Virulence

~Sequel to Solace~

Chapter 1

“Glad you made it safely.”

“I told you I would. I miss you.”

A smirk curved his lips at her sweet confession. “It’s only been a couple hours, darlin’.”

“And?”

His deep chuckle resonated through the phone and sent shivers down her spine. “Fine, how much do you miss me?”

“Dumb question, babe.”

“You gonna answer me or not?”

She chewed her bottom lip. “What if I don’t want to?”

“Then you won’t get your reward.”

Now she was curious and quirked a brow, wondering what her boyfriend had in mind as far as a ‘reward’ went. “Do I really have to say it?”

“Yes.”

She groaned, knowing she couldn’t deny him anything and glanced out the window of her hotel room. “I always miss you, if it’s not obvious.” Another sweet confession. “Now what’s my reward, ass?”

“Open the door and find out.”

The line went dead and all she could do was turn around to stare at the door, swallowing hard. What did he send her in such a short amount of time? She’d only left the Smackdown! taping a few hours ago and hadn’t ordered dinner yet. Truth be told, she wasn’t hungry due to not only slight jetlag, but missing her boyfriend like crazy. Sleep would evade her until she was back in the safety and security of his arms again, which wouldn’t be until Friday morning when she rejoined him along with everyone else on the road. She took a deep breath and walked toward the door, placing her hand on the door handle hesitating to open it. What if this was a trick? Then she heard a voice on the other side and there was no question in her mind who it was, making her instantly rip open the door.

“You really know how to ruin a surprise, woman.”

Penetrating pale blues locked with watery midnight. “Jon…” He was really here in the flesh and Anisa let him draw her into his strong arms, his mouth instantly finding hers. “What are you doing here?” She asked once the kiss broke, reaching up to wipe some gloss from his lips.

“They didn’t need me for the taping tonight, so I decided to join you for my days off this week.” Backing Anisa into the room, Jon kicked the door shut and captured her mouth again, loving how she melted against him. “Unless you want me to go back to Vegas…?”

Anisa smacked his chest and playfully scowled, shaking her head. “Of course I don’t! It’s bad enough we hardly get time alone together anymore because of my new job. I couldn’t be happier you’re here with me.”

“Ouch darlin’, violent much?” Jon grinned, sliding his hands down her back until he came in contact with her perfect backside, lifting Anisa up to where her legs had to wrap around his waist. “Mmm you know I like it rough, Ani.”

She shivered again when his nose and mouth buried in the side of her neck, the slight scruff outlining his jaw and part of his cheeks scratching her skin. It was a welcoming sensation and Anisa refused to pull away from the much needed attention. Jon carried her to the bed and sat down with her straddled on his lap, slowly pulling down both straps of her light pink camisole to brush his lips against the soft flesh of her shoulders. They barely had time to have quickies these days ever since Anisa decided to change her career direction in the company, not that Jon blamed her. It got her away from Rick the Dick, his personal nickname for the man, but at the same time cut into their time together. Jon wanted to beat the hell out of Rick for all the problems he caused Anisa because it made her go to Stephanie and Paul begging them for a new job in the WWE. Thus putting a kink in their new budding relationship.

Transitioning into her new job wasn’t as easy as Anisa originally thought or hoped. It was the best move for her career with the WWE though. After Coralie’s untimely death and WrestleMania season, Anisa took a step back to reevaluate her life and position in the company. Stephanie and Paul weren’t surprised by her request and had the perfect opportunity for her – one Anisa had a hard time accepting. Their NXT division down in Tampa needed a new Talent Relations Manager and they thought she fit the build perfectly. Anisa immediately went to Mia, Krystal and Ryanne, asking for their opinion on if she should take the job. The bosses were kind enough to give her a full 24 hours to make her decision. Mia and Krystal were against the idea because of how new her relationship with Jon was, but Ryanne pointed out absence made the heart grow fonder. They would cherish their times together a lot more the more they were apart. That’s how it worked for her and Randy whenever he left her at home while he went on the road to provide for their family.

In the end, Anisa took the position and it’d been 2 months since that happened, 3 since Coralie’s death. It was now the beginning of July and surprisingly Anisa and Jon were still going strong. They spent as much time as they could while on the road with the WWE, but Anisa had a lot of meetings via Skype with Bill Demotte, one of the lead trainers of NXT and William Regal. In the past 2 months, Jon had never once joined Anisa down in Tampa because he enjoyed going back home to Vegas for his days off. This was the first time he took the initiative to come see her and it renewed Anisa’s faith in her relationship with Jon. Anisa’s days off were Friday, Saturday and Sunday while Jon was forced to compete in house shows with the rest of the Shield and roster. She couldn’t help wondering how long Jon would be able to handle their opposite schedules before calling it quits.

Her other reason for taking the job was her ex-husband, Mark Calaway. After WrestleMania, instead of going back to Texas and leaving the company for another year, he stayed on for an additional month. It frustrated Anisa to no end and Mark’s excuse for staying on longer was to ‘help’ the Shield catapult their superstardom in the company since they were rookies. Anisa knew better though. Jon did too along with the rest of their circle of friends. The night Jon faced Mark on Smackdown! one-on-one, Anisa was a nervous wreck watching backstage and chewing her thumbnail. Jon didn’t tell her what was going to happen in the match, so when the Shield slammed Mark through the announce table, Anisa squealed out happily and jumped for joy. She knew Mark was leaving the road and going back home finally, but Anisa had already taken the new job, making the moment bittersweet.

“Mmm I forgot to tell you something…” Anisa murmured, burying her fingers in Jon’s unruly curls because his mouth against her neck felt wonderful.

“What?” He grunted, nipping her soft flesh and slid his hands beneath the back of her camisole to stroke her back with his long nimble fingers.

“Phil is bringing Melanie on the road with him for a few weeks.”

Jon immediately pulled back with a frown. “The last thing I wanna talk about is your brother and his new flame right now, Anisa. Unless the words out of your mouth have to do with what I’m doing to you and making you feel, I don’t wanna hear them.”

“Sorry.”

There was nothing else Anisa could say and let Jon capture her mouth again, her back meeting the bed a few seconds later with him on top of her. Truth be told, Anisa was thrilled to have her brother back in the company. The June pay-per-view Payback in Chicago marked Phil’s return. He took time off to relax, get his head on straight and properly mourn Coralie. Not to mention, he started dating Melanie and spent most of his time off in New York City with her. Apparently, things were going so well she decided to move her firm from New York City to the Windy City to be closer to Phil. They hadn’t moved in together yet, taking things slow, but Anisa knew it was only a matter of time before that happened. She was happy for her brother and hit it off with Melanie, especially after the woman helped Jon cut ties with Trina Michaels once and for all.

“Fuck…” Jon broke the kiss and rested his forehead against Anisa’s, every part of his body tingling from head to toe. “That was a shitty thing for me to say about your brother. I’m sorry, darlin’.”

“It’s okay, baby. I understand why you got a little heated over it. Sometimes I just let my thoughts run away with me.” Anisa wasn’t angry at him for being blunt with her. It was one of the qualities she loved most about Jon. “Enough talking. I need you, Jon.”

Joe had been right to be spontaneous and surprise Anisa by coming to Tampa to spend time with her while she worked. The same way she did with him. Jon owed his best friend for that simple suggestion. He’d gone to Joe shortly after Anisa took the Talent Relations Manager for NXT, frustrated because he didn’t know how to express his feelings about her decision. He didn’t like it. Cutting their time together in half or more didn’t set well with Jon, but he didn’t want to make Anisa feel guilty over her decision. It was a great opportunity, Jon admitted, and he was truly happy for her. However, he couldn’t help questioning what that meant for their relationship and if it was one of her top priorities to worry about. After spilling his feelings out to Joe, the man simply clamped his hand on Jon’s shoulder and gave him several reasons why Anisa might’ve taken the job. Mark still being on the road, dealing with Rick the Dick and it was her chance to move up in the company. Realizing how selfish he was being about the situation, Jon decided right then and there he had to be more supportive with Anisa instead of against her.

After settling Jon down, Joe came clean about his issues with Mia. Planning a wedding was a lot more complicated than he ever imagined and it put a strain on their relationship. Granted, it was a small ceremony in his parent’s backyard in Pensacola, but on top of planning a wedding, Mia had also became the WWE Diva’s champion. Joe couldn’t have been prouder of her, but it also took her away from him with more signings and appearances since Mia was now the face of the WWE Divas. The Shield had taken off like a rocket as well, gaining more publicity and quickly shooting up the ranks in the company. So in a way, Joe and Jon were in the same boat, only Joe got to hold his woman every night in his arms while Jon had to be separated from his because of her new position. Jon told Joe to take his own advice and support Mia because it wasn’t every day a WWE Diva became champion. Obviously, the bosses had faith and trust in her to represent the Diva’s division and that was a huge honor in itself besides carrying the butterfly shaped belt.

Joe was not the only person Jon went to for advice. Colby was next. They weren’t as close as Jon and Joe, but still friends nonetheless and Jon trusted him. It was amazing how Colby and Krystal flourished as a couple, only arguing about minor things. Very rarely did their circle of friends see Colby and Krystal at odds, but lately it’d been more frequent. Ever since Colby asked Krystal to move in with him in Tampa and she accepted happily, she avoided actually doing it. He couldn’t figure out why. No one could. Colby wanted to get her away from Connecticut instead of constantly having to fly there every other week on their days off. He wanted to push her to make the move, but didn’t know how to do it without sounding like a prick. What if he pushed her too far and Krystal called it quits with him? Colby couldn’t let that happen. He even told her to take as much time as she needed, but he didn’t expect it to surpass 3 months.

What Colby didn’t know was Krystal had searched for apartments in Tampa over the past month, wanting to be closer to Colby. However, she wasn’t ready to move in with him yet. 3 months was too soon and why she agreed to do it was beyond her. Krystal chalked it up to being swept in the moment, but now she had to find a way to tell him about getting her own place in Tampa. She loved Colby more than anything in the world, but it was a huge step to move in with a man, something Krystal never did before. Moving from her home state was a huge step for Krystal and she had to take this step by step or else she would end up falling flat on her face. Now, she just had to find the courage to tell Colby her decision and hoped he didn’t end their relationship over her decision. Both Colby and Krystal were on the same page as far as Jon and Anisa went. They had to support each other, no matter what, because that came with being in a relationship. Now if only they could take their own advice when it came to their own issues.

