Page 52 of Russian Rescue

“He does a hell of a lot more than that,” Knox cut in. “We’d be nothing without Pretty Boy.”

“But don’t you dare tell Mom and Dad. You can’t tell anyone, Amanda. I mean it. This is some top-secret shit you’re in on here.”

“Wow,” Amanda breathed. “This is a lot to take in.”

“Yeah. I’m so sorry about this.” Wes guided the car down the road to the airstrip where Knox had a plane waiting. “But I’m going to figure out who these guys are and take care of them, so you and the family stay safe.”

“Will they come after us again?” she asked.

Wes blew out a breath. “I hope not, but just to be sure, we’re sending you to stay at Knox’s house until this is over. Hopefully, we’ll sort this out in a few days, and we can get back to our normal lives.” He looked in the rearview mirror and grinned. “And your wedding.”

Amanda sighed. “We already missed it. My God, Rick must be worried sick.”

“I’m so sorry about this, Amanda. I promise I’ll make it up to you by funding the biggest and best wedding you could ever dream of.”

She snorted. “Oh, yeah. With what money?”

Wes shrugged. “Oh, that’s the other thing you guys don’t know. I’m worth millions.” Her mouth fell open as he pulled the car to a stop. “Now, we don’t have time to get into more, but you need to trust Knox and do whatever he says. He’ll get you out of Russia and back home, and he won’t leave your side until he’s sure you’re safe.”

Knox nodded. “You can count on me, Pretty Boy. I’ll get her out safe. You sure you don’t want to come?”

Wes shook his head. “No. We need to put these guys out of business, whoever they are.”

I thought back to the Ukrainian language I’d heard. “I don’t think they’re Russian.”

“I’m thinking the same thing, Piper,” Wes agreed. “I heard them speak Ukrainian too. We’ll figure it out.”

“I’ll stay and help you.” Marcus adjusted the gun on his back.

Shaking his head, Wes pressed a hand onto Marcus’s shoulder. “I appreciate you offering to stay, but I need you to go to California and keep an eye on my family. Now that they don’t have Amanda, we can’t be sure these guys won’t go after someone else in my family. Just keep them under surveillance, and if anything looks suspicious, get them the hell out of there. Can you do that for me?”

“Of course.” Marcus gave a quick nod of his head.

“I don’t care what happens to me,” Wes went on. “But I need to know my family is safe. I trust you to watch them. Piper can watch my back here and try to make sure I don’t get killed.”

Killed. The thought of something happening to Wes made my stomach turn. “I’ve got him. You guys keep his family safe.”

“Okay. Then let’s get in the air, Amanda.” Marcus opened his door and ushered her out.

We all climbed out of the car, and Amanda ran to her brother. He enveloped her in a big hug, holding her tight before he gave her one last squeeze and let her go.

“Go on, Amanda. I’ll fix this mess I got us in. You’ll be safe again. I promise.”

She pursed her lips together in a tight smile. “Thank you, Wes.” Her gaze swept across my teammates and me. “And thank all of you. I don’t know if I’ll see you again, so I’m just gonna give you a hug.”

I wasn’t a hugger by nature, so I tensed up when she launched forward into my arms and squeezed me. I caught Wes’s wide grin while he watched me hug her back.

“The Williams’ are huggers.” He shrugged.

“You’ll be okay,” I whispered into Amanda’s ear as I loosened my embrace.

“Just keep my brother safe, okay?” she said as he let go. Those big blue eyes met mine, and she smiled.

“I will. I’ll always keep him safe.”

My gaze drifted to Wes, and the minute our eyes locked, my stomach somersaulted again.

I would keep him safe because that’s what I did... I saved people. But I would also keep him safe because I couldn’t imagine a world without Wes in it. Especially now that I’d let him breach the impenetrable walls around my heart.