Page 88 of One Kind Soul

She weaved into the center of a dense pocket of travelers, keeping her head low so the visor of the cap covered her face. She hadn’t taken any luggage with her. She’d gone to the airport straight from the hospital, not wanting to lead anyone back to Christian’s farm. In another few minutes, she’d be out of the airport and getting into a cab to go to The Nalu Resort. From there it would be a matter of hoping Lynda took the bait.

Nicole risked a survey of the people around her. The police were still about in larger numbers than normal, all of them searching for her and Lynda no doubt. When she reached the exit, a wall of police stood sentinel there.

Shit. It made sense though. Lynda Broaks was a fugitive. That was pretty serious and if these police caught her sister now, Nicole didn’t have to play the part of bait. That was preferred so she hung back a bit, pretending to be interested in magazines at a stand before the exit.

The police didn’t stop people, but they were certainly keeping a sharp eye on everyone. Lynda could have altered her appearance in a number of ways, however. It was also possible that Lynda didn’t come after Nicole herself. All of her other actions so far had been carried out by someone else. The police could have already let one or more of her allies pass.

Not wanting to waste any more time, Nicole squared her shoulders and walked right through the center set of double doors, not wanting to appear sketchy by going to the ones to the right or left. She held her breath as she walked past two officers. Once she got outside, she ducked to the left and figured she’d walk a bit before calling for a ride to the resort. She just needed away from that airport and the cops right now. Nothing would keep Lynda away better than a ring of police officers around Nicole.

As she increased the distance between her and the airport, her phone vibrated in her pocket. She pulled it out and with a glance around her, she tapped the screen to see messages from Donovan, Tessa, Aliza, Landon, and Christian.

Let the police protect you, Donovan’s read.

This is crazy! Tessa’s said. Are you okay? I need you to be okay.

We understand what you’re thinking, Aliza’s text said. But go to the police, Nicole. Please.

We are worried about you, Landon’s message said.

Christian’s text simply said, Come home.

Nicole stared at the word home. God, she wanted that farmhouse to be her home more than anything, but she’d brought trouble to the quiet, calm woods of Maplehaven. She was a poison to the serenity those three majestic mountains bordering the small town provided. She was an outsider who needed to remain outside.

Ignoring all those messages from people she truly did love, Nicole called for a shuttle to the resort. As each minute ticked by while she waited, she forced herself to appear as causal as possible. What she wanted to do was see every single face of every single person around her until she found her sister. Looking around would be suspect to police, however, so instead she leaned against the little structure that comprised a resort pickup/dropoff spot.

A few minutes later, The Nalu Resort logo filled her field of vision and the shuttle doors slid open. She nodded to the driver as she boarded, noting three other people got on behind her and one person had been on when the shuttle arrived. None of them looked like Lynda at all.

What if she got to the resort and her sister hadn’t followed her or sent someone to follow her? What if this trip didn’t accomplish its mission? What if all it did was cost her a lifetime of happiness with a truly fantastic man in a truly lovely place?

Nicole rested her head on the back of the seat. She was dead tired. Between all the action at the farm today with two ambulances coming to the property and the hours and hours of airplane travel, she was spent. If given the chance, she could probably sleep for a solid week.

No sleep. Not yet.

Not until she took care of Lynda.

It didn’t take long for the scenery outside the shuttle to reveal beaches, restaurants, and resorts. Though she’d left Vermont during the afternoon, it was still early here on Kauai. The sun glittered off the Pacific Ocean and the sky was a vibrant, cloudless blue. A perfect Hawaiian day.

Unless of course you were trying to make a fugitive come out of the shadows.

The shuttle pulled up in front of the main entrance of The Nalu Resort and of course, more police waited for her. Fortunately, another shuttle had arrived ahead of them and a larger group had gotten off. Nicole mingled with them until she reached a side path that led to the beach behind the resort.

The beach was crowded with guests and she spotted police positioned along the perimeter. The guests didn’t seem to be alarmed and that told her about the status of the world lately. A police presence had become so commonplace for a host of reasons that people no longer panicked at the sight of them.

Except she did. Today anyway.

Nicole found an empty chair-and-umbrella set up and plunked her ass down in the seat, adjusting the umbrella to hide her from the nearest cops. She wasn’t sure what her next step should be. She couldn’t roam about the resort freely. Not with so many officers littering the place.

It was strange how non-relaxing a gorgeous Hawaiian beach could be when you awaited your psycho sister’s arrival. Nicole ordered a drink to blend in with the other merry resort guests, but her stomach wasn’t up for consuming anything. It was too knotted up.

And her heart? That thing could barely keep itself beating now that Nicole was so far away from Christian. He had changed her entire life. Sure, she hadn’t loved being alone here on Kauai, but now that she knew what it was like to be with him, her soul was crushed. She felt like a hollow shell of a person. Her only goal now was returning Lynda to jail because she couldn’t show up back in Maplehaven and expect Christian to want to just pick up after her hasty and rude exit. She’d treated him like crap. She didn’t deserve him.

She never would.

The sun shifted in the sky and Nicole kept adjusting the umbrella to keep herself in the shade. She had no sunscreen and didn’t want to risk a trip into the resort gift shop to buy some. One, the police might spot her and two, she wanted to give Lynda the impression she was waiting for her. Her sister would see that as defeat and she wouldn’t resist rubbing that in.

Be patient. That was the only advice Nicole could give herself. She did wonder, however, what she would do if no one approached her today. She could go back to her beach house for the night, but she didn’t want to bring the fight there. Although, Donovan would have asked for police there too, wouldn’t he? He knew where she lived. He’d cover all the bases.

She wished she could text Donovan and get some ideas on what to do, but he’d tell her to go to the police. That would keep Lynda from surfacing. She couldn’t allow that.