Breaking out of his deep thoughts, Jon stripped Anisa of her clothing along with his own, settling comfortably between her legs. It’d been nearly 3 weeks since they’d last had sex and Jon couldn’t handle using his hand to release anymore. Anisa cried out softly at the first probe of Jon’s cock against her soaking sex and nodded, the forest fire within her body spreading quickly. She trembled, feeling Jon lift her up from the bed to hold into her and carefully lowered her sex until he completely impaled her. Again, she cried out at the exhilarating feeling and held onto him for dear life, not waiting to adjust to his massive size either. Sitting back on his haunches, Jon gripped her hips to guide Anisa on and off his cock, both of them groaning at the intense friction. No words had to be spoken, just the sounds of their lovemaking was enough for both to achieve their ultimate goal. Jon lowered his mouth to her swelling breasts, swirling his tongue around the hardened nipples and loved how her body reacted instantaneously to anything he did.

Hours later after countless sessions, Jon and Anisa collapsed on the bed in a sweaty satisfied heap tangled up in each other’s arms. He held her close to him, kissing her forehead and stroking her back while Anisa nuzzled his neck, draping her leg over his. Neither needed a blanket or sheet, using each other’s warmth from their bodies was enough. Just as the sun rose over the horizon, both passed out from exhaustion with sexually satisfied smiles on their faces.

Chapter 2

July 8, 2013.

There was an uneasiness in the air.

Anisa couldn’t put her finger on what it was, but she couldn’t stop feeling chills rush through her body. It was strange and heightened her stress level with each passing minute the closer Raw came to starting. She walked through the hallways of 1^st Mariner Arena in Baltimore, Maryland, trying to get her mind off of things. Mia’s upcoming wedding, Krystal having reservations about moving in with Colby, her brother and of course Jon. The man was always on her mind morning, noon and night. He was the love of her life, her everything, even if they were going through a rough patch lately ever since she took the job down in NXT. Everything would work out the way it should, Anisa truly believed, but deep down in the pit of her stomach something nagged away at her.

Then, she figured out where the uneasiness and tension stemmed from.

Turning the corner, Anisa came face to chest with none other than Bray Wyatt. He nearly collided into her, arms snapping out to gripe her sides and Anisa snapped her head up to meet icy blue orbs full of intensity. They hadn’t spoken since the Hall of Fame ceremony and Anisa wasn’t fooled by the adage ‘time heals all wounds’ because nothing would ever be the same between them again. Anisa used him for sex and chose Jon over him in the end. As much guilt as she felt regarding Bray, Anisa did not regret her decision and only followed what her heart wanted.

“Bray…”

It took a long time to get over Anisa, but Bray managed to do it somehow. “Anisa…” He released her hips instantly and stepped back, keeping eye contact. “Haven’t seen you around here lately with your infamous clipboard.”

His voice was abrasive and hard toward her, so Anisa reciprocated the same tone. “I’m not doing that job anymore.”

Bray quirked a slow brow. “Then what are you doing these days? Do you work for the company?”

Anisa could feel her temper rising and clenched her fists at her sides, mentally counting backwards from 10. “Yes. I’m working down in NXT as the new Talent Relations Manager, not that it’s any of your business.”

Good, he struck a nerve with her. “So does that mean you and Ambrose have called it quits?”

“On the contrary, we’re very much together and he’s supportive of my decision.” Anisa smiled coolly at Bray, seeing the fire erupt in his icy blue eyes. “Speaking of Ambrose, I better go track him down and give him a pre-match rubdown before the show starts.”

Bray didn’t appreciate her snide tone, but knew he deserved it and heaved a sigh. “Anisa…”

“Don’t.” She held her hand up, not wanting to hear anything else he had to say. “I have to go.”

“Anisa, wait!” Bray growled after her retreating form and lowered his head, long dark hair covering it. She would soon see the truth and he could only hope it didn’t completely destroy her.

Not stopping until she was in the safety of the Shield’s locker room, Anisa sat at her small work station in the corner and began going through the NXT files on the potential Superstars the WWE signed. One in particular stood out to her. His name was Sam Johnston, but fans of the Independent circuit and her current boyfriend knew him as Sami Callihan. He was one of Jon’s best friends, standing at 5’10 and weighed 200 pounds of solid muscle. Sam was short, but he could move in the ring and had incredible talent, just like Jon. The WWE hadn’t figured out a name for him yet, toying with the name Johnny Clearwater, but Anisa immediately put a halt on that. It didn’t fit Sam and she wanted him to have the perfect name like Jon did. She promised Jon to do everything in her power to help Sam make it to the main roster while being fair to the other upcoming wrestlers as well. Honestly though, the only other wrestlers that stood out to Anisa was a tag team called The Ascension – Konnor and Viktor. Konnor’s real name was Ryan Parmeter. He was very down to earth and easy to work with. Why he wasn’t on the main roster already stumped Anisa because he had incredible talent and dominated alongside his tag team partner, Viktor. His real name was Eric Thompson and both had been in WWE developmental since 2010-2011.

A knock on the door jolted Anisa out of her thoughts, a smile lighting her face at the sight of Mia walking inside. “Hey girl, what brings you here?” She had the WWE Diva’s championship over her shoulder with her wrestling gear on.

“Nothing, don’t have a match tonight and they won’t tell us why.” Mia was supposed to keep feuding with AJ, but that was scrapped due to something huge on the show that night. “It’s top secret, nobody knows.”

Anisa frowned, scooting over so Mia could set up a chair beside her and sat down. “What do you think it is?”

“I have no idea. I really can’t think of anything major, but whatever it is Vince, Stephanie and Paul are being top secret about it.” Mia tried keeping the worry out of her voice, but her eyes told a different story.

“Maybe Phil knows…”

“Maybe we should go ask him.”

Anisa didn’t want to bother Phil while he prepared for Raw and shook her head, deciding a change of subject was in order. “How’s the wedding planning going? Did you and Joe decide on the flowers yet?”

The worry replaced with excitement in Mia’s dark eyes. “Yes! I swear, getting that man to make a decision is like pulling teeth. But yes, we finally decided on hibiscus, orchids and lilies. Patty is taking care of the flowers, thankfully because of our hectic schedule leading up to Summerslam. She told us whatever we wanted to tell her and she’ll get it done. She’s really a god send and the best mother-in-law a woman can ask for.”

It was amazing how well Mia and Patty got along considering Joe was the baby boy of the Anoa’i family. There was so much love for Mia, it warmed Anisa’s heart, especially after Mia’s family disowned her because she refused to have an arranged marriage. That was wrong on so many levels in Anisa’s eyes and she was proud of Mia for standing up to the people who were supposed to be the most important in her life. Joe’s family had taken Mia in and made her fully part of everything, giving her all the love in the world she would ever need.

“Sounds like everything is coming along nicely. Good thing too because, if you bust out in Bridezilla mode on me, I’m running away and never coming back.” It was a half-threat, but one nonetheless and had Mia rolling with laughter, Anisa joining in moments later.

They talked a little more about the wedding plans until Glen’s match came on, then both were focused on that. It wasn’t an ordinary match though. With Glen standing in the middle of the ring in his Kane costume waiting for his opponent. The lights suddenly went out, the whole arena one big blanket of pitch black. Both Mia and Anisa looked at each other and then snapped their eyes back to the monitor, waiting to see what would happen. Was this the unsettling feeling -the uneasiness- Anisa had dreaded all night? A deep frown crossed her face when a video began and it was of a man sitting in a rocking chair.

“Oh my god…”

“Is that-?”

Anisa nodded before Mia could say the name and fought back tears. “Bray…”

The Wyatt Family debut had finally arrived.

Chilling music with snapping fingers or clapping hands, Anisa couldn’t pinpoint exactly what it was, started up after the video montage ended. Bray stood on the top of the stage with Luke Harper and Erick Rowan in the same outfit he wore during their confrontation earlier. He held what looked like a pre-lit lantern and it was the light guiding the Wyatt’s to the ring where Glen still stood. She was glued to the monitor, not able to pull her gaze away and felt completely captivated by Bray’s powerful promo and entrance. The pop from the audience alone told her and everyone else in the back the Wyatt Family was here to stay. IT was one of the most anticipated debuts in recent memory. The growing anxiety and uneasiness made Anisa physically shudder because she had a sinking feeling what was about to happen. But why? Why would the Wyatt’s want to target Kane of all people?

“Glen…”

Within minutes, the Wyatt Family swarmed Glen and started beating the man down, kicking, punching, anything to rid him of power. Glen was not a small man by any stretch of the imagination and fought them off the best he could, but it was 3 on 2. Insurmountable odds…and NOBODY was coming down to help him! Anisa couldn’t stop the budding tears from sliding down her cheeks when the attack spilled out of the ring onto the floor near the steel ring steps.

“What the hell? Are they really gonna do that?”

All Anisa could do was nod and shut her eyes, unable to watch Luke and Erick send Glen’s body crashing into the steps as hard as they could. Mia knew how hard this was for Anisa to watch because she was still great friends with Glen, despite what happened with Mark. This time, it was Bray’s turn to hurt Glen and he did by smashing Glen’s masked face with the steel steps. The sound of his skull bouncing off of them sickened Anisa and she kept her eyes closed until the Wyatt Family music started up again. Bray dropped to his knees in front of Glen and spread his arms out wide, tipping his head back with closed eyes while Luke and Erick simply admired the carnage they did. As soon as the screen went black, Anisa flew out of the door as fast as she could to go check on Glen. Mia could follow if she wanted to or wait for Joe in the dressing room. If Glen had a concussion, he’d have to go to the hospital and Anisa would not let him go alone.

“Mother fucker…” Glen grumbled, stumbling through the curtains and could see Anisa running toward him with a tear streaked face. “Shit…”

His head was busted open, blood slowly sliding down each side of his face from the cut on the middle of the hairline and he had to hold onto the wall to keep from falling over. Anisa noticed it instantly and rushed over to Glen just as he stumbled right into her small body. She caught him and prepared to be taken off of her feet, but luckily Mike –The Miz- and Nick –Dolph Ziggler- came to her rescue. Nick simply winked at her, tossing Glen’s arm over his shoulders while Mike did the same, both of them hauling the big man to the trainer’s room. Anisa followed, wrapping her arms around herself and managed to stop the tears, wishing Jon was with her at that moment.

