The Liger's Mark (18 page)

“What do you mean she kept you informed?” Clara asked.

“I think she knew I was a shifter and arranged outings for us where I could see or hear things to help me realize that. She met with Meara on several occasions. I overheard them, saw Meara shift once. I knew,” she told them. “So that was my next stop. I went to the place I’d last seen Meara and her family. They weren’t there, but someone else was. The chase was on as we went from location to location. Finally, Holt and I arrived at a house where we were given a box Meara had left for me. She wasn’t my mother or even related to me as far as I know.”

“I put the box behind the desk,” Gabriel told her. “In case you wanted to show them anything.”

Kenzie nodded and let her mate lead her to where he’d set the box. She reached for it, but he beat her to it, lifting it and sitting it on the desk.

“You didn’t find Meara?” Abby asked once Kenzie was facing the group again.

“According to the woman who gave me this,” she said, waving toward the box. “Meara and her family are dead.”

“The woman blamed you?” Tah guessed, and Kenzie nodded. “What did she leave you in the box?”

“More research, I’m afraid,” she said. “There’s not much to go on in here, though. Lab reports with notes jotted on them in some type of code I don’t know how to interpret. Pages taken from a journal with notations about subject eight three one five. And pictures.” Her breath caught again just thinking of the photos. The cage, the baby and all the tubes and wires. It was hard enough to see it, but knowing it was her took it to a whole other level.

“Kenzie?” Tah said while Gabriel wrapped his arm around her, offering her his warmth and strength.

“The pictures are self-explanatory,” she said, opening the box and removing them without looking.

Tah crossed to them, and she handed the photos to him, watching as he flinched when he shuffled through them.

“The baby is me,” Kenzie admitted softly.

His horrified gaze jerked back to her, but she could tell he’d already figured that much out.

“Apparently, I was part of an experiment conducted in one of the labs run by hunters. The notes mention them as the Gestational trials,” Kenzie said.

“From what we can tell, it was experiments conducted on captured mates of shifters,” Gabriel said. “Pregnant mates. They seemed to prefer human women, though according to the letter Kenzie was left, her mother was a shifter.”

“Oh, God,” Abby exclaimed.

“I’m the only one who survived,” Kenzie said. “I overheard a conversation when I was taken in Colorado. One of the hunters made a call to let someone know they’d found me. He was excited. Then, while I was searching for answers, we were attacked by hunters trying to take me. They spoke of a doctor wanting to get his hands on me because I was the only one who survived.”

“Did they mention the doctor’s name?” Gideon asked softly.

“Dr. Talbot,” she said. “Have you heard of him?”

Gideon nodded. “I’ve seen references to him and some experiments he carried out in some of the paperwork I’ve looked at. It appeared Thomas was interested in him. As soon as we’re done here, I’ll search through the stuff we brought with us and see if I can find anything mentioning Talbot or the Gestational Trials. You know chances are you only survived because your mom was a shifter.”

“Yeah,” Zane agreed. “Your mother’s body would have fought to heal anything they did to you. Human mates wouldn’t have had the same ability.”

“Logan and I will see if my father mentions that name anywhere,” Clara offered as she reached out to take the pictures Murphy passed to her.

“A fucking cage,” he snarled, eyes flashing fire. “A wee baby placed in a cage. I’d like to rip them apart for that alone.”

“Oh, my God!” Clara suddenly said. “I’ve seen this woman.”

“What?” Kenzie exclaimed.

“In the pictures,” Clara explained, shaking her head in confusion. “There were several of her with a man. Some with both my dad and my Uncle Thomas. With other people. She was in a lot of them.”

“Do you know who she is?” Tah asked.

“I don’t remember ever seeing her in person,” Clara said. “I have no idea.”

“Let me see,” Gideon said and walked over to take the photo from Clara. His gaze immediately flew to Kenzie.

“I’ve seen a picture of this woman before,” Gideon said softly.

“Where?” Kenzie questioned.

Vic peered around her mate and nodded in agreement. “Nix has one of her. He carries it in his wallet.” Her gaze met Kenzie’s and held. “He said it was a picture of his mother.”

Chapter Sixteen

Kenzie was anxious to drag in Nix, to see what he knew. The woman was his mother? Did that mean she wasn’t Kenzie’s? Or did it mean Nix might be her brother? She shook her head. It was too much to process.

“What did he say?” Kenzie asked as soon as Gideon stepped back in the room.

