Callous (The Alpha Bodyguard Series, #6)

I love a hero that has autistic, OCD tendencies. One that struggles with their emotions, or lack thereof. Add in the lack of being able to communicate their thoughts and I’m completely hooked. Such was Preston. He was so intense in everything he did. His thing was numbers and advantages. He took stock of everything around him, every breath, every second that ticked, every heartbeat. And all of it revolved around Mercy and his plan to have her.

’Counting time, measuring distance, forecasting variables – I could detect patterns in anything from weather to animals to human behavior, and I catalogued all of it.’

Mercy was one tough cookie with a sailor’s mouth. She’d lost so much in life that she was afraid of wanting more because losing it would just be another wound to her heart. But Preston’s stoic determination eventually wore her down.

’I’d never felt like he was merely talking to me. When Preston spoke, he was offering up his own brand of a gift.’

I struggled with something that Mercy had done seven years ago but because Preston was so perfect, even in his own acceptance of her actions, I could do nothing less than forgive her as he did. Despite their past and the pain it had inflicted upon them both, this couple found a way to move forward.

Preston was definitely the star in this story for me, but Mercy’s ability to change helped me to fall a little bit in love with her as well. And then there was Nash, who I absolutely adored! Every scene with Preston and Nash together totally stole my heart.

This is romance in its truest form.

I couldn’t wait for the latest release by Sybil Bartel, and Callous sure didn’t disappoint. When Preston meets Ty’s sister all those years ago, it’s instant for him. She’s the one he wants, but circumstances make it impossible. He’s a Marine and due to the nature of his career, there’s no guarantee any of them will have a future. He can’t get involved with her, knowing that next time he’s deployed, he might never come back. He wants her to wait for him. In just 8 seconds, he knows.
When things heat up, he makes a decision that is like the butterfly effect. One decision by him, influences and changes their futures.
Jump forward 7 years and Mercy has a son from that night all those years ago. A son that Preston didn’t father. Despite the pain of her choices, he can’t forget her, and he is like her knight in shining armour, taking care of her without being in her life.
You know there is something about Preston. He’s secretive. His life is a series of numbers. Everything determined and decided by numbers. When something unexpected happens, Mercy is forced into Preston’s life. She discovers that there is so much more going on with him. He’s had a long term goal for her and her son, which starts to come out, the more I read. I loved this story. I loved the complexity of Preston. I knew his past was going to be heartbreaking, but I loved that he took such a massive risk in some ways with Mercy.
Thoroughly enjoyed this and stayed up until after 3am to finish it.

Preston and Mercy’s story was great! This was a wonderful addition to this series. I loved seeing Preston grow. I loved seeing the crew come together when Preston got them all involved in a bit of trouble.

Extraordinary. Dominant. Provocative. Preston Vos is all three and so much more! Preston and Mercy are sumptuous together! Callous is off the charts steamy, intense and riveting!! Five Sizzling Stars

Once again Ms. Bartel delivers a superior, intense emotionally gut wrenching romance for her readers.
Preston Vos (Hero), a Marine is huge, gorgeous, muscled & virtually silent. And when on rare occasion he does utter a word or two, his deep voice enthralls Mercy (heroine) & sets all her senses a-tingle.
But the 1st time Preston & Mercy meet, he is a Marine on short leave staying the weekend with his commanding officer Ty Asher (Hero in Fearless) & Ty’s sister Mercy. Ty warns Mercy away from Preston & threatens Preston with bodily harm if he attempts to approach Mercy. But Preston is laser focused on Mercy & Mercy is irresistibly & intensely drawn to Preston.
But Preston has severe & dark demons that plague him, demons that dictate how he rigidly regiments & locks steel control on his emotions & actions, on his words. And in order to maintain his this control he compartmentalizes his emotions & focuses his senses on EVERYTHING around him to a frightening degree: surroundings, people, passage of time, automatically counting everything & filing it away.
And Mercy doesn’t understand Preston, doesn’t understand his reticence, doesn’t have the maturity to see past his stoic front to sense the damaged man underneath. And thus, Mercy misunderstands Preston’s extremely subtle verbal & non-verbal cues during their night out together with Ty & a fellow Marine, Sam.
And this misunderstanding & the ripple effects affect Preston & Mercy for the next 7 years.
Seven years later, Preston is out of the Marines & works at Luna & Associates Security along with Ty Asher.
And outside events swirl around Preston & Mercy, forcing them together in order to protect Mercy & causes them to reassess the past & their potential for forgiveness, understanding & a relationship . . . .
The plot includes heartbreak, loss, anger, danger, intrigue, action, steam, romance, love & the potential for forgiveness & new understandings. The author smoothly transitions from Preston’s to Mercy’s POV’s, from action & danger to contemplative discussions to steamy interactions. And all along the way pulls the reader deeper & deeper into the lives of her characters, intriguing them with each snippet into Preston & Mercy’s past & therefore their present. The reader cares about the characters, is invested in them, hopes for them to find a HEA together.
This book sucked me in, I needed to know what would happen next, what would happen with Preston & Mercy, bounced my emotions from angry, to sad, to worried & concerned, to hopeful & happy, on tenterhooks until the end.
A wonderful, exciting, steamy second chance romance I greatly enjoyed.
And an absolutely thrilling sexy Alpha Hero I loved.

