Slow Burn Read Online Free PDF

in a plush leatherback chair while sipping port. Smoke drifted around
his head and the aroma of sweet leather and cocoa filled the air. Paintings of
old Spanish artwork hung on the red brick walls.
    Four other puma shifters sat in oversized leather chairs.
Sometimes they provided backup for his jobs, but mostly he bounced ideas off
them. Except Max.
    He kept secrets from Max.
    Rocky sat to Derrick’s left. Dressed in a silver suit, his
gray hair matched the tones of his eyes. A huge cigar hung from his lips. He
stared intently at Derrick. Clapping his big hands together, he leaned forward.
“What are we going to do when this enemy strikes?”
    Derrick took a puff and exhaled, blowing a thick white cloud
of smoke into the air. “I don’t know. I didn’t sense anything last night.
Nothing came across the radio.” He paused, blinked. “I found her though.”
    A gray eyebrow rose. “You did?”
    Slowly, he nodded. “Yeah, I met Sonja.”
    A sigh came from the puma sitting on Derrick’s right.
Michael, former CIA operative, dressed in a black short-sleeved button-down
shirt and khaki pants. His shoes matched the color of his eyes. With hair
trimmed all around, his dark skin indicated a Latin heritage. “You went into a
brave scene, my friend.”
    Michael didn’t care for death metal. “Oh, it’s not that bad.
Someday you’ll realize the similarities between jazz and death metal. She’s a
real beauty.”
    “A dangerous one.” Michael’s South American accent came out.
He narrowed his grayish purple eyes and ran a hand through cropped dark hair
that matched the color of his shirt.
    Derrick took a sip of port, enjoying the raisin taste that
coated his throat and paired with the cigar. “Yeah. She’s a little unstable
with her power.”
    Puffing on his cigar, Rocky slumped into the chair. “That’s
not good. She could do a lot of damage with that voice if our enemies get a
hold of her.”
    “I know. I experienced that power firsthand last night.” He
kept an eye on Max, watching him intently. He wasn’t about to tell any of them
how her voice lured him toward her or that she found him safe. They’d be upset
at the first bit, the latter, they’d laugh about.
    Max shifted comfortably in his chair and took a puff on his
cigar. Dressed in black jeans and boots, he eyed Derrick in a very male,
all-knowing way.
    “I didn’t say I fucked her.” Derrick cleared his throat.
    Eyes all around widened.
    Erick, the eldest puma shifter, sat across from Derrick.
Long gray hair parted, showing a clear, wrinkled face with a Van Dyke beard. He
narrowed his eyes. “Be careful with this one, but let her into your world.”
    Derrick could only nod and take another puff on his cigar.
The statement elicited a curiosity that Derrick couldn’t ignore. Erick had
always been the most prophetic of the elder pumas in the area. Prophetic was
the only way to explain Erick’s manner. Everything about him seemed eerie,
especially the words he spoke.
    “You’ll keep an eye on her then.” Rocky waved a hand to clear
the smoke he’d just blown into the air. One leg crossed over the other,
twitched nervously. “You’ll watch her for us.”
    Derrick’s mind raced back to the scenario last night in her
dressing room. Curvy, clad only in underwear, and hair spilling over pale skin.
Yeah, he’d watch that.
    Of course, her crying upset him, too.
    “Derrick.” Michael tapped the ash off his cigar. “Earth to
Derrick.”
    Derrick shook his head and stared at Michael. “Yeah, I’m
sorry. I was just distracted.”
    An elbow nudged his knee and irritated Derrick. “Got a
secret, eh?” The wry smile Rocky gave him confirmed that, as much as he feared
the witch, his mind had taken up permanent residence in the gutter.
    Not that he could blame him, but seeing the real thing, live
and up close, was much better than all the discussion they had here with
speculation and photographs.
    “She’s a very beautiful woman.” Derrick shifted