Free With Every Breath by Maya Banks Page B

“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.
    â€œSince 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.
    â€œDidn’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.
    â€œEliza,” 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.
    â€œShadow,” 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.
    â€œIt’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.
    â€œIf 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.”
    â€œWe 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