Page 90 of One Kind Soul

Well, except for the family reunion she was about to have.

Checking the napkin, Nicole confirmed it was apartment 1C on the first floor. She climbed the steps, going slowly to avoid the spots where the stairs didn’t look sound. When she got to the main doors, she didn’t see a call button anywhere like most apartment buildings had. She tugged on the left door instead and it sprang right open. Obviously security wasn’t a big feature at this place.

Inside, the air smelled like cigarettes and something sour. Dark wood paneling lined the hallway and the carpet beneath her feet was a green-gold that had seen brighter days. Various stains dotted it, making a trail toward each of the apartment doors on that first floor.

Nicole stepped up to 1C. She put her ear near the door, listening for sounds from within, but she couldn’t hear anything aside from the low rumble of an air-conditioning unit in the window at the end of the hall.

Was she supposed to knock? Ring a doorbell? Say a secret password? She had no idea what to do next, but every cell in her body begged her to bolt. To get the hell out of there and run directly to the nearest police station.

But she couldn’t. Not if she wanted Christian and the gang to be left alone and that was the whole point of her flying back to Kauai to deal with Lynda herself.

Slowly, she raised her hand, rolled it into a fist, and knocked on the door to apartment 1C. “Hello?” Her voice was loud in that dingy hallway.

Some jingling sounded, then a voice said, “It’s open.”

Nicole gripped the knob, instantly wishing for hand sanitizer. She turned it and pushed open the door, stepping inside the apartment.

“Close the door,” the same voice said.

“Where’s Lynda?” Nicole asked.

“Don’t worry. You’ll get plenty of time with Lynda.” A muscular man swiveled a recliner to face her. His biceps were huge and the look on his face was a negative twenty-four on the friendly scale.

“Who are you?”

“So many questions,” he mused, rubbing the thick beard on his chin. “Not enough answers.” He rose and Nicole gulped at his height. Easily six-foot-four with chest muscles to match those mountain biceps, this guy could crush her like a bug with his bare hands. “You came alone?”

“Those were the requirements, weren’t they?”

He turned steely gray eyes to her. “Don’t get bitchy with me, doll. I told Lynda she should have let me kill you years ago.”

That told Nicole the level of loyalty this man had to Lynda. He was willing to kill for her. He looked as if he wanted to kill for her.

“Isn’t that going to be the end result here anyway?” She spread her arms out. “Why else would she ask me to come to this shithole?”

“This shithole is my home,” the man said on a growl. “Sorry if not offering you tea made you think otherwise.”

This was chewing up time. For what? For Lynda to finalize her plans for Nicole’s demise? For Lynda’s allies to confirm no police had followed Nicole to the apartment? For Lynda to sharpen or load whatever weapon she might want to use to put an end to Nicole’s life tonight?

I love you, Chrissy, and I always will.

What was he doing right now? Was he feeling all right after that bee sting? She’d seen him in the waiting room, but he hadn’t looked ready to leave yet. She couldn’t imagine that her little performance had made him feel any better.

Was he surrounded by his family and friends? Was he well protected? Was he being watched by Lynda’s people? After Lynda did whatever she planned to do with Nicole, would her insane sister still go after Christian? There would be nothing Nicole could do to stop that.

That was why she had to defend herself right now. She couldn’t let Lynda win. She’d taken her sister down before—though she hadn’t wanted to—but it was different now. She’d feel no guilt or remorse about putting Lynda in jail for the second time.

“Lynda told me to come here at this time.” Nicole folded her arms across her chest. “I’m here. Where is she?”

“I’m right here.”

Nicole spun around at the sound of Lynda’s voice behind her. Where had she come from? Only the front door of the apartment was there, but Nicole hadn’t heard it open or close. When had Lynda become such a master at sneaking around?

“It appears you’ve followed my specific instructions for no cops.” Lynda walked a wide circle around Nicole. She still looked remarkably like Nicole with the dark hair. She no longer wore the waitstaff uniform though. Now she had on a pair of jeans and a blue tank top.

“You knew I wouldn’t get cops involved,” Nicole said. “Not when I know my friends’ lives are in danger.”

“It seems prison has given me lots of time to plan this all out.” Lynda paused next to the man then strolled back toward Nicole. “You made things tricky by going to Vermont and shacking up with that farmer, but I’ve learned to be flexible, adaptable.”