Anything For Love (9 page)

A month later, we were in Pennsylvania and the
cops had been trailing us a little closer than before. I was so worried about
it, that I hadn't even contacted Detective Royce since the night we met at the
restaurant. Tylon had found out somehow and he beat me up a little bit, but it
was nothing compared to Korbyn's and Keegan's damages.

One night, two cops knocked on our hotel room
door. We panicked a little inside, but we let them in.

“Sorry to bother you so late, but we're
looking for two fugitives,” the first cop explained, holding up a picture of
the two of us from the year before. “Have you seen these people?” We shook our
heads. “You've never talked to anyone or seen anyone by the name of Myka
Marsters or Jett Adkins?”

“No, Sir,” I replied. The officers sighed and
left the room. After that encounter, we packed up our things and we ran to our
car, once the coast was clear. We took off as soon as the police went into
another room.

“That was too damn close,” Tylon sighed. His
hands clenched the wheel so hard that his knuckles were white. I was a little
scared.

“Where we going now, Babe?” I asked him.

“Back to New York.”

“Won't that be a little dangerous?”

“Hey. We know that state like the backs of our
hands. We can hide better there,” he answered me. I shrugged and leaned back in
my seat, closing my eyes, wondering if I should contact Detective Royce. I
decided against it for the time being, considering the way Tylon reacted when
he found I had gone to meet him.

“What are you thinking about, Karma?” Tylon
asked me, ten minutes later.

“Everything,” I replied honestly.

“You're thinking about him aren't you?” he
pried. I shook my head.

“No, baby. There's only you,” I said softly.
He didn't buy it.

“Bullshit. You still want to go running back
to him, don't you?”

“No, Tylon. I don't,” I replied angrily.

“Whatever, Myka,” he muttered, using my real
name.

“Fuck you, too,” I mumbled in response. Tylon
slapped me, shutting me up for a couple of hours.

“Royce,” Detective Royce answered his phone. I
called him as soon as Tylon had fallen asleep in our new hotel room, in New
York.

“Meet me, Oliver. Please,” I said when he
answered. “I think I need help.”

“Karma? What's wrong?” Oliver sounded worried.

“Will you meet me?”

“Of course, Kar. Where?” I gave Oliver the
name of a restaurant in two cities over from where I was.

“Can you be there in an hour?” I asked him.

“An hour is fine. I'll see you then.” I hung
up after that. I knew that this was a really bad idea because if Tylon woke up,
there'd be hell to pay.

I paced around the hotel room for about
fifteen minutes, before calling a cab from the same pay phone outside our room
that I had called Detective Royce from. They arrived within fifteen minutes and
it took half an hour to get to the restaurant. By the time I arrived, I was a
nervous wreck.

I walked into the restaurant, scanning the
booths. My heart fell when I didn’t see Detective Royce. I stood at the
entrance, hesitating to go in and be seated. I took a deep breath, preparing to
go inside, when someone grabbed my shoulder. I spun around quickly, afraid that
it was Tylon. Instead, my eyes met Oliver's. I flung my arms around his neck,
relieved.

“What’s wrong, Karma?” Detective Royce asked
me.

Just hold me for a moment,” I whispered, tears
springing to my eyes.

He wrapped his arms around me, hugging me to
him. Oliver nuzzled my ear softly as he held me, sending shivers down my back.
I kissed him hard then, tightening my arms around his neck. I gently ground my
hips into his and he moaned softly into the kiss. After a few moments, I pulled
away and he led me into the restaurant. I didn't look at anyone as Oliver led
me to a booth in the back of the restaurant.    After we were seated,
we sat silently for a few moments. I studied him, almost surprised to find him
in a tee shirt and jeans.

“Are you going to tell me what's wrong,
Karma?” Oliver finally spoke.

“His temper keeps growing,” I finally
answered, not looking at him. “It's still not as bad as Korbyn's had been, but
it's gotten worse.”

“Why don't you let me help you then?”

“I told him we were in this together until the
end,” I whispered. Tears stung my eyes as the waitress approached.

“What can I get you guys?” the waitress asked.

“I'll have a water,” I responded, almost
mechanically.

“Coffee,” Oliver ordered, after me. When the
waitress walked away, Oliver turned back to me. “So, why don't you let me help
you?”

“I told you why,” I snapped. Oliver looked
hurt. “I'm sorry, Ol, but a promise is a promise.”

“Then I promise to get you out of this. I
promise that in the end, you will have a permanent home. I promise it won't be
jail or prison, either,” Oliver said, looking deep into my eyes, as he took my
hand.

At that moment, the waitress brought us our
drinks. I watched Oliver as he put sugar in his coffee. I couldn't help but
smile. Being with him felt so natural. It had been like this with Jett at
first. I mean, Tylon. Something had changed though. I couldn't understand just
what it was.    Maybe it was being on the run. Maybe it was from
killing Korbyn and Keegan. I just couldn't figure it out.

