Impossible End (Unchecked Book 3) Read online

  Copyright © 2015 by Sybil Bartel

  Cover art by: CT Cover Creations

  Edited by: Hot Tree Editing

  Formatting by: Champagne Formats

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

  All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all incidents are pure invention.

  Warning: This book contains offensive language, violence and sexual situations. Mature audiences only. 18+

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Books by Sybil Bartel

  IMPOSSIBLE END

  Dedication

  Acknowledgments

  Quote

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Epilogue

  TALON

  IMPOSSIBLE PROMISE

  IMPOSSIBLE CHOICE

  NO APOLOGIES

  About the Author

  Books by Sybil Bartel

  NO APOLOGIES

  Unchecked Series

  IMPOSSIBLE PROMISE (Book One)

  IMPOSSIBLE CHOICE (Book Two)

  IMPOSSIBLE END (Book Three)

  Coming Soon!

  Uncomprimising Series

  TALON (Book One)

  -March 2016

  NEIL (Book Two)

  -September 2016

  ANDRÉ (Book Three)

  -March 2017

  ROARK (Book Four)

  -September 2017

  IMPOSSIBLE END

  by Sybil Bartel

  Book three of the Unchecked Series

  Blaze

  I stood by my brothers in the Marines and fought for my country. I gave my blood, sweat and flesh so that others could have a taste of freedom.

  But my wife wasn’t free.

  She’d been hunted, stalked, and forced by a murderer to keep a secret no one should have to live with. I’d made her a promise. Her freedom, my rules, no questions asked. I thought I’d kept my promise but I made a mistake—an inexcusable mistake.

  I was done playing games with the killer who murdered my wife’s parents and tracked her for sport. If he thought he was safe in a jail cell, he was wrong. No one puts out a hit on my wife and survives.

  This ends now. I will protect what’s mine…at whatever cost.

  *Impossible End is the conclusion to the Unchecked Series. This novella is from Blaze’s point of view and is not a standalone. To get Blaze and Layna’s full story, please read Impossible Promise and Impossible Choice.

  For Scott

  To the amazing ladies in my Facebook reader group, Book Boyfriend Heroes,

  I adore you all. Thank you for all of the laughter, love and support.

  You make this journey so much more fun!

  I WATCHED HER FALL ASLEEP. Her hair over my arm, the worry lines in her forehead gone, she settled into slow breaths and I closed my eyes, despite knowing what would happen.

  The memory of hot metal ripping through my body was so vivid that the smell of burning flesh filled my nostrils and I was thrown into a flashback.

  “Gunny!”

  For a split second, the roar of the explosion didn’t seem real. Then the blast wave tossed my body like a sandbag and knocked the wind out of me.

  Burning shrapnel rained down. “Goddamn motherfuckers!”

  Ears ringing, shit running down my face, the wind from bullets whizzing past, I grunted and sat up. Where the fuck was my rifle? Why the hell was the sand so goddamn sticky? And motherfucking shit, why the hell wasn’t my left side moving?

  I reached for my leg.

  “FUUUUUCK!”

  Layna was going to be pissed—leave me forever—pissed. Gutted flesh, blood everywhere, I reached for the tourniquet and the muscles in my left arm turned to fire. Sucking in a breath, my head swam and the ground tilted.

  Goddamn it, Marine, pull your shit together! Short breaths, shake it off. It’s only a fucking shrapnel wound.

  Blindly struggling, I put one end of the tourniquet in my mouth and tried to lift my leg. My eyes rolled back in my head and I hit the sand. The ringing in my ears went deadly quiet.

  Shit.

  Her face appeared and she smiled the smile she only gave to me. “Layna,” I whispered.

  Hands pushed at mine and the strap tightened on my thigh.

  Her image instantly disappeared and pain like I’d never experienced in my life exploded through my body like the fires of hell. I lurched into a sitting position and a thousand colors of rage blinded me. Reaching for my rifle again, ready to unload every fucking clip I had into the asshole’s chest who planted the motherfucking IED, I roared out and my fingers closed around the barrel. I yanked and the buttstock hit my thigh. Everything went black.

  Inhaling, I rubbed a hand over my face.

  Layna stirred. “You’re still awake.”

  “Go back to sleep, baby.” I ignored the tingling in my thigh.

  She stretched her perfect little body and rubbed up against my chest. “Baby?”

  I skimmed my fingers down her back. I wanted to smile but only a corner of my mouth tipped up. “Wife,” I corrected.

  She settled back in and her sleep-husky voice washed over me. “That’s better.” She kissed my shoulder then moved down and kissed my chest.

  I grabbed the back of her thigh and hitched her leg over mine as the memories started to recede. “Keep going.”

  She leaned up on her elbow and a smile I would kill for spread across her face. “Lower?” she flirted, teasing me.

  That was it—right there—that combination of sexy and sweet, innocent and vixen. She owned me the first time I laid eyes on her.

  I gripped a handful of her hair and waited for her eyes to focus on mine. “You want me to tell you how this is gonna go down?”

