The Liger's Mark by Lacey Thorn Page B

sadness to them. Had Laura thought Gabriel might be her mate? That didn’t make sense since Gabriel had described her as being like a sister to him. There was a depth of emotion to Laura’s words, though. Kenzie glanced up at her mate and couldn’t hold back another grin as his eyes met hers.
    “I’m heading out for a bit,” Laura said, turning and heading toward the door. “I need a run, and I have a bear waiting on me.” She wiggled her eyebrows, which made Kenzie laugh out loud while Gabriel shook his head.
    “Well, that sounds familiar,” Holt said coming up to them.
    Kenzie waited to see what Gabriel would do and caught her breath when he held his hand out to Holt.
    “I owe you a huge thank you for taking care of my mate while I was too stupid to,” Gabriel said gruffly.
    Holt opened his mouth then closed it, glancing at Kenzie, who beseeched him with her eyes to accept her mate. He sighed and slowly nodded.
    “You’re welcome,” he offered, accepting Gabriel’s hand and shaking it.
    “Are you feeling better?” Holt asked Kenzie.
    “Yes, I feel incredible.” Her stomach growled, making her laugh. “Apparently, I’m also hungry.”
    “Dinner was yummy,” Vic told her, joining them briefly with her mate. “I think I could use an early night myself.”
    Gideon growled, and the heated look he sent his mate made it blatantly clear to everyone that they wouldn’t be sleeping, at least not immediately. Vic giggled, something Kenzie couldn’t ever remember hearing the other woman do, and gave a finger wave as she and her mate followed Laura out the door.
    “We saved dinner for you,” Laramie called to them, finally stepping from behind the desk and greeting them. “I’ll let my brothers know you’re ready to eat and meet you in the kitchen.”
    “Thanks,” Gabriel said.
    He and Laramie seemed to exchange some type of message with just their eyes, and Gabriel bent to kiss her above her ear. “Just a minute,” he whispered and walked over to where Laramie stood. The two moved into what appeared to be a hallway, speaking quietly to each other.
    Kenzie turned to Holt.
    “How’s your arm?” she asked him.
    “Fine,” he said. “Bullet just nicked me.”
    “Thank you.” She leaned in to give him a hug. “You saved my life.”
    “What are friends for?” he joked then glanced down at her seriously. “I’m glad to see you returning to normal. I hope you stay like this. It killed me to see you broken the way you were.”
    “The only thing that will break me now is if I lose him,” she admitted, letting her glance skim across to where her mate stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Laramie.
    As if he sensed her gaze, he looked up and smiled at her.
    “I’m glad he finally realized how important you are,” Holt huffed.
    “By the way, please tell me you managed to grab the box from the motel room before we left.”
    “Yeah,” Holt informed her. “It’s in the trunk of the car.”
    “Can you bring it in? I really need to see what’s inside.”
    “Sure, I’ll go get it now,” Holt promised.
    Gabriel joined them again, catching the end of their conversation.
    “My mate and I need to eat first,” Gabriel said. “Then we can see what answers are available to us.”
    “I’ll have it in here and ready for you,” Holt assured them.
    “I really appreciate it,” Kenzie said and gave him another hug before letting her mate pull her to his side and lead her out of the main room.
    They met Laramie at a door and followed him. Kenzie glanced around as they walked, heading through a huge restaurant-style dining room into a large kitchen. She saw two other men there who reminded her of Laramie, but they merely nodded and went back to whatever they were cooking.
    “My brothers,” Laramie acknowledged and kept moving until they reached a slate-topped table where two places were set with silverware and glasses.
    Gabriel pulled a chair out for her, and she sat. One of the brothers set a loaded