“What are you thinking about, Karma?” Oliver
asked me.

“Why has Jett changed?” I asked him. Oliver
looked at me, studying me for a moment.

“I don't know, Kar,” Oliver answered quietly.
“Maybe he's afraid you'll turn on him. Maybe he got such a rush from taking out
Korbyn and Keegan that he can't get over it. I don't know, Karma.” I sat there
thinking about that for a moment. “I really miss your blue eyes.” The randomness
of that statement made me look up at him like he was an alien. He snickered,
taking a sip of his coffee.

“I miss them, too. But I get to see them every
night and every morning,” I told him. “I have to wear contacts anyways, so it's
not that big of a deal for me to have to put colored ones in, instead.”

“You were the one on that horse, that day at
your grandmother's, weren't you?” he asked me, bringing up the time from a few
months before. “Right after you had called me and teased me.” I blushed and
nodded. “I knew it. I didn't say anything though. I didn't want you to get
caught.”

Oliver really is protecting me
, I thought to myself.

“Can't you get in trouble for that?”

“Honey, I can get in trouble for all of this,”
he answered.

“Oliver, I'm not worth all that trouble,” I
said. He took my hand again.

“You are worth all of it,” Oliver told me,
looking deep into my eyes again. I about melted. His eyes were the greatest
blue eyes I had ever seen. It did scare me a little bit though, how they seemed
to pierce my soul every time he looked at me.

At that moment, I happened to glance past
Oliver and to the door of the restaurant. To my surprise and horror, I saw
Tylon standing there. He was scanning the restaurant.

“Shit!” I hissed, looking at the wall.

“What?” Oliver asked me, sounding worried.

“Tylon's here,” I whispered, stealing a look
past Oliver again. Tylon was coming to our table.

“Who?” Just then, Tylon grabbed me.

“You little bitch,” he hissed in my ear,
pulling me to my feet. Tylon glared at Oliver. “Don't you move, or I'll kill
her,” he told Oliver. Ol put his hands up, not moving otherwise.

I watched Oliver, tears in my eyes. He looked
up at me, apologizing with his. Tylon dragged me out of the restaurant and
threw me into his car. Then, he got in and he drove us back to the hotel.

Once we were parked, Tylon got out and dragged
me into our hotel room, throwing me onto the bed.

“What the hell do you think you're doing?” he
yelled at me, locking the door.

“I was having a drink with Oliver!” I yelled
back. Tylon came over to me and hit me. I lay there, stunned, holding my face.

“Do you want me to get caught? Do you want me
to go to jail?” he was screaming now. I sobbed as Tylon straddled me.

“You know I don't, Tylon!” I cried as he
pinned my arms to the bed.

Tylon shook his head, smirking harshly. I
looked up at him as he sat on top of me. I didn't know what he was going to do
and it scared me. His eyes held mine as he just sat there.

“What is it about Oliver that you like so
much?” Tylon finally asked me.  I stared up at him thinking. He cocked his
eyebrow at me.

“He just wants to help me, Ty. But I won't let
him. He gives me a piece of my old self, I guess,” I finally answered.

“He hardly knows you, Myka!” he exclaimed.

“He knows me better than you do, anymore,” I
mumbled. Tylon hit me harder than ever and I felt blood trickle down my chin.

“What do you want from me!?” he was screaming
again. “I killed those bastards for you! And this is how you repay me? By
becoming that detective's little slut?” I spit in his face for that, which
earned me another meeting with his fist. I didn't cry. I wouldn't let myself
cry. After everything with Korbyn and Keegan I knew that's what guys like this
got off on. Tylon seemed to get even angrier when I showed no emotion and he
hit me again. My eye started to swell immediately.

“Bastard,” I whispered. He roughly pulled off
my jeans then and I just lay there, not moving. “Tylon. Please don't,” I
begged.

Tylon shook his head, thrusting into me hard.
I cried out in pain. He continued to thrust for a few moments, before flipping
me over. I tried to fight him off, but I failed. He thrust into me from behind
while I still struggled against him. Then, without warning, Tylon pulled out
and thrust even harder into my back end. I screamed out, begging him to stop.
After a few moments he finished. Tylon finally climbed off of me and I rolled
over and spit in his face yet again. Just as Tylon went to hit me for it, there
was pounding on our door. We both looked at the door at the same time, before
he turned back to me.

“Say one word and I'll kill you,” he hissed,
before going to the door. I watched Tylon as he looked through the peephole and
he spun around quickly. “You bitch! Did you tell him where we were?” I was
confused. “Your fucking boyfriend is here!”

“What?” I asked him, scowling. Tylon grabbed
my arm and dragged me to the door. I was still half naked and in a lot of pain.

