Page 85 of Jon's Helter Skelter Cold Case

Chad slumped in my grip as all the fight went out of him. He didn’t resist as I escorted him toward the main road. He apparently realized that with Tylesia found, there was nothing he could say or do to get out of this situation. He was absolutely correct. In fact, a judge and jury would throw this guy under the prison after what he did. Don’t get me wrong, kidnapping a person and holding them captive was bad enough on a regular basis. But doing so with an anchor and framing her psychic for her supposed murder? The population as a whole had a very romantic notion of what an anchor-slash-psychic bond was. It was like telling someone Cinderella was stolen from Prince Charming after they were married and she was kept away from him, all while painting Prince Charming as the villain. Outrage was incoming on a bullet train.

Normally people like Chad got years in prison. But honestly, considering the severity of his crime, I wouldn’t be surprised if he got either life or execution for this.

I’d try to feel bad about that later.

By the time we made it to where we’d parked our cars, Marc and Jon were already there. The backup FBI agents were scattering already, pulling out boundary tape, and the forensic guys were hauling their equipment out of their van. They were certainly not wasting any time.

I saw Jon and felt a sense of relief. I mean, I knew Marc would protect him if it came down to that, but I always felt better when I had eyes on Jon. It was a thing.

Next to him, though, was a petite woman who looked rough around the edges. It took me a second, as initially her back was to me, then I realized—this was Tylesia Evans. Wow, she was up on her feet and moving fine? She was one resilient woman.

The second he saw her, Chad started babbling.

“Tye, Tye, you have to talk to them.”

She turned, spotted him, and her face hardened. Now, I’d seen anger and righteous fury on a woman’s face before. Usually walking into a typhoon was safer than coming anywhere near her. And here the typhoon was walking toward me. Yikes, uh, someone help? Pretty sure she wasn’t mad at me, but still, I did not want to be in the blast radius.

Chad, being stupid, kept talking. “Tell them I brought you here because I love you, I just wanted to love you, and you were fighting with me—”

Tye reared back, fist clenching, and then slammed her fist right into his nose. It was an excellent straight punch. I admired its form and execution.

“You motherfuckingasshole,” she snarled. “I hope you rot in prison and someone makes you their bitch. I hope you feel every bit of the agony you put me through. Death is too good for you. The only words I’ll speak of you will be ones of pure, unadulterated hate, and I’ll make sure the entire world knows just what kind of person you are.”

Chad’s nose was bleeding freely, but I didn’t think the tears in his eyes were because of pain. He looked heartbroken that she hated him so much.

Oh. My. God. I stared at him, absolutely without words. Dude, you locked her up and forced a broken anchor connection, and you’re surprised she hates your guts? Was he hoping forStockholm Syndrome or something to kick in? He must have been.

“I do not want to even breathe the same air as you.” She turned and gestured for the nearest FBI agent. “Ma’am, lock his ass up.”

The agent grinned and came at a trot. “With absolute pleasure.”

“Thank you.”

Chad was marched off to one of the cars. He was still shell-shocked and bleeding. No one had any sympathy for him.

Seeing as how Tylesia was obviously coherent, I thought it best to offer something. “Ma’am, I’m Donovan Havili, Jon’s anchor.”

Her eyes came back to me and softened. “Jon told me you were here, how everyone has worked for weeks to find me. Thank you, Mr. Havili.”

“You are more than welcome. Would you like to call home? I have your parents’ phone numbers.”

Her eyes turned abruptly bright with tears. “I would like that very much.”

I pulled out my phone and unlocked it, then found her mother’s contact before hitting dial. Then I passed it over.

She put it to her ear, staying close. The call was answered almost immediately and with her so close, I could hear it easily.

“Donovan, what’s the news?”

Tylesia’s voice wavered. “Mama?”

A sharp intake of breath and then Serena screamed, “TYE?!”

“Yeah. They found me. They found me.” Tylesia was openly crying now, but her smile was breathtaking in its joy. “They have that rotten bastard in cuffs, too.”

“Oh my god, baby, are you all right?”

“I will be now. I mean, I want a shower, a full day in a spa, and a week of just being with you guys, but I’m all right.”

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