Anything For Love (7 page)

Jett and I had been on the road for several
weeks. We took care of our business back home before we left. My grandmother's
was out of the question, considering the detectives would most likely look there
for us.

It was Jett that had murdered Korbyn and
Keegan. I didn't find out until after we left New York. I told him that I had
figured that, but had never mentioned my suspicions to the detectives. He asked
me if I was going to leave him and I told him that we were in this together
until the very end. Jett seemed very happy about that.

I'd lost about fifty pounds and colored my
hair black. I even wore brown colored contacts. We changed our names and got
married two weeks after we left town. I was now Karma Wayward and he was Tylon
Wayward. Tylon had cut his gorgeous long hair real short and lightened it to a
beautiful platinum shade. He now wore blue colored contacts and with his new
look, Tylon looked just like Jais, only taller.

Jais was left behind, but we talked to him
often. He warned us that the detectives were tracking us down and had even put
a trace on his house phone. Jais explained that he had to agree to it, so they
wouldn't know he knew what happened. Apparently, Detective Royce was very bent
on finding me. He told Jais I was a victim and needed to be helped.

At one point we were at a hotel in LA and I
received a call on my new cell phone. Tylon was in the bathroom when I answered
it, without checking the number.

“Myka? Is that you?” it was a familiar voice
on the other end and I realized it was Detective Royce. My heart about stopped.

“No. I’m sorry, sir,” I lied. “I think you
have the wrong number.

“I know it's you Myka. It's Oliver. This
number has called Mrs. Laughlin's house over one hundred times within the last
few weeks,” Detective Royce pried. Mrs. Laughlin was my grandmother. “Please,
Myka. Let me help you.”

“I'm sorry, sir. I don't know any Mrs.
Laughlin. And my name is Karma. Not Myka.”

“Myka, please,” Oliver begged. I sighed.

“My name is Karma,” I repeated. Tylon came out
of the bathroom, looking at me inquisitively. “You have the wrong number.” I
hung up before Royce could reply.

“Wrong number?” Tylon asked.

“We need to change our numbers,” I said firmly.
Tylon scowled slightly. “That was Detective Royce.”

“Shit,” Tylon mumbled. “I'm going down to the
store right now. I'm going to change our numbers. If it happens again, we'll
have to find a new company. Stay here.” Tylon left then and my phone rang again.
It was Detective Royce's number. I was hesitant to answer it. I knew full well
what kind of trouble this could and would cause. Yet, I still answered it.

“What?”

“I know it's you, Myka,” Oliver said.

“I told you my name is Karma.”

“Fine. Karma. I know it’s you.”

“And if it was?” I asked, curious.

“I would beg you to come back. We know it was
Jett who killed Korbyn and Keegan. Don't put yourself in a position like this,”
Oliver begged. “Please, Myka.”

“It's Karma now, Oliver,” I caved. There was
no point in fighting with him. This man seemed to know
everything
. He
sighed, sounding relieved. “You won't be able to get a hold of me much longer.
We're changing our numbers.”

“Karma, don't do this,” he pleaded.

“And I know that you most likely are tracing
this, but that won't help you much either. We'll be gone tonight.” I didn’t
mean to reveal some of that information, but I couldn't help it.

“Karma, please. Let me help you.”

“I don't need help anymore. You didn't help me
when I needed it,” I snapped. “I have to pack, Detective.”

“Karma, I just need to know that you're okay,”
Royce told me.

“I'm fine, Oliver.” I was being honest. “I do
miss you and Terrance, though.”

“We miss you, too,” he replied with a smile in
his voice.

“I have to go now, Oliver. I want to be packed
before Tylon gets back,” I said, accidentally saying Jett's new name. “I mean,
Jett.”

“Tylon?” the detective asked.

“Oliver. Please. Don't.” it was my turn to
beg.

“You know I can't do that, honey,” Oliver
replied. “Can you just do me one thing?” I hesitated a moment before answering.

“Maybe.”

“Can you just call me once in a while to let
me know that you're okay?” I was taken back.

“I - I guess I could do that. But it won't be from
my phone anymore. I hope you know that,” I responded, stuttering slightly.
“Bye, Oliver.” I hung up before he could say anything else.