“He’s gonna be alright, Anisa.” Michael assured her while injecting Glen with a numbing serum so he could staple the man’s wound closed without a fuss.

“Fuck Doc, could you be a little gentler?” Glen growled, cracking an eye open when Anisa smacked him on the arm.

“Shut up and let the man do his job, Big Red.” Anisa scolded, holding Glen’s hand the entire time and didn’t leave his side for a second. Glen was always there for her whenever she needed him and sometimes even when she didn’t, so it was Anisa’s turn to return the favor. “Talk to me, it’ll help you get your mind off the pain.”

“I could really use a stiff Scotch right about now.” Glen grunted, refusing to squeeze her hand and stayed still while Michael surveyed the damage, cleaning the wound the best he could.

Anisa rolled her eyes. “Only you would think about alcohol at a time like this.”

She knew he was having a hard time being away from his wife lately and he’d talked about winding down his career in the company. Glen was a family man and also had a strange love of politics, wanting to invest more of his time into them, but at the same time money from the WWE kept a roof over the Jacobs’ heads. It was hard to walk away from that kind of money, especially a check with 6 figures every month. Still, Anisa could tell Glen was getting tired of both wrestling and traveling, so it would only be a matter of time before he hung his boots up.

Once Michael was finished putting 7 staples in Glen’s head, Anisa reluctantly left him since Nick and Mike promised to look after her friend. She kissed each of them on the cheek, thanking them for the assistance and walked out of the trainer’s room, only to come face to face with the Wyatt Family. Hadn’t they done enough damage? Anisa could feel her temper rising, swallowing the vulgar words threatening to surface and walked past them. She wasn’t getting away that easy though. Bray’s hand shot out and wrapped around her upper arm, yanking her back to where Anisa whirled around in surprise, their noses practically touching. She could feel his hot breath on her face, the strength in his hand attached to the semi-tattooed sleeved arm and Anisa couldn’t pull away from his bright blues. They reminded her of the hottest fire or the coldest ice, depending on what type of mood he was in. Currently, she couldn’t register Bray and it scared her a little.

“Let go of me.” Anisa ordered, managing to keep the shakiness out of her tone and pursed her lips tightly together.

Bray merely smiled, maliciousness suddenly filling his eyes and pulled her even closer, arching her body to mold with his upper chest. “Be careful who you invite into your bed, Anisa.” He warned, the tone soft and cryptic all at once. “Play with fire and you’ll be singed.”

Swallowing hard, Anisa rubbed her upper arm when Bray released her abruptly and walked away with Erick and Luke to go clean up from their debut. What did he mean by that? The only man in her bed was Jon and Anisa trusted him fully, no questions asked. She loved him unconditionally. Bray was trying to mess with her mind and plant doubts into it. Anisa wouldn’t let it happen and turned to look at the trainer’s door, hoping Glen would be alright with Nick and Mike. She didn’t want to leave him, but Jon was the main man in her life and she had to check on him. No matter how hard she tried, Anisa couldn’t get the ambiguous message from Bray out of her head.

Chapter 3

After her encounter with Bray, Anisa headed straight outside for a much needed cigarette and sent Jon a text message to join her. Not that she had to. It was a ritual they’d done since the first night they shared a cigarette together. Anisa would never forget that night, especially the nickname Dr. Feel Good. That’s all Jon made her feel was good – great even. He really was everything to her and Anisa loved him unconditionally. Even when she slept with Bray, Jon never once left her mind and the fact Jon forgave her for doing that just proved his feelings for her.

“Hey darlin’.” Jon greeted with a smile, noticing instantly something was off about Anisa and waited for her to join him.

Plastering on a fake smile, Anisa hopped up on the equipment trunk next to him and plucked the cigarette from his fingers to take a long drag. “I really needed that.” She breathed out in a sigh, smoke filtering from her mouth and nose.

“Stressed?” Jon guessed, reaching out to take her hand and laced their fingers together.

That was an understatement, Anisa thought, simply nodding while taking another drag before handing it back to Jon. She loved sharing a cigarette with him. “Yeah, nothing worth discussing though.” Talking about Bray was out of the question when it came to her overprotective, easily jealous boyfriend. “How about you? You guys figure out what’s going on for the show?”

Something was definitely bothering her. “Yeah, same old shit.” Jon hopped off the equipment trunk and stood between Anisa’s legs, planting his strong hands on her sides. “Come on Ani, talk to me. Remember who I am?”

Anisa chewed her bottom lip and slid her hands up his arms to wrap around his neck, drawing him closer. Those deep pale blues would be the death of her one day. “I’m fine, I promise.” She half-lied, rubbing her nose gently against his. “Stop worrying about me so much.”

“Impossible to do, baby, sorry.” Jon dropped a soft kiss on the crown of her head and pulled Anisa against him, holding her close. “And you didn’t answer my question.”

“Dr. Feel Good…” She mumbled, though a small smile played on her lips.

“Very good, now tell the Doc what’s going on so he can make you feel good.” Jon ordered with a smirk, their eyes locked in a hypnotic penetrable gaze.

She wanted to. The words were on her tongue and Anisa could feel herself falling under Jon’s spell. His deep raspy voice and pale blues were enough to drive Anisa to her knees. She was grateful to be sitting at the moment, knees weak and felt the overwhelming urge to feel Jon’s mouth on hers. Flicking her cigarette away over Jon’s shoulder, Anisa cupped his face and captured his mouth, feeling his arms instantly encircle her waist to draw her closer to him. The sheer power and dominance in his simple hold enticed and made Anisa crave more, her tongue slipping into his mouth to taste him. A mixture of tobacco and mint gum forced her body to shiver, panties drenching instantaneously. It never failed to amaze her just how fast Jon turned her on. Bray was nothing compared to this man and never would be. Without realizing it, desperation seeped into the heated lip lock and Jon felt it through the love and fire. He could be very perceptive when the situation called for it, especially when it came to Anisa. Breaking the kiss, Jon gripped her upper arms and stopped her from trying to reach for the belt securing his cargo pants, shaking his head.

“What’s going on, Anisa?” He demanded, taking a few more deep breaths to slow his racing heart the kiss caused. “I’m not stupid. I know something’s wrong with you.”

“What are you talking about?” Anisa played it off the best she could, voice shaky from both the heated moment with Jon and trying to hide the fear Bray made her feel. “I’m just trying to have a make out session with my boyfriend before his match. Is that a crime?”

Why couldn’t she be honest with him? Jon knew her inside and out, or at least he thought he did. “You’re hiding something from me.” He said flatly, releasing her with abruption and stepped back, spacing himself from her. “I thought we were past this…”

“Past what?” Anisa hopped off the equipment trunk, the fear unmistakable in her midnight orbs by now. It wasn’t because of Bray Wyatt though, not when it came to losing Jon. “Where is this coming from, Jonathan?” He HATED it when she used his full name, but it was the only way to make him understand just how hurt she was at the moment. “I love you…”

“Have a funny fucking way of showing it.” Jon retorted, not buying a word she said and folded his arms in front of his chest. “If you loved me as much as you claim, you wouldn’t lie to my fucking face when I KNOW something is bothering you. I thought we were past keeping secrets from each other. Didn’t you learn a fucking thing from Phil and Coralie?”

That was a low blow. Anisa felt tears burn her eyes and lowered them to the black asphalt, clearing her throat. “Whether you believe it or not, everything is fine and nothing is bothering me besides you being a complete dick to me right now.” Her voice remained low and even, trying desperately to hide the pain in her tone. It wasn’t working. “Maybe something is wrong with you and you’re hiding something from me. Maybe you don’t want to be with me as much as you claim you do. Otherwise, why would you throw Coralie in my face? I didn’t think our relationship would ever be compared to a dead woman’s and my brother. I thought we were different, but I guess not.”

Jon didn’t know what possessed him to bring Coralie up, but he hated it when people lied to his face blatantly. “I don’t have time for this shit right now.” He couldn’t look at her, regret already developing in the pit of his stomach and would eventually overtake his entire body. “I have to get ready for my match.”

“Go then. Just remember, I’m leaving tonight to head to Tampa until Wednesday. Do you even want me coming to Vegas this week or should I go to Atlanta?”

“I’ll let you know.”

Jon stalked back inside the arena, leaving Anisa standing there feeling helpless and saddened, the guilt of what just happened eating away at her insides.

Why couldn’t she tell Jon what happened with Bray?

~!~

Both Joe and Colby noticed the demeanor in Jon had drastically changed since he came back from having his pre-match smoke with Anisa outside. He’d been in a great mood when he left and now the anger radiated from every pore of his 6’4 frame while they warmed up for their match that night. Granted, Joe knew how hard it was for Jon to share his time with Anisa ever since she agreed to work down in NXT, but so far he’d handled it well. Something happened outside between them and Joe was almost afraid to know what it was. They were brothers though and he refused to let Jon fester in his own anger. Talking about it would help and if he had to take a few hits in the process, so be it. Better than going out to the ring and Jon making a fatal mistake that could end someone’s career.

“Talk to us, bro. What happened out there?” Joe asked once Jon finished his last rep of pushups, one of his warmup moves and swallowed hard at the amount of blue fire in his friend’s eyes. “Jon…”

“Don’t.” Jon warned, his voice low and gritty, clenching his teeth tightly while beginning to pace in the dressing room.

Joe was steadfast though. “We’re not going out to that ring until you either calm the fuck down or tell us what’s going on.” If he had to, Joe would lock Jon in the dressing room and do the tag match with Colby. “You’re gonna end up making a mistake because your head isn’t in the right place.”

No matter how much Jon wanted to dispute Joe’s accusation, he couldn’t. The man knew him too well. “It’s Anisa.” He admitted, finally leaning back against the cinder block wall and slid down until he squatted in front of his brethren, keeping his eyes straight ahead. “There’s something going on with her, but she won’t tell me what it is. She’s hiding something from me and it pisses me the fuck off.”

Joe and Colby understood that, but it was the large Samoan who squatted down to be eyelevel with Jon, planting his large hand on the man’s shoulder. “What happened?” He rumbled gently, trying to get Jon to talk about what bothered him regarding Anisa. “And what makes you think something’s going on with her?”

