Page 87 of One Kind Soul

“Very good,” the nurse said, cutting off Christian. “Let them take care of you.”

Realizing that arguing only prolonged his time at the hospital, he shuffled between Landon and Aliza then glanced at the two officers.

“Let’s roll,” he said and the officers—one male and one female—followed him.

Landon guided him to Aliza’s car while the officers climbed into a patrol car parked right next to the vehicle.

Once he was in the passenger seat and Aliza in the back, Landon started the car. Christian said, “You guys don’t need to stay with me. Especially if I’ve got those two.” He gestured to the patrol car.

“Actually, we’re all going to Donovan’s house.” Landon pulled out of the parking lot, the patrol car right behind them. “Donovan thought it’d be better to have us all at one location so he could focus his protection efforts. He doesn’t want you going back to your farmhouse either because it’s too big of a property to realistically secure.”

“My farm isn’t safe.” Christian groaned. “What happened to our sweet little town?”

“It’s still our sweet little town,” Aliza said. “We just need to get rid of some unwanted pests.”

“And we will,” Landon added. “Until then, we’ll all take steps to keep safe.”

“By hiding out?” Christian didn’t like that. He preferred something more active. “I need to go after Nicole.”

“Donovan said you’d say that,” Landon said. “He also said we were to keep you from doing that.”

“He gave us the green light to use any means necessary,” Aliza said.

Landon arrowed a thumb toward Aliza. “Did I mention she’s got a taser in her purse?”

Christian looked back at his sister-in-law. “You’d tase me after the day I’ve had?” Though a current straight to his heart might jumpstart that organ back into action. Knowing Nicole was in the air right now, putting miles and miles between them, made him incredibly sad.

Aliza reached forward and rested her hand on his shoulder. “If it means making sure you don’t do something stupid? Yeah, I’ll tase you.”

“Harsh.” But Christian put his hand over hers and squeezed in gratitude. What would he do without these people? “You’re lucky I’m weak from that fucking bee. Otherwise, nothing would keep me from getting on a plane. You know that, right?”

“We do,” Landon said. “But you sit this one out so you’ll be ready for when Nicole comes back.”

Because she would come back.

Wouldn’t she?

Chapter Fifteen

Nicole shoved all her hair up into a black baseball cap she’d bought at the airport back in Vermont before boarding the plane to Hawaii. She’d wanted to look like her on the plane ride itself so Lynda—or whoever she may have sent to follow Nicole—would see her. Now that she was on the ground, she had concerns about another set of people seeing her.

The police.

If she knew anything about Christian, he wouldn’t accept her outburst in that waiting room. She’d realized the moment she left the hospital that all of it sounded absolutely ridiculous. He’d stated about her saying she loved him in the ambulance. He probably didn’t believe a word of what she’d said, but luckily the bee sting incident had been enough to keep him from coming after her.

It wouldn’t, however, keep him from calling Donovan and getting police on her ass when she landed. A quick scan of the busy airport now revealed several pockets of uniformed officers milling about so she could only imagine how many undercover cops were also in the mix. All she had to do was make it out of this airport and to the resort. If Lynda was tracking her, she’d go to the resort or send someone because Nicole had been pretty clear about where she worked. Luring her to her beach house didn’t seem like a good idea because it was too private. A busy resort, however, would have enough people around that Lynda or her operatives would have to be subtle in their approach to Nicole. A crowded area would give Nicole time to alert someone that she needed help.

Hopefully.

Otherwise this entire plan would be a bust. She shook her head as she stayed close to groups of people, trying to blend in with them and not seem like a solo traveler. She’d been lucky to have the time she’d had with Christian. It had been wonderful and had showed her what real love could be like. She’d never forget him.

But she would leave him alone.

A man like Christian Henley deserved a drama-free existence. He had his farm, his family, and his friends. He didn’t need someone like her bringing misfortune into his life. Summer was a busy time for him on the farm and he didn’t need distractions—possibly deadly ones.

Nicole pictured him lying on the ground after getting stung. What if he had . . . God, she couldn’t bring herself to finish imagining him not coming to after passing out. There had been a few moments there where she’d thought he was dead.

And it would have been my fault.