Grabbing my bags, I started throwing all my
stuff in them. Clothes, shoes, my toiletries, even some of the hotel's towels.
Tylon's bags were next. By the time Tylon walked back into the room, our new
numbers on a paper in his hand, everything was packed.

“We need to leave, Tylon,” I told him. He
didn't second-guess me and grabbed our bags. We went down to the front desk to
return the keys before leaving. Tylon threw our bags in the trunk of our newest
car, and then we took off. Who knew where we would end up next.

We were in Washington a month later, living in
a small cottage near the ocean. It was a pay-weekly place, but I loved it.
Detective Royce hadn't found us yet or gotten a hold of me since that last
night. I figured it was about time to call him. Tylon was at work and had taken
the car, so I called a cab and went to the next town over. I had the driver
wait while I ran into a corner store to use the pay phone

“Royce,” the detective answered after the
first ring.

“I'm okay, Detective. I'm just calling to let
you know that,” I said immediately.

“My - I mean, Karma?” he asked, sounding
surprised, but relieved.

“Yes. I told you I would let you know that I'm
okay.”

“Where are you?” I smirked.

“You know I'm too smart to tell you that,” I
replied. Oliver chuckled softly.

“We tracked you to LA, you know. That was about
all we got, though,” he confessed. I smiled.

“I told you I wouldn’t let you find me. Not
yet, Oliver. “

“I just want to help you. You won't have to go
to jail, My. You had no idea it was Jett until I told you the other day,
right?” he was grilling me.

“Maybe. Maybe not,” I responded.

“He kidnapped you, Myka. He lied to you. Jett
doesn't love you.”

“Jett saved me, Detective!” I snapped at him.
“He did more than you did!” I knew that would hurt him.

“Myka -” I cut him off.

“My name is Karma, Detective. Good day.” I
hung up on Oliver again. My heart was broken. I knew that he genuinely wanted
to help me. Hell. I wanted him to help me. I just couldn't do that to Tylon.

I ran back out of the store and back to my
cab, the driver taking me back to my simple little cottage. Tylon wasn’t home
from work yet, which was a good thing. He didn't know about my calls with
Oliver and I didn't want him to know.

I walked around the cottage, thinking to
myself. I loved Jett. I mean he saved me too many times. I couldn't leave him.
I couldn't go back. Yet, here I was, living on the run like a fugitive. I knew
we would have to leave again after that call. We couldn't risk getting caught.

About an hour later, Tylon came home and I told
him I wanted to head back to New York.

“I miss Grandma,” I explained. He studied me.

“You know that's cutting it close, Kar,” Tylon
told me.

“C'mon, baby. Please? I miss Gollum, too.” I
smirked then. “And we have yet to do it in the stall.” He laughed.

“Okay. Okay. For a few days,” he finally gave
in. I hugged him.

“Thanks, Ky! Can we leave tonight?” I asked
him. He nodded.

“Let's go sell our car and get a cab to the
airport. We'll fly out this time,” he said. I looked at him.

“Are you sure that's safe?” I questioned.

“No, but at least that way we can get there
and get it done and over with,” he replied, shrugging. I nodded in agreement.
We packed our things and headed out.

It was a week later and we were at my
grandmother's. She commented on my new look and told me I looked great. I just
kept hugging her. I knew that this might be the last time I would see her. We
spent a lot of time together, while Tylon looked for a job in cities in the
surrounding area. It looked like we might be in New York for a while.

“Some detectives keep coming up here and
snooping around, Myka,” Grandma told me. I looked at her.

“Grandma, I changed my name to Karma,” I
reminded her. She laughed.

“I know, honey, but I can't help calling you what
your mother named you,” Grandma replied. I smiled.

“Have the detectives been up here recently?” I
asked, changing the subject back.

“Last week a good looking young man came up
here asking about you. Detective Rogers or Rooster or something like that.”

“Detective Royce?”

“That's what it was,” she said. I chewed on my
bottom lip. “I told them I hadn’t seen you since that week you broke you
wrist.”

“Thanks, Grandma.” I stood up. “I'm going to
go take Gollum out for a ride,” I told her. I walked out of the house, grabbing
my riding boots and walked out to the barn.

