Chapter 13
The flight with Lou was THE worst that Tyler had ever had to endure. She kept thinking about Kevin and praying that he'd be able to find her. She had to figure out a way to get a message to him without Lou knowing what she was doing. The trouble was, HOW?
When the plane touched down, Tyler realized they were in California but she was in a daze. She couldn't believe this was really happening to her. She looked at the people getting off the plane and not one appeared to even notice that she had been forced onto the plane.
Lou said, "Give me the jacket."
Stunned out of her daze, Tyler said, "NO!"
"It doesn't look right with you wearing Kevin's jacket and getting ready to marry Joey."
"I don't care what it looks like and I'm NOT marrying Joey!"
"Oh, you are and shortly after he gets into town for the Grammy's. You might as well accept your fate. You're pregnant by Joey and you're not going to cause any bad publicity for him or 'NSync."
"You're causing the bad publicity by kidnapping me and I wouldn't be pregnant if Joey hadn't RAPED me! Your career is over when this hits the press."
"Little girl, this will never hit the press. You're playing hardball with the big boys now. You'd best just stop trying to compete."
Lou took Tyler's jacket before getting off the plane and then they headed to the hotel.
"I want to go to my room."
"Fine. It's right here," said Lou as he opened a door for Tyler.
"Gee thanks!" said Tyler sarcastically.
"Don't bother trying the phone. I've already told the switchboard not to allow any calls out and the only calls allowed in are the ones from Joey. You'll be allowed one call every day which I will dial and it will be to Joey. You'll be the devoted little girlfriend and not tell him a word about Kevin."
"Go to hell, Lou!"
"Bitch, you're mine now and I'll destroy you if you so much as blink the wrong way."
Tyler went into her room and slammed the door behind her. She lay on the bed and began to cry. Why hadn't she listened to Kevin? If she had just listened to him, she wouldn't be in this situation.
In Charlotte, Kevin and the guys hit the stage full force giving the performance of their lives but for Kevin, it was a true test of his acting ability. He had difficulty concentrating on the songs and the dance steps and the guys knew it. When Howie sang 'How Did I Fall in Love With You', Kevin had tears in his eyes and he avoided the cameras altogether. Near the end of the song, AJ put his hand on Kevin's shoulder and gave him a reassuring wink to let him know that they were all there for him.
When they had done the final encore, Kevin made his way to his bus without stopping for anything. He had to figure out where Tyler was.
Linda asked, "Where's Kevin off to in such a hurry?"
AJ said, "Tyler's missing and we all think Lou has her."
"What's going on, guys?"
Howie said, "It's a really long story, Linda. The just of it is, Lou is blackmailing Ty into staying with Joey and now he's kidnapped her. We need you to find out where 'NSync is now. That might be where Tyler is."
"I'll do what I can."
Brian said, "One of us or all of us should probably ride with Kevin until we get word on Tyler."
Howie said, "I'll go with him."
The other three looked at him and Brian asked, "Are you okay?"
"Not really! I'm worried about Ty and what Lou will do to her."
Nick said, "I think we'd better all ride together."
Linda said, "You guys go on and I'll call Kevin's bus when I know something."
The guys went straight to Kevin's bus. They were worried about Tyler and were in shock that Lou would do something this low.
On the bus, Kevin was on the phone to Christine in Orlando. "Chris, I'm fairly positive that Lou has her...No, we'd just spent the last five days together. She hasn't gone back to Joey, not voluntarily...I want her found and I want Lou arrested. If Joey's involved, I want him arrested too."
Kevin hung up and looked at his friends. They looked just as worried as he was.
AJ said, "We're going to ride with you, Kev."
Brian said, "Linda is going to find out where 'NSync is and let us know."
"What then? We can't leave the tour now!"
"We could send Carlos, 'Bull', and Tommy to get her," said Howie.
Nick spoke up, "I say we find out where she is and then storm the place like storm troopers."
Everyone laughed at that but in reality, that's exactly how they felt. Kevin sat down and leaned back on the couch. He covered his face with his hands and thought about Tyler. He prayed she was okay.
As the buses pulled off , AJ, Nick, Brian, and Howie took a seat with Kevin. They were all quiet thinking about Tyler.
Brian looked at Howie and Kevin and both were crying. He said softly, "Guys, Tyler's going to be okay. Lou wouldn't hurt her if he knows she's pregnant."
"What if he doesn't know?" asked Nick.
AJ and Brian shot Nick a dirty look and Howie said, "She doesn't need the stress though. The doctor said her blood pressure was up the day we went to see him."
Kevin said softly, "She was so sure that everything would be okay. It's my fault."
"No, it's not," said Brian. "She was in Kentucky and you both thought it was safe. How were you to know Lou would track her down?"
"Bri's right, bro," said AJ.
Trying to lighten the mood, Howie said, "You mentioned that you were going to propose to her. Did you get the ring?"
Kevin smiled. "Yeah, I got my great-grandmother's ring," he said as he pulled it out of his pocket.
The guys passed it around looking at it and commenting on how beautiful it was.
Howie said, "She's going to love it."
"I need y'alls help though."
"Just name it," said AJ.
"I want Ty on stage when we do a series of songs."
"Which ones?" asked Nick.
"'How Did I Fall in Love With You?', 'Nobody But You', and 'Yes I Will', in that order. When we finish, I'm going to propose to her."
"In front of everyone?" asked Nick. "What if she says 'no'?"
