Need a Hero?
Look no further! Welcome to the blog where selfless authors will be brightening your Tuesdays by sharing their male protagonists, along with the heroic qualities for you to ogle … erm, admire!
First of all, we’re listing five facts so you can get a feel for him (I did say for him). Next is a brief excerpt showing our hero in action. Lastly, the pics! Do you have a hero who’d like to put himself about?
Today I thought I’d give you a flash of PC Paul Davis from Warrant for Love. Now, Paul is a little bit clumsy and he’s also a teeny bit shy, so whatever you do HANDLE WITH CARE.
FACTS:
He’s clumsy. Yes, I know I mentioned that but we’re talking seriously clumsy, as evidenced by his wrongly arresting our heroine for soliciting. Not a good start to the relationship.
He’s hunky, dark, and comes nicely packaged in blue.
He’s not very good at communicating, having been brought up in care, where keeping quiet earned him safe passage.
He’s fighting for custody of his son.
He cheated on his wife, who is now having an affair with his sergeant. Ooops!
EXCERPT:
‘For your information, I’m quite happy with my kipper for company, thank you.’
‘Haddock,’ Paul corrected her. ‘Look, it’s only a suggestion, but if you’re at a loose end, why don’t you stop chewing the packet open and come out with me. We could go to the Italian, or The Glass House maybe? The company won’t be as scintillating as the fish, but the food’s good, I hear.’
‘Go, Mother.’ Drew said, waltzing into the kitchen, wearing Paul’s CK tee shirt and a vat of aftershave. ‘It’s no big deal. He’s not asking you to marry him. He’d have to work his way up to that for another million years.’
He gave Paul a despairing look as he sauntered back out, purloined pint of milk in hand. ‘I’m off. Oh, incidentally, the midget’s upstairs playing on the PC.’
‘I’d better go get him before he gets square eyes.’ Paul said. ‘We’ll drop him home on the way. That’s if you do fancy eating out?’
‘I thought you were seeing Saun?’
‘Tomorrow. So?’ Paul looked hopeful. ‘Do you fancy it?’
‘I suppose. I’ve nothing better to do,’ Lee said, quietly panicking about whether to offer to go Dutch. If he thought he was going to get a little physical reassurance in exchange for a meal, he could go shag the kipper. That ought to be soulless enough.
‘Great.’ Paul nodded, then headed upstairs to see which latest game of Drew’s had kept James so quiet. ‘James?’ He peered around Drew’s door, to find no James.
The hairs prickled on the back of his neck as he headed for Lee’s room. On which PC was James playing, precisely?
‘James? Oh, no. James… What have you done?’
‘I was just playing.’ James glanced nervously from the screen to Paul. ‘There was an email in the draft box and I logged on and…’
‘You sent it.’ Paul glanced at the ceiling, looking for deliverance. James shuffled a foot. ‘Sorry, Dad.’
‘It’s all right,’ Paul reassured him. ‘Go downstairs.’ He stopped his son short of the door. ‘You didn’t look at it, right?’
‘No.’ James shook his head adamantly. ‘I just logged on and… wham.’
‘Good. Okay, go on.’ Paul ushered him out. ‘Go down and get some M&Ms or something. I’ll sort it.’
Though Christ knew how, he thought, checking the sent emails box.
It’d gone all right. And some.
He clicked on the attachments. There was no way Simons wouldn’t go to the police when he clocked that little lot. Claiming the email had been sent by accident would cut little ice in court. Lee could get banged up.
Paul had to stop him… somehow.
‘I’ll have to give you a rain check,’ he said, racing past Lee in the hall. ‘Sorry.’ He grabbed his cap and keys. ‘Something’s come up. Would you mind keeping an eye on James?’
‘Not at all.’ Lee called from the front door as he leaped the gate in his haste to be gone. ‘I’ll just lie down on the doorstep and wait for you to walk all over me on the way back!’