My gorgeous dapple gray horse, Gollum, greeted
me the moment he saw me. I brushed him down before putting his saddle blanket,
saddle and bridle on. Then I climbed into the saddle and we took off into the
woods.

I figured I would ride to one of the corner
stores in the next town so I could call Detective Royce. I used to ride out
there to get soda and cigarettes when I lived up there, before I met Korbyn.

It took Gollum and me about an hour to get there.
I had decided to go to another town, where I also knew the storeowner. I walked
in and got Newports and water for Gollum. I gave Gollum his water in a
Styrofoam bowl that I also bought before walking over to the pay phone. I
dialed Detective Royce s number.

“Royce,” he answered before the phone even
rang on my end.

“Just letting you know that I'm okay,
Detective,” I said immediately.

“Where are you, Myka?” he questioned. I rolled
my eyes.

“It's Karma now, Oliver,” I reminded him.

“Where are you?” Detective Royce demanded. I
scowled.

“Around.”

“Myka, if you don't let me help you, I can't
prevent anyone else from going hard on you!” he cried.

“That sounded like an invitation to a
rendezvous, Detective” I responded, smirking. “Are you attracted to me,
Detective? Do you want me in your bed?”

“I - I never said that,” Oliver stammered and
I knew I made him blush. My smile grew.

“You do, don t you?” I pushed. “You want me to
be all yours, Detective. You want me to be crying your name out at night and
not Jett's.”

“Karma!” He exclaimed, surprising me.

“You want to be able to say that late at night
as I'm on top of you,” I guess I didn't know when to stop. “I know you've had
wet dreams about me, Detective. I've seen it in your eyes.”

“I want to help you, Karma. Not bed you,” he
finally retaliated.

“Bullshit, Detective. If you wanted to help me
-” Oliver cut me off.

“I know I should have been there when you
called! I know I should have moved faster to get those bastards, Karma!” he
yelled at me, surprising me into silence. “I just want to save you, Karma. Let
me save you.”

“Jett already did, Detective,” I replied
softly, after a moment of silence where I let everything he just said sink in.

“Tell me where you are, Karma. Please,” Oliver
begged.

“For all you know I could be right outside the
precinct. I could be down in Florida or in Kentucky. Maybe you passed me this
morning. Maybe I'm in Texas. Maybe I was the one you gave you your coffee an
hour ago. You wouldn't know, Oliver. I could be watching you right now, longing
for you. Maybe I'm in my bed, wishing you were there with me. You will never
know, Detective Royce. Oliver. You're my guardian angel. And I will be yours
someday. That's a promise.” I then realized that I had been crying.

“Karma -” I cut him off.

“See you soon, Detective.” I hung up, wiping
the tears from my cheeks. I mounted Gollum again and took back off towards my
grandmother's.

As Gollum and I approached my grandmother's an
hour later, I saw an unmarked police car in her driveway and I knew the
detectives had come back. I slowed Gollum and watched on from a distance.
Detective Royce finally came out of my grandmother s house, rubbing his hands
over his face. Detective Royce sure looked rough. Detective Bensley came out
behind him, placing a hand on his back in a comforting gesture. I saw him look
up and I know he looked right at me, because he froze mid-step. I quickly took
off back into the woods and watched from the safety of the shadows as he shook
his head and climbed into his car. I waited until I was sure they weren't
coming back, before returning Gollum to his stall. I brushed him down again and
then went back into the house.

“Myka honey, the detectives were back,”
Grandma told me immediately.

“I know, Grandma. Don't worry. We'll leave in
a few days,” I replied before going up to my room. To my surprise, Tylon came
out of a secret hiding place that I had created back three years before then.

“The detectives came by, Karma,” Tylon told me
immediately.

“I know. I saw them.”

“We need to leave soon. We can't be found.”

“I know Tylon. I already told Grandma,” I
replied. I was slightly depressed. Detective Royce was here. He wanted to help
me so bad. I couldn't hide the fact that I seemed to have developed small
desires for him. It was all just too bad.

“I love you, Karma Wayward,” Tylon said,
looking at me and smiling. I couldn't help but smile back.

“I love you, Tylon Wayward.” I kissed him and
we made love right there on the floor of my bedroom.