Page 85 of One Kind Soul

Which meant her outburst was some foolish plan to lure Lynda out of the shadows. God, Christian had to stop her before she got hurt . . . or worse. Her sister might have been targeting him in order to make Nicole suffer, but if given the opportunity to do direct damage to Nicole, wouldn’t Lynda take it? Wouldn’t it be too tempting to resist?

His stomach spasmed a few more times then decided it was done . . . or at least empty. He set the bin on the bed beside him and stared up at the ceiling. His muscles were fatigued and his entire body felt as if it’d been dragged down a muddy Vermont dirt road by a tractor. The sting site on the back of his neck ached and a general itch covered his skin.

And yet, it was his heart that hurt the most.

Jared appeared around a privacy curtain. “Feeling better?”

“No,” Christian said. “Can I see your phone?”

Jared dug into his pocket, pulled out his phone, and handed it over. When Christian raised his head to see the screen, however, everything swam before his eyes.

“Ugh . . .” He clamped his eyes closed and put his hand to his stomach, afraid he’d have to vomit again though there wasn’t anything left to come up.

Jared slid the phone from Christian’s grip. “Who do you want to call? Nicole?”

“No. Donovan,” he said. “I think Nicole is going after Lynda by herself. She was trying to separate herself from us first. Draw her sister away.”

“That would explain the nonsense she said.” Jared tapped his phone’s screen.

“It was nonsense.” Christian scratched another hive on his forearm. “Wasn’t it?” Because what if she did mean what she’d said? What if she’d decided Vermont wasn’t for her? What if she’d decided he wasn’t for her?

“Of course, man.” Jared frowned. “I know what started between you guys exploded into something more fast, but shit. You two are great together. I’ve seen the other chicks you’ve dated and you didn’t look at them the way you look at Nicole. It’s a totally different level you two are playing on.”

“So what she said in the waiting room was not what she meant.” A flash of hope cut through his nausea and the general fog surrounding his brain right now.

“No fucking way.” Jared set his phone down. “I dialed Donovan. It’s on speakerphone.”

Donovan answered on the third ring. “Are Christian and Ben all right, Jared?”

“Yes,” Jared replied. “Ben is getting stitched up and Christian is chilling while his stomach settles. I’m with Christian now.”

“Donovan, you’ve got to stop Nicole,” Christian blurted.

“Nicole? Isn’t she with you?” Donovan asked.

Christian told his brother about Nicole’s speech and Donovan agreed it all sounded fishy.

“You gotta find her, Donovan,” Christian said. “Before Lynda gets to her.”

“I’ll get some of my people to check on flights to Kauai. If she said that was her real home, she’s hoping Lynda will follow her there.”

“She’s by herself, Donovan. She’s without protection.” He hated being incapacitated by the bee sting like this. If he didn’t feel like total shit, he’d go after Nicole himself. He’d keep her safe as he had on the first day they’d met. He’d risk his own life again to do it too.

“Don’t worry, bro,” Donovan said. “We’ll do everything we can.”

The call ended, but Christian didn’t feel much better about anything.

“You can trust your brother,” Jared offered, pocketing his phone.

He did trust Donovan. It was Lynda he didn’t trust. He’d never met her, but what he knew of her was enough to make him want to see her get what she deserved.

“I’m going to check on Ben,” Jared said. “You okay for a few?”

“Yeah. Go ahead. I guess I’m held hostage here until my body decides to calm the hell down.” He blew out a breath, happy that he could do that. Right after the sting, breathing had become a forbidden activity. Nothing was scarier than not being able to take in the oxygen.

Well . . . losing Nicole was as scary actually. Now that his heart had settled on her, he wouldn’t be happy with anyone else. He had to believe she wouldn’t be either.

And had she called him a hick farmer? He much preferred hot cowboy farmer.