With Every Breath by Maya Banks Page B

had been coined by Eliza, ever the irreverent one of the bunch, and, well, he had to agree. It was a pointless meeting that in no way required every man to be pulled from their jobs to assemble in the DSS offices to give report and status on past, current and potential jobs that DSS may or may not take.
    But Caleb was an anal bastard, and even if he’d for the most part turned the day-to-day running of DSS to his younger brother, Beau, he still kept his finger solidly on the pulse of everything going on. Every mission, every request for help.
    Dane glanced sideways at Zack Covington, who made no attempt to disguise his scowl, or the fact he’d checked his watch every three minutes for the last twenty and Dane had to look at Eliza or risk bursting into laughter that would likely have the rest of DSS thinking he’d lost his mind.
    He didn’t have a sense of humor. Or at least to the rest of their knowledge. Eliza knew, but Dane was closer to Lizzie than to the others. She made him feel at ease, comfortable. She didn’t have a chip on her shoulder because she was a woman in a predominately male profession and she didn’t get involved in pissing matches. He knew she looked to him as her team leader, though Caleb and Beau ran the operation. But then no one argued with Dane. Ever. Not even Caleb, and he could be one cold, ruthless, mean-as-a-rattlesnake son of a bitch. Especially when it came to his wife, Ramie, and her protection. With good reason. Her psychic abilities made her extremely vulnerable and they also made her a target for everyone who had a missing or kidnapped loved one. Ramie had eerily accurate abilities to track and find victims by connecting to them—and the killer. It was a sickness that pervaded her soul, made her feel foul and unclean and every time she did it, it took another piece of her with it and Caleb was determined there would be no more.
    Dane didn’t blame him a bit. Although he was damn glad Ramie had defied Caleb and helped locate Eliza when she’d gone missing. Hell, Ari and Gracie had said to hell with them all, determined to give back to a woman who’d risked her life time and time again for them. Without them, Lizzie would be dead.
    His fists curled into tight balls and he had to control the betraying quiver of his nostrils at the thought of just how close they’d come to losing someone so important to DSS. To him .
    He nearly missed Eliza’s stifled grin or her shared commiseration, even turning to include Zack, which meant she too had been aware of his impending departure whether the meeting was declared officially over or not.
    Zack sent a look in Dane’s direction. Though it was more of a scowl, Dane could see it for what it really was. A plea. Because once Dane declared a meeting over, it just was. It didn’t matter if the Devereauxs had more to add. Everyone deferred to Dane. And as Zack had only just returned from his honeymoon with Gracie, he must be itching with impatience to get back to her.
    Dane allowed a small smile, all he would give away on his otherwise deadpan poker face, but Zack got the message and closed his eyes, mouthing, “Thank you God” behind the backs of the others.
    But Eliza, damn her hide, who’d been clued in from the very start of the exchange, suddenly suffered a coughing fit, covering her laughter, so it sounded more like a cat trying to hack up a fur ball and cupped a hand over her mouth, pretending she had indeed gotten something caught in her throat.
    His glare promised retribution, but she stuck out her tongue at him and the deep intuitive alarm inside him he hadn’t even realized was screaming relaxed and settled. And his internal alarm was rarely wrong, and it had alternated screaming alarm and false alarm all fucking morning when it came to Eliza. Zack too had uncanny knacks or hunches as his teammates grumbled. They swore his gut had made a deal with the devil because it had gained so