Love's True Destiny - From Out of the Darkness Series - By P. L. Byers...

Looking out to the stream, Ethan took a deep breath and inhaled the fresh air. He smiled as the cool October wind blew his hair around. He loved the fall with the colors of the changing leaves, the briskness of the air; he especially loved watching the pumpkins grow in the small garden in his back yard.
Deciding it was time to head home, Ethan stood up to grab his bag. Tossing the strap over his shoulder, he glanced to the stream one more time, but just as he made a turn to leave, he noticed what looked like a foot sticking out of some leaves.
Shaking his head, Ethan looked loser, arguing with himself that it couldn't be what he thought it was. Knowing he wouldn't be able to sleep if he didn't make certain that it was nothing, he put his bag back on the picnic table and walked toward the water. Stepping down the small embankment, he looked for the best way to get across the stream. Noticing a few rocks sticking out a few feet away, he went in that direction and gingerly stepped from rock to rock until he came to the other side. He made his way back to the pile of leaves where he had seen what he thought looked like a foot. When he knelt down, he realized that a bare foot was exactly whathe was looking at.
Ethan quickly brushed the leaves away, revealing a woman lying beneath the debris. Shocked at what he was seeing, he reached in his back pocket for his phone to call the police. Too late, he remembered that he'd left it in his bag across the stream. Looking around the park for someone to help, he quickly realized that he was alone except for a few kids farther away on the playground. Certainly not close enough to hear his cry for help.
Reaching out to touch her, Ethan doubted she would be alive. Her skin was so cold to the touch, he knew with certainty that she was dead. After serving in the military, seeing dead bodies wasn't new to Ethan, but somehow finding a woman in this beautiful park made it seem so much worse.
He felt for a pulse in her neck to confirm what he already thought to be true, and was shocked when there was movement. Thank God!
Pushing the rest of the leaves aside, he uncovered her face, only to see long blond hair blocking his view. He gently lifted the hair and was astouded when he got a good look at the stranger's face. She been badly beaten and left for dead. Who would do this to another human being? It was hard enough to see something like this in war, but something entirely different in a small rural town such as Palmer.
Ethan was town between not wanting to leave the woman alone in case whever had done this to her was still around, and wanting to get to his phone. He knew he couldn't move her because he had no idea what her injuries were.
He had no choice. Ripping off his jacket, he covered the woman as much as he could He needed to leave her here and get help. His phone wasn't that far away and she would never be out of his line of sight should her attacker return. He would be close enough to be able to get back to help her.
Ethan stood to get his phone but glanced down before he walked away. Right into the most extraordinary gold-green eye he'd ever seen...

~~~

Love's True Destiny:

Out of the Darkness Series

By P. L. Byers

Isabella Walsh doesn't have a chance, at least that is her thoughts after being on the run for a year... She's also been on her own since her parents were killed in an accident. So she's become self-reliant, gutsy and working to control her own destiny...

Only her destiny changed when, after the last savage beating from one of those following her, she had successfully gotten the better of him, maybe even killed him, but ran on to hide since she knew she couldn't go any further...

Her destiny was changed by Ethan Shay, a former member of the army's elite Special Forces Unit... When he found her, lying in the forest, where there was just a hint of one of her feet showing, there was only a desire to save her, but she proved difficult when she demanded he not call the police and would not go to a hospital. Nevertheless, There was no mistaking the bruises on her body or the fear in her eyes. This woman needed a champion and he was determined to be that for her...

While Isabella, Bella, had only one drive--to keep moving to prevent her capture and death, Ethan had been home living a routine life with two part-time jobs, with still enough time for him to begin to see that his life was empty. He had built his beautiful home--now it needed somebody to live in with him, hopefully someone who fulfilled his dreams for the future...

He soon began to think Bella just might be his answer...

But danger came with this beautiful woman...

She had been a witness to a murder and running ever since with men chasing her and finding her anywhere she went. She'd only been able to stay in one place for a few months before they'd find her again...

Just like they'd found her here in Palmer... But this time, somebody was there--somebody she soon realized she could trust--who wanted--no, demanded to help her. And when she ran away at first, he had followed her and explained he would continue to follow her to keep his promise to himself as well as to her, to keep her safe...

It was his brother Ben who finally came to Ethan's house to find out why he wasn't coming to work. Finally, both Ethan and Bella realized that they had to share what was happening... Once Ben heard the story, they began to plan and soon Ethan brought in a group of his friends from Special Forces. First she didn't want help, then she accepted it, then she began to care for all of them so much she feared for their safety...

But there was no choice--what she had seen herself--a murder--was just the tip of the iceberg that was spiking all the way to the top of the government! And what they found was that, in addition to Bella being a witness, it was also Bella herself who was who they wanted!

This is my first read for Author P. L. Byers and if I understand it correctly this is her debut of a romantic thriller series. Got to say she's started off with a bang and I'm already seeing the next two central characters in an upcoming book... The characters are wonderfully drawn, with only one small annoyance for me with my professional background...All the men call Bella Honey, Sweetie and all those names that, in my opinion, can diminish the role of a woman. After I got used to all of them, I let it go, kinda...LOL...but that's just a personal irritation from being in my job, and has nothing to do really with the book--unless you have that same urge to want to slap a guy that immediately speaks with a title he has no right to say to a woman he just met...

Oh well, I digress, because these were all good guys and all came together as family when the time came...but then Ethan was shot when they were supposedly in a safe house, and Bella went to pieces due to her loss...

While the novel has a steady pace and the story moves forward easily covering all that needed to be done, there are indeed high points of excitement when the unexpected occurred--just how were these guys finding Bella?! Because they were now there is Palmer!

Heavy on romance, that doesn't detract from the thriller actions and planning as the fight to free Bella from danger takes priority over all other considerations... This one will catch you from the first page and keep you moving, wondering how it will end. I enjoyed it immensely and recommend it to anyone...

GABixlerReviews

P.L. Byers has loved romance novels since she was a young girl.  After reading her first romance novel, The Flame and the Flower by Kathleen E. Woodiwiss, a romance novel was never far from her grasp.  This passion inspired a dream that someday, she too could be a romance novelist.  Her first manuscript was written several years ago but after commitments in raising her family took over, there never seemed to be enough time to pursue her dream.  Now, having raised her family and having time to revive her pursuit of being a published author, P.L. Byers is proud to have completed her fifth book published through Dellarte Press.

Her love for creating the characters and the stories behind them has been a consuming ambition.  With her wonderful husband standing behind her and supporting her dream of becoming a writer, she is now working on her sixth book and hopes to have it published by the end of Spring 2015.  “If any of my readers could get a tenth of the enjoyment in reading my books as I do in writing them, then all the time and effort put in to this dream would make it all worthwhile.”

P.L. Byers lives in Franklin, Massachusetts.