I love this series and this book was a great addition. I thought these characters were made for eachother. The writing was so good I felt like I was there. Good chemistry.

Preston broke my heart, stole my heart and warmed it too. He was such a intense, damaged sole and also extremely smart. His complex personality brought so much to this story and his past got me deep in the gut. His love for Mercy was beautiful and very Alpha. She and Preston may be put through a lot to get to where they can be as one, but it’s such a incredible journey to go through as the story unfolds. This book was fabulous.

Sybil’s books are always off the chart amazing and deserve more than five stars. Love the characters, the chemistry, the action and all the dynamics. I want more each and every time! This book, all her books and this author hold a special place on my bookshelf and in my heart!

Yes, yes, yes! Callous is absolute perfection.

One mistake. Seventeen minutes.

Holy angst, this book had me from the first line.

Mercy is Ty’s sister. A sassy heroine with a feisty mouth. A mother. Her heart is big and broken.

Preston is the damaged hero. Tragic background. Rough exterior. A man of few words. Every word he breathes hold such deep meaning and is spoken with purpose.

He protects from the shadows. But what happens when seventeen minutes changes everything? One mistake. Years of regret. Years of hurt.

This story absolutely crushes you in the prologue and slowly puts you back together chapter by chapter.

I absolutely loved Mercy and Preston’s storyline. There is so much to unpack here without spoilers. I lived for the interaction’s with Mercy’s son. I will always swoon for an alpha hero who exhibits teddy bear tendencies with children. Especially when using ASL.

This book lacks some of the intense action seen in the previous books from the Alpha Bodyguard series, but it is not lacking a single thing.

Sybil Bartel continuously surprises you with the characters in this world. I cannot get enough of them.

And as always from my reviews, my top quotes of the book:

“Eight seconds and she stole my heart.”

“I don’t do this often.” “Do what?” “Allow people to see me.”

“Every single time, he’d looked at me like he was looking at me right now. Possessively. Dominantly. Completely.”

“Do you know my favorite number? ………….Twelve.”

This book is amazing! Move over Neil, I think Preston is my new favorite Sybil Bartel Alpha-Hero. I love the strength, loyalty, love, depth, and sass that the characters in this book exude. And I think this story has made the Single Parent Trope my new favorite. If you want to read a fantastic book with all the feels and the Alpha male angst you can handle, look no further than Callous. All the Stars!!

Intense. Broody. Possessive. Protective. Cold. Calculated. Broken. Emotional. So many feels and they all came from Preston Vos. This author SLAYED me with Preston Vos.

I’m honestly in a bit of shock right now. My favorite has always been the Viking and Preston just knocked him down to number 2. I can’t believe I just said that. Is it possible to have two equally favorites? I can’t let go of the Viking but all I can think about is Preston after what I just read.

I haven’t read all of Sybil Bartel’s books yet, but I’m very close and this is her best book yet! This book took me through so many stages of emotions. It was thrilling and exciting, sad and depressing, emotionally gut wrenching and then just overwhelming love. I honestly didn’t want the book to end.

Mercy was a great heroine but I’m gonna admit, it’s always about the hero for me. She’s great, that’s all you need to know. No seriously, I did like her as well. I was sad and disappointed in her in the beginning but I actually don’t blame her for what happened. And honestly, you learn so much about what these two where thinking later in the book that you really can’t be mad at either of them for their start.

Another piece to my Preston loving puzzle was seeing him interact with Mercy’s son who is deaf. The coldest heart will melt at those two. After everything you learn about Preston’s past, it just blows me away how he was with both Mercy and Nash. I loved it.