The Liger's Mark Read Online Free PDF

“I’m going to.”
    “Then why don’t I hear tape ripping? Get a move on!”
    Kenzie huffed in frustration and gripped the box tighter. There was sweat on her brow, and her heartbeat was accelerating.
    “Kenz?” Holt called, and she felt his glance dart briefly over to her.
    “Ahh!” she grunted in annoyance. What the hell was going on? Anxiety? Panic? She was a fucking Marine! Nothing had ever made her react in such a way.
    “Are you okay?” Holt asked. “You’ve gone pale on me.”
    “I have no idea what the fuck is wrong with me. Every time I try to move my hands to open this stupid thing, I get this sick sensation in the pit of my stomach. It’s like my fucking cat’s resisting.” She reached for the tape again and had to swallow the bile that rose in her throat.
    “Don’t make yourself puke in the car.”
    “Wuss,” she accused.
    “Hell, yeah. You know if I see that shit, I’ll be barfing, too.”
    She snickered but leaned her head back against the seat, inhaling slow and easy as she focused on calming her beast.
    “Any better?” Holt asked after a few minutes.
    “Little nauseous,” she muttered, breathing through her teeth. “I think I’ll wait for it to pass before I open this up.”
    She sat the box on the floorboard between her feet, and only then did the cramping start to subside. She closed her eyes, concentrating on what was going on inside her. The nerves weren’t hers. They belonged to the beast emerging inside her. For some reason, it didn’t want her looking inside the box, and its fear was intense enough to make Kenzie physically ill. She’d have to figure a way around it. One way or another, she was opening the damn box and getting the answers she needed.
    “I’m going to call Reno,” he said.
    “No,” Kenzie argued, blinking her eyes open in surprise.
    “Hear me out,” Holt demanded. “I heard what she said in there. Something’s going on. You’re mate’s not here to help keep you safe. I am, and I’m going to do it the best way I know how. I know how important this is to you, and I want you to have the answers you need. Hell, if I had any doubts before, they would have been gone after listening to that woman in there. I know you spotted Dusty and Reed tailing us. I told Reno you would. There’s no point in pretending otherwise. I think it’s time I call Reno and get a number for one of them. We’ll be stronger if they’re with us, and not just tailing us. I’m not letting anything happen to you. So unless you want me to turn this car toward Oklahoma, we add two more to our traveling party.”
    Kenzie was silent for a minute. Holt was right. Whatever was in the box had the power to get people killed. For the first time since leaving Colorado, she wondered if she should have gone alone and forced Holt to stay behind. If something happened to him because of her… It was a thought she didn’t even want to finish.
    “Call Reno,” she said. If nothing else, Dusty and Reed could help keep Holt safe.
    You are death for all who fall in your shadow.
    “My family is dead,” Kenzie said. “Because of me, of who I am.”
    “No,” Holt said. “She told you they weren’t yours. You’re not a cougar, Kenzie.”
    “I think she was just picking up on my mate’s liger scent,” Kenzie said.
    Holt shook his head. “No, she said your mate’s scent wasn’t strong. Whatever she was picking up on was coming from you. Fuck, I really wish I had your sense of smell so I could help you out more.”
    “You’re doing more than enough for me,” Kenzie said, reaching over to give his forearm a squeeze.
    Her phone rang. Both their gazes dropped down to it. Gabriel just wouldn’t give up. Kenzie hugged her arms around her stomach and looked away, glancing out the window.
    “He’s going to get tired of calling and show up at some point.” Holt repeated his earlier warning. “I’d make sure you’re ready for that.”
    Kenzie wasn’t sure she’d ever be ready to face