Tempest's Paradise (Siren Publishing Allure)

by Amanda Kay

  “You do know that we were in the army together. Elaine specializes in hand-to-hand combat,” Tempest said as a warning.

  “You were in the army together?” Samuel questioned.

  “Yeah, she was injured in her last deployment about a year ago. She was shot by an insurgent while she was out on patrol. She got out and works as a contractor testing new weapons developed for the army,” Tempest said with pride.

  “Yeah, well, she was being rude,” Samuel said with a pout.

  “So were you!” Phillip all but shouted.

  “Okay! We’re going to go and take our seats. We’ll see you out front,” Mark said and herded the arguing twins out of the bridal suite.

  Tempest gave a snort of laughter and turned to check her appearance in the mirror one last time. She straightened her dress nervously, and her stomach did a nervous flip-flop when she heard the bridal march being played from within the chapel sanctuary. She turned expectantly when the door opened. A warm smile spread across her face.

  “Are you ready, Staff Sergeant?” Clark asked with a smile.

  “As ready as I’ll ever be,” she answered with a nervous smile.

  “You look lovely. I’m honored that you asked me to give you away.”

  “I wouldn’t have asked anyone else, sir.”

  “Well, let’s go and give you away,” he said and offered her his arm.

  She took a deep fortifying breath and walked out of the suite to become Mrs. Devin Maddox.

  * * * *

  “If any of you have any reason that these two should not be wed, speak now or forever hold your piece,” Chaplain Walsh said.

  Tempest stood next to Devin and looked up at him with a smile that lit up the room. She noticed movement from the corner of her eye and thought it odd that the side door of the chapel opened.

  “Yeah, I’ve got a reason. The bitch doesn’t deserve any of this,” said a bitter voice off to Tempest’s right.

  She swiveled her head in shock, and her mouth hung open. It was Lizzie. The entire church went silent except for the nervous fussing of her Seth and Serenity, who could sense the tension in the air.

  Tempest’s muscles tensed as her body prepared for the threat. She turned and looked at Clark and Grace.

  “Would you two please take Seth and Serenity outside for a moment?” she asked with a carefully calm voice.

  She breathed a sigh of relief when the couple moved quickly to remove the children from the church. She had no doubt that Clark would be summoning the MPs to the chapel. Given that he was the post commander, it shouldn’t take them long to respond either.

  “Yeah, take the bastards outside so they don’t see their momma die,” Lizzie said in a slurred voice.

  Tempest fought to stay calm. The last thing she needed was for the situation to get beyond her control. Lizzie was obviously out of her mind, not to mention she was either drunk or high or both.

  “I didn’t expect to see you here today, Lizzie,” Tempest said in a conversational tone.

  “I just bet you didn’t,” Lizzie sneered.

  “Well, since you are here, why don’t you take a seat and then we can catch up after the ceremony,” she said with a smile.

  “Fuck you! I don’t want to catch up.”

  “Okay, what is it you want then?” she asked, keeping her voice calm and steady.

  “I want you to get what you deserve, you stupid bitch!” Lizzie spat.

  “And what is it you think I deserve, Lizzie?”

  “You deserve to die for fucking up my life!” she yelled spitefully and pulled a pistol from the waistband of her pants.

  Tempest’s adrenaline started firing on all cylinders. “I’m sorry you think that is what I did, Lizzie. I didn’t mean to upset you,” she said as her eyes took in every nuance of the situation. She could feel Devin trying to step around her, but she was the one with the training, not him. She kept moving to keep herself between Lizzie and the rest of the wedding guests.

  “I bet you didn’t. You were always jealous of me and how pretty I was. You just couldn’t leave well enough alone,” Lizzie said, her face twisted and contorted in her anger. “I tried to make you miserable. I paid that two-bit hacker to fuck with your boyfriend. Then I ran you away from each other. It was going just fucking perfect until your fuckin’ boyfriend found Scott. Now I guess I’ll have to take care of this the old-fashioned way,” she said and leveled the gun at Tempest.

  “Fine, you want to kill me, but there are an awful lot of witnesses in this church. Not to mention you are on a military base. If you kill me, you won’t make it off this base,” Tempest said, trying to reason with Lizzie even though she knew it was probably useless. Lizzie was well and truly out of her gourd.

  She just needed to keep her talking until the MPs arrived. Then they could deal with the crazy woman. As long as Lizzie talked, it also gave Tempest the opportunity to inch closer to her. If she could get within arm’s reach, that gun was as good as hers.

  Lizzie sneered at her. “I only care about killing three people here Temp.”

  “Okay, who are the other two?” she asked as she continually inched closer. She was almost there.

  “Those two little bastards outside. Once the three of you are out of the way, the money will be all mine,” she said with an evil little grin.

  Tempest saw red and charged her sister intent on killing her. No one threatened her children and lived.

  Lizzie’s eyes went round with shock. She pulled the trigger on the gun, but nothing happened. She only had time to try one last time before Tempest was on her.

  Tempest grabbed her sister’s arm and the gun and wrenched them both back. She didn’t stop until she heard a distinct pop and then a crack followed by Lizzie’s ear-piercing scream. Once she had the gun in her hand, she backhanded her sister across the face with the butt of the gun. Lizzie crumpled onto the floor, unconscious, ending her scream of pain.

  Tempest flipped the gun around in her hand and clicked off the safety. She chambered a round and pointed the barrel of the gun at her unconscious sister’s head. The voices around her sounded muffled and weird in her ears.

  Elaine rushed from her seat and stopped Devin from touching Tempest.

  “I need to stop her,” he whispered harshly.

