With Every Breath (Slow Burn #4) - Maya Banks Page 0,34
a lot further than the last two times they’d met. He was tired of dancing around. Dane’s call had just caused him to make his move in haste instead of executing a well thought out plan of attack. One that sealed any possible escape routes.
The idea that now one of Eliza’s team members was concerned after her two horrifying near-death experiences just pissed him the fuck off, and he rubbed at his chest to alleviate the sudden discomfort. What the fuck was he doing here as Dane fucking Elliot’s puppet? Wade could check up on Eliza in his own time. His way. His terms. And he sure as hell wouldn’t answer to anyone else like some hired lackey.
Why hadn’t he told Dane that his babysitting stint was over with and that if he was so goddamn concerned about Eliza to put a team on her? The little time he’d spent with DSS, he respected and admired them and their work. He secretly approved of their tactics and the fact they didn’t always do things by the book. Sometimes justice was best served by old-fashioned revenge.
He wasn’t in the habit of lying to himself, but neither was he willing to admit the truth to anyone else. He’d already made up his mind to keep a very close eye on Eliza Cummings and insert himself into her life in ways she would not be happy about when Dane Elliot had called. It just gave him the excuse to do what he was already going to do without admitting to his own reasons for doing so.
And so here he was, spying on a woman who hated the very sight of him. She was hastily packing and not paying any damn attention to anything else. He supposed he could at least give her a small semblance of credit for not having the lights on because that meant no one could see into the house.
And so it was in the dark that she worked with quick efficiency to pack her belongings and the alarm system wasn’t even on for fuck’s sake. He wanted to wrap his hands around her neck and throttle her for upending his well-ordered life from the moment she barreled into it and got in his face. He’d been fascinated. No, he’d been fucking obsessed from that moment forward. She’d dressed him up one side and down the other and despite her very real fury and loyalty to her teammates, Wade had never felt so compelled to kiss a woman in his life.
He almost had. But they’d had one clusterfuck of a situation going on and he’d had Gracie to protect, not to mention if he had so much as touched Eliza, she would have laid his ass out. Also, Dane would be on him before he could even push Eliza off and, well, then the rest of DSS would take great satisfaction in kicking his ass. Especially Zack, who had the most reason to harbor resentment.
Admittedly, the lights being off would prevent people from being able to see into her home, but the silent cloak of night didn’t hinder him in any way. His eyes, well accustomed to the dark and seeing what most others couldn’t make out in the shadows, could see her hurrying from room to room, tossing several suitcases on the couch in the living room and hurriedly stuffing clothing into them.
Hardly the actions of a woman who merely wanted a leisurely vacation and was in no hurry, had no worries, only where the wind blew her and taking some much-needed R&R. It looked to him as though after her “request” for vacation, she was getting out of town as fast as possible before any of her coworkers, or Dane, decided to pay her a visit to say their goodbyes. Odd behavior for a woman who treated the people she worked with as family, and if she truly was just taking some downtime, wouldn’t she want to say her farewells?
His eyes narrowed as he continued to watch from his post. Eliza was definitely packing for an extended trip. But not a single item of clothing was remotely suitable for a vacation at the beach or any other place of leisure. In fact, other than jeans, shirts, underwear, socks and a pair of tennis shoes, the rest were fatigues, lots of camo. Face paint. And, Jesus, lethal-looking knives that took up one entire side of one of the suitcases.
He was astonished, and he had never been a man who