Page 93 of One Kind Soul

“I didn’t want Mom and Dad to get mad at me,” Lynda said.

A moment later a sharp prick pinched Nicole’s arm and something hot spread through her veins. Her vision instantly got spotty and she had the sensation she was falling.

She wanted to ask her parents more questions.

She wanted to watch Lynda be carted back to jail.

But most of all . . . she wanted to see Christian again.

When the room went black, none of those things seemed likely.

Chapter Sixteen

Christian sat on Donovan’s couch, Remi’s white, fluffy head in his lap. He wanted his own couch. More specifically, he wanted his own bed and he wanted Nicole cuddled up beside him. He had a raging headache and while most of his hives were gone, he was still itchy in spots. Tessa had given him the guest room and he should be asleep in there right now, but he wanted to be awake for any news that might come in about Nicole.

Or Lynda.

Landon and Aliza had taken the futon bed in Donovan’s home office and Tessa was in her bedroom so the house was quiet, but Christian’s mind was not. He couldn’t rest knowing Nicole had intentionally put herself in danger. Put herself in danger to protect him, his family, their friends. There had been other solutions to this situation. He didn’t know what they were, but he was sure they existed.

He’d considered calling Donovan at least a million times, but his brother had assured him that the moment he had information, he’d pass it along. Donovan was at the station now, working with his team to track down both Nicole and Lynda. Nicole should have landed on Kauai already, but the police at Lihue Airport hadn’t been able to find her.

Which meant she’d purposely evaded them. According to Donovan, there had been police stationed all over that place. The only way Nicole—and possibly Lynda—would have been able to remain hidden would be if they were trying to remain hidden. Nicole had even turned off the GPS on her phone so the police couldn’t find her that way either.

Go to the police, Nixen. Please.

Christian stared up at the ceiling, but resting his neck on the back of the couch hurt due to the still-tender sting site. He reached for the TV remote instead and flicked on the television, hoping to distract himself from the worry sitting heavily on his chest. He kept the volume low, but the truth was, he didn’t care if he could hear it or not. He didn’t care about much besides getting Nicole back.

He’d had no idea a person could feel this empty. He hadn’t known Nicole that long, but she’d become the most important person to him in that short time. He couldn’t picture moving forward without her.

Jared, Rada, and poor Ben had texted or called to check in on him. He’d assured them all he was fine, but that had been a gigantic lie. He wasn’t fine. If something happened to Nicole, he’d never be fine again.

Growling to himself, Christian slid free from Remi, stood, and paced between Donovan’s couch and the coffee table. His body was stiff and sore. His brain was a scattered mess of thoughts. His heart bled.

Only Nicole could fix that last one.

She had to survive first though. Survive a potential run-in with her lunatic sister. Survive whatever sick and twisted plans Lynda had for Nicole. If one hair on Nicole’s perfect head had been harmed, he’d . . . he’d . . .

His phone rang on the coffee table, making Remi let out a low ruff. Landon and Aliza had been the best people ever and had packed a bag of his stuff from the farmhouse for him. Luckily Aliza had spotted his phone on the ground in front of the farmhouse. It must have slid out of his pocket after he’d crash-landed in the dirt because of the bee sting. He swiped the phone off the table, hoping to God it was Nicole.

Flood alert in effect from 3 AM to 7AM.

Blowing out a breath, he tossed the phone onto the couch cushions. A fucking weather alert meant nothing to him right now. When would he get some damn news about Nicole?

“Hey.”

He jumped at the voice.

“Sorry.” Tessa crept over to him and bent to give Remi a scratching between the ears. “I didn’t mean to startle you.”

“It’s okay.” He motioned to the TV. “Did that wake you?”

She shook her head. “No. I don’t sleep well when Donovan’s not here.” Tessa wore her pajamas—a Maplehaven Police Department T-shirt with a pair of checkered shorts. For some reason, seeing her in that simple, causal outfit made Christian miss Nicole even more.

“I’m sorry Donovan’s not here,” he said.

“I knew marrying a detective would come with nights like this.” She lowered to the couch, taking up one corner and setting her phone on the armrest as Remi snuggled up to her. “Nicole is my best friend. Donovan is at work trying to get her back safely for both of us.” She pointed to the other end of the couch. “Sit. We may as well worry together.”

Christian threw himself at the other corner of the couch, a big gush of air busting out of his lungs in frustration. “This waiting to hear something is killing me.”