Ash and Ember: A Sequel to Heat and Smoke (Peppers and Peril #2)
Lona Edwins
Months after vanishing without a trace, Marco Rivera is alive, but far from safe. Living under an alias in the mist-shrouded forests of the Pacific Northwest, he’s been working undercover to expose a network of corruption tied to poisoned land and powerful interests. But when investigative journalist Tess Navarro tracks him down with a threat and a proposition, Marco is forced to return to the one place he swore he’d never go back Wexler County.
As sparks fly with the woman he left behind and danger closes in, Marco must reckon with the ghosts of his past, the weight of unfinished business, and a conspiracy that stretches far beyond one small town. With Tess by his side and enemies watching every move, the question is no longer whether he can outrun his past, but whether he can survive it.
In this gripping sequel to Heat and Smoke, romance, suspense, and redemption collide in a story where every secret costs, and some are worth dying for.

