Brief Character History

Nikki fell for Cruz and they kissed twice, but he soon reunited with Eden. Meanwhile, he learned that Nikki was an illegal alien who surrounded herself with an air of mystery. Suspicious, Cruz had his magician father, Rafael Castillo, hire Nikki as his assistant so he could keep an eye on the girl. Ultimately, Nikki told Cruz that she was an undercover cop investigating Travis for his involvement in a horse stealing scam. She pretended to be on Cruz's side when in reality, she was in cahoots with Travis and a guy named Marcos Llamera.

Around this time, Nikki became a hero when she saved Kelly Capwell and Ric Castillo from the dangerous Craig Hunt, getting shot in the process. She was hospitalized briefly and befriended by ex-priest Michael Donnelly. For his part, Marcos forced Nikki to take a police exam and join the Santa Barbara police force. Once that goal was accomplished, Marcos got Nikki involved in his drug trafficking operation. He also forced Nikki to pretend they were engaged to keep a suspicious Michael at a distance.

Nikki's reluctant cooperation with Marcos was motivitated by the fact that he and a thug named Benny were holding her brother Amado hostage. Determined to save Amado, Nikki stole Marcos' drug shipment and offered to exchange it for her brother's release. Michael vowed to help Nikki after she came clean with him about Marcos and Amado.

Nikki and Michael were kidnapped by Marcos when they met at a ghosttown for the exchange. Marcos soon died from a snake bite, but Michael and Nikki were subsequently captured by Benny. They were taken to an island called Kahana, where the drug lord turned out to be Kirk Cranston, Eden's wacko ex-husband! Fortunately, Cruz was able to rescue Nikki and Michael as well as Amado.

Back in Santa Barbara, Michael offered to marry Nikki so she wouldn't be deported back to Mexico. She turned him down. The situation was solved when Eden offered to sponsor Nikki to keep her in the country. Michael once again asked Nikki to marry him and this time she accepted. Soon after, Nikki was injured in a bomb explosion at the Blue Sky Brigade office. She passed away in Michael's arms. It was a sad ending to her life just as she was finding happiness.