  Elaine shook her head frantically. “The last thing you want to do right now is touch her. She just might kill you if you do. Her kill switch had been flipped. We need to get the general. He might be the only person able to reach her,” Elaine whispered desperately. “I’ll go and get him, but you do not touch her. You can talk to her, but do not touch her,” she finished and walked hurriedly but quietly out of the chapel.

  Devin looked over at the chaplain. He knew his eyes were wide and desperate.

  “She’s right, son. I’ve seen this happen before. The last thing you want to do is touch her. She’d probably kill her sister and then you before anyone could blink. It’s best to let the general handle this,” he said in a calm and reassuring voice. He placed a hand on Devin’s shoulder, not only to try and convey comfort but also to keep him in place.

  Devin almost sobbed in relief when Clark came calmly through the church with Elaine on his heels.

  “Staff Sergeant Westfield,” Clark snapped in his army commander voice.

  “Yes, sir!” Tempest said but kept the gun and her eyes trained on her sister.

  “You’ve eliminated and contained the threat. I need you to stand at attention and relinquish your sidearm, Staff Sergeant,” he barked at her.

  “She threatened my children, sir!” she answered in her clipped army voice.

  “I am aware of that, Staff Sergeant, but the threat has been contained. I want you to stand at attention and relinquish your sidearm. I will not repeat myself, soldier,” Clark said in his general’s voice.

  One could feel the tension release as Tempest clicked the safety of the gun back on and lowered it to her side. She took a deep breath and turned. She stood at attention as Ge
neral Westin approached her and held out his hand. Tempest handed over the pistol and snapped back to attention.

  “Well done, soldier. At ease,” he said gently as he noticed the tremor that was running through her.

  The MPs arrived and took stock of the situation. Devin escorted Tempest to the back of the chapel as Clark sorted out the situation. He took her to the bridal suite and closed the door. He turned to see his almost-bride burst into tears as the gravity of the situation hit her full in the face. He rushed to her and took her trembling body in his arms.

  “I’m so sorry, Devin, but she threatened my babies,” Tempest said in a sob-wracked voice.

  “It’s okay, baby. It’s over now. We’re safe and the kids are safe. There isn’t anything to worry about,” he said soothingly into her hair.

  “Do you promise?” she stuttered and looked up at him with wide, watery eyes.

  “I promise, and even if it isn’t, we always have you to protect us,” he said with a smile.

  Tempest couldn’t stop her laugh.

  An hour later everyone was back in the chapel.

  “Okay, here is what’s happened to those who weren’t in the room. Lizzie has been arrested on a heap of charges. The least of which was bringing an unregistered weapon on a military base,” Clark started. “She is going to be tried by a military court, and if convicted, she could be labeled as a terrorist. But first she will receive a psychological evaluation to determine her state of mind. Either way she is going to go away for a very long time,” “At least now I don’t have to comb through all of Scott’s encrypted files,” Tempest said with a rueful smile.

  “Very true but do you think you’re up to getting married today?” Devin questioned with a grin.

  “I think I can manage that. What about you, Chaplain?” she asked and turned to look at the chaplain.

  “I think I can find it in my good nature to finish the wedding,” he said with a chuckle.

  The guests rushed to their seats as Tempest and Devin took up their original places at the altar.

  Chaplain Walsh took up his position behind the podium. He looked around the room thoughtfully. “Seeing as how there are no objections, I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss the bride.”

  Devin reached out and grabbed a grinning Tempest. He pulled her into his arms and kissed her with all of the love he felt for her.

  “Get a room!” Phillip called out when the kiss lasted a little longer than was proper.

  Devin released his new wife with a laugh and turned to the small congregation.

  “Ladies and gentlemen, may I present Mr. and Mrs. Devin Maddox,” Chaplain Walsh said with a huge smile.

  The room erupted with cheers and claps from their closest friends and now their family. Devin turned and looked at his wife and gave her another quick kiss before they made their way down the aisle. They stopped by Clark and Grace’s pew and gave a kiss to Seth and Serenity. They fairly skipped out of the church and into a waiting limo that was supposed to take them to the airport and then it was off on their honeymoon.

  * * * *

  Tempest stood on the patio overlooking the ocean. She couldn’t help but take in a lungful of the ocean air. It had to be one of the most beautiful sights she had ever seen. Devin had brought her to Aruba for their honeymoon. Her smile grew when she felt Devin’s strong arms wrap around her middle.

  “Is everything okay?” he whispered in her ear and then nipped her earlobe.

  “Everything is just perfect,” she said with a sigh and turned around in the circle of his arms.

  She wrapped her arms around his middle and rested her head on his chest. It was all just so perfect.

  “I love you,” she said gently against his chest and then froze when she realized what she said. Neither of them had ever spoken about love before.

  Devin’s arms tightened reflexively around her.

  “Do you mean it?” he asked in a voice choked with emotion.

  “Yeah, I mean it. I love you, Devin,” she said in almost a whisper as she looked up into his handsome face.

  Devin couldn’t hold it in. He gave a hoot of joy and lifted her off her feet and swung his wife around in a circle.

  “I love you, too, baby!” he said with a grin and carried his wife to their bed.

  Tempest laughed and shook her head. To think she used to hate weddings.

  THE END

  AMANDAKAYAUTHOR.BLOGSPOT.COM

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  This is my second book and I couldn’t be happier. I have enjoyed writing and knowing that people are reading my stories and enjoying them. I can’t wait to finish my next story and see how it goes.

  I still live in Texas and work for the army. I love my soldiers and enjoy my job. They are an interesting group of men and women. They do so much for this country and I’m honored that I can help them in whatever ways I can.

  Thanks for buying my book and I hope you enjoy it!

  For all titles by Amanda Kay, please visit

  www.bookstrand.com/amanda-kay

  Siren Publishing, Inc.

  www.SirenPublishing.com