Page 78 of Fraud
I could leave. I could walk away right now. Save her any more pain and suffering from my imminent betrayal.
So, why wasn’t I?
“Okay, here’s your information, Casanova,” Liam said from his spot at the desk, handing me an address.
We’d headed back to my motel room, which I guessed was nowourmotel room since he’d taken up residence here indefinitely.
“Her cell just pinged this address a few minutes ago and has been steady. Must be eating lunch or something.”
“Thanks,” I said, barely registering what he’d said.
“Are you sure you want to do this?”
I nodded, knowing I needed to see her. Even if it was just one more time.
“Okay,” he answered quietly. “Good luck. You know where to find me.”
“Roger that.”
I said my good-byes and headed to the little Honda I’d been renting since I arrived. It was honestly the first car I’d driven in years.
I was going to miss it when I returned to the city.
Entering the address Liam had given me into my phone, I followed the directions. He was right. It was a restaurant. A place I’d seen in passing several times and one I could picture Kate eating at.
After parking, I did my cursory check in the mirror, making sure my hair was not too crazy and there wasn’t anything stuck in the scruff of a beard I’d managed to grow during my time here. It was the first time I’d had facial hair in my adult life.
Kudos to laziness.
It didn’t take long for me to find her. Honestly, I thought I could pick out that beautiful blonde hair of hers any day.
Sitting at a table alone, she was hunched over a notepad, furiously writing. I loved watching her in her element. She had a fierce passion she probably didn’t even realize she possessed.
It was something I, myself had once had when I’d entered the field of journalism. But then I’d sold my soul for the sake of fame and popularity. I’d given up integrity for ratings.
And in doing so, I’d lost everything.
Maybe all of this would help me find that passion once again.
“Hey,” I said casually, walking up to the table, as if I’d just seen her out of the corner of my eye rather than stalked her from across the room.
She smiled up at me, as if she had expected another face. When she saw mine, her eyes widened. “Oh! Killian! Hi!”
I tried to keep it together. It was the first time since meeting her that she seemed genuinely off-balance around me.
Or at least, off-balance in an unsettling sort of way.
“Funny running into you here. I was grabbing some lunch before an interview,” I said.
Her interest piqued. “An interview? That’s great.”
I nodded. “I’m not holding my breath, but it’s something.”
“Yes.” She smiled politely, her eyes darting toward the entrance.
I followed, and finally, it all made sense.
The unease in her surprise reaction to seeing me, the edginess to her behavior.
