Page 75 of Russian Rescue

I looked to my left and saw him leaning over the edge of my bed. His hand tightened around mine, and I let my gaze drift down to our intertwined fingers. IV lines in my arms led to the machines beeping at my side, and the events leading up to me being in a hospital bed started coming back to me.

“You were shot,” Wes said, confirming my patchy memories still struggling to snap together. “But those crazy mobile secret agent docs got you patched back up again. You’re going to be okay.”

“I... I got shot.” I rasped out the words, the dryness of my mouth making it difficult to speak.

“Yes.”

“How long have I been out?” I struggled out again.

“Almost forty-eight hours. Here. You need water.” Wes reached onto the bedside table and grabbed a cup, then stuck the straw in my mouth.

“Forty-eight hours?” I managed to get out before I took a sip.

“Yep,” he answered while I drank. “You needed your rest. You lost a lot of blood.”

I took a long swig, then spit out the straw. “Thank you.”

“Of course, baby. This is great practice for when you’re really old, and I’m taking care of you when you have no teeth and have to drink all your meals through a straw.”

I snorted softly and started to chuckle as his eyes sparkled with his smile.

“Screw you. I’m never getting old,” I said, my words getting stronger as I spoke.

“Oh, you’re gonna get old all right. And I’m going to be right there at your side. Always, Piper.”

He lifted my hand to his lips and pressed a soft kiss to it. With a sigh, I rolled my head along the pillow and smiled up at him.

He would be there for me. Somehow, I finally understood, finally accepted, that just because my past was filled with loss, my future didn’t have to be a lonely one. Wes would never leave me, and I would never leave him. It had become so obvious when I’d felt my life slipping away sitting on the floor. So obvious how easy it was for me to offer to sacrifice myself to save him. And yet, I was alive because he’d been willing to sacrifice everything to save me. And it wasn’t just because we were part of the same team, a team that would all die for each other without a second thought... it was because we had something deeper.

We loved each other.

“How much do you remember?” He leaned down and pressed a kiss to my forehead.

“I remember killing some dudes to get to you. Then I got there, and Petro was there. You... you sent the information to the Russians, right?”

“Right.”

“Nice work. Then we fought, and I got shot.” The memory of the searing pain tearing through my thigh brought my attention to the throbbing in my leg, and I cringed. “Side note. I’m not adding slits to my tactical dresses anymore.”

Wes chuckled. “Probably a good plan. And then? Do you, uh, remember anything else that happened in that room?”

His eyes searched mine, and I fought my smile as I knew what he referenced... that I’d told him I loved him too. “And then... nothing.”

Wes’s eyes widened. “That’s it? You don’t remember anything else?”

“Nope. Just blackness.”

His face dropped, and I struggled to conceal my smile.

“Nothing? You don’t remember anything after that?”

“Nope.”

Wes closed his eyes. “Please, for the love of all that is holy, tell me you didn’t forget what you said to me, and we have to start all over again.”

“I said something? Was it important?” I pushed my brows together.

Sad, puppy dog eyes met mine as Wes let out a deep sigh and slumped forward. “Fuck. Of course, you’d forget. You probably just said it because you thought we were going to die.”