After her parents were murdered, Layna Blair spent three years on the run—until Marine Sergeant Blaze Johnson stepped in and saved her. With him, Layna knew safety for the first time…but two weeks after shipping out for another tour in Afghanistan, Blaze comes home early.
When Layna sees the jagged wounds covering his body, every truth she thought she knew is destroyed. Blaze is distant and angry and though her heart is shattered, Layna desperately tries to keep their relationship together in the face of another tragedy. When the tenuous bonds holding them together are ripped apart by a revenge-hungry maniac, Layna must trust her survival instinct and bury her past for good.
But the enemy is two steps ahead, and before she can take action, Layna’s hand is forced by his deadly demands—save herself or save the man who risked his life for her freedom. Blaze saved her once. This time it’s her turn to protect him.
91,000 words
Trembling,
I found a dress towards the back of the closet and yanked it out. Long, white,
slinky, it had spaghetti straps and a large red flower silk screened on the
bottom right. I couldn’t even remember what I’d bought it for. Didn’t matter. I
slipped it over my head and ignored the way it hung too loosely around my hips.
I stepped into high heeled sandals and searched through my mother’s jewelry for
a pair of pearl and diamond earrings. I pinned my hair up in a loose twist and
looked in the mirror.
A
panicked young woman I didn’t recognize stared back. Eyes too big for her face,
honeyed skin too pale, her mouth wouldn’t smile. An ugly scar marred her thin
left upper arm and the bones below her neck showed just enough to not be sexy.
Make-up.
I needed make-up. Scrambling for what little supplies I had, I lined my eyes in
black, swiped on mascara and dusted color over my cheeks. Some nude lip gloss
and it was as good as it was going to get. I’d never accumulated the amount of
make-up my mother had. She never left the house without being a hundred percent
flawless, her hair, her make-up, her clothes. A pang of grief gripped my chest
and I fought back tears.
I
would not cry. My mother rarely taught me things, she lived by example, but one
of the things she did teach me was to keep putting one foot in front of the
other. Keep moving, keep smiling. It was her arsenal. Never let them see you
sweat, she used to say.
I
went back to closet, found a small purse to match my shoes and when I took my
wallet from my other bag, it slipped from my hand and landed face open.
I
reached down and fate mocked me.
Layna
Blair smiled at me from the clear plastic slot where you kept a driver’s
license but Jennifer Dellis had slipped out from her hiding place behind it.
Hands
shaking, I pulled out the two driver’s licenses. Layna Blair. Jennifer Dellis.
“You
look stunning.”
I
jumped and Blaze kissed my neck. “You ready?” His strong arms wrapped around me
from behind.
I
bit down on my trebling lip and looked over my shoulder at the man who’d saved
Layna Blair.
He
went perfectly still.
“I
don’t know who I am.” I whispered.
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AUTHOR BIO:
Sybil Bartel grew up in Northern California with her head in a book and her feet in the sand. She dreamt of becoming a painter but the heady scent of libraries with their shelves full of books drew her into the world of storytelling. She loves the New Adult genre, but any story about a love so desperately wrong and impossibly beautiful makes her swoon.
Sybil now resides in Southern Florida and while she doesn’t get to read as much as she likes, she still buries her toes in the sand. If she isn’t writing or fighting to contain the banana plantation in her backyard, you can find her spending time with her handsomely tattooed husband, her brilliantly practical son and a mischievous miniature boxer…
But Seriously?
Here are ten things you probably really want to know about Sybil.
She grew up a faculty brat. She can swear like a sailor. She loves men in uniform. She hates being told what to do. She can do your taxes (but don’t ask). The Bird Market in Hong Kong freaks her out. Her favorite word is desperate…or dirty, or both—she can’t decide. She has a thing for muscle cars. But never reply on her for driving directions, ever. And she has a new book boyfriend every week—don’t tell her husband.
To find out more about Sybil Bartel, be sure to follow her on Twitter (she loves to hear about your favorite book boyfriend!), visit her website, like her on Facebook or join her Facebook group Book Boyfriend Heroes for exclusive excerpts and giveaways.
Sybil now resides in Southern Florida and while she doesn’t get to read as much as she likes, she still buries her toes in the sand. If she isn’t writing or fighting to contain the banana plantation in her backyard, you can find her spending time with her handsomely tattooed husband, her brilliantly practical son and a mischievous miniature boxer…
But Seriously?
Here are ten things you probably really want to know about Sybil.
She grew up a faculty brat. She can swear like a sailor. She loves men in uniform. She hates being told what to do. She can do your taxes (but don’t ask). The Bird Market in Hong Kong freaks her out. Her favorite word is desperate…or dirty, or both—she can’t decide. She has a thing for muscle cars. But never reply on her for driving directions, ever. And she has a new book boyfriend every week—don’t tell her husband.
To find out more about Sybil Bartel, be sure to follow her on Twitter (she loves to hear about your favorite book boyfriend!), visit her website, like her on Facebook or join her Facebook group Book Boyfriend Heroes for exclusive excerpts and giveaways.
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1 comment:
Thanks for hosting today, Janna! :)
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