*~*Love Note: Blaze to Layna – The Unchecked Series by Sybil Bartel*~*

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.

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 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’d 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 stand alone. To get the full story, please read the first two books in the series, IMPOSSIBLE PROMISE and IMPOSSIBLE CHOICE.

My Layna, My Love,

That first night we spent together changed my life. Your hair spread across my chest, your soft breaths eased into sleep and I knew. You were my heart.

I spent years fighting a war half way around the world, watching my brothers lose their lives, never knowing when I’d take my last breath. I shut down. Survival dictated it. No emotions, just calculated, controlled, mission objective. I did what I’d been trained to do, I fought. I didn’t feel.

Until you.

When I walked into that church that night, I saw a beautiful woman. But when you looked up and your eyes met mine, I saw a future.

I could give you three words. I could tell you your voice soothes my soul. I could say sinking inside you makes the world disappear. But it would mean nothing compared to the truth—I would give my life for you.

That is my truth. That is how this war hardened Marine loves you.

My Layna. My Love. My feelings.

You are my everything.

Happy Valentine’s Day, Baby.

Blaze