“Well, that’s us packed and ready to go.” Kimber looked around the bedroom, her face flushed and looking excited.

“Yes,” he laughed.

“And you’re sure I did all right?” She looked up at him, looking worried about the interview they’d done earlier.

“You were wonderful.” He nodded firmly. “I’ve told you, Kimber. You were great. We both were and we gave them just what they wanted . . . a love story. They’ll lap it up. Love at first sight and all that. They’re going to go with the fact that you’ve tamed me and I’m allowing it. That’s a big coup for them so that’s why we had so much leeway with the questions asked. You don’t have anything to worry about, darling. Please, stop getting worked up about it.”

“I hate that!” Kimber folded herself into him, wrapping her arms around his waist. “The fact they’re using me to say I’ve tamed you. It’s not true, Victor.”

“I know, baby, but it’s the cost of doing business with these sharks. I can’t believe the impact my impromptu rescue has had so I’ve had to try and do some damage control. This is it. I’m okay with it. It’ll settle down soon enough, especially once you’re seen in public with a ring on your finger.”

“A ring?” she gasped.

“Yes, a ring.” He winked at her. “I’m a respected businessman so I need to make an honest woman out of you. You don’t object to that. Do you?”

Kimber stepped back, turning away from him, which surprised the hell out of him. What had he said to upset her? He was just about to ask when Flint arrived, syringe in hand.

“I’ve got Kimber’s tracker here and then we’re set to go.” Flint motioned behind him and two guards walked in to retrieve the luggage. “Nellie is already on her way to the airport and the main contingency of guards are already there. They left earlier. I thought it wise to get them in place.”

“What? How did they get there? Surely the plane didn’t have time to go and come back?” Kimber asked Flint, her voice sounding off to Victor’s ear.

Flint merely nodded toward Victor. “He’s got more than one. Now, why don’t you sit down and we can get this inside you.”

Kimber’s feet were slow as they walked over to Flint, her eyes locked on the needle in his hand. “That’s not a normal needle. What is it?”

“No, it’s not a needle as such.” Flint showed her what he had in his hand. “I place this part on your wrist and press the top here and it injects the tracker. It’ll sting but it’s not that painful. You’ll be all right. If Suzette can do it then I’m sure you can. Tell me, do you have a preference for which wrist?”

Kimber perched on the edge of the sofa, shaking her head. “No, not really.”

Flint shrugged. “Okay, eenie meenie miney mo.” And without finishing or letting Kimber think further he snatched her nearest wrist, turned it over and injected the tracker . . . all with his Vampire speed and it was over in a nano-second.

She let out a sharp gasp, grabbing her hand away and glared up at him. “That wasn’t fair. You should’ve told me you were going to do that!”

“Nah,” Flint snickered. “Better to just get it over and done with. That way the brain doesn’t anticipate any pain.”

Kimber rubbed the point where the tracker was inserted but Flint quickly removed her hand. “Uh uh, you have to be careful, especially as it’s just been activated and it’ll be a little sensitive for the first day or so. You remember how to activate it if you’re in trouble?”

“Press on it?”

“Two times, press the area two times.” Tapped his own wrist, showing her what to do. “Obviously this isn’t the one where mine is or we’d have a horde of people here very soon. But this is what you do. Then wait for a few seconds and repeat, just in case the first one didn’t go through, although that’s never happened before.”

“All right.” Kimber stared at the inside of her arm then up at Flint. “So, this is real? If I’m in trouble you’ll be able to find me? Anywhere in the world?”

“Yeah, it’s pretty amazing and we’ve never had one failure so far. Not from any that’s been tested, or activated in a real-life situation.” Flint winked at her. “Victor could make billions off this if he weren’t so stubborn. He could sell it to all those underworld types, or those bad people out there, but nope, he refuses to do that. He won’t even make up his mind about a contract that’s on the table for the US Military.”

She turned asking. “Why? Don’t the troops deserve to have this? What about the ones I’ve seen on the TV that’s been taken and held hostage for years? If they had one of these they could be found.”

Victor shook his head, sighing. “If it were that simple I would do it, but it’s not. They want total control and I refuse to give them that. I’ve revised the contract and sent it back stating it’s to be used only for defense of men going into battle, or in situations where they could be in danger of kidnapping, but I doubt they’ll accept it. This technology could be used for very bad things too, Kimber. I won’t allow that to happen.”

“Hey, I was kidding, Kimber,” Flint broke in. “Victor’s right, this needs to be handled correctly. In the wrong hands, it could be deadly and used to kill, not help.”

“I guess.” Kimber frowned. “I could walk right up to someone and press this and you, well, not you but someone could send a missile? Right?”

“Exactly,” Victor ground out. “The ramifications of the tracker are huge and the fact it can be inserted into a human and is undetectable by anyone, or anything, is what makes it wonderful, but also dangerous.”

“I’m glad you’re being cautious with it,” Kimber said, her voice missing something but he wasn’t sure what.

Something had changed when he’d mentioned putting a ring on her finger but for the life of him he couldn’t figure out what it was. Why would that upset her? If, in fact, that was what it was. He didn’t have time to figure it out right now as Flint waved his arm toward the door.

“Time to go.”

“Sure.” Victor started to go over, ready to give Kimber his hand to help her up but she was already on her feet and at the door.

She didn’t wait for him, walking out alone and Flint had to rush to input the elevator code because she was already there, standing tapping her foot, arms crossed and eyes staring straight ahead. Yes. Something had definitely upset her and he was going to find out what it was the moment they were on the damn jet, because he had no clue what he’d said to cause the reaction that he was seeing in Kimber and it was unsettling him no end.

Flint had noticed too, his friend raising an eyebrow as Kimber rushed inside the elevator to stand in the corner, arms crossed and tightlipped. Victor shrugged before following to stand beside her, wrapping an arm around her waist and holding her firmly, despite her obvious annoyance. The journey down and out to the waiting car was done in silence, as was their short ride to the airstrip. Damn. He refused to allow this to continue. Even using their burgeoning link didn’t garner him much information, only that she was offended in some way.

When they were safely aboard and on their way, he would take her to one of the suites and make her tell him what he’d said or done to upset her. Then he’d fix it. He had to. Every second that she was troubled was like a knife slicing at his insides, the pain lancing painfully like a wound that refused to heal. He’d never felt anything like it before and he hoped to never again.

Hell, he dreaded to think what would happen if they ever had a full-on fight . . . the agony would be unbearable.