Free Sweetest Surrender by Katie Reus Page B

long as you like. Listen, I’ve got to run up to the hotel. Emergency. I’ll be there for a couple hours so unless you want to come hang out with me, I’ll just grab your stuff on the way back.”
    She bit her bottom lip again in that adorable way that made him wish she was nipping at his lips. “I guess that’s okay. Mr. Botkin said he’d packed everything but can you check the drawers? I really only have clothes in the closet and drawers. And of course everything in the bathroom. Everything else in the kitchen and living room came with the place. Oh, and my laptop. Crap, I hope it’s okay.”
    “If it’s not I’ll buy you a new one.” The words were out before he could stop himself. Hell, he knew her laptop was fine since there hadn’t been any flooding. But he couldn’t help the offer. She started to protest, but he shook his head. “I’ve gotta run, but I’ll have my cell phone on me.” Not giving her a chance to respond, he headed to his bedroom to get changed.
    There was no emergency at work. He planned to head straight to her place, pack up her stuff and bring it back here. Then he would figure out who the hell had keyed his car and who’d been asking about Angel. She’d been pretty tight-lipped about her past but that was about to change.
    Keeping her safe was his number one priority. Getting a repeat of that kiss was a close second. Damn, he’d fucked that all up. But he refused to believe that he couldn’t have a second chance with her. From the moment they’d met, their friendship had been leading to more. He might suck with the opposite sex, but he knew his feelings weren’t one-sided. He would win her over again.

 
    Chapter 8
     
    Sinking low in his rental car, he watched the fit, blond man carrying another box from Angel’s apartment to the back of his SUV. The windows of his new rental were tinted so no one could see him, but he still wanted to be careful. He’d already switched out cars after what he’d done at the casino. He’d been careful, but he liked to keep his tracks covered. Angel couldn’t know he was in town yet.
    Not until he’d had his fun.
    The blond man had been methodical in his work. He’d shown up with folded, clearly new boxes, a roll of packing tape, then had headed up to Angel’s place. Five medium-sized boxes later, he seemed to be done clearing out her place. He definitely wasn’t a typical mover though.
    Wearing cargo pants, a long-sleeved black T-shirt and boots, the man moved with a predator-like quality. Quick and methodical. The entire scene was interesting.
    And frustrating. Maybe he was Angel’s new lover and moving her in with him. It made sense. She’d probably found some rich guy to take care of her. That car she’d been driving had been proof enough of that because he knew it wasn’t hers.
    When the blond man pulled out from the parking lot, he followed. As he drove, he jotted down the license plate number of the SUV. If Angel was moving somewhere else, he was going to find out where. He’d just found her again and wouldn’t let her get away from him.
    He pressed the third speed dial number on his phone.
    “Yeah,” Glen Humphrey, his private investigator answered on the second ring.
    “I need you to look up a license plate for me.” He knew the investigator could do it. There was a website that allowed license plate look-ups for a fee. Unfortunately he also knew the site kept detailed records of their registrants and they had to have legal reasons for looking up that kind of information, like skip tracing. And even then, the site didn’t always have the necessary data, just basic public records. Sometimes not even that, especially without a name to go with the plate.
    “I can try,” Glen said. “But you know it may not return anything.”
    “I understand.” He rattled off the license plate number, still following the SUV. This early in the morning he was surprised by the amount of traffic but apparently this city never slept.