with that compromise.”

Flint nodded. He turned around to glare at Doc. “Brand her now.”

Mira jerked her attention to Doc as he removed something from the case. She’d never seen anything like it before. It looked like a wrap pad but it was thicker and bulkier than the heated wrap pads used for sore muscle relief. Doc hooked the camera into a cord that trailed from the wrap. He moved forward, holding it.

“Bare her.”

Flint moved. He gripped her shirt and yanked it over her head. Mira grabbed her br**sts, trying to cover them when Flint didn’t bother shielding her this time from the men in the room. He did toss the shirt on her thighs so her lap was hidden. He gripped her arms right above her elbows to hold her still.

“Do it fast,” Flint almost hissed. “I see dissent. The longer she is unmarked the more dangerous it is. I should have had you brand her the second I brought her on board.”

Doc nodded, looking nervous. “Hold still, Mira. I’m going to put this on you and then give you a shot for pain. Whatever you do, don’t move.”

Doc dropped the wrap over her skin. She gasped as the thing seemed to move on its own to snugly pull tight around her shoulders and back. It hugged around her front as if the thick pad had a mind of its own.

Her frightened gaze flew to Flint.

“It is forming to you,” he said quietly, gripping her tighter. “Don’t move. You don’t want to mess up the branding.”

Doc turned away to grab a syringe that he jabbed into Mira’s arm before she could even get a good look at it. It hit fast and hard. In seconds she swayed a little as the sensation of her body getting heavy and her limbs getting numb hit her. It worked up her shoulders and into her throat. She experienced a total loss of feeling and control of her body from her neck to her waist.

“Can you feel?”

“What have you done? Am I paralyzed?” Mira heard the panic in her voice.

“Do you have her? The transfer is ready,” Doc said to Flint.

“She won’t move. Do it.”

Doc gripped the camera-like device and punched in something on the small screen. Mira couldn’t feel a damn thing. Flint held her firmly by her arms. She could feel her ass and legs fine, it was just from waist to throat that was deadened. She didn’t have the urge to fall over but she might have if not for Flint’s grip.

She took a breath and then frowned, sniffing.

“What is that smell? Is it time to eat?” Mira smelled food.

Flint and Doc glanced at each other. Doc frowned at Mira. “You can eat soon. This won’t take long so just hold still. The imager copied Flint’s designs exactly. It even factors in his bone placement so the design is perfectly aligned in the imager and then the wrap forms to your body and the imager can replicate the markings exactly to the precise locations as the donor markings. It’s an amazing thing.”

“This wrap is giving me a tattoo? It is doing it right now? But I’ve seen tattoos done and they use needle machines to stamp them into the skin after the machine gets the right image to imprint.”

“Those are standard tattoos and the ink can be removed later with dermis layer removal. These markings aren’t so simple to remove.” Doc shifted his weight, looking uncomfortable. “These are placed a little deeper than just under the skin. They will look like standard tattoos but no skin doctor can remove them in his office.” He paused. “It’s a system that puts small needles into your skin and removes a minute amount of fatty tissue to replace it with a special tattoo dye that the imaging wrap can manipulate. Think of the dye as tiny magnets that will move under the skin and are directed to exactly create the pattern of Flint’s brand. This is actually less invasive than a tattoo artist’s machine. There are a lot less needles involved and you’ll heal very quickly.”

“Oh.” She inhaled again. “I’m getting hungry.”

Doc cleared his throat, looking uncomfortable as he shot a frown at Flint. He bit his lip and didn’t look at Mira. She frowned knowing they were hiding something from her so she decided to ask them flat out.

“What is going on?”

“Nothing,” Flint said softly.

The other cyborg was still standing where he’d been when he’d offered a trade. Iron chuckled. “You smell something