Discover the Cost of Freedom and the Power of Love in The Protector, Book One in the Taskforce Series, a Romantic Military Suspense Novel from Marliss Melton In the serene embrace of the Blue Ridge Mountains, former Navy SEAL Ike Calhoun thought he had escaped the shadows of the War on Terror. But destiny intervenes when an old friend calls, catapulting him back into a world he thought he'd left behind. A woman marked by her father's legacy in Afghanistan, Eryn McClellan isn't just the ISAF general's daughter; she's the focus of a high-stakes game played by ambitious federal agents and a crazed jihadist. The only safe place for her is in Ike's remote cabin, where her unsettling presence disrupts his self-imposed isolation. Ike instructs Eryn in ways to defend herself and, yet, with her grace and resilience, it is she who dismantles the walls around Ike's heart, allowing him to feel again. As the FBI's strategies turn riskier-using Eryn as bait to catch the extremist-a fierce protective instinct awakens in Ike Calhoun. Compelled to shield the general's daughter at any cost, Ike finds in Eryn not just a mission, but a burning motivation to confront his past and protect a future that suddenly seems worth fighting for. "The kind of intrigue I enjoy; much like Tom Clancy, Vince Flynn, David Baldacci, and Steig Larsen. They have nothing on her." ~Lt. Col. John Lund, U.S. Air Force, ret. THE TASKFORCE SERIES, in order The Protector The Guardian The Enforcer THE ECHO PLATOON SERIES, in order Danger Close Hard Landing Friendly Fire MEET MARLISS MELTON Bestselling Author Marliss Melton uses her Spec Ops and Intelligence communities to pen realistic and heartfelt stories featuring America's elite warriors. The daughter of a U.S. foreign officer, Melton grew up in various overseas countries and now resides in Williamsburg, Virginia with her husband and family.