Anything For Love (8 page)

The next day I ventured down to the precinct
and sat across from it, watching people walking in and out. I knew this was
stupid and dangerous, but I couldn't help it. I had to see Detective Royce,
even if it was just from the distance. I wore black jeans and a black tank top
underneath a black sweatshirt with a zipper down the front.

Finally, I saw him. Wearing a long black
jacket, a black dress shirt with a black and white tie and black pants, he looked
good. Better than the day before. I smiled to myself as I watched him climb the
steps. Oliver looked back, scanning the mass of people and cars, as if hoping
to see me. He saw me and nodded, like I was just another person. I nodded back,
not smiling because I knew he'd recognize me if I did. I stood up and walked
away after he walked into the building. I told him he wouldn't know me if he
saw me.

I walked down to a coffee shop and purchased
four coffees. Walking back to the precinct, I knew that this was probably the
stupidest, most irresponsible thing I'd ever done. I walked right in the front
door and came to the front desk. The gentleman looked up at me and studied me
for a moment.

“Can I help you?” he finally asked.

“These are for Detectives Royce, Bensley,
Bronson and Harris. Could I have a piece of paper and a pen? I'd like to write
them a note,” I replied. He handed me what I asked for. I wrote:

To Detective Royce:

I told you that you wouldn't recognize me. We
made eye contact not moments ago. I wish I could have delivered these
personally, but I'm in a hurry, so I hope you can forgive me. Enjoy the coffee.
Give Detective Bensley, Detective Bronson and Detective Harris my best wishes.

Take care, Detective.

Karma

“Thanks so much, Mister,” I said, leaving the
coffees, note and pen right on the desk. He nodded and I walked out before
turning around to watch him take the coffees back to Royce. I smiled. I turned
back around to head down the steps and I passed right by Detective Harris. It
pained me to not speak to him, but it was good that he didn't recognize me,
either.

I hailed a cab and as the driver took off, I
was looking out the back window. I saw Detective Royce and Detective Harris
come running down the front steps, looking around frantically. I noticed that
it had started to rain, as if the heavens were reflecting my own feelings.

Smiling sadly, I turned back around. Either
the coffee was that good or the fact that it was I that delivered it had them
riled up. I couldn't help but laugh when I realized that the cab driver was
listening to Total Eclipse of the Heart.

Yea. Maybe that's what this was.

A few days later, Tylon and I headed to
Boston. While Tylon was getting gas at one gas station, I headed over to the
pay phone. I figured I should call Detective Royce to see what he had to say.

“Royce,” he answered right away. It seemed
like he answered his phone faster and faster each time I called.

“Hello, Oliver,” I said smiling. “Did you
enjoy the coffee?

“Karma! How? What?” I couldn’t help but laugh
at him.

“You looked right at me the other day. You
even nodded at me. Then I went and bought you some coffee. I walked right into
the precinct, wrote the note and then left, passing by Detective Harris,” I
explained.

“Karma, please. Come back. We can talk. Just
talk,” he tried getting me to go back.

“I'm sorry, Detective. I've already left. I'll
be back though,” I told him.

“Karma, please.”

“I'm sorry, Oliver.” I hung up then and walked
back to the car. Tylon got in right after me.

“Who did you call?” he asked me.

“An old friend,” I said, hoping he wouldn't
push the situation.

“So, why Boston, babe?” Tylon asked. I
shrugged.

“I've just always wanted to go there. I think
it'll be nice. We could find a nice Irish neighborhood and not have to worry
about anything,” I answered him. “We Irish stick together.” I smiled and Tylon
laughed.

“Sounds good to me,” he said. For about ten
minutes, the car was silent, before Tylon spoke again. “You going to ruin this
one for us, too?” I looked at him, confused. “I know you've been calling
Detective Royce.”

“I'm not going to ruin anything. I haven't
ruined anything yet, have I?”

“We have to keep running because you keep
talking to him. He's tracking us, you know,” he responded.

“I know. That's why I always call from pay
phones and always a town or two away from where we actually are.”

“Except for just now,” Tylon pointed out. I
remained silent. “Karma, I don't know what happened between the two of you or
what is happening between the two of you, but it needs to stop. Do you want me
to go to jail?”

“You know I don't, Tylon!” I snapped.

“Yea right. You want to go back to your
precious Detective Royce and be with him!” he cried in return.

“If that's what you really think, then you let
me out of this car right now!” I exclaimed, facing him. Tylon slammed on his
brakes and pulled off to the side of the road. I looked at him, scowling. “I
can't believe you, Tylon.” I got out of the car and he drove away. I couldn't
believe he left me in the middle of nowhere. I had no idea where I was. He had
all the money and all of my things. I started walking back in the direction of
the gas station. I pulled out my phone and I was contemplating calling
Detective Royce, when a car came up beside me.
        It was Tylon.

“Get in, Karma,” Tylon said without even
looking at me. I climbed in without argument.

