With Every Breath (Slow Burn 4)

But still, she wouldn’t want to be a bad guy on the receiving end of that stare pinning them solidly in place. One that would likely have Shadow’s prey tripping over themselves to spill whatever it was Shadow wanted to know.

He sported a tan but was obviously Caucasian, and like the others, he obviously had a strict workout regimen because there was nothing to indicate he was anything but in top form and shape. What was it Beau had said his name was? Shadow?

For some unknown reason she found herself opening her mouth before she thought better of it.

“Your name is Shadow?” she asked, lips pursed, one eyebrow lifted in question.

Then he grinned and it was one of those lazy, I-don’t-give-a-fuck smiles that plainly said he wasn’t used to explaining himself, but his eyes filled with amusement and Eliza sucked in her breath, because damn, her girly parts weren’t just perked up and paying attention. They were fluttering wildly and screaming at her about her neglect of them.

“Forget I asked,” Eliza muttered.

“You have me at a disadvantage, darlin’,” he drawled. “You know my name but I haven’t been introduced to you.”

Her eyes narrowed because it was also obvious he was fucking with her. As if Dane wouldn’t have gone over all the names of the DSS operatives and he most certainly would have given him her name and since she was the only female working at DSS aside from the receptionist, he knew damn well what her name was.

She let her displeasure show and bared her teeth, which served two purposes. One because she was genuinely annoyed but two, it would further allay Dane’s worry since this was typical Eliza-like behavior and if she hadn’t reacted this way he would have known she didn’t have her shit together.

“Since you’ve been hired, you’ve been briefed, which means you know who everyone in this room is. So my suggestion is to not play fucking games, which are not only a waste of my time but of everyone else’s too.”

Shadow’s grin became broader, flashing a row of perfectly straight, perfectly white teeth and his eyes twinkled with ill-concealed amusement.

“Didn’t say I didn’t know your name. Said I hadn’t been introduced to you. Call me old-fashioned but when it comes to the people I work with, people it’s my job to protect and have their back and people I trust to watch mine, I’d rather the introduction be a little more personal.”

Damn. In a fucked-up way, he sort of made sense. Not dropping her glare, she relented.

“Eliza,” she said shortly. “Not that you didn’t know,” she muttered under her breath.

Beside her, Dane shook silently, meaning he’d heard the last part.

“Shadow,” he returned politely. “But unless I missed my guess, seeing as how you were told my name, you weren’t asking if Shadow was my name but rather if it was my real name and if not you wanna know how I came to be called it.”

Eliza gave a clipped nod because she so didn’t have time for this even if she had enjoyed the show. Hello? Four mouthwateringly gorgeous hunks in the same room? Too bad she’d never have a chance to work with them, get to know them, decide how compatible they were as a team and if she could ever count on them or trust them in the way she did the men she already worked with.

“It’s because that’s what I am,” Shadow said in a serious tone, all amusement gone, replaced by a hardness you earned by doing bad shit, dangerous shit, and seeing bad shit that most people didn’t even realize existed. “It was either Ghost or Shadow and seein’ as how I didn’t get a choice in having a nickname, I put a stop to Ghost for obvious reasons because I don’t have any desire to die anytime soon, and I went with Shadow.”

Eliza continued to meet his gaze steadily, though she’d relaxed because something told her this guy was solid and again, had seen and experienced shit, and he carried more baggage and had more demons than most.

“If I don’t want you to know I’m around, you won’t,” he said matter-of-factly. There was no arrogance. He wasn’t bragging or boasting. He was just stating the truth and she believed him. “My specialty is getting into places most people can’t, collecting intel or retrieving something that needs retrieving and then disappearing with no one ever knowin’ I was there.”

“We could use that,” Eliza murmured.

Shadow grinned again. “Yeah, seein’ as I’m here, guess you do.”

Beau cleared his throat and went on to the last man. “This is Knight.”

Eliza’s gaze left Shadow and settled on the last man Beau had introduced. Her first thought was that his was likely not a nickname or at least not in the sense he was considered a knight in shining armor, because there was nothing about him that resembled a romance novel hero or even a hero period.

His features were stony, giving nothing away. He was the shortest one of the group, but considering the others well exceeded six feet, Knight was likely about an inch over that. His hair was long, as in it obviously hadn’t been cut in years and it was a look he’d cultivated a very long time. He had it pulled back and secured with a leather tie.

Dark but not as dark as Zeke’s midnight hair, but darker than the chestnut brown of Shadow’s short hair. He had eyes to match, so dark it was hard to distinguish his pupils from the irises. It gave him a menacing air, which wasn’t aided by the couldn’t-crack-a-stone-on-his-face set to his features. She wondered if he ever smiled but then decided probably not since it might well fracture the rest of his face.

He barely acknowledged the people he was being introduced to. His gaze quickly passed over each in turn before returning his attention to Beau.

Eliza wondered what his specialty was, but then other than Shadow, none of the others had been forthcoming in what it was they did, but DSS needed men who could handle themselves in any situation and be prepared and trained for anything. From all appearances Dane had chosen well.

It was Dane’s job to vet, interview and see what all prospective new hires were made of. He was good at it. The Devereauxs never questioned his choices. If they passed muster with Dane, they were hired. Period.

“Now that introductions are over, if everyone will sit back, we have a few other things to go over before we adjourn,” Beau said.

There were a few unsuppressed groans and likely twice as many suppressed groans because the hope had been the introduction of the new operatives would end the boring-as-fuck meeting.