Guest Blog: Marliss Melton: Wise Crack Hero adds Comic Relief to Tense Romantic Suspense

Below is the inspiration for Tobias Burke, my hero in The Enforcer (Book 3 Taskforce Series), coming July 31, 2013. You see, Tobias is famous for wearing T-shirts with snarky, smart-aleck comments on them like LET ME DROP EVERYTHING AND WORK ON YOUR PROBLEM.

If you read The Guardian, you remember Tobias as the secondary character who, at the climax of The Guardian, stood next to the attorney general of the U.S. Justice Department during a televised news report wearing a T-shirt that read, I’M WITH STUPID, and an arrow that pointed straight at the AG! Toby’s got guts.

So by now you know that he’s a bit of a prankster. But did you know that he can play the guitar and sing, too? It’s not easy to pull off a singing hero. Toby used to be an U.S. Army Ranger, and now he’s a bad-ass ATF special agent, assigned to infiltrate a militia and inform against its supposedly murderous, unstable leader. When that leader proves to be a beautiful redhead struggling with PTSD, Toby’s conscience rears an unexpected head. Since when did he feel guilty about using his charms to elicit information? But Dylan strikes him as especially vulnerable, so instead of informing on her, he finds himself wanting to protect her. Here’s a snippet from the book that captures his internal struggle: 

The memory of her curves sliding down the front of his body kept him warm despite the chill. Under her frumpy sweat suit, Dylan Connelly was all sleek, toned muscle and soft curves. Her breasts without the benefit of a bra were fuller than they’d looked—he’d received that pleasant surprise when she’d cuddled against him. 

And then there was the way she’d looked at him. He’d seen that look of awareness in many a woman’s eye. There was no mistaking he could rock her world and vice versa if it ever came to that. Hell, if Ashby hadn’t crossed their path, he’d have stolen a kiss to warm her from the inside out and left her with something to really think about.

The thought flooded him with mixed feelings. As enticing as kissing Dylan might be, was it fair to seduce a woman as mentally and emotionally vulnerable as she was? It just didn’t seem . . . ethical.  

The phone in his hand emitted an electric shock, in lieu of a buzz. That was how it got his attention when it was buried in his jacket. Toby glanced down at Ike’s reply message, and his heart sank.

We need details, the team lead had texted. Work your magic on the leader. 

In other words, keep up the sweet talk and the flirtations. All righty, then.

In spite of his misgivings, Toby tingled at the thought of pursing Dylan in that way. He didn’t doubt could eventually worm his way into her bed. Getting her to confide in him would be easy after that. 

The only thing that bothered him was the need for deception.

Still, duty was duty. If she could terrorize civilians who failed to meet her code of expectations, who was to say she couldn’t blow up a car with someone in it? A little probing might lead to uncovering some dark, ugly truth about her.

So be it. He couldn’t waste time debating the morality of his actions. After all, he was a servant of the people, sworn to defend them, even those whom Dylan disapproved of.

Deleting any record of his text, he rehid his phone inside of his jacket and stuffed it deep into his bag.

Look for The Enforcer coming to your favorite online retailer July 31, 2013. (The cover has yet to be revealed!) Visit www.marlissmelton.com for more information.