  Her tongue darted out to lick her lower lip. “Yes.”

  I wanted to sink inside her that second but I wasn’t an asshole. “How sore are you?” I’d fucked her for an hour before she fell asleep.

  She blinked and paused for half a second. It was her tell.

  “Not very,” she said softly.

  “You’re lying,” I accused.

  The look in her eyes turned innocent, and her voice dropped to pleading whisper. “But I want you.”

  She was so damn beautiful and pure that I didn’t deserve her, but I reached under her arms and dragged her up my body anyway. Hot silky flesh ran over my scars and she spread her legs wide. Her thighs hugged my hips and my dick pulsed painfully with need. I grabbed myself and rubbed against her clit but stopped short of pushing inside.

  “Please,” she moaned.

  I bit the edge of her ear. “That’s my second favorite sound in the world.”

  “Second?” she asked absently, trying to push down on me.

  I let go of my dick and held her by the waist, not letting her reach her target. “Yeah, second. Want to know my first?” I eased my grip just enough for her to brush against the head of my cock.

  Her eyes fluttered shut. “Mm hmm.”

  I put two fingers in my mouth, covered them with spit, then reached between her legs and drove de
ep.

  “Blaze,” she cried out, clenching around me.

  “That,” I said, twisting my fingers and curling just enough. “Is my favorite sound.” My thumb slowly circled her clit.

  Her back arched, her head fell to her shoulders, and she ground her hips on my hand. “Ohmigod.”

  She was always tight as hell but now she was swollen and tight and I wasn’t going to last five more seconds without taking her. “Feel me,” I coerced, stroking her.

  “Blaze,” she begged. “Don’t stop.”

  My name on her lips, my ring on her finger, I flipped my wife to her back and pushed her thighs wide. “I need to be inside you.”

  Holding myself, I stroked through her wetness and fought back slamming into her. Inch by tortuous inch, I eased in all the way to the hilt and groaned. Nothing drove away the bullshit like sinking inside her.

  Brown eyes that stripped away my walls and left me raw looked up at me. “My love, my feelings,” she breathed, cupping my face.

  I pulled out and slammed back into her. “Mine,” I growled.

  “Again,” she panted.

  My mouth crashed over hers and I couldn’t hold back. Plunging my tongue deep, my hips followed suit and I rode her hard. Blood rushing out of my head, my balls going tight, I fought for control. If I was going over this quick, so was she. Showing no mercy, I pressed my thumb on her clit and rubbed hard.

  “Come,” I demanded.

  It started on my dick. Muscles clenching then fluttering, her tight little body started to shake from the inside out and I knew I was a goner. I pounded into her three more times and exploded.

  Goddamn.

  My chest released its tight grip of memories and my muscles went AWOL. Breathing hard, sweating, spent, everything went right in the world. I waited for her shaking to stop and my lungs to catch up then I kissed her like I should’ve in the beginning.

  Slow and sweet, I dragged my tongue through her mouth and wondered if I’d ever get enough of her. The hot slickness around my dick—hers, mine—I was ready to go again. I gently rocked into her heat, never wanting to pull out.

  Her pussy twitched and she moaned into my mouth.

  Smiling, I dragged my lips to her ear. “You like that, baby?” I ran my nose across the heat of her throat and ground my hips into hers. “I can do this all night.”

  She tightened her arms around my neck. “I want to fall asleep with you inside me.”

  I pulled halfway out and plunged back in. “You think I’d let you sleep while I’m buried deep inside you?” No fucking chance. “Not happening.” I’d fuck her for hours.

  “You wouldn’t have a choice,” her sultry voice challenged.

  I cupped her ass and held tight as I rolled to my back. Thrusting once, I reminded her who was in control. “Watch it.”

  She grinned. “Or what?”

  “You’ll spend the rest of your honeymoon inside these four walls.”

  She looked around the overpriced master suite. “Nice place. Must’ve cost a small fortune.” She grinned like she didn’t have a care in the world. “I guess we can afford it.”

  The second she mentioned money, my gut constricted, my mood tanked, and reality came crashing back.

  Oblivious, she trailed a finger down my chest. “But if we stay inside all week, you won’t see my new bikini.”

  I pulled out then lifted her off me. “Stay.” Fuck. “I’ll grab a washcloth.”

  I left the light off in the bathroom because I already knew the layout. I’d done my recon before I dared to bring her here. I hoped to God that with the isolated location and added security of two guys from my friend André’s personal security agency on the perimeter, this wasn’t going to be a risk I’d regret. I grabbed a washcloth, held it under the water and the bathroom exploded into brightness.

  My heart slammed against my ribs and I spun. “Turn the light off!”

  Strolling into the bathroom naked, her hand covering her eyes, Layna ignored me. “Wow, it’s like Shea Stadium in here.”

  I nervously glanced at the large window facing the ocean. “Go back to bed.”

  Her hand went to her hip just over her scar then she stilled. “Is now a good time?”

  “For what?” I moved my body between hers and the window. “Back to the bedroom, now.”

  “I don’t think so,” she said sweetly. Too sweetly.