“Look!” I looked through the peephole and
found Oliver standing outside. This time, he had Detective Harris, Detective
Bronson and Detective Bensley with him. Other police cars were also pulling
into the parking lot. “You two-timing bitch!”

“I had nothing to do with this, Tylon!” I
whispered fiercely. He slapped me again and I fell against the door. I watched
Tylon as he ran into the bathroom, frantically looking for another way out.

Just as I stood up, trying to clear my mind,
the hotel room door came flying open. I stood there in front of the four
detectives half naked and in tears. They all had the decency to look away and
Detective Bensley threw me the jeans that lay on the floor where Tylon had
thrown them. Detective Royce came over to me immediately, while Detective
Harris, Detective Bensley and Detective Bronson searched the room.

I prayed silently that Tylon had gotten out
okay. Oliver led me out of the room to an ambulance so I could be cleaned up. I
sat in awe and silence while the paramedics cleaned me up. The cut on my bottom
lip was so bad that I needed stitches. They advised me to ride to the ER. I
looked up at Oliver and he told them that he would bring me in himself. They
nodded and waited for the okay to leave.

The other detectives finally came out, coming
over to Oliver and me.

“He got away, Ol. I’m sorry,” Ellie said,
shaking her head. All of the detectives were studying me.

“I have to take her to the ER, Ell. You
coming?” Detective Royce asked Detective Bensley.

“I will,” Detective Harris jumped at the
offer. Detective Bensley looked at him and nodded to him.

“Let Terrance go. I'll meet you guys back at
the precinct,” she said. Oliver helped me into the backseat of his car, before
both he and Detective Harris got in. I stared out the window, praying for a
sign that Tylon really had gotten away.

“Tell us where he went, Karma,” Detective
Bensley said. It was about midnight and I had already been to the hospital. I
told them everything that had happened while we had been on the run and
anything else I could think of.

“I don t know! He beat me and raped me, then
you guys came in!” I cried. Detective Royce stood anxiously in the corner of
the room.

“Come on, Karma. Where would he go?” she
pushed.

“I don't know!” I cried again. I was standing,
since sitting was quite uncomfortable from what Tylon did. “We haven't gone
anywhere since he took me on the run! He allowed me to see my grandmother but
that was it! Tylon's been taking us from hotel to hotel this whole time. He
gets mad when I use the phone. I have no friends anymore. I don't even know how
Grandma is!”

“You mean he kept you hostage?” Ellie asked
me. I shrugged.

“I guess you could say that,” I started. “I
married him when we first left because I loved him. Things started changing
after he told me what he'd done. I just don't feel the same way I did then. A
part of me still loves him, but not like I did. If I knew where to find him I'd
help you,” I answered honestly. “He wouldn't let me leave. I wasn't allowed out
of his sight, except for when he worked his odd jobs. Then I was kept locked in
the room.” Detective Bensley looked over to Detective Royce who still stood in
the corner.

“Did you have a rape kit done tonight, Karma?”
Ellie changed the subject, her tone softening. I nodded.

“I can't believe he raped me. Tylon of all
people,” I whispered.

“Do you have somewhere to stay? Somewhere
Tylon can't find you?”

“All I have is my grandmother. My father has
nothing to do with me,” I told her.

“You can't go there. He'll be sure to find you
there,” she said.

“She could stay with me,” Oliver finally spoke.
He hadn't said one word during this whole interrogation. “I have plenty of
extra rooms.” Ellie hesitated before looking at me.

“Would you be willing to stay with Detective
Royce?” she asked. I shrugged.

“As long as he can protect me and cause me no harm,”
I answered.

“You know he can protect you and you know he
won't hurt you. He's a cop, Karma,” Detective Bensley soothed me. I shrugged
again.

“I suppose I could. I have nowhere else to
go.” Detective Bensley stood up then.

“Take her home, Oliver. Call me if Tylon comes
anywhere near her,” she told him, opening the door. Oliver put his hand gently
against the small of my back and led me out of the room.

“She's free to go?” Detective Bronson asked as
he saw us come out. He and Detective Harris were sitting at their desks.

“Karma was a hostage, Bronson. We have no
reason to hold her,” Detective Bensley told him.

“Well, I'm glad you're safe now, Princess,”
Detective Harris said to me. “We promised we'd help you.” I smiled faintly. I
was still in a lot of pain and just plain worn out.

“She'll be staying with Oliver until we can
catch Tylon. That way we know she's safe at all times,” Detective Bensley,
continued. Detective Harris and Detective Bronson looked at each other before
nodding.

“That would be best right now,” Detective
Harris said.

“Can we go?” I asked softly. The detectives
looked at each other, before Detective Royce led me out of the precinct and out
to his car. I was relieved that it was over for me, but I was still worried
about Tylon. I'd wait a couple of days before looking for him.