Sweetest Surrender by Katie Reus Page B

her arms around herself, shivering against the slight breeze that kicked up. All she wanted was to go to Vadim’s place, kick off her shoes and wash the restaurant smell off her. And sleep. Tonight had been busier than she’d expected, which was good because she’d made double what she had last night, but she was still tired. At least she’d had a few missed texts from Mark letting her know that he and Chloe were settling in nicely. She’d already texted him and had heard back almost immediately with him reassuring her they were doing well.
    When the man, whose name she didn’t know, put down his hand-held radio and glanced over Angel’s shoulder almost nervously she tensed and turned around.
    Iris Christiansen was striding down the stairs coming straight for them. Angel immediately straightened at the sight of the Serafina’s head of security—and billionaire Wyatt Christiansen’s wife. Crap, what if they thought she wasn’t supposed to be driving Vadim’s car? Angel couldn’t imagine why Iris was here. The tall, slender woman was nice, but she was also intimidating as hell.
    “Vadim is letting me use his car. You can call him and ask,” Angel blurted when Iris stopped in front of them.
    Iris blinked, her mouth pulling up into a half-smile. “I know. You mind coming with me to the parking garage? I need to talk to you.”
    A thick block of ice settled in her stomach, numbing her from the inside out. Had Sierra told Iris about what Angel had done? Maybe now she was going to lose her job. Tongue-tied, she nodded and fell in step with the taller woman as they headed down the sidewalk. Angel’s heels clicked loudly while Iris’s shoes were silent. She knew the tall woman had been in the Marines, just like Vadim.
    “Have you been having any problems at work lately with customers?” Iris asked.
    She glanced at her, surprised by the question. “No. I mean, I get the typical pervs and creeps who ask me out but no harassment or anything if that’s what you mean.”
    Iris nodded thoughtfully. “No one hanging around after work waiting for you?”
    Angel shook her head again, starting to worry about this line of questioning. “No, but I take the bus. Why are you asking?”
    “What about a…boyfriend or ex-boyfriend? Any problems there?” Iris completely ignored Angel’s previous question.
    Angel frowned. Had Iris somehow found out about Angel’s past? Maybe they’d started digging into her life after the food-stealing incident. She’d been so careful, but maybe not careful enough. “What’s going on?”
    “Someone keyed Vadim’s car while it was in valet. They scratched the word ‘whore’ on the hood. Since you’re driving it and whore is typically a word used to insult females, I’m trying to figure out if this message was meant for you or Vadim.”
    Angel could feel the blood drain from her face. A chill snaked through her as they neared the lowest level entrance to the garage. Behind the electronic arm that let people in and out of the structure, one of the valet guys was talking to a man wearing a button-down black shirt and black slacks. Clearly security. When the security guy saw them he nodded at Iris.
    Following Iris, Angel walked along the outer sidewalk that lead into the garage, on the other side of the arm so they wouldn’t have to duck under it.
    “Called the cops to make a report, but they won’t be here for an hour since this isn’t a priority,” the security man said to Iris.
    Lips pulled into a grim line she nodded before glancing at Angel. “You don’t need to stay for the report. For now I’m going to let you use a company vehicle so you can get home.”
    “What about Vadim’s car?”
    “Since this happened on hotel property we’ll be taking care of it. This shouldn’t have happened.” There was a sharp bite to Iris’s words as she cut an equally hard look at the security guy.
    No doubt someone was definitely in trouble over this. “Can I see it?” She felt