Excerpt of Burning Ash by N.J. Walters

“Now we do what should not be done lightly.”

That sounded ominous. “What?”

He drew out his phone and placed it on the counter between them. “I threaten Maccus to get him to talk to us.” He punched in the numbers and waited for it to ring.

There was no voice on the other end. Only a beep.

“I have a situation and need your expertise. If you can’t call me back, I’ll come to you.” He ended the call, leaving her confused.

“That’s a threat? Sounded like a regular message to me.” He obviously had a strange relationship with this guy.

“You’d think that, except you might remember me mentioning that no one is supposed to know where he lives.”

“That’s right. Only you know.”

“I’m—”

“I get it,” she interrupted. “You’re special.”

“I must be. He hasn’t done away with me yet.”

She waited for the punch line, but none was forthcoming. “You’re serious?”

“He may be the most powerful creature on the planet. You don’t want to piss him off. He’s killed people for less. Although, he has mellowed since he met Morrigan.”

In spite of herself, she was fascinated. And scared to death. Just who or what was Maccus? And who was this Morrigan person? If Asher was treading this warily, he had to be impressive.

“Maybe we shouldn’t bother him.” Not sure she was ready for any more shocks to her system. She was still trying to digest the last one. Her stomach dipped in agreement.

“Too late. Now that I’ve left that message, he’ll either answer it or get rid of us. Well, not you. He’d see you as an innocent.”

Her, an innocent? After all she’d seen and done? Just who were these people? This was way over her pay grade. She’d thought herself a badass hunter. While she had serious skills, as Asher had pointed out to the vamp earlier, there was always someone bigger or badder. Considering what she knew now, she was lucky she’d lived this long.

Seemingly unconcerned about the outcome, he finished his beer in one long mouthful. “We could watch a movie or catch a nap?”

“Are you out of your mind?” Unable to stand still any longer, she strode toward the window and stared out at the city lights. “What exactly is Maccus?”

“The less you know the better.”

“No.” She whirled around and pointed a finger at him. “Ignorance is not bliss. Not in this case. Not when it comes to the non-human creatures walking the earth.”

“Hey.” He lightly placed his hands on her shoulders. The desire to shake him off battled with the one to throw herself into his arms. “Everything will be fine. I promise. He’ll probably take your memories of him and let you walk. Me, on the other hand, he’ll probably incinerate into dust.” He gave her a grin that didn’t quite reach his eyes. “Then I won’t be an issue for you any longer.”

“Don’t joke about that.” Furious, she shoved away from him. “Not about living and dying” The past rose up to choke her. She couldn’t lose someone else. Not to the monsters of the world. Damn him for wanting to protect her, for sneaking past her guard with his humor and sexiness and panty-melting kisses, for respecting her skills as a hunter. And damn him for making her care.