  Fuck. “Can we argue in the bedroom? Or the living room?” Anywhere away from a window within a sniper rifle’s range.

  Her head tilted like it always did when I surprised her. “Who said anything about arguing?”

  I wiped between her legs then threw the washcloth on the floor. “You weren’t about to lay into me for barking orders at you?” It took everything I had not to push her to the floor and hit the light but I didn’t want to scare the fuck out of her.

  She looked up at me with trust I didn’t deserve. “How do you do that?” Her expression would’ve been a turn on if my instinct wasn’t screaming at me to get her the hell out of here before a bullet caught her between the eyes.

  I forced a smile and wrapped my hand around her nape. Ushering her out of the bathroom, I turned off the light and my heart rate dropped by a thousand. “I know you.”

  She leaned into my touch and her voice softened. “You almost-kinda-maybe make me feel bad when you do that.”

  I didn’t have it in me to tease her right now. “It wasn’t intentional.”

  She sighed. “I know, and that’s what makes it worse.”

  “Would you rather I didn’t pay attention?” This wasn’t the first time we’d had this conversation.

  “No, I just…” She inhaled and looked up at me.

  I waited, knowing what was coming.

  “You’re so guarded. Sometimes I feel like I’ll never know everything about you.”

  “You won’t.” I’d never let her.

  I saw the shock in her expression for a split second before she turned her back to me and crawled up the bed.

  I refrained from slapping her bare ass and grabbing her ankles…only just. “You want me to lie to you?”

  She pulled the covers around herself and tucked them under her legs. “Nope.”

  “Good.” I ripped the covers back and climbed in next to her. Pulling her to me, I settled her back to my front and snaked an arm under her head. “Go to sleep.” I kissed her temple.

  “I wanted the covers,” she pouted.

  Under normal circumstances, I probably would’ve smiled. “But not me?”

  “I didn’t say that.” She sat up, yanked the covers back up, and moved a few inches away from me.

  I’d let her have the distance, but only physically. “Spill,” I ordered.

  “Fine.” She turned to me in a huff. “Why won’t I know everything about you? You know everything about me.”

  She was right. I’d even found the fucker she called Sean the jerk who took her virginity. He was alive but he was a fucking tool. He was lucky the killer who’d murdered her parents and stalked her for three years had only roughed him up the night he went after Layna for seconds. The fucking pussy wasn’t even man enough to report the incident to the cops. I wanted to kill him on principle alone, never mind the fact he’d stuck his dick in my wife.

  “First off, I don’t kiss and tell.” She’d never hear about the details of my past. “Second, my time in the Marines isn’t something I talk about.” Especially with her.

  “Okay.” She drew the word out sarcastically. “No women, no career, you’re touchy on the subject of your father and tight-lipped about your mother. Sooo—that leaves what? Team sports between the age of seven and fifteen?”

  “Fifteen?” I asked only to rile her because I knew where she was going with this.

  Her hand waved through the air. She couldn’t talk without something moving. It was cute as hell. “Sixteen, seventeen? I dunno—we can’t talk about when you started dating, so I’m doing my best here.”

  The side of my m
outh tipped up. “Fourteen. And I didn’t date.” I was poor as shit. Dating cost money. Taking girls behind the school was free.

  “Fourteen?” she shrieked.

  I smiled at her jealousy.

  “You had sex at fourteen?”

  Trying not to laugh, I put on my game face.

  “Oh, my God!” Her hand fluttered in front of her face. “I just…I can’t even…”

  I opened my mouth to tell her I was only giving her shit, when my phone pinged with a text alert.

  Her body went still with surprise. “Your phone is on?”

  I grabbed the cell off the nightstand and had just enough time to see the single word text before it started ringing.

  Trouble

  Adrenaline shot through my veins as I swiped across the screen and answered. “How close?”

  “TOO CLOSE. NO SERIAL NUMBERS, no name, we’ve got a boat that’s circled the island twice. Could be a drug runner but with the list of guests, it doesn’t make sense.”

  I got out of bed. “Where is it now?” Without moving the blinds, I scanned the ocean, but I didn’t see the boat. “They have any lights on?”

  “No. One klick out, south-southwest. They swept in close to shore after the bathroom light went on.”

  Shooting distance. Goddamn it. “How many on board?” I stepped back from the window.

  “Two that I can see.”

  “Have you been spotted?”

  “No.”

  Layna reached for my arm but I shrugged her off and threw clothes on. “One of you do a patrol. Make yourself visible then stand guard two doors down.” I laced up my boots.

  “That’ll leave the front of the suite uncovered,” he warned.

  “I’ll handle it.” I was already reaching for my 9mm, which wouldn’t do shit for long range.

  “Copy. Starting the sweep now. Report in three minutes thirty.” Tyler, one of the two security details, hung up.

  Panic in her voice, hands twisting in her lap, Layna sat on the edge of the bed. “What’s going on?”

  “Get dressed, pants, sneakers, grab your passport.” I looked out the window again and started counting down in my head. Three minutes.