Sweetest Surrender Read Online Free PDF Page A

in the air, leaving his weapon still tucked away. “Man, I don’t want any trouble.”
    “Good. Neither do I. Angel,” he called out. “Get in the car.” With his free hand he reached into his pants pocket and pressed his keyfob, unlocking the doors. Then he stepped over the still wheezing man, pressed the weapon to the standing man’s chest as he took the guy’s revolver. He’d get rid of these, but he wasn’t leaving them behind.
    “Back up, over there. Keep your hands in the air.” As Vadim motioned to another row of parked cars on the opposite side of the street he heard the passenger door open then close. Keeping his gaze on the man walking backwards, he reached over and opened his door then slid behind the wheel. Without having to insert the key, he pressed the engine button and quickly reversed before tearing out of the complex. In the rearview mirror the standing man raced to his friend’s side but he wasn’t even paying attention to Vadim’s exit. Good. Meant he wasn’t concerned with his license plate. Not that it would do him any good if he tried to track him down with it.
    “What the hell was that?” Angel asked as Vadim put the weapons in the back seat.
    He glanced over at her. “They had weapons and weren’t afraid to use them. The guy I punched showed me his gun immediately, telling me he had no problem escalating into violence very quickly.”
    She blinked at him, wide-eyed and not full of fear exactly, but she looked wary. He turned away, not wanting to see fear or anything akin to it in her expression. Ever. And especially not directed at him.
    “You didn’t just punch him. You massacred him and made it look as if you’d barely done anything. That was insanely awesome. I’ve never seen anyone move so fast. You were like…a ninja. Where did you learn all that?” The awe in her voice surprised him.
    He shot her another glance before pulling out onto the main road. She didn’t seem wary now, just maybe a little overwhelmed. “The Marines.”
    “Well, you’re officially a badass. No wonder—” She abruptly cut herself off before shifting uncomfortably against the plush leather seat.
    “No wonder what?”
    “Nothing. Thanks for what you did. I didn’t realize that guy, well both of them, had freaking guns.” She turned around in her seat to look at them, then looked forward again. “That was crazy,” she muttered, almost to herself.
    Vadim knew he should let go of whatever she’d been about to say, but he couldn’t. “What did you stop yourself from saying before?” he asked as he pulled up to a stoplight.
    She bit her bottom lip. “I don’t want to hurt your feelings.”
    “Say it.”
    “I was just going to say no wonder some of the girls—and guys—at the restaurant are a little afraid of you.” Her teeth pressed into her bottom lip even harder as she watched him, clearly concerned for his feelings. Which wasn’t exactly surprising. She was always looking out for anyone, not just him. It still touched him that she cared.
    Half-smiling, he turned back to the road. “I already know they’re afraid of me.” Frowning, he looked at her again as another thought occurred to him. Even though their wariness annoyed him, he didn’t truly give a shit what anyone thought of him—but Angel’s opinion mattered. “Does this change how you feel about me?”
    “Uh, yeah. Now that I know what a badass you are I’m never going to piss you off,” she said laughingly, the sound pure music rolling over him.
    The tension that had started to build inside him immediately dissipated. As long as she didn’t look at him differently, he was fine.
    * * *
    Glancing at his GPS, he frowned as he steered his rental car into the apartment complex. He was following the information his private investigator had given him, but this didn’t seem like the type of place where Angel would be living. Still…he looked over at the thick manila file he had on Angel, ready to scan his notes again,