel her on me even though she’s not.

When the door opens, I cringe as I wait for Sarah to appear, but she doesn’t. Instead, Daniel walks into the room holding the gun, and he sneers at me.

“I heard you had a good night.”

“I’m tied to a bed. It wasn’t exactly comfortable,” I tell him coolly, but I also don’t want to piss him off.

“You fucking asshole. You should be grateful to get to spend a night with Sarah. I’d be tied to a thousand beds if it meant being with her,” he growls at me.

I don’t say anything, just meet his cold glare and wonder how the fuck we ever thought he was a nice person. I remember that he’s being manipulated by Sarah, but somehow, it doesn’t seem to make a difference to me right now. It doesn’t matter how much she’s poisoned him to get to this point. He’s still the one doing these awful things, even if it’s only because she asked him to do them.

“Get the fuck up. Sarah wants me to take you to the living room.”

“Did you miss the part where I’m tied to a bed?” I scoff at him.

His eyes glint dangerously, and he strides over to me before he punches me in the stomach. “Don’t be a fucking smartass. If Sarah didn’t want you alive, you’d be fucking dead by now, don’t ever forget that. So keep her happy, or I’ll put a bullet in your head.”

“I thought you didn’t want anyone to die,” I point out, reminding him of this in the hopes it’s still true.

“For you, I’ll make an exception. The only reason I haven’t done it is because she wants to fuck you. It’s not like we can let you go, you know. You’reHayden Vega,” he taunts me. “A rock god. Loved by the world. You stay with us forever, or you die.”

Or Tati finds me. Please find me, Tati.

I send my plea out into the universe, hoping that wherever she is right now, she’s safe and on her way to me.

“Didn’t you say Sarah wants me to go to the living room?” I ask. “Or did she say specifically that she wanted you to threatenmy life first? Because she seems to like me, so I’m not sure she’d do that.”

I say it with a lot more confidence than I really have, just hoping that whatever hold Sarah has on him is strong enough for him to not want to risk crossing her. Sure enough, he begins to untie me. As always, my hands remain tied securely, so I have no chance to try and attack him. I’m mindful of what Tati once told me about a gun most likely being used on yourself. I know that with both of them here and me restrained, an attempt at escape is likely to be a fast path to the graveyard. I need to bide my time, be as smart as I can and hope like hell that the woman I love is as smart as I think she is.

As I leave the room, I glance at the clock to check the time in case there isn’t one in the living room, and it’s just after eight. Daniel takes me at gunpoint to the bathroom first to relieve myself, which I much prefer doing in his presence because he averts his gaze, then leads me to the living room.

“Sit,” he snarls as he jerks the gun toward a sofa.

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