“He’d like to speak to you and Clara alone,” Gideon said.

“Me?” Clara asked, looking completely surprised.

“I’m not leaving my mate,” Gabriel growled.

“I wouldn’t expect you to,” Tah said. “Logan, either. I’m guessing Nix said it was private?”

Gideon nodded.

“Then I guess the choice is up to Kenzie and Clara,” Tah said.

“He’s definitely got my interest,” Clara admitted.

“Kenzie?” Tah prompted when she didn’t immediately say anything.

“I’d like to hear what he has to say,” she agreed.

“Then we’ll leave you alone,” Tah said. “He’ll have to accept your mates won’t leave. We won’t be far, either.”

All Kenzie could hear was a rushing in her ears.

“Breathe,” Gabriel whispered at her ear, his hands rubbing up and down her arms. As the room emptied out, he tugged her away from the desk, leading her toward the couch where Logan and Clara sat.

“It’s just the four of us,” Logan said when Nix entered the room silently. “What is it you need to discuss with Clara and Kenzie?”

Nix pulled out his wallet and removed a picture. He walked over and handed it to Kenzie.

“Is this the woman you’re searching for?” he asked.

“Yes,” Kenzie admitted. “Who is she?”

“Gideon said you had pictures of her?” Nix questioned. “May I see them?”

At Kenzie’s nod, Clara handed Nix the pictures. His face paled. His hands shook. “The baby,” he whispered, glancing from the photo to Kenzie. “Is this you?”

“Yes,” she said.

As if something broke inside Nix, he fell to his knees in front of them, reaching for Kenzie’s hand. Tears pooled in his eyes and slipped free.

“I’ve searched my whole life for you,” Nix said. “We thought you were dead.”

“For me?” Kenzie asked. “Why?”

He touched her softly on the cheek. “Because you’re my sister,” he said. Then added more. “And Clara’s cousin.”

“What?” Clara said. “That’s not right. I’ve never met you. My dad would have told me if I had a cousin.”

Nix shook his head, but his gaze never left Kenzie’s face, as if he were drinking her in.

“My mother was Elizabeth Walker Blackwell,” Nix stated. “She had two younger brothers, Thomas and Michael. Neither of them were mated when I was born.”

“The Elizabeth they were looking for,” Logan murmured.

“I was three when my mother was taken. She was pregnant at the time, with you. Dad nearly got himself killed searching for her, for both of you,” Nix told them.

“Is he still alive?” Kenzie asked, but Nix seemed lost in the story.

“The three of them tried to find her,” he continued. “Followed every lead, no matter how insignificant. Dad said he came home from tracking one clue and couldn’t find me. He went crazy until he finally discovered me curled up under his bed with mom’s quilt. He said he knew then what his priority had to be. Mom had been missing six weeks at that point, and they were no closer to finding her. Dad and Thomas argued. Next thing I knew we’re packing up and leaving. When I asked dad what was going on, he said he needed to do what my mother would want and not what her brother thought was best.”

Kenzie shook her head, unable to sit back and listen any longer. She leaned toward Nix, forcing him to move back to make room for her to scoot forward. “Is your dad still alive?” she asked.

He nodded, a smile lifting one corner of his mouth. “Very much alive. He never gave up hope of finding you.”

She reached for Gabriel, finding his hand and gripping it like a lifeline. She was overwhelmed by her emotions, feeling a bit too much like Diane had appeared earlier. Angry at what had happened. Saddened by what it seemed she’d missed out on, what her family had been put through. Happy to find a family she wasn’t sure had existed. Afraid to trust and believe what seemed so unbelievable. She heard sniffling and turned to see Clara wiping tears from her face. Without thinking, she reached for her, grasping onto Clara’s outstretched hand with her free one.

“We’re cousins,” Clara said then shook her head. “I don’t understand why my dad wouldn’t have told me about you or any of this.”

“Thomas,” Nix told them. “He warned my dad when we left that we would be dead to him from now on.”

“Why doesn’t that surprise me?” Clara asked with a weary sigh.

“So what happened?” Kenzie asked. “Where did you go when you left Fayette?”

Nix stood up, looked around the room and tugged a chair closer to where they sat before dropping into it and leaning forward, elbows on his knees. “Dad took me back to his home. Said mom would expect him to take care of me. He told me if she were alive, she’d find us, but I knew she was gone. I knew it the moment he stopped searching. His eyes dimmed. I know he felt it when she died. He’s never said, but they were mates. I’ve seen the bond mating creates.”

