Zulu, page 40
Now I worked for Alpha Elite Security. If you called me Specialist, I’d eliminate you before you took your next breath. If you recognized me, it was already too late. I lived by my instincts and used the resources around me. No target was out of my scope…until my boss unknowingly handed me the only assignment that was.
The one woman I couldn’t kill.
Code name: Whiskey.
Mission: Eliminate.
DELTA
Dominant.
Mercenary.
Navy SEAL.
I had one job on the Teams. Predict the unpredictable. See what no one else saw. Analyze, assess, anticipate. Then execute with deadly force.
Calculating the enemy’s moves, including the ones they hadn’t thought of yet, was my specialty. I did it for the Navy and now I was private sector, utilizing my skills at Alpha Elite Security. I had a hundred percent mission success rate…until her.
Make no mistake, I saw blonde coming. I predicted her every move. But this time, I wasn’t going to stop it. I was going to do something much worse.
Code name: Delta.
Mission: Dominate.
DELTA is a standalone book in the exciting Alpha Elite Series by USA Today Bestselling author, Sybil Bartel. Come meet Delta and the dominant, alpha heroes who work for AES!
As I write the last line of ZULU, a story that took on a life of its own and grew with every chapter written, a story that pushed me past the limits of what I thought I was capable of, I can only think of my son, Oliver.
I never imagined, not even in my worst nightmares, that I would lose my only child, my son, Oliver Shane. Twenty-one months ago, to the day as I write this, my Sweet Boy passed away tragically and unexpectedly in his sleep from an undiagnosed birth defect in his heart that is so rare, less than 1% of the population has it.
I cannot help but think about the correlation between that rarity and my beloved son.
Oliver was a rare and extraordinarily intelligent, compassionate, and gentle soul. Born with an autoimmune disease, he not only overcame the obstacles life threw at him, he thrived. Oliver was a straight-A student with a 4.45 GPA. He was an incredibly talented cello and piano player, a black belt in Karate and Jiu Jitsu, and a compassionate friend to everyone he met. Oliver had so much perseverance and determination that I was, and still am, in awe of him.
There are no adequate words for the grief of this ruthless separation. I am, however, consoled by two humbling and incredible events that have taken place.
By the hand of God, and facilitated by Oliver’s orchestra director, along with the generous donations given in his name, the music Oliver was writing before he passed was turned into a full orchestral piece called Oliverian Fantasy, by the amazing composer, Brian Balmages. I hope everyone hears Oliver’s melody, and I hope orchestras and symphonies around the world play this incredible, haunting, and absolutely beautiful piece.
You can listen to Oliverian Fantasy here.
Another outcome from Oliver’s passing is that there is now the Oliver S. Bartel Memorial Scholarship Trust. Each year, this trust will award a Vero Beach High School Orchestra graduating senior a scholarship to help continue their musical pursuit in college. This is the only scholarship of its kind for orchestra students at Vero Beach High School. You can read about the scholarship here.
Lastly, as I write these final thoughts, while I cannot begin to describe the level of grief or put into words the all-encompassing pain of this kind of loss, I want to say this: I love you, Oliver Shane Bartel. There is not a waking moment that I do not miss everything about you. Thank you for being the greatest gift of my life. I am beyond proud of you. I will endeavor to live my moments here on earth with the same compassion, love, fortitude and perseverance you so humbly possessed. I hope this book does your memory justice.
I love you, my Sweet Boy, here, now, always, forever. I love you more than anything.
XOXO
Mom
Sybil Bartel is a USA Today Bestselling author of unapologetic alpha heroes. Whether you’re reading her deliciously dominant Alpha Elite mercenaries or her protector hero Alpha Bodyguards, her page-turning romantic suspense, and heart-stopping military romance all have sexy-as-sin alpha heroes.
Sybil resides in South Florida, and she is forever Oliver’s mom.
To find out more about Sybil Bartel or her books, please visit her at:
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The Oliver Bartel Memorial Scholarship Trust
Sybil Bartel, Zulu