“She kissed me. But it wasn’t an ordinary kiss. Something was…off about it, ya know? I can’t explain it. I just know something isn’t right with her. It’s gotta be part of the relationship shit or…fuck I don’t know. I – I brought up Coralie…” Jon winced as soon as the words came out of his mouth and Colby’s high-pitched voice echoed throughout the locker room.

“YOU WHAT?!”

“Jon…” Joe groaned, lowering his head and shook it while Colby began ranting until he finally had to stand up, shoving the two toned hyper man out the Shield locker room door. “Fuck sometimes he’s annoying. Now what the fuck were you thinking bringing a dead woman up?”

“I don’t know…” Jon stood up as well, shoving his hands in the pockets of his cargo pants and began lightly banging his head back against the cinder block wall. “All I DO know is she’s pissed off at me and our relationship is on the rocks right now.”

Joe honestly didn’t think or believe Anisa would end her relationship with Jon over him mentioning Coralie. They loved each other too much to let something that trivial come between them. What if Jon was overthinking and assuming Anisa was hiding something from him? What if it was Jon’s own fear pushing him to try to find some reason to break things off with Anisa? All Joe knew for sure was Jon did not act out like this for no reason. He must’ve felt something, a sense that Anisa was in distress and reacted instinctively. They did need to talk and the sooner the better. Right now, they had to focus on the match and then Jon could handle his business with Anisa.

Somehow, Jon managed to get through the segment without any mistakes and zoned into his Dean Ambrose character fully. He hadn’t done that since his Jon Moxley days in the Indies and it felt surprisingly welcoming. The Shield beat down Mark Henry, attacking him and receiving hatred from the WWE universe. That’s exactly what they wanted. They were the heels and would shoot to the top the more heat they received. Once backstage, Jon didn’t bother showering and went to find Anisa, only to discover she already left to head to the airport. Normally, he drove her after the show ended, but not this time. Jon knew at that moment he screwed up and dejectedly headed back to the hotel alone, wishing he hadn’t brought up Coralie to his girlfriend.

~!~

Be careful who you invite into your bed, Anisa.

What did that mean? No matter how hard Anisa tried, she couldn’t get Bray’s chilling words out of her head. The worst part was putting on an act in front of the people she loved, including Jon. Acting as if the words didn’t burn a hole through her abdomen whenever that moment surfaced in her memory. Why was Bray concerned about who was in her bed? They had a one night stand and that’s all lit was to Anisa. Luckily, she was alone in Tampa currently doing her job with NXT and did her best to push Bray in the far recesses of her mind. She had a meeting with one of the lead trainers, Bill Demotte, to discuss who was ready to move up to the main roster – if any. Bill didn’t beat around the bush and took his job very seriously, wanting every single person who trained under him to know just how hard this business was to break into. He was fair yet brutal all in one intimidating package and Anisa admired the man for taking on such a tedious position.

“So Anisa, any thoughts on the upcoming talent?” Bill asked after gabbing most of the time and bringing her up to speed on everything happening while she was on the road. “Or do you wanna keep shredding the napkin in your lap?”

Snapping out of her thoughts, Anisa looked down at the napkin and felt her cheeks flush a deep crimson, brushing the shredded pieces to the floor. “Sorry.” She murmured, clearing her throat and gave Bill her full attention. “What did you say?”

Bill could tell something was on Anisa’s mind because she’d been distracted ever since her arrival. “Wanna talk about it?” He’d grown to like Anisa and thought highly of her, especially her work ethic.

“Nothing really to talk about. Just have a lot on my mind. Now come on, I’m sorry for not listening to you. What did you ask me?” Bill was the last person Anisa wanted to discuss Bray Wyatt with.

Bill heaved a resigned sigh. “Any thoughts on the upcoming talent?” He repeated, folding his arms in front of his chest while glasses slid down his nose slightly.

“Honestly, not very many have caught my eye.” Anisa admitted, looking over the notes she jotted down while on the road. “Sam Johnston comes to mind.”

“You mean Solomon?” Bill raised a slow brow at Talent Relations Manager and leaned back in his chair in front of Anisa’s desk. “Why him?”

Honestly, the moment Anisa laid eyes on Sam Johnston, something about him stood out above the rest of the NXT upcoming stars. Maybe it was the fact he was from the Independents like Jon. She knew he was good friends with Jon, but that wasn’t her reason for choosing him above the others. Anisa had watched a tape and several matches with Jon during their Switchblade Conspiracy days, admiring the quickness and stealth he possessed in the ring. Sam had raw talent like Jon and, if the WWE used him correctly, the man would make it big in the company, even with his short 5’10 stature.

“Heart. You can see it every time he steps foot in the ring and his raw talent is unshakeable. It would be catastrophic not to give him a chance to show us what he’s got to offer, Bill.” Anisa was never one to beat around the bush and could see the wheels in the man’s head begin to turn. Did he agree with her? “Other than him, I do like the Ascension and I think they are going to be big stars too.”

Bill agreed with that, but he was hesitant regarding Johnston. “I’ll take what you say into consideration regarding Johnston, but I do agree about the Ascension. I expect big things from them coming up in a few months.”

The rest of the meeting was talking about other talents and Anisa didn’t head back to the arena until late. Once showered and in bed, she contemplated calling Jon because she did want to see him tomorrow. She had an early morning flight from Tampa to Vegas and didn’t want to cancel it because of Jon’s stubbornness. Just as she was about to fall asleep, a text message lit her cell phone up and Anisa’s heart expanded at the words.

Hope to see you tomorrow, darlin’. Love you.

Anisa bit her bottom lip and responded a few minutes later. Love you too. See you around noon hopefully.

3 seconds later, Jon called and Anisa ended up talking to him until the early morning hours, not getting a wink of sleep. She could get rest on the plane ride since it was a long flight from Tampa to Vegas. Jon ended up falling asleep on the phone while she drove to the airport since it was 4 AM in Vegas and 7 AM in Tampa. The 3 hour time difference blew, but it also gave them more time with each other. She couldn’t wait to see Jon, to be wrapped in his strong arms and spend the next 2 days making him believe she was fine.

If only that was true.

Chapter 4

The sight of her breasts bouncing up and down while riding his cock was possibly the most beautiful sight Joe ever seen. Mia’s long dark hair fell over her shoulders and touched just above the pert nipples of her breasts, making him swell bigger inside of her if that was possible. He wanted to touch her, but Mia’s clever devious plan stopped him from taking control of their sexual bout. She teased him mercilessly, mostly with her hot sweet mouth on his cock, but Mia had bought a few other toys Joe didn’t know about until now. Who knew his woman was adventurous? Not that Joe was complaining. He groaned when she rolled her hips again in a circular motion, breaking him out of his admiring gaze and yanked on the handcuffs attached to the metal headboard.

“Baby girl…” His voice held warning and the need to release, stormy greys flashing wickedly up at her. “Don’t make me break these handcuffs…” Joe could do it, though it’d hurt his wrists.

“Mmm show me your power, baby…” Mia didn’t stop teasing, bouncing off of his cock before rolling her hips again. “Break them and take me the way you want.”

Was she really taunting him? Mia wanted to test his strength and Joe would not let her down, eyes narrowing determinedly. The veins in his large muscular arms bulged and his wrists strained against the metal handcuffs, gently biting into his skin. Grey eyes locked with nearly blackened eyes of his beautiful fiancée and within seconds, the chain from the handcuffs snapped off the headboard. Joe growled, finally free from his restraints and sat upright, forcefully wrapping Mia’s legs around his waist. She gasped, turned on by his dominance and knew the games were over. He would have her cumming in waves if he decided to take pity on her.

“My turn.”

Once Joe positioned where he wanted Mia, on her hands and knees with her pert backside facing him, he gripped her hips slamming his cock back home where it belonged. Her tight warm wet sex welcomed him with open arms and all Mia could do was dig her nails into the bedding, the sound of flesh smacking flesh echoing around their master bedroom. What used to be Joe’s bachelor pad in Pensacola, Florida had turned into a loving home with Mia’s taste in redecorating. Joe didn’t mind the changes, letting her be the master of their home as long as he had full control in the bedroom. Once in a while, like tonight, Mia would surprise him and catch him off guard, make him work for what they both ultimately wanted. For the most part, however, Joe was in charge and called the shots in the bedroom, which Mia didn’t mind at all.

An hour later, Joe finally took pity on Mia’s sweaty tired body and came hard inside of her, filling her with his hot seed. They both decided not to use protection because parenthood was on both of their agendas. It was one of the many reasons why Mia was giving up the Diva’s championship at the next pay-per-view event. As much as she loved wrestling, Joe was her world and Mia wanted to be a mother more than anything. The vision of Mia pregnant with his child made Joe’s heart soar to the heavens and it definitely helped his family adored her. They also wanted a little Joe or Mia running around bringing more joy and expanding the Samoan Dynasty. Collapsing on the bed, Joe immediately pulled Mia to spoon up against him and wrapped her in his strong arms, pressing soft kisses to her shoulders.

“Are your wrists alright, baby?” Mia asked once her breathing returned to normal along with her heart rate, lifting one of his hands to remove the shackles from the now broken handcuffs.

Joe chuckled at her concern and nodded, burying his nose in her hair breathing Mia’s intoxicating perfume in. “Never better, baby girl.” He promised, stroking her flat abdomen with his fingers feather lightly. “Do you have any idea how eager I am to make you my wife?”

Mia giggled in response and turned over to lay on her back, staring up into his beautiful greys. “I have a pretty good idea, big man.” She murmured, accepting a soft kiss he dropped on her mouth and snuggled further into his warm body. “I can’t wait to be your wife either and to call you my husband.” Renouncing her heritage and being disowned by her family in order to be with the man she loved was more than worth it. “What’s on your mind, Joe?”

The woman knew him better than anyone and read him like a book, no matter how hard Joe tried hiding his worries. “Did you notice anything different going on with Anisa tonight?” He figured if there was anyone with answers, it would be Mia.

Mia sat up a little on her elbows and frowned, shaking her head. “No, why? Did something happen to her?”