AJ said, "Junior, you really are playing the dumb blond thing tonight. Cut it out."
"Tyler and I have already talked about our wedding so she's not going to say no."
"That's cool, Kev," said Brian. "She'll never expect you to do this on stage."
That's what I'm counting on. She knows it's coming but she doesn't know when or how."
The phone rang making everyone jump. Kevin grabbed it first and put it on the speaker so they could all hear. "Hello."
"Kevin, I just got off the phone with 'NSync's management. Joey and the guys are in Seattle doing a show but Lou isn't with them. In fact, they aren't sure where he is, just that he's meeting them in LA for the Grammies."
"What now?" asked Howie. "Tyler doesn't need the stress."
"What do you want to do, guys?" asked Linda.
Kevin said, "I talked to Christine earlier. I want the bastard arrested for kidnapping and if he's left Kentucky, this is a Federal case."
"Kevin's right," said Howie. "Can't we get the FBI involved?"
"Tyler has to be missing 24 hours before the local authorities will consider her missing and then they have to be convinced that she's been taken from the state before they'll involve the FBI," said Linda.
"That sucks," said Nick.
"We know she's missing though," said Kevin.
"Look, I'll contact the authorities in Kentucky and have them search for her," said Linda. "I'll tell them what we know and give them your number so they can contact you."
"Thanks, Linda," said Kevin.
"Guys, we'll find Tyler."
They hung up and the guys grew silent again. None of them wanted to think the worst but they didn't know what Lou was capable of. The next three days were hard on all the guys, especially Kevin and Howie. They were all worried about Tyler and no one could seem to find her.
**********************
In Los Angeles, Tyler was going crazy. Lou kept her in her room at the hotel bringing her meals to her. He would also come in every day at the same time and dial Joey's number for Tyler to talk to him. He did leave the room to give her some privacy and it appeared that he didn't listen in at the door. Tyler was cordial to Joey but he could tell that something wasn't quite right. Tyler didn't tell him that Lou was holding her against her will, that she was pregnant, or that it was over between them. She was saving that for the night of the Grammies. She wanted to hurt him as much as he had hurt her by raping her and now having Lou hold her. Tyler was almost positive that Lou was doing this for Joey.
On Saturday, Tyler got her break. Lou dialed Joey's number for her and left the room. Instead of Joey answering, it was Lance. Lance and Tyler had developed a very strong friendship over the four months that Tyler had been with Joey and she'd told him EVERYTHING! Now was her chance.
"Hello."
"Lance, is Joey there?"
"No, Ty. He's out. Do you want to leave him a message?"
"No! Lance, I need your help."
"What's up?"
"You have got to call Kevin for me and tell him to send 'Bull' to the Grammies."
"What's going on, Tyler? Management told us that if we heard from you to let them know."
"Lou is holding me against my will at the Beverly Wiltshire and I can't call out."
"Wow!"
"Lance, I'm pregnant with Joey's baby."
"From that night?"
"Yes! Look, I'm going to tell him that it's over and about the baby as soon as I see him. Please, you have to call Kevin though and tell him that I'm okay."
"Sure."
"His number is 904-555-0169. Tell him I love him and I'll see him in Vancouver."
"Tyler, are you okay?"
"I will be as soon as I'm with Kevin."
"We'll be there on Monday."
"Thanks, Lance. Oh, tell Kevin that I'm in Suite 1221 and he has to tell the switchboard that he's Joey or they won't put the call through."
"I will. Tyler, take care of yourself."
Tyler hung up and lay back on the bed. She felt better having talked to Lance. He was a lot like Howie but she'd never tell her cousin that.
Lance made the call and Kevin answered, "Hello."
"Kevin, hey, it's Lance Bass."
"Lance, what's up?" asked Kevin suspiciously."
"I just talked to Tyler and she asked me to call you."
"Where is she?"
"She's at the Beverly Wiltshire and Lou won't let her make any calls except to Joey. She said to tell you that she loves you, send 'Bull' to the Grammies, and that she'll see you in Vancouver."
"How'd she sound, Lance?"
"Scared, tired. Call her yourself. She's in Suite 1221 and make sure you tell the switchboard that you're Joey."
"Thanks man! I can't tell you how much I appreciate this!"
"Kevin, we'll be there on Monday and I'll check on her as soon as we get there."
"Thanks."
There was a long pause and then Lance said, "Kevin, Joey really loves Tyler and he'll do anything to hold on to her, including going along with Lou. Tyler's not in love with him and he knows it. He's desperate to be a part of her life."
"He'll always be a part of her life now."
"Tyler told me she was pregnant and I know what she went through. I wish I could help more."
"Just look out for her until I can get to her. Don't tell her but I'm coming with 'Bull' to get her at the Grammies."
"I won't. We'll see you there then."
Kevin hung up the phone and let out a yell!
The other guys heard him and came rushing in. "Kevin, what's wrong?" asked AJ.
"Tyler's at the Beverly Wiltshire in Beverly Hills and she managed to get a message to me."
"How?" asked Howie.
"Lou's only allowing her one call out to Joey. Evidently, when she called today, Joey wasn't around and Lance took the call."
"That's our girl!" said AJ.
Kevin picked up the phone and started dialing.
Nick asked, "Who are you calling?"
AJ punched Nick, "Would you please drop the dumb blond act?"
The phone rang on the other end and they heard Kevin say, "Suite 1221, please...Joey Fatone." There was a long pause and Kevin said, "'Tadpole'?"