“Yes,” Clara agreed. “I’d know the moment anything happened to Logan.”

Kenzie nodded. She and Gabriel were still newly mated, but already she could sense his emotions. It would just be a matter of time before the bond grew stronger and stronger.

“Gideon said he met you in the labs when he was being held. He thought you were killed,” Clara said.

“Ended up on the wrong end of a drugged dart. They were always trying some new formula on one of us. My body reacted violently, sending me into convulsions. When they stopped, I couldn’t move. Head lab rat gave the order to toss me. Said they’d deal with me later. Thankfully, I recovered enough before that happened. I was able to sneak away without anyone realizing.” Nix shook his head, his eyes hooded, guarded as if he were reliving that time. What else had he suffered there?

“Did your dad know where you were?” Kenzie asked.

“Our dad,” Nix reminded her. “No. I was spending more and more time away from home then. I think he knew I was searching, but he never said anything.”

“How long were you held?” Kenzie asked.

“Too long,” he said. “The things they forced us to do…” He trailed off. “I’ll just say it changed my life.”

“I’m sorry you suffered that,” Kenzie said.

“It was worth it,” he told her. “If it’s what led me to this moment, to finding you, then it was all worth it.”

His eyes were bright, and she didn’t doubt his sincerity.

“Are you okay?” Gabriel asked, and Kenzie turned to look at him. He’d stayed silent beside her, offering her quiet support when she suspected he had questions of his own.

“I think so,” she said carefully. “It’s a lot to take in. A brother. A father. A cousin,” she said, including Clara. “I had no idea. I have a million questions racing through my head but can’t focus on any of them. You’re not planning on going anywhere right now, are you?” she asked Nix.

“No,” he assured her. “I’ll call Dad as soon as we finish speaking. I know he’ll be here as soon as he can.”

“You should run that past Tah, first,” Logan warned him.

“I…I can’t believe all this is really happening. I keep thinking I’m going to wake up, and this will have all been dream,” Kenzie admitted.

“It is a dream,” Nix said. “One Dad has held onto since the day he lost you. One I’ve always hoped would come true.”

“Go talk to Tah about calling him,” Kenzie urged Nix. “Now.” Her dad wouldn’t be real to her until she saw him.

“I’ll go talk to Tah,” Logan said, coming to his feet. He glanced at Kenzie. “I’m happy for you. Family is everything.” He squeezed Clara’s hand, bent to kiss her then left.

“He’s hurting,” Clara told them, concern etched on her face. “Knowing Laura is here and not being able to see her is tearing him apart.”

Gabriel looked torn for a minute, and Kenzie knew he wanted to follow Logan but didn’t want to leave her.

“Go,” she said. “I’ll be fine.”

“Are you sure?” he asked.

She leaned in and kissed him. “We’ll talk later.”

He whispered at her ear. “Stay with Clara. Don’t leave this room.”

She nodded, wondering what he was thinking. Her mate obviously wasn’t very trusting, either. He kissed her again before rising and heading out the door, leaving Kenzie with Clara and Nix. Nix had wandered over to the desk and was glancing through the stuff in the box Kenzie had brought.

“Laura will come around,” Kenzie assured Clara. “Once she realizes Logan didn’t abandon or forget about her.”

“I hope so,” Clara said then focused on Kenzie. “I can’t believe we’re cousins.”

“I’m finding it hard to process myself,” Kenzie agreed. “Wouldn’t Gideon have known if Thomas and Michael had a sister named Elizabeth?”

“Not necessarily,” Clara answered. “Gideon was a teenager when he started coming around. Maybe a year before my Aunt Stella was killed. I’d tag after him when I could. He was always patient with me.”

“It seems like a lot of coincidences. Nix being related to you. Then ending up in a lab with Gideon, who was living near you guys at the time. Hooking back up with Gideon and Vic when Gideon thought Nix had died. Then heading across the country with us. Hell, even the fact that you showed up in Colorado, which brought Gideon to Colorado and led to this,” Kenzie said. Too many connections. It couldn’t all be coincidence.

“I was following Amia. Gideon was following a note Lydia left. Nix? I’m not sure what he was following. If anyone knew what was going on and had a hand in manipulating it, it wouldn’t surprise me if it was my Uncle Thomas—our Uncle,” Clara corrected then shook her head. “I still can’t believe I have cousins and another uncle. I’m not naive enough to believe my dad didn’t keep secrets. Still, one this big?”