****
Paul banged into the central surveillance office, praying Simons didn’t check his mail, which was his only other hope. If this didn’t work, he’d have to resort to breaking and entering. Relieve Simons of his PCs, or break his neck.
‘I need a favour,’ he said, wincing as a sharp pain sliced through his side.
‘Uh-uh, no can do,’ the officer-in-charge replied. ‘Not unless you’ve got authority.’
Paul dragged his hand through his hair. ‘Look, Phil, I really need this. Give me a break, and turn a blind eye, will you?’
‘Can’t do it, Paul. Sorry.’
Paul raked both hands through his hair. ‘Okay, I’m begging. Whatever it takes. I’ll clean your car for a year. Anything. If I don’t get in there, I won’t have a job, or a life. My partner’s in trouble. All I need to do is check something out. Nothing more. Ten minutes. You can look the other way for that long. Come on, Phil.’
‘Ten minutes.’ Phil relented, reluctantly. ‘And you owe me one.’
He let Paul through and allowed him access to the closed-circuit TV surveillance videos he needed. ‘You’d better keep your mouth shut, Paul,’ he warned, heading for the door and leaving Paul to it, ‘or I’m stuffed.’
‘I was never here.’ Paul settled down to watch TV. Two minutes later, he discarded an unproductive video and reached for another. Simons had to be in there somewhere. Paul was acting on no more than the proverbial hunch, putting two and two together and hoping his math was better than…
‘Got the bastard.’ Simons having a penchant towards restaurants in red-light districts, the footprints on the windscreen… Made sense the guy had made a few star appearances on CCTV, the leading lady, or ladies, definitely not being Lee.
‘I owe you two.’ He winked at Phil, shoving the videos inside his jacket as he headed for his car.
‘Hey! You can’t take them off the premises.’ Phil threw his hands up in despair. ‘I won’t have a bloody job.’
‘They’ll be back before anyone notices they’re gone. You have my word,’ Paul promised.
No point messing about at the station looking for addresses. Quicker to go back to Lee’s, find out from her which hole the vermin crawled out of.
Driving a patrol car had distinct advantages, he decided, covering the distance between the surveillance office and Lee’s in record time… where Simons’ car was parked out front.
Paul’s heart sank fast. What the hell had he been thinking? He shouldn’t have left them alone. If he couldn’t check in officially, he could’ve at least enlisted Mike’s help.
Paul cursed his incompetence, screeched the car to a halt on the pavement, and slammed through the front door. There was no way to disassociate from his personal feelings now. He’d had it. And so had Simons, who was standing way too close to Lee for Paul’s liking.
‘Where’s James?’ Paul asked, calmly establishing the lie of the land. ‘Upstairs with Doorstep,’ Lee said.
‘Best go and join him.’ Paul inclined his head towards the stairs, keeping his gaze fixed on Simons.
Lee skirted around Richard, and went to do as suggested.
‘So, what are you going to do now?’ Richard shrugged insolently. ‘Dirty the uniform?’
The tic went in Paul’s cheek. ‘Something like that.’
‘Yeah, right.’ Richard backed towards the kitchen. ‘I don’t think so. Touch me and you’re well and truly fucked. You’re going to have a hard time convincing your superiors you were defending the slag you’re living with, when you’re involved in a blackmail plot against her alleged attacker, aren’t you?’ He looked Paul over, cocksure, then turned towards the back door.
Which suited Paul fine. One second’s complacency was all he needed, to wrap his arm around Simons’ neck. He locked his grip tight with his free hand and pulled back. Hard.
All is revealed! THE PIC!
What the reviewers are saying:
Took me by completely by surprise! Will make you want to break the law – 5 STARS!
Tremendous character development, heartache, humour, and love!
This is a fantastic romantic comedy with a superb supporting cast. Fantastic feel good book! 5 stars!
Twists and turns in the story that will have you flipping pages right until the end.
Move over Mr Grey! The men in this book made my toes curl! Ohhh la la. Helloooooooo boys!
Thanks for ogling … Um, reading!
Love,
