Talon
(Uncompromising, #1)
By: Sybil Bartel
Publisher: Self-Published
Release Date: March 1, 2016
Genre: Romance
I surf.
I fuck.
I pretend to smile.Two years ago my life was perfect, until it wasn’t. I scattered my wife’s ashes then walked away from the Marines. I didn’t think I had anything left to lose.
I was wrong.
The blond showed up at my surf shop, beaten and stabbed. I did what I was trained to do—I stitched her up. I didn’t have a clue who she was and I told myself I didn’t care. Until they came looking for her.
I swore I’d take my last breath before I let anyone else hurt her except I didn’t know she was keeping a deadly secret. Now I had two choices, her life or mine.
Marriage and combat taught me the same thing—I was no one’s hero. And I was about to prove it.
Trying to control my anger, I pounded on the door. Twenty seconds, thirty… “Siren, open up.”
Nothing.
Goddamn it. I knew she was in there. I knocked again, softer this time. “C’mon, darlin’. I wanna know you’re okay.”
Silence, then, “Go away, Talon.”
I leaned my forehead against the door and relief washed through me at the sound of her voice.
“I’m not leavin’ till I see you.”
No response.
“You know I’m not playin’. Two ways this can go down. You can open the door or I’ll do it myself. Either way, I’m gonna see you. What’ll it be?”
The lock clicked and she opened the door three inches. Ocean-blue eyes that used to look cautious looked dead—frighteningly dead. Anger and adrenaline surged and my fists clenched. I was going to fucking kill Randy.
“Take the chain off,” I slowly enunciated.
“Where’s your accent?” Her usual soft voice gone, she asked the question without an ounce of emotion.
I stepped back two feet. “Move.” Her face disappeared and I slammed my boot into the door. The chain popped, the piece of shit door swung open and she was in my arms.
I took my first full breath in three hours.
My hands in her hair, I pulled back to look her over. “You okay?”
“Yes.”
My heart rate slowed marginally when I didn’t see any evidence of new bruises but I couldn’t swallow past the tightness in my throat until I knew. “He touch you?”
She shook her head but she wouldn’t make eye contact.
“Look at me, damn it.”
When she lifted her face, she looked so damn checked out, I almost didn’t recognize her. “You have to leave.”
Rage boiled to new depths. “What did he do to you?”
“Nothing. It’s what he’s going to do to you when he finds out you came here.”
“I don’t give a shit about him. Pack your bag and grab what you wanna keep, ’cause you’re not comin’ back this time.”
She didn’t move. “You need to go.”
“Siren,” I warned. “I’m not leavin’ without you.”
She stared at me like she didn’t even see me. “I don’t want to go with you.”
Even though I knew she was lying, its impact was staggering. “You already made this decision. You left him,” I reminded her.
“Leave.”
Any other woman, I would’ve thrown her over my shoulder and walked the fuck out. But this was Siren and she wasn’t like any woman I’d ever met. I didn’t want to force her to leave with me. I wanted her to want to leave with me. “I know you don’t want this.”
She turned her head and focused on the carpet. “Someone will tell him you’re here. He’ll come back. You have to go.”
I lost it. “I don’t give a shit! You think he has a fucking chance of getting close to me?” I yelled.
She picked her head up and her gaze strayed over my shoulder.
“A big fucking chance,” Randy snarled.
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.Website | Twitter | Facebook
There are two amazing giveaways happening right now. You have a chance to win an ecopy of all three books in Sybil’s Unchecked Series as well as a $50 Amazon gift card.
Both are opened to international readers. 😉
Those star tattoos. They’re just so dang lickable to me. lol
Love this cover!
Definitely added to the top of my tbr, loved the excerpt. Can’t get enough of the bad boys.
looks and sounds awesome!! Thanks for sharin 🙂
This one sounds good!! I added it to my TBR 😀
Love the excerpt!!! The cover is smokin’!!
The synopsis is interesting. The excerpt piqued my curiosity. I think I might like this one. 😉 Have you read SBartel, Kristin?
Sounds like a great read, thank you for sharing!