“She and Jon got into it tonight. Apparently he thinks she’s hiding something from him because she was…different tonight. She wasn’t herself and you know how Jon is. He doesn’t lash out or accuse people unless he’s 100% sure.” Joe rubbed the back of his neck, sitting up and felt Mia shift to sit on her knees, caressing his broad back lovingly.

This was news to Mia. Why hadn’t Anisa told her about it? Then she remembered Anisa’s reaction to Glen’s beat down by the Wyatt Family, Bray in particular, and her frown grew more prominent. “All I know is Anisa was pissed off about Glen’s attack tonight. And something tells me it wasn’t scripted either. She helped Glen to the trainer’s room and stayed with him, I guess. I had a match, so I couldn’t stay, but maybe Glen upset her somehow.” Mia highly doubted it though.

Joe didn’t agree with that either. “Hopefully they work shit out because Jon was a mess tonight. Luckily, he pulled it together for the match, but afterwards he went straight to the hotel and didn’t stay behind like usual. I hope he’s alright.”

“He will be, baby. They love each other and everything will work out.” Mia laid back down and pulled Joe on top of her, their mouths meeting in another heated kiss to start round 2 of lovemaking.

~!~

“So what’s going on with Anisa?”

Krystal raised a slow brow at Colby while she straddled him in a hot soothing bubble bath, sliding a washcloth up his muscular chest. “I take it you heard about what happened?” Not to mention saw the brutal beat down from the Wyatt Family to Glen Jacobs.

“Somewhat.”

Colby still couldn’t believe Joe tossed him out of the locker room, but it didn’t surprise him. Jon and Joe had a bond that was unbreakable while Colby was just their friend. A third wheel most of the time. He didn’t mind it though. It was great Jon finally had someone in his life he could trust that didn’t have tits and a vagina. They were brothers and Colby accepted the bond long ago between the men he called his brethren.

“Wanna fill me in on the rest?”

Krystal told Colby exactly what he already knew about Anisa being worried sick over Glen. However, she had a piece of information nobody else knew about yet. “I wasn’t gonna say anything about it, but…Bray paid us a visit shortly after Glen was stitched up. He exchanged words with Anisa and she was upset afterwards, but I couldn’t make out what was said.” The door had been open, but Michael had his music on the radio up loud to drown out the noises coming from the ongoing show while patching Glen up. “I just hope Bray isn’t starting up with Anisa again.”

Colby had to wonder if Jon knew about this, stroking his beard covered jaw thoughtfully. “It would explain why Jon accused Anisa of keeping shit from him. He knew something was bothering her and he wasn’t wrong. Why she’s keeping it from him is beyond my comprehension, but I’m sure she has her reasons for it.”

“They’ll work it out. Their relationship has gone through a lot lately and I know it hasn’t been easy for them.” Krystal moved the washcloth from his chest beneath the water until her hand came in contact with his rock hard cock, chocolate meeting gleaming hazel. “Talk to Jon about it tomorrow, but right now I want your focus on me.”

Ever since Krystal and Colby became a full-fledged couple, she had come out of her shell little by little, showing a different side to the two toned haired man. “Mmm someone needing a little attention?” He grunted, sitting further upright in the tub and brushed his cock against her already dripping sex beneath the water.

“Mmm yes…” Krystal captured his mouth in a passionate kiss and broke it with a gasp of surprise, feeling Colby fill her body to complete capacity. “Oh Colby…”

“Krys…” He growled in response, engulfing one of her already erect nipples in his mouth and swirled it around with his tongue, scratching it lightly with his teeth. “Goddamn you feel good wrapped around me, sweetheart…”

“Fuck me, Colby – I need it…” Krystal whimpered, stretching to accommodate his massive size and gasped when he lifted her out of the tub, wrapping her legs around his waist.

While still inside of her pulsating, Colby planted Krystal on the bathroom sink and proceeded to give her what they both craved, clinging to each other for dear life.

~!~

Anisa wasn’t surprised to see Jon waiting for her when she landed in Vegas later that day. The flight was longer than she thought and she didn’t realize she had a layover in Houston, Texas on the way. She didn’t run to him like usual and instead walked, still hesitant since the last time they saw each other was nothing more than an argument. Jon didn’t blame her for being hesitant; he was the same way, but someone had to make the first move and he’d never backed down from a challenge. Tears glistened in Anisa’s eyes once she stood in front of Jon and he enveloped her into his arms, her face burying in his t-shirt covered chest.

“I love you.” She whispered loud enough for him to hear, clutching the material of his shirt in her hands. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t apologize, darlin’, please.” Jon pleaded, pulling back enough to stare down in her watery eyes and kissed away every tear that fell. “There’s no need for it. I was a dick to you for no reason.” Though it still bothered him Anisa didn’t come clean about whatever was bugging her.

In that moment, Anisa contemplated telling Jon about Bray and thought better of it. They were just words. All Bray was trying to do was destroy her with mind games and it wasn’t going to work. Had he forgotten she’d been married to one of the most manipulative master of mind games in the world? Mark Calaway could make anyone go insane if he really wanted to, so Bray had a long way to go if he planned on getting under Anisa’s skin. Being with Jon was all she cared about and Anisa wanted to spend the next few days off with him making love and enjoying their alone time.

Once back at the condo, Anisa ordered Jon to go take a shower while she made lunch for them. They would eat and then maybe watch a movie or something, if Jon allowed it to get that far. Jon tried convincing her to join him, but Anisa was starving and she knew he had to be as well. They had plenty of time to shower together. Lunch consisted of chicken salad sandwiches and Lays potato chips with cold lemonade for Anisa and a beer for Jon. She wasn’t in the mood to drink alcohol and lemonade sounded good for some reason, even adding a few strawberries to it for more flavor. They snuggled together on the couch and turned on ‘Me, Myself & Irene’ – one of their favorites. Halfway through, Jon couldn’t hold back any longer and asked Anisa a question, pulling her attention away from the movie long enough to capture her mouth. The kiss turned heated quickly and both shed their clothes, the movie long forgotten with their focus solely on each other.

“Jon…” Anisa breathed, his sinful lips trailing down her jaw to her shoulder while rubbing her quivering pussy with his long nimble fingers, pinning her body to the couch. “Lose control, baby please…”

“Anything can happen to you if I let myself go, Ani.” Jon warned in a low gritty voice full of huskiness and need, his lips still devouring her neck before moving to the other side. “Are you sure you can handle me?”

Pulling back, Anisa cupped his face in her hands and forced their eyes to meet – two shades of blue swirling together in a pool of lust and desire. “Yes. I trust you. Now let go with me.”

For the rest of the day and majority of the night, Jon did exactly what Anisa wanted, giving her everything he had to offer. By the time they stopped, it was the early morning hours and Jon was passed out in bed while Anisa lay beside him staring up at the ceiling. As worn out and tired as she was, Anisa couldn’t sleep for some reason. Her cell phone lighting up on the nightstand buzzing pulled Anisa’s gaze from the ceiling and she reached over Jon to grab it. He was out cold and wouldn’t be up for several hours, possibly not until after noon. Slipping from the bed, Anisa stepped out on the balcony and shut the doors behind her, quickly pulling a silk short sleeved mid-thigh black robe on to hide her nude body. The cool silk felt wonderful against her skin, but Anisa couldn’t fully enjoy it because of the name flashing on her caller ID.

Bray

What the hell did he want now? How did he get her number? Anisa hadn’t remembered giving him her number even when they had their one night of passion together. God she really regretted doing that because now Bray had a lot of blackmail on her. Jon knew about their night together, but refused to hear any of the details. Anisa frowned when the cell phone vibrated in her hand again and she flipped it open, gritting her teeth angrily while holding it up to her ear.

Bray’s laughter echoed through it. “Glen is the first of many sheep to be slaughtered.” His voice sounded wistful and soft, the sound sending shivers throughout Anisa’s body. She wasn’t sure if it was from desire or fear, maybe a mixture of both. “Watch yourself.”

“Why are you doing this to me? Why can’t you leave me alone?” Anisa hated the desperation in her voice, but this was getting out of hand now. First the arena and now he was calling her personal cell phone. “How the hell did you get my number anyway?”

He ignored her question. “I don’t want you getting hurt in the crossfire, Anisa. I will do what I can to protect you, but you need to watch yourself.”

“What does that even mean? I don’t understand…” She was tired of his riddles and could feel her blood start to boil. “Stop playing games with me, Bray. I’m done with you. Move on and forget you know me. Forget about everything that happened between us. I love Jon, not you. Lose my number before you lose your career.”

Hanging up the phone abruptly, Anisa had to set it down so she didn’t toss it over the balcony and let the tears flow freely down her cheeks, knowing sleep would definitely evade her after that ominous phone call.

Chapter 5

Helpless.

That’s the only word Jon could think of to describe how he felt. Lost also came to mind. Over the next several weeks, something had changed with Anisa and he couldn’t figure it out. He was out of options and tired of being left in the dark from whatever was bothering the woman he loved. Anisa became withdrawn and quiet, hardly sleeping at night. Pretending to sleep had become a way of life for Jon because Anisa would sneak out of bed after thinking he was asleep and stay up most of the night. The loss of sleep was evident from dark circles marring her midnight blues and no amount of makeup used hid them. It broke Jon’s heart to see Anisa up night after night, even when they were in Vegas alone. Surprisingly, the sex hadn’t dwindled between them and that didn’t tire her out either. The only time Anisa slept was a few minutes ago, only because her body had physically given out from exhaustion. Jon came back from his match with Joe and Colby to the Shield locker room and found her fast asleep on the couch.

Enough was enough.

Jon had left the locker room abruptly, ignoring Joe’s silent protests. They were all quiet not wanting to disturb Anisa’s rest. He was out of options and knew there was only one person to talk to about Anisa’s recent behavior. It was going behind Anisa’s back in a way, but Jon didn’t know what else to do. He just needed answers, some kind of sign to let him know everything would be alright. Losing Anisa was not an option and if Jon had to get tough with her, he would do it. He loved her that much, more than anyone on the planet. One way or another, whether Anisa liked it or not, Jon would find answers and help her through whatever was bothering her. And if it was a specific person, Jon would rip their heart out and stuff it down their throat for causing his woman so much distress.

