Page 78 of Russian Rescue

Piper

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The warm, salty breeze drifted off the ocean and picked up the scent of the orchids decorating every nook and cranny of the huge white tent erected in the sand. Wes hadn’t spared a single expense when he’d funded Amanda’s make-up wedding. And from the sounds of it, this event was far more extravagant than the first they’d had planned.

“Piper! Over here!” Allison, Wes’s mom, waved to me. “You have to meet Uncle Lenny!”

Since arriving with Wes in Hawaii, I could barely keep up with remembering the names of the humongous extended family he had. And remembering faces and names had been part of my job when I was in Elite Stealth Force. Wes’s family was huge, with four aunts, six uncles, and more cousins than I could ever keep track of. I’d never met a man’s family before, and at first, it had overwhelmed me. But soon, I felt the warmth of their love and their excitement to have me join the boisterous crew.

“Coming, Allison!” I called back, but Amanda stepped between her mom and me.

“How are you feeling? Your,” she leaned in and whispered, “gunshot hurting being on your feet this long?”

I stifled my chuckle. Since Amanda had been clued into our secret identities, she’d continued making little remarks with the occasional wink all week we’d been in Hawaii. Luckily, it seemed like she’d kept the secret to herself since no one else in the family had mentioned it yet.

Everyone else thought I’d “broken my leg” in the “car accident” that had kept Wes away the entire time we’d been in Russia. The story he’d spun about me swerving to miss a cat, hitting him with my car, then crashing into a telephone pole was as crazy as the truth, but his family had bought it hook, line, and sinker. Wes had been “in a coma” for two weeks, and with no ID on him, he’d been a John Doe. Me, the guilt-ridden driver who’d broken her leg in the impact, had continued checking on him while he was in his coma. Then, when he’d awakened, it was love at first sight.

A perfect meet-cute that his family gobbled right up. Luckily, they didn’t ask questions, but Wes had manufactured hospital records and an accident report for the cops who’d been investigating his disappearance. With him returned safe and sound, they’d spent no more valuable time and resources hunting down the truth, so we’d gotten off easy on our end.

Amanda was another story. To explain her week-long disappearance, she’d said she was so bereft with grief over her missing brother and her canceled wedding that she’d taken off looking for Wes in every hospital in the state. With her whole world turned upside down, she’d just really needed to feel like she could control something. Anything.

They were furious with her at first that she’d make the cruel choice to disappear without a word and ignore their pleading messages to come home, but there was no better explanation for her to up and leave right in the middle of a family crisis without telling them the truth... the one that revealed a secret government league of stealth operatives.

After begging for their forgiveness, poor Amanda had admitted to her “selfish decision,” but she’d pleaded insanity based on her overwhelming fear and grief over Wes’s absence. People do crazy things when motivated by fear and trauma, she’d explained, and her happy family had quickly forgiven her for the extra worry she’d caused them all. And with those few texts and emails that the Ukrainians had sent throughout her absence to keep her family from calling the authorities, her lies had been much easier to stomach. Wes had also promised to pay for a month-long honeymoon on top of her new wedding to make up for the fact she’d fallen on her sword to save his secret identity.

It shocked me they believed any of it, but apparently, Wes had the world’s most trusting family. Which didn’t surprise me with how sweet and kind they all were. Why would they question the words of Wes and Amanda, who’d never lied before? At the end of the day, both of them were home safe, and that was all that mattered.

“My leg is doing pretty good. And you? Are you sure you’re recovered from your ordeal?”

“You mean getting kidnapped, threatened at gunpoint, then jumping out of a thirty-story window, and finding out my brother is part of some secret government organization? Then having to lie to my fiancé and family and pretend I went AWOL and abandoned them when they needed me most?”

I chuckled. “Yeah. That. You good?”

Amanda smiled. “Yeah. I’m good. I’m just so glad you guys were able to save me. Thank you, Piper. Thank you so much.” She wrapped her arms around my neck and hugged me tightly. “Now you’re like the sister I never had. I’m so glad you and Wes have each other.”

“Me too.” I squeezed her back.

“Piper!” Allison called again. “Come over here!”

Amanda let go of my neck and rolled her eyes. “She won’t stop calling you until you go over there. Trust me. And watch out for Uncle Lenny. He can get a little handsy with the ladies.”

“Oh?” I pursed my lips and flicked my gaze to Uncle Lenny, who was sipping on his fruity cocktail and giving me the eyes. “Yep. I can see that.”

Amanda started laughing then danced off to her new husband. I took a step toward Allison, but before I could finish my stride, an arm snaked around my waist. “Not so fast, baby. It’s my turn with you.”

With a sigh, I leaned back against Wes and rested the back of my head on his pecs while he wrapped me up tight in his arms.

“My mother has been demanding far too much of your attention, so now it’s my turn.” He spun me around and slid his hands under my arms, guiding them up around his neck. “Dance with me.”

“I’m not cleared for dancing yet.” I gestured to my leg. The crutches had been gone for over a week, but the limp was still there.

Wes grabbed my hips and lifted me up, setting me back down on his feet. “You just stand there, and I’ll do the dancing.”

I couldn’t contain my smile as he started moving me back and forth on the bamboo dance floor. Instead of arguing that I looked like a little kid, I gave in to the movement and pressed my cheek against his chest.

He hummed along with the song, rocking me back and forth on his feet as I let my heart swell with the love and emotion he generated inside of me. Sometimes, when I was in his arms, I worried my heart was going to explode. I never knew this feeling was possible, and now that I had it, I’d do anything not to let it go.

“Are you having fun?” He pressed a kiss to my head.