Page 165 of You Only Love Twice
"Egad," Kincaid muttered behind them. "Excuse me while I gag."
"I thought it quite touching. Our little Gemma. In love." This from Byrnes. "And if it's any consolation, you and Ava were worse. You kept thinking you were dying. I swear you were begging Malloryn for more time to be with yourkittenat one point."
"Asshole."
"Prick."
Gemma lowered herself onto her toes, shooting them a rather vexed look.
Byrnes slipped his brass communicator into his ear as he blatantly stared at the pair of them and grinned unrepentantly. Kincaid looked like he'd bitten into a rotten plum.
"I take it all back," she told Obsidian. "Charlie is a sugarplum, and thus to be protected at all costs. But you are quite welcome to thrash either of these two."
The faintest of smiles touched Obsidian's mouth. "Grant me a little credit, my love." He raised his voice. "I'm an assassin. If I want revenge, then nobody would ever see me coming, and it will happen when they least expect it. I'm also fairly imaginative when it comes to paying someone back in kind."
Kincaid actually paled.
Ingrid stalked past, slapping her husband across the back of his head. "Leave them alone and come buckle me up."
"But Ingrid," Byrnes mock moaned, as he followed her, "they were just getting to the gushy part."
Gemma released a deep breath and fixed Obsidian's buckles. "Are you certain you have no regrets? I wouldn't blame you if you did, I must say. You have me now, but unfortunately these fools come with me."
Obsidian stared after Byrnes with a considering look. "You don't know how lucky you are."
The words stalled her.Lucky?And then she understood. He'd had no one—the closest ally he'd ever owned had betrayed him.
Gemma kissed him on the cheek. "We'd better join the others. They're about to break into the tunnels."
"Before we go, I have a gift for you," he said, tugging something out of his leather coat. He'd wrapped it in a piece of black silk.
"What is it?"
"Probably not the sort of thing most women hope to get from their lovers." His expression was so serious. So intense. As if he wanted to please her, but wasn't certain this was the right move. "But then, you're not most women."
That stirred her curiosity.
"I adore presents."
"Why does that not surprise me?" His eyes glinted with warm humor.
Gemma unwrapped the package swiftly, revealing a thin steel interlocking necklace that looked somewhat akin to a collar. She could just make out the two small probes jutting out on the side, and a faint frown touched her brow before she realized what they were. Spark conductors.
Her breath caught. "It's a shock collar."
The Coldrush Guards used them on their most dangerous prisoners.
Obsidian tugged the control device out of his pocket. "Range is fifty feet. I flick this switch and you'll go down, a pulse of current running through you."
His earnest gaze met hers, and Gemma was lost for a moment in their arctic depths.
"I know you're nervous the implant might not be destroyed. This will prevent any chance you're a risk to those you love."
Her heart skipped a beat as she reached up to throw her arms around him. Though Ava had managed to get the neural implant out of his head, there'd been no time to deal with hers. "Thank you."
Gemma clicked the collar into place around her throat. "Shock me if this all goes wrong."
"I promise."