Stopping outside the door, Jon hesitantly brought his hand up and knocked, hearing a muttered ‘come in’ a few seconds later. He pushed the door open and stopped at the sight of not only Philip Brooks on the phone with someone, but Mia and Krystal were there too. They both had identical worried looks on their faces just like Jon and he heaved a sigh, knowing they had to be here for the same reason he was. Anisa. Why did the woman have to be so stubborn? Surely he assumed Anisa had talked to Mia, her best friend, and possibly Krystal, but judging by their expressions that wasn’t the case. Mia frowned, walking over to Jon and placed a hand on his upper arm, cracking a small smile that didn’t touch her dark eyes.

“Who’s he on the phone with?” Jon quietly asked, folding his arms in front of his chest.

“Melanie.” The smile grew more genuine as soon as Mia mentioned the brilliant lawyer who helped Jon out of a sticky situation with his now ex-wife. “She’s really been a godsend to him ever since…”

Jon cleared his throat, stopping Mia from saying the name and merely nodded. “Right.” His eyes moved to Krystal before returning to Mia. “What are you two doing here?”

Krystal joined them while Phil continued his phone conversation. “The same reason you are, I presume. We’re just as worried about Anisa as you are, Jon. So what’s going on?”

Jon explained to them about Anisa’s insomnia problem lately and refusing to talk to him about it. “Every time I bring it up and ask her what’s bothering her, she either changes the subject or we have sex.” He tore a hand through his slightly damp dishwater blonde curls and shook his head. “I’m ready to give up and I’ve never felt like that before.”

Both Mia and Krystal shared a concerned look at that confession. “Don’t give up on her, Jon. Please. I know it’s hard right now, but something is going on and we need to figure out what it is since she won’t tell us. I’m sure Phil will have an idea. He is her brother after all.” Mia reasoned, reaching down to squeeze his hand in a purely platonic way.

“I hope so.” Phil was Jon’s last hope to crack the Anisa mystery and if he couldn’t do it, their relationship would have to end. “He needs to get off the fucking phone already. We don’t have time for this.”

“Make time.” Krystal stated, planting her hands on her hips. “If you love Anisa as much as you claim, you’ll wait as long as it takes for Phil to end his call. And you WON’T interrupt him either.” Oh yes, she had definitely come out of her shell ever since dating Colby.

10 minutes later, Phil finally ended his call with Melanie, promising to see her on his days off that week and turned to face the people in his dressing room. “What is this grand central station?” He popped off, sitting down on the bench to start taping his hands up. “What brings you 3 in here?”

“We need to talk to you.”

“It’s about Anisa.”

Phil’s head snapped up to first look at Krystal and then Mia, setting the roll of white tape on the bench. “What about my sister?” His hazel eyes finally looked at Jon and immediately stood up, squaring his shoulders. “What the hell happened?”

“We don’t know.” Jon replied before the girls could, pushing them behind him protectively in case Phil lashed out for some reason. “Your sister is acting strange lately. She’s had bad insomnia ever since Glen was attacked by those damn Wyatt’s for their debut. Don’t tell me you haven’t noticed anything different about her? Because that’s bullshit!”

“Jon! Calm down now.” Mia ordered, stepping in front of the hothead her best friend was in love with and shook her head. “Phil, ignore him. He’s upset and doesn’t know what to do about Anisa.”

It was a good thing Phil hadn’t been the only one noticing an abrupt change in his sister’s behavior lately. “I’m not a hothead like him.” He assured Mia and scrubbed a hand down his face, beginning to pace a little. “You’re not wrong about my sister either. I’ve also noticed it. I tried talking to her about what was going on, but she won’t and it’s pissing me off. She hasn’t talked to any of you?” It surprised him about Mia, but not Krystal and Jon.

“If she had, do you think we’d come to you for answers?” Jon retorted, ignoring Mia and Krystal’s warning looks and kept his eyes on Phil. “Do YOU know something we don’t?”

“Unfortunately not. Wish I did. But I do have a hunch.”

“Which is?”

“I’ll give you 3 guesses and the first 2 don’t count.”

Mia groaned, slumping down on the bench and buried her head in her hands. “No…” Could it be? “Not again…”

“Well what are the guesses because I’m clueless?” Krystal hadn’t known the group nearly as long as Phil and Mia. Jon looked flabbergasted too, so at least she wasn’t alone.

“Who else would come after her?” Phil remarked, a hint of anger lacing his voice.

It took Jon 3 seconds to cotton onto what Phil said and his pale blues suddenly erupted in fire. “That mother fucker…”

“I don’t know if it is him for sure though. But he’s the first and right now only suspect behind Anisa’s behavior.” Phil had talked to Melanie about it and they both came to the same conclusion.

“Why can’t he just leave her alone?” Mia mumbled, clenching her fists tightly in front of her while resting them on her lap. “I don’t understand…”

“Because he’s a psychotic dickhead who doesn’t know what rejection is.” Jon growled, not believing he hadn’t figured this out sooner.

It was time for Krystal to come clean about what she knew. “There may be a second suspect, but I’m not sure.” Why didn’t she eavesdrop on Bray and Anisa’s conversation a few weeks ago when all this began?

All eyes were on Krystal now. “What do you mean?” Phil demanded, noticing the hesitation fill her hazel eyes. “Do you know something we don’t? If it’s not asshole, then who’s been screwing with her?”

“Don’t kill the messenger.” Krystal held her hands up defensively. “I – I didn’t think anything of it until now…and…”

“Just spit it out woman, fuck!” Jon snapped, fighting the urge to wrap his hands around Krystal’s neck because she’d reverted back to her shy self.

If Jon didn’t keep his mouth shut, Phil would deliver a GTS and knock him out. “Krystal, calm down nobody is going to hurt you or blame you for this. But if you know something, anything that will help my sister, you need to come clean.”

Krystal swallowed hard and felt Mia take her hand, silently giving her the courage she needed. “When Glen got attacked and was brought to the trainer’s room a few weeks ago, Anisa came with him. She was scared he was really hurt from what the Wyatt Family did. And…”

“Go on sweetie, we’re all on your side.” Mia coaxed, rubbing Krystal’s arm up and down soothingly to try calming her friend down. She was shaking like a leaf. “What happened?”

“Bray showed up and exchanged words with Anisa. Don’t ask me what was said because I couldn’t hear what they said to each other. But Anisa was upset and Bray just walked away from her. So I don’t know if that’s the reason her behavior and attitude has changed or not, but…she was really upset over what happened.” Krystal admitted, explaining the best she could the same way she did with Colby. “I’m sorry. I should’ve said something sooner…”

Considering what transpired between Bray and Anisa months ago, Phil couldn’t count him out as a suspect. The man was quiet and kept to himself mostly, but Anisa had tried being his friend. Jon didn’t like it, but respected her wishes and Phil appreciated that. What if Bray was behind this? Phil refused to count his ex-brother-in-law out of the picture though because that’s how crafty Mark Calaway was. The moment they didn’t suspect him anymore, that’s when he’d strike and blow them all away.

“We need to do some investigating.” Phil broke the silence a few minutes later, each person in their own thoughts about the situation. “It may be Bray, but I’m sticking with my gut instinct. Mark has fucked with her so many times since their divorce. Mia, I need you to keep your eyes and ears open around the locker room since you’re still part of the roster. Find out what you can. Ask around and see if anyone has noticed Bray fucking with her.” She was a top Diva in the company currently and he wasn’t surprised to see the beautiful Indian woman he thought of as a sister comply with his request. “Same with you, Krystal, but be careful who you ask. You don’t know who to trust in this company outside of our circle.”

Krystal nodded in understanding. “Got it and I will. I’ll ask Michael to keep his eyes and ears open too.” They trusted the trainer with their lives, literally, on a daily basis and Michael would never betray anyone.

“I’m gonna call down to the Performance Center in Tampa and talk to Bill Demotte. He’s been working closely with Anisa lately and maybe he’s seen something we haven’t.” Phil already planned on taking a trip to Tampa because he didn’t want to have this type of conversation over the phone.

“So what the fuck am I supposed to do?” Jon hated being left out of the mix considering this was his girlfriend.

“First off, you need to get your head out of your ass and stop saying you’re gonna leave my sister if she doesn’t start talking about what’s bothering her. She doesn’t need that kind of mental destruction right now. You need to keep a close eye on her and be there for anything she needs. Let us handle the investigating and if we find anything out, we’ll let you know.” Phil laid down the law to Jon and folded his arms in front of his chest, eyes narrowed. “I won’t hesitate to beat your ass if you hurt her and you know it. If you love her and want to be with her, stop being an asshole and start being the person she needs.”

Jon had no response to that lecture and simply stalked out of Phil’s locker room, knowing deep down the man was right. He was pushing Anisa further away by constantly asking her if she was alright. She was alive and breathing – wasn’t that enough? If Mark was screwing with her again, Jon would make sure he didn’t live much longer. The only way to get rid of Mark Calaway was to kill him and Jon wanted to be the one to deliver the death blow. He stopped at the sight of Joe and Colby standing outside of the Shield dressing room, holding his hand up before they could start bombarding him with questions.

“Mia and Krystal were there before I was. We have a game plan, boys.”

“Who does Phil think is fucking with Anisa then?” Joe had to ask, not surprised Mia and Krystal had been in Phil’s locker room to discuss this situation.

“Who do you think?” Jon rolled his eyes and had to clench his fists tightly to keep from drilling the in the nearest wall. “That mother fucker is at it again. And I found out Bray may be screwing with her too.”

Now Colby looked sheepish and guilty. “I take it Krys told you what happened.”

“You knew?” Jon grabbing Colby by the straps of his vest and slammed him against the wall, blue fire in his eyes. “What the fuck man?”

Colby blinked, not expecting Jon to lash out at him and felt Joe pull Jon away, trying to regulate his heartbeat again. “It’s not my fucking place to tell you what your woman is doing, asshole! Why don’t you keep a tighter leash on her if you don’t want her talking to other guys?”

“Enough Colby.” Joe ordered gravely, holding Jon back as much as he could, but the man was stronger than people realized. “Jon, chill out and calm down. It’s not Colby’s fault. It’s not Anisa’s fault. We’ll figure out what’s going on, but you need to get that temper in check before you do something stupid. You got me, bro?”

