Page 8 of Loving a Billionaire

“Talia—” He stood and tried to catch her, but the woman was already sprinting out of the door. “Talia, stop. I can’t have you leave me like this.”

She threw him a glare for a few seconds before she entered the elevator. The doors closed before he could reach her.

Sighing, he leaned his forehead against the wall. There was something about this woman. She was vastly different from the others Ariki had fixed up for him. And he enjoyed the difference.

As he made his way back into his penthouse suite and closed the door, weariness consumed his body again, reminding him how he hadn’t slept for forty-eight hours. Although his body was exhausted, his mind was not.

One way or another, he’d figure out how to find that woman. Next time, he’d make it so she wasn’t afraid of him.

* * * *

TALIA STARED AT HERreflection in the shiny steel walls of the elevator. Tears pooled in her eyes. Her hair hung down around her shoulders, and her mouth was swollen from his passionate kisses. Inside, she died of shame.

Why had she kissed him? Anger welled up inside of her, mixed with disgust. Why hadn’t she remembered that she was a police detective? She was actually a very good detective. But nobody would know it now.

Disgrace rocked through her body, making her feel worse now than a few minutes ago. Austin Reeder was a classAjerk, just like she’d thought earlier when she’d asked him about his relationship with Kalama. Why her instincts had led her in the wrong direction, she’ll never know.

Closing her eyes, her body shook. She wanted to cry over the mistake she’d made, but she couldn’t. Soon she’d leave this elevator, and she didn’t need anyone seeing her this distraught and asking questions.

She wiped the smudged mascara from underneath her eyes. As shame continued to grow inside her, she became more determined to find the evidence needed to put Austin Reeder in prison for murdering Kalama Kane. Men like Austin should be locked up forever.

The ding of the elevator announced the lobby of the Imperial Hawaiian Grand Hotel as it opened the doors for her. Taking a deep breath, she tried to rid herself of the proof she carried of her steamy kiss with Austin.

As her high heels clicked on the marbled floor, she focused on the front doors. She couldn’t get out of this place fast enough. But when a man came rushing through, she paused. He saw her and stopped. His gaze swept over her from the top of her messy head clear down to her high-heeled shoes.

Kurt gasped, stroking his brown, well-groomed beard. “Talia Russell? Why do you look so... gorgeous?”

Growling, she slugged her partner in the arm. “Where have you been? I called you several times. Didn’t you get my messages?”

He rubbed his shoulder and grimaced. “No, I haven’t listened to your messages, yet. I figured you were calling me to tell me about the sergeant’s instructions, which of course, I’d already heard. And I was in a hurry to change my clothes so I could meet you here.”

“You changed?” She glanced over his attire, looking exactly the same as he did every day they had worked together in the past year. Today he wore navy blue slacks, and a beige, button-down shirt that had the sleeves rolled up to the elbow, and a blue, white, and black striped tie. Sometimes he wore a suit jacket that matched the slacks, sometimes he didn’t. Today, he didn’t.

“Of course. You didn’t expect me to come here wearing my sweats, did you?” He shrugged. “I was jogging when the sergeant called.”

She groaned. “I can’t believe you went home and changed your clothes. The sergeant wouldn’t let me do that. I was at my father’s engagement party.”

Kurt chuckled as he eyed her dress, once again. “You went and talked to Reeder looking this hot?”

She rolled her eyes and walked past him out of the hotel’s automatic front doors. Several times throughout the year they’d been teamed up together, she had wanted to punch him in the nose. Now was one of those times. He enjoyed teasing her, which she could dish right back, but she wasn’t in the mood for it. Not after what had happened with Austin.

“Did you find out anything when you talked to Reeder?” he asked, keeping up with her long strides.

“A little.”

“Tell me.”

“Reeder is definitely a suspect. He was carrying on with Kalama before she was murdered.”

“Carrying on? Do you mean they were lovers?”

She rolled her eyes again, and this time she glanced at him. “Reeder didn’t consider them lovers because there was no love between them.”

Kurt shook his head. “What does that mean?”

Once she reached her silver Volkswagen Jetta, she stopped and leaned against it. “I’ll tell you about it later. Right now, I want to go home and change. My feet are killing me. I’ll meet you back at the station in an hour, and I’ll explain more at that time.”

She didn’t wait for his answer before climbing in and shutting the door. Kurt waited a few moments before he turned and walked to his dark blue Honda Accord. She started her car and drove out of the parking lot, feeling lower than dirt.