I was afraid of him when he got mad, because
Tylon had never gotten mad at me before the whole Korbyn and Keegan thing went
down.

“Stop your crying.” I hadn't even realized I'd
been crying. I rubbed at my eyes. I saw Tylon look at my phone in my hand. “Did
you call him?” I shook my head, not saying a word. Tylon slammed on his gas
pedal, reaching sixty-five in no time. It was a few moments before I realized
we weren't going towards Boston.

“Where are we going?” I asked him.

“Back to New York,” he replied, his eyes hard
on the road.

“Why?”

“Because that's obviously where you want to
be.”

“I want to be with you, Jett!”  I cried,
using his real name.

“You will be. You'll be my cellmate in
prison.”

“Don't do this, Jett!” I was sobbing at that
point.

“Shut up, Myka,” he replied. He hadn't called
me Myka since before we changed our names. I was silent for a few moments.

“C'mon, Tylon. Let's go to Boston,” I said,
trying to stay calm and civil.

“No. We're going back to New York. Right back
to your boy toy,” he responded.

“Fine. You want to be that way? Fine.” I took
off my wedding rings and threw them at him. They rolled to the floor of the
car. That really seemed to anger him. Tylon slammed on the brakes again, put
the car in park and got out of the car.

He came around to my side of the car and
pulled me out of it. Tylon stood above me, his eyes flashing with anger, as he
looked into my eyes. For some reason, he looked really sexy like this and I
became aroused. I kissed Tylon then, pulling his hips to mine. He kissed me
back, hard and fierce, before turning me around. Tylon pulled both of our pants
down and bent me over the car; having sex with me right there on the side of
the highway as cars sped by. It only took a few moments before he was done. I
smiled as we situated ourselves and climbed back in the car. Tylon picked up my
rings and handed them to me. I happily put them back on. We drove off, still
heading back to New York.

A month later, I stood outside the precinct
again. This time my hair was strawberry-blond and my eyes were green. I had gained
thirty of the fifty pounds I had originally lost back. I didn't mind though. I
wore dark blue jeans, a red tank top and a red and black sweatshirt with a
zipper down the front.

In my hands were a dozen donuts and four
coffees. I walked up the steps and there was a different gentleman at the front
desk.

This could be the end of everything
, I thought to myself, but then I shrugged.

“Could I see Detective Royce please?” I asked
and he told me to go on back. I walked through the doors and spotted Detective
Royce at his desk. I waited until he left his desk before I went over there to
set down the donuts and coffees.

“Can I help you?” I heard his voice behind me.
I flashed a smile, kind of hoping he'd recognize me and kind of hoping he
wouldn't. He studied me for a moment.

“Just making a delivery, Detective,” I replied
slowly, almost seductively. Detective Royce's eyes widened. I smiled again, and
then placed my finger to my lips. “Shh.”

“Karma?” he whispered. I just smiled.

“Enjoy your coffee and donuts, Detective,” I
said before starting to walk away. He grabbed my arm and dragged me into an
empty interrogation room. “I'm just the delivery girl, Sir. What could you
possibly want with me?”

“I know it's you, Myka. Or Karma. Whatever it
is,” Oliver told me. I cocked an eyebrow at him. “Where's your boyfriend?”

“My
husband
is at work, Detective.” For
a moment, I thought the detective in front of me was going to fall over and
lost his grasp on my arm.

“You got married?” he asked, his eyebrows
rose.

“Don't sound so disappointed, Detective Royce.
I'm a big girl,” I cooed, sticking my chest out. His eyes darted down to my
chest and then back to my eyes.

“Don't make me book you, Myka,” Oliver
threatened, grabbing my arm again.

“My name's Karma,” I snapped, pulling out of
his grasp.

“Tell me where he is. You know I have to
arrest him.”

“I don't know who you're talking about,
Detective
,
but I sure do hope you find them,” I replied, beaming a fake smile. “Don't try
to find me, Detective Royce.” I walked towards the door, but he stopped me
again, pulling me into his arms. I was shocked, but slowly hugged him back.

“Let me help, Karma,” Royce whispered, his
lips brushing against my ear. I shivered, hugging him a little harder.

“If he finds out I came here, Oliver, he'll
kill me,” I whispered back, finally pulling away. “You never saw me. Please.” I
pleaded him with my eyes.

“I never saw you,” he told me softly, gently
taking my chin with his fingers. “But I
want
to see you, Karma.” I
closed my eyes briefly and a couple tears slid down my cheeks. I grabbed the
notebook from his shirt pocket and the pen that was with it.

“Meet me here tonight. You and you alone,” I
told him, jotting down the name of a small restaurant in the next town. “Have a
nice day, Detective.”

With that, I walked out the door and quickly
left the precinct, never looking back.

That night, I sat at a booth at the
restaurant, waiting for Detective Royce to join me. Tylon worked that night, so
I didn't think he'd know about this meeting. I sat there playing with my straw
as someone approached the table. I looked up to find Oliver.

“Are you alone?” I asked him, cautiously.

“Yes,” he replied as he sat down across from
me. A waitress came over and he ordered a soda. We sat in silence until she
came back with it. I took a deep breath and let it out as I studied him. His
piercing blue eyes were soft but they looked happy. A small smile crept to my
face as Oliver sighed.

“So your name is Karma now?” Oliver initiated
a conversation. I nodded sipping at my water. “Why's that?”

“What goes around, comes around, Detective,” I
replied.

“Call me Oliver. We're two friends out talking
about our lives. Right now, I'm not a detective.” I smiled at his casualness.

“I changed it to Karma because karma is what
took care of Korbyn and Keegan. They had it coming to them, you know.”

“Even if they did, Karma, I could have given
it to them as bad as Jett did,” he retorted.

“I don't think you could have done it as bad,
Oliver.” He laughed.

“Maybe not. I could have sent them to prison
where they would have gotten beaten and raped by the other prisoners though.
That's what they do to sexual predators, you know,” Oliver pointed out. I
shrugged.

“What's done is done,” I mumbled. I took
another sip of my water, playing with my straw with my tongue rings. Oliver
laughed at me.

“You look really good, Kar. May I call you
Kar?” I nodded with a smile on my face.

“Are you coming on to me, Detective?” I asked
a little seductively. Oliver looked deep into my eyes.

“What if I was?” he questioned. I smirked.

“I'd say that that might compromise your
investigation.”

“Do you really think I care, Karma? If I were
worried about that I would have told everyone about seeing you today. Plus, I
wouldn’t be here right now.”

“So what I said on the phone the other day was
all true?” I asked. He hesitated before nodding. I smiled. “You do realize I'm
married now, don't you?”

“To a fugitive, Karma. You're married to a
fugitive. I could be so much more. You could have a normal life with me,”
Oliver responded.

“I love Jett, Oliver,” I whispered.

“Obviously not as much as you think you do.”

“Why do you say that?”

“You're sitting here with me. You keep in
touch with me, even though you guys have been on the run. Karma, you're
bringing me that much closer to catching him,” he explained.

“But remember, Detective. You haven't seen
me,” I reminded him of our discussion earlier. He sighed and sat back.

“Let me help you. Please.”

“No, Oliver.”

“Let me make up for when I wasn't there when
it came to Korbyn and Keegan. Please,” Detective Royce pleaded.

“I can’t, Ol. I won't do that to Jett,” I
replied.

“Karma, he's made you an accessory to murder.
He's kidnapped you. He's making it bad for you, too. I bet he's even gotten a
temper since you left.” I was silent. “He has, hasn’t he?” I nodded slowly.

“Jett gets rough with me. He yells at me. He
forbade me from even talking to you,” I told him. “Jett loves me, Oliver.”

“Does that really sound like love to you? I'm thinking
it sounds more like Korbyn.”

“No! He's nothing like Korbyn!” I hissed.
Oliver stared at me hard, his eyes searching my soul. Suddenly, Oliver reached
across the table, pulling me towards him and he kissed me. I was pleasantly
surprised. Almost as quickly as it happened, he let me go.

“A happy life, in a permanent home or a life
on the run, Karma. It's your decision,” he said, getting up to pay the bill.
While he was at the register, I went outside. I walked to the side of the
restaurant, lit a cigarette and studied the stars. Oliver was offering me what
I wanted, but I told Tylon that we were in this together until the very end. I
was so deep in thought that I didn't hear Oliver come up beside me.

“I miss your blue eyes, Karma. They remind me
of the stars,” he admitted. I blushed. “Don't you want to have all that back?
Your real eyes and even your hair?” Oliver ran his fingers through my hair
gently. “I know you do, Kar.”

“And you know I can't,” I snapped. Gently, he
took my chin in his fingers and tipped my head up to look him in the eye. Then,
he kissed me softly.

I wrapped my arms around his neck and deepened
the kiss. Oliver's arms were wrapped around me, keeping me close to him. After
a few moments, I finally broke the kiss. My heart was racing and his eyes were
wild.

“It's time to go, Detective,” I spoke softly.
He shook his head.

“No, Karma. Not just yet.” I shook my head in
return.

“I have to get home. If I'm not there when
Tylon gets there, I'm dead,” I told him.

“Let me drive you.”

“Yea. Like that's going to happen, Detective
Royce,” I laughed. He looked hurt. “I can't have you knowing where we are and I
can't have Jett knowing I was with you. That's all.”

“I can protect you,” he begged. I kissed him
softly.

“Go home, Oliver. I'll be in touch soon,” I
urged him. Oliver nodded slowly, before walking to his car. I knew this pained
him in so many ways, just like it pained me. A tear ran down my cheek as I
watched him drive away.