Another lecture. Jon was tired of hearing people tell him what to do and stalked past Joe inside the Shield locker room. Anisa still slept angelically on the couch, her chest rising and falling evenly. Walking over to her, Jon squatted down and brushed a strand of honey blonde hair from her cheek before softly kissing her.

“Just let me in, Ani.” He whispered pleadingly, pressing his forehead to her chest and breathed in her scent, hoping their relationship was strong enough to handle another Mark Calaway obstacle.

Chapter 6

While Jon orchestrated his plan with Phil, Mia and Krystal, Anisa sat in Randy Orton’s dressing with 4 month pregnant Ryanne. She looked adorable in the sleeveless blue and white striped dress that went to her knees. Her feet were swollen and currently elevated on the couch Randy asked the bosses to set up for her during traveling. If it was just him, he didn’t care for a couch, but Ryanne had to be as comfortable as possible since she refused to stay cooped up at the hotels while he worked. She was adamant about being with her husband and spending time with him, making a valid point that once the baby was born, it would no longer be just the two of them. They would be responsible for another life and all of their time would be devoted to the baby. Ryanne was just past 20 weeks and couldn’t wait to find out what the sex of their baby was so she could start finding décor for the nursery at home.

“The baby shower is going to be spectacular too!” Ryanne gushed, unable to stop and felt tears fill her eyes at the thought of how fast everything changed in the past 4 months. “I can’t believe I’m going to be a mother.”

“Do you have a theme for the baby shower yet?” Anisa asked, trying her best to push what happened with Bray lately in the back of her mind until she was completely alone.

Ryanne noticed the change in Anisa along with everyone else, but she was smart enough to keep her personal opinions to herself. “Actually, since we’re finding out the sex of the baby, we have two picked out – one for each gender.”

Raising a brow, it was clear how much thought and planning Ryanne put into her first baby shower. The woman had tried for years to get pregnant and always wanted to be a mother. She was one of those little girls with the perfect childhood, great parents and always dreaming of having a mini-Ryanne. Playing house and always being the mother with her friends, dressing up her Barbie dolls putting them in a family and watching any G rated movie dealing with families. The thought disgusted Anisa personally, but she wouldn’t say that to Ryanne because they were great friends. Honestly, the subject of Ryanne’s pregnancy and upcoming baby shower was just the distraction Anisa needed.

“So at first we were gonna do either all blue or all pink, but I thought that was far too cliché and Randy did too. So instead,” Ryanne paused briefly, setting down the pictures she printed from the internet in front of Anisa with a grin. “We’re having a formal black and white baby shower event with either different colors of blues or pinks, depending on the sex of course.” She clasped her hands together tightly with sparkling emerald eyes. “Anisa, I’m so excited for this and haven’t felt this happy in a LONG time. This baby, this beautiful life growing inside of me, is the answer to all of my prayers. Ever since I was a little girl, I’ve fantasized about this moment in my life and it’s finally happening!”

The phony smile on Anisa’s face was starting to make her cheeks throb. Anisa reached out and took Ryanne’s hand, giving it a gentle squeeze to gain her attention. “Sweetie, you know I couldn’t be happier for you both and that’s a great idea. But you do realize in order to make your childhood dream come true, you will have unbearable pain to endure, right?” Anisa didn’t want to burst Ryanne’s happy pregnancy bubble, but she really hoped the woman was prepared for what would inevitably happen.

That question didn’t faze Ryanne in the slightest and she grabbed Anisa’s other hand, nodding excitedly. “I’m ready for it. This is why the female body was created, Anisa, don’t you understand that? We were put on this earth to fall in love, marry the love of our lives and have their babies. I know the pain that’s coming will be bad and probably the worst I’ll ever feel in my life, but…it’s worth it. Every painful second will be worth the outcome when I give birth to our beautiful baby and I can only pray he or she has Randy’s eyes.” They were her favorite part on her husband’s body.

Anisa couldn’t help admiring Ryanne for not only her bravery, but the amount of pure truth in each word she said. “You really are willing and ready for the pain, aren’t you?” It was more of a statement than a question, rhetorical at best.

“I’m not scared. I can’t wait to feel the first contraction actually. Because it’ll be one step closer to holding the amazing being we created together.” Ryanne lowered her eyes to the slightly protruding 4 month pregnant belly and caressed it lovingly, tears stinging her eyes. “Do you know what I fear most, Anisa?”

She didn’t miss the crack in Ryanne’s voice. “No, what?”

Ryanne lifted her gaze to meet Anisa’s again as a few tears slipped down her cheeks, but the smile never faltered. “I’m scared something bad is going to happen with this pregnancy. It’s a miracle I got pregnant and I’ve been doing everything right. Eating, resting as much as I can, going to my appointments, taking my prenatal vitamins, exercising without overdoing it, reading every book known to man out there about pregnancy, putting a special cream on my stomach so I don’t gain stretch marks, eliminating all stress from my life – anything you can imagine I’ve done. But what if it’s not enough? What if my baby is born with a disability? Not that I wouldn’t love he or she because I would, but I just hope and pray for a healthy baby. I don’t care what the gender he or she is as long nothing bad happens.”

It was obvious Ryanne had kept these worries bottled up inside for a while and more than likely hadn’t talked to Randy about them. “You haven’t told Randy any of this, have you?” Again, rhetorical.

“How can I?” Ryanne croaked out, accepting a tissue Anisa handed her and wiped her eyes before blowing her nose, sniffling. “As happy and excited as I am, I have fears and I know he’s already stressed out enough about work. I don’t want to add my fears to his plate and have him worried about me. He needs to focus on work so he doesn’t make a mistake in the ring. The last thing we both need is him ending up in the hospital because of a mistake that could be easily avoided as long as I keep my mouth shut.”

“Come here, Ry.”

Anisa wrapped an arm around her friend’s shoulder and let the hormones overtake her, tears soaking through the shirt part covering her shoulder. That didn’t matter though. Anything to help Ryanne calm down because her pregnancy was already high risk and crying would elevate her already high blood pressure. Ryanne explained everything before going over the baby shower arrangements and décor ideas. This was what Ryanne really needed though. Someone to vent her frustrations and fears too because she was too scared to tell her husband how she felt. Not that Randy wouldn’t understand, but Ryanne was more concerned about his career and Anisa couldn’t blame her.

“Listen, this didn’t happen – this pregnancy – it’s miraculous and should be the best time of your life and marriage. Don’t let ‘what ifs’ get in the way of what makes you happy, sweetie.” Anisa rubbed Ryanne’s back soothingly while she spoke, hoping her words sent positive vibes through the woman and made her realize how silly she was being. “Stop worrying about what might happen and look at what you have in front of you.”

Ryanne pulled back to look up at Anisa and nodded, clearing her throat while wiping tears away. “Thank you, Anisa.” She murmured softly, taking a few deep breaths to calm down more and leaned back against the couch, her hand once again resting on her stomach. “Now that I got it out of my system, I think I’ll be okay now. And I’ll talk to Randy, just not while we’re on the road.”

“Good, you need to because he’s probably just as scared as you are. Men don’t express themselves openly like women do.” Anisa started thinking about Bray again and the tension she felt with Jon lately, immediately picking up the pictures of the black filigree design Ryanne had in mind to use along with white for her baby shower. “So, are you having balloons? And I better get an invite.”

“Oh!” Ryanne’s eyes shot open and she sat upright on the couch, mouth agape. A few seconds later, she gasped again. “Oh my!”

“What is it? Are you okay?” Panic entered Anisa’s voice until Ryanne took her hand and placed it on her stomach. “What…?”

“Shh just wait for it.” Ryanne held her hand up to silence Anisa from saying another word and closed her eyes when the exhilarating feeling swept through her again. “Did you feel it?”

Now Anisa’s eyes were wide, midnight blue full of wonder. “Is that…?”

“Yes!” Ryanne couldn’t hold her excitement in any longer, the squeal resonating around the dressing room. “He or she moved – and you got to experience it with me!” Part of her was sad Randy missed the first movement of their baby growing inside of her, but Ryanne had to prepare for him to miss a lot of firsts with his job.

It truly was an incredible feeling, one that Anisa wondered briefly if she would ever experience. Then again, motherhood wasn’t in her plans or on the agenda anytime soon. “Yeah it is. What does it feel like?” Her curiosity was peaked off the charts after feeling Ryanne’s baby move against her hand.

“Honestly? Bubbles! It feels like bubbles.”

Giggling, Ryanne was once again in her happy pregnant mood and started gushing about the baby shower once again. An hour later, Anisa couldn’t handle the baby talk anymore and said goodbye to Ryanne, walking out of Randy’s locker room letting out a huge breath. She loved Ryanne, but the woman was very hormonal and emotions jumping all over the place didn’t set well with Anisa. Now that she was walking the hallways of the arena alone, Bray once again infiltrated her mind. She frowned, suddenly needing a cigarette and headed straight for the exit, walking as fast as she could without actually running.

Her destination wasn’t without a roadblock, however. Hands shot out to stop Anisa from slamming into a strong muscular chest and a semi-high pitched voice speaking made Anisa realize who it was. “Sorry Colby.” She mumbled, stepping back to look in his chocolate eyes.

“No harm done.” Colby smiled in spite of the distracted woman of Jon’s standing in front of him. “Where’s the fire?”

“I – I was heading outside for some air. Had a little too much baby talk from Ryanne and need to clear my head.” Maybe using a pregnant woman as an excuse was a bad idea, but Anisa promised not to tell anyone what was going on with Bray.

Colby didn’t buy it for a second and extended his arm, smiling. “You know what? A trip outside sounds great. Come on, I’ll walk with you.” He offered, both of them turning to head down the hallway toward the exit. “So, are you alright?”

“Yeah I’m fine, why?” Anisa replied nonchalantly, not minding taking a stroll with Colby considering they didn’t hang out nearly as much as she and Joe did. Jon was closer to him than Colby.

“Just asking, being a good brother and all that since you are dating one of my bros.” Colby chuckled, but the amount of worry in his eyes couldn’t be hidden. He was genuinely concerned for her and Jon because they were both like family to him. “Look, I know you don’t wanna talk to anyone about whatever is bothering you, but…”

Anisa stopped him immediately, unlinking their arms. “There’s nothing going on with me. I don’t know why all of you are assuming something’s wrong. Do you WANT there to be? Because seriously, you should be more concerned about your girlfriend and why she refuses to move in with you. And Joe needs to be worried about his upcoming wedding to my best friend. And Ryanne – dear god Ryanne and Randy need to worry about their baby and just talk to each other about their feelings! All of you need to worry about your own damn lives and stop sticking your noses in business that’s not yours!” She hadn’t meant to snap at Colby, but it was all the pent up frustration regarding Bray that had Anisa on edge.

“Fine, we’ll do that, but you need to take your own advice, Anisa. Jon loves you and you know that’s not easy for him to admit to anyone. His childhood was shit and he hasn’t had a lot of love in his life. And then he met you and it all changed, even with you being the sister of Punk. He doesn’t give a fuck because that’s how much he loves you. So think about that and start showing him you love him before he walks away from you. And when that happens, you’ll have nobody to blame except yourself.” Colby kept to himself for the most part backstage, but the amount of hurt and heartache this woman caused Jon lately was uncalled for. “The lying has to stop, Anisa.”

Anger flashed through her cool midnight eyes and before Anisa could stop herself, her hand connected with the side of Colby’s face. His left cheek to be more precise. “No wonder Krystal doesn’t want to move in with you. You don’t know when to shut the fuck up, Lopez. Do us both a favor and stop trying to play the hero because we both know you’re full of shit. If you EVER speak to me the way you just did a moment ago, I won’t hesitate to lodge your balls up in your throat PERMANENTLY. And I can do it, all you have to do is test me.”

Rubbing his cheek, all Colby could do was watch an irate Anisa stalk away from him down the hallway outside. What was he thinking questioning her about Jon? Demanding answers to a situation that was none of his business. That was a mistake and something told Colby he would pay for it because Krystal did not condone her friends being messed with. They talked about Anisa and Jon frequently over the past couple of weeks since the Wyatt Family debuted and he had promised not to confront Anisa. Well that promise was blown and now Colby didn’t know what to do. Shaking his head sadly, he turned and headed back to the Shield locker room, leaving Anisa alone like she wanted.

Piercing eyes watched the scene unfold and a smirk curved his mouth when Anisa struck the youngest member of the Shield. She had fire and he had sparked it inside of her. It seemed as though Colby Lopez didn’t know when to leave well enough alone though. The man had upset Anisa and that couldn’t be tolerated. He was the only one to get under her skin. Whipping his cell phone out, the call was made and he hung up seconds later, a low chuckle resonating around the empty hallway.

Things were about to get interesting.

Chapter 7

“Phil…oh harder, baby please…”

Melanie’s moans didn’t fall on deaf ears while Phil continuously powered in and out of her receptive body, feeling her warm wet juices coating his pulsating cock. They were both in desperate need of each other after spending a week apart. Phil didn’t know what it was about the beautiful lawyer that attracted him so much. At first, Phil began using Melanie as a distraction from Coralie’s death and convinced himself he had zero feelings. He was numb from head to toe and had needs to be fulfilled by Melanie. Her sparkling sincere brown eyes or witty personality had no effect on him whatsoever. All Phil wanted was her pussy and to use her body for his own gain…or so he tried convincing himself of those feelings.

There was a point where Melanie tried stopping seeing Phil and cut ties with him to move on with her life. This was before she picked up her practice and moved to Chicago. Phil had shown up at her tightly secured apartment building in New York City just shy of 2 months since Coralie’s death. The moment she opened the door and saw tears rushing down Phil’s face, Melanie didn’t have the heart to shut him out. Instead, she drew him against her and let Phil cry on her shoulder, stroking his short dark hair in her doorway. He apologized for treating her like a piece of ass when she was so much than that to him. Phil admitted he tried convincing himself otherwise about Melanie because of the deep gut-wrenching guilt he felt over Coralie’s death. All Melanie did was cup his face in her soft hands, kissed him softly on the lips and promised to help him through this painful time in his life, no matter what.

It’d been a month since that happened and Phil had completely changed his way of thinking. There were times he still bolted upright in bed in the middle of the night crying out Coralie’s name, but it didn’t bother Melanie. For the past month, Phil told her all about Coralie – from the time they met up until their relationship ending all because he thought she’d been cheating on him. And he never had the chance to make amends with her, to fix it. Melanie’s heart broke because she couldn’t imagine dying the horrific way Coralie did. Maybe that’s why she didn’t mind how much Phil talked about his dead ex-girlfriend. Phil only mentioned something about Coralie whenever his eye caught something that reminded him of her. For the most part, he tried watching how much he mentioned Coralie around Melanie because he really did care a great deal for her.

Sliding his strong tattooed hands up her slender bare stomach and ribcage, Phil cupped both her breasts before tweaking her nipples. “Goddamn, I’m close, Mel…” He grunted in her ear, knowing this was wrong to do where they were, but he was powerless. “You gonna cum all over my dick, beautiful?”

“Y-Yes!!” Melanie was completely breathless, but somehow met Phil for every quick thrust, her backside bouncing off his pelvis harshly, but neither cared. “P-Phil, oh fuck!”

Locking her hands around his neck by entwining her fingers, Melanie arched her body until the top of her head pressed against his chest, their eyes locking. Yoga did wonders for Melanie. The woman could bend in ways Phil could only dream of and he’d had sex with her in several of them, but this one was new. Somehow, she managed to keep her lower half where it was so his dick didn’t slip out while her upper body bent in a backwards bridge. All the while never releasing his neck and now her fingers gripped his hair, forcing Phil to growl out animalistically. He suddenly pulled away from her long enough to whip her body around, lift her by planting his hands on her backside and lifted Melanie to where her legs wrapped around his waist. Within seconds, Phil slid right back home where he belonged and slammed her against the wall, not hard enough to hurt her. The last thing he wanted to do was cause Melanie a concussion from their rough screwing.

“Do you have any idea what twisting and bending your beautiful body does to me?” Phil demanded in her ear, lacing their fingers together to hold captive above her head and nipped the soft lobe.

Melanie smirked, squeezing her fingers with his while he plummeted in and out of her, forcing her world to spin off its axel. “I can show you a different position if you want.”

Her offer was enticing, but given the circumstances they had exactly 2 minutes before someone came busting the door down. “Later. Now cum for me.” It was an order from his rough lowered husky voice and Melanie could already feel herself shattering against him.

To silence her screams, Phil covered her mouth with his in an explosive kiss while they came together intensely, both of their bodies shuddering against each other. Phil held her close to him after they finished, sliding his fingers through her beautiful brunette hair. He loved the red highlights she kept in it and the smell of her shampoo was intoxicating. Apricot. It was strange and exotic at the same time. Melanie slowly pulled back from resting her head on his shoulder and looked up in his hazel eyes, reaching up to stroke his face with the back of her hand. She missed him so much this past week and couldn’t wait to go back to Chicago for his few days off. Little did Melanie know Phil had something more important to do on those days.

“I take it someone missed me?” Melanie half-joked, trying to ease the tension between them a little while both came down from their sexual high.

“Always, you should know that by now.” Phil retorted and carefully set Melanie on her feet in front of him, sweeping her clothes off the floor to hand to her. “We should hurry up and dress before someone barges in.”

Melanie understood, not wasting a second and had her clothes on within a minute while Phil opted for his wrestling tights. She was proud of him for coming back to the WWE and doing what he loved most – wrestling. There was no greater love in his life than the world of professional wrestling and she accepted that just like he accepted her love of being a lawyer. Admittedly, Melanie was the one who convinced Phil to go back to the WWE shortly after he showed up at her apartment building crying. They spent a straight week in her apartment just talking and eventually it lead to them naked in her bed. Still in Melanie’s defense, she held out as long as she could, but the heart ultimately won out.

“So, I wanted to run something by you.”

Looking up at Phil, Melanie could only imagine what kind of ideas ran through Phil’s mind. “Okay…” She tried not to sound skeptical and failed miserably. “What’s going on?”

Phil sat down on the bench beside her and continued wrapping his hands in white tape. “It’s about Anisa…”

Now he had her full undivided attention. “What’s wrong with her?” Her soft voice had changed to her ‘lawyer’ tone as Phil called it a few times.

He heaved a sigh and shook his head, ripping the tape away from the roll with his teeth. “I don’t know, but…Jon, Mia and Krystal came to me worried about her the other day.” It’d been a week actually, but Melanie didn’t need to know all the details. “I think – no I know – Calaway is fucking with her again.” Anger laced his tone as soon as Phil spouted the dick’s name.

Melanie reached out to touch his arm and Phil didn’t pull away, her touch instantly calming him back down. “Why do you think it’s him?”

“Who else would fuck with my sister? There’s something wrong with her, Mel. I’ve tried talking to her about it, but every time I bring it up, she changes the subject. But I can tell there’s something not right with her and so can everyone else around her. I need to help her, but I don’t know how.” Phil was beyond frustrated at this point because his plan of going down to the Performance Center was looking bleak due to Bill Demotte not knowing how to return someone’s phone call.

“Phil…” Melanie snapped her mouth shut when his cell phone began ringing and blinked at how fast he sprinted forward to snatch it from the open locker.

“Punk.” It was always his greeting whenever answering the phone.

“Hey Punk, Bill Demotte returning your phone calls.” He had at least 20 of them or more. “Sorry it took so long, just been busy with the young bucks training and whatnot. What can I do for you?”

Coming out and telling Bill over the phone what was happening with Anisa wasn’t an option. “Well, I’ve been meaning to come down there and check out the Performance Center. Maybe I can make a surprise appearance to the rookies and give them a boost. Show them a few moves and whatnot?” It was a truthful enough suggestion and Phil would honor his word if it meant being able to talk to Bill face to face.

That was definitely an offer Bill hadn’t expected to hear from CM Punk of all people. “Alright…” What the hell else could he say? Denying one of the greatest WWE Superstars a chance to come down and show the rookies the ropes would be career suicide! “Well, when did you wanna come on down for this appearance? And if you really wanna keep this a secret, I won’t tell them.”

Perfect, this was a lot easier than Phil originally thought it’d be. “I was thinking next week after the Smackdown! taping on the 7^th.” He couldn’t believe July was just about over already. Where had the year from both heaven and hell gone? “I know you guys tape NXT down there on Wednesday and Thursday, so maybe I can make an appearance on the show itself.” He would have to keep this particular taping