Chapter 59: Chapter 59

Chapter 59:

Tatiana’s P.O.V:

The ride to the airport was quiet and tense. It was clear that the others felt it too since Grace and Ken voluntarily decided to sit beside me instead of with their husbands. Damien and I didn’t talk but Grace and Ken tried to make small talk so that the silence doesn’t become constricting.

I caught Ken giving Daniel a ‘What did your brother do?’ look from the corner of my eyes. I also watched Daniel give a small shrug in return. But I think they already knew the truth, at least my friends did. It wasn't Damien who was at fault, it was me. Me and my stupid feelings. Damien had warned me right from the start that we'd have nothing more than physical intimacy between us. Anything more and he'd be gone.

I hadn’t planned on him finding out either. But he had and now I feel like I'd tricked him into something he never wanted to be a part of. And it wasn’t helping that Damien had been completely avoiding me since this morning.

I spent the entire six hour plane ride sleeping, deliberately taking the seat away from everyone else. It was Ken who came to wake me up once we'd landed in LA. It was Daniel who came over to help me with my luggage when it was time to get on my cab.

“Tatiana, look, whatever my brother did, I apologize to you on his behalf.” He said as he helped me get my bag in the trunk. “You got hurt again because of him and I-“

“Daniel please,” I stopped him. “It's not your fault. It's not his fault either. It's just the circumstances...I guess.”

Daniel stayed quite as I finished loading my luggage. “I'll talk to him,” he said finally.

“No!” I snapped before giving Daniel an apologetic look. “Daniel...I don’t like saying this to you but...whatever happened, it’s personal. I don’t want to involve anyone else into this, especially not you. He’s your brother and I’d hate myself if I came between the two of you. And one more thing...I don’t like exposing my vulnerabilities to the entire world, Daniel. It's best if Damien doesn’t find out about Connor.” My body shivered involuntarily as I mentioned Connor’s name and the motion didn’t go unnoticed by Daniel.

“What's wrong?” He frowned.

“Nothing...it's just that...” I rubbed my arms as I looked around the terminus for that familiar face. “The entire trip I kept getting this...I think I kept seeing Connor all over the place.”

“What? Why didn’t you tell us?” It was Daniel who snapped at me this time and he didn’t seem the least bit apologetic.

“I wasn’t even sure myself,” I defended. “I just saw him a few times near the beach and once in the hotel lobby-“

“He was at the hotel lobby? Shit!” Daniel pinched the bridge of his nose. “I think you should get home. And stay put until I make sure if he's still in town.”

The possibility that Connor might be stalking me for some reason, made a chill run down my spine. “Okay.” I promised Daniel as I got into the cab.

“Be careful and keep all the doors and windows locked.” Daniel warned as the cab pulled away.

Daniel’s P.O.V:

“Daniel!” Grace called out as soon as I reached the rest of our group.

“Hey,” I gave her a slight peck on the lips before turning to the others. “Are you guys hiring a cab?” I asked Victor and Kendra.

“I thought we were giving them a lift,” Grace frowned.

“Sorry, love. Something important just came up.” I told her before addressing everyone else in the circle. “Tatiana thinks Connor had been following her. I think he even followed us to Hawaii.”

“What?” Kendra said through gritted teeth. “That stinking son of a bitch! I'm going to gut him alive if he tries to get close to her ever again!”

“Hold that thought Wildcat,” Victor placed a hand on her shoulder and pulled her closer to his side. “Do we know if it's really him? Do we have any way of confirming this?”

“Passenger details is usually restricted information,” I told him. “But maybe if we explain the situation to the security...let's give it a try.”

“Let's go then!” Grace urged.

“Umm...guys,” we all turned to Kendra to find her looking around the airport. “Do we have any idea as to where Damien disappeared to?”

It was only then that I realized that Damien had been missing since we got our luggage from the conveyer belt. Damn it! It looks like I'll have to have a conversation with him after all. “Let's get going.” I told the others. “We'll worry about Damien later.”

We all headed towards the reception desk and got in touch with a person in charge. “Sorry, Sir. But information about other passengers is confidential.” The receptionist told us, just as we'd expected.

“Please, it's really urgent.” Grace pleaded. “The person we're asking about has just gotten out of jail. He's been charged with physical abuse and we think he's been stalking our friend.”

The manager, in a black pinstripe suit looked concerned but still shook his head. “I can only help if the police asks us to. If you can file a complaint first-“

“We don’t have the bloody time for this!” Kendra snapped at the man. “Our friend just took a cab home and we want to know if the creep really followed her around! We could be wasting valuable time on formalities here or you could just give us the fucking name so we can warn our friend of any impending dangers.”

The manager looked at Kendra flabbergasted before nodding his head slowly. “Alright,” he agreed. “Please tell me the name and flight number so I can check. And please do not enter the office.”

“Sure,” I told him as Grace told him Connor’s full name and our flight number. “And if he's not on this flight, can you please check if he was on the flight that arrived this afternoon?”

The manager gave us an exasperated look but nodded his head nonetheless.

We waited for him to show up for more than ten minutes and when he finally did, his face looked pale. “Looks like you were correct.” He told us. “The man does have a criminal history.” He gulped before adding, “And he arrived today from Hawaii by the afternoon flight.”

“Shit!” I cussed. “Someone call her. Now!”