Page 95 of One Kind Soul

“Nicole called me to ask . . .” The man’s voice broke, several seconds of silence stretching on. “Sorry.” He sniffled loudly. “She called to ask me if I was her real father.”

“What?” Christian asked.

“Who’s that?” Nicole’s father asked, panic clear in his words.

“Christian Henley, sir.”

“Christian is my brother-in-law,” Tessa explained. “He and Nicole are in love. She was planning to move here.”

“Okay, yes. She told me about all that. Said she was staying an extra week in Vermont,” Mr. Travers said. “That’s why I was surprised to get her call from Kauai. I was especially shocked to have her question her parentage. Then it hit me. She had to have found Lynda. Nicole had called to ask about Lynda and informed us of her jailbreak. While we haven’t seen her, we’ve been worried about her. Lynda is still our daughter.”

“And what about Nicole?” Tessa asked gently. “Is she also your daughter?”

Another few seconds of quiet filled the air before Mr. Travers said, “Not biologically, but in every way that matters.”

The man proceeded to tell Christian and Tessa a story about finding a baby—Baby Nicole—on his front steps. He and his wife had taken her in, raised her, loved her. They knew there had been some sibling tension, but they hadn’t known the degree or the damage it’d truly caused until Lynda and Tim had gone to jail and Nicole finally told them about the constant abuse. Mr. Travers was full of regret, but Christian needed him to get back to telling them how he could help Nicole now. He was the last person who had talked to her.

Hopefully that meant Nicole was still alive.

“Well, I was hoping the police could trace the call from Nicole,” Mr. Travers said. “You know, find her location, but I’m in California so I wasn’t sure how to go about getting my phone to the right people. Every second that ticks by is another second Nicole is in danger.” The man broke down, his crying soft but tragic nonetheless.

“Mr. Travers,” Tessa said, “I’m going to put you in touch with my husband, Detective Donovan Henley. He’s working with our police here in Maplehaven and the police on Kauai. He’ll know what to do. I’ll have him call you.”

“Okay. I hope too much time hasn’t gone by.”

“I’ll call my husband now,” Tessa said. “Expect his call in a few minutes.”

“Thank you,” Mr. Travers said. “Thank you for being such a great friend to Nicole.”

“Thanks for raising someone who has been such a great friend to me,” Tessa said.

“Is Christian still there?” Mr. Travers asked.

“Yes, sir. I’m here.” Christian wanted Tessa to make that call to Donovan before it was too late for Nicole, but he wasn’t going to be rude to his soul mate’s father, biological or not.

“When Nicole called to say she’d be staying in Vermont longer,” Mr. Travers said, “she told us about you. You should know my wife and I could hear how she felt about you. It was in every word she said, every story she told. She also said you saved her life in Boston.” He paused and cleared his throat. “Thank you for treating her the way she’s always deserved to be treated.”

Christian’s throat stung and Tessa rubbed his arm, her eyes filled with tears.

“I love her, sir,” he managed to say. “I love Nicole so much.”

“I know you do, son. And when this is all over and she’s safe again, you’re going to tell her that.”

He was going to do more than tell her.

****

Nicole cracked her eyes open and didn’t recognize the dingy room she was in. Wallpaper was peeling off the walls and several panes in the room’s only window had wood in them instead of glass. Something smelled awful beneath her and she realized she was on a bed. The sheets couldn’t be clean though if that odor was any indication.

She shifted slightly, intending to move her hair out of her face, but her hands were bound together at the wrists and that rope was tethered to the headboard. She tested her legs and thankfully those were free.

Giving the main rope a hard tug, she grimaced when the rope around her wrists bit into her skin. Her neck hurt and the memory of Lynda stabbing her with something came rushing back.

From the looks of the room, she was still being held at Marty’s disgusting abode, but how long had she been out? Were Lynda and Marty still here? Why knock her out just to lock her up?

Planning to stretch out the fun, aren’t you, Lynda?

Her sick sister didn’t want this final round of torture to be over quickly. She knew Nicole waiting around and wondering what was going to happen next would fuck with Nicole’s mind. Just killing her wouldn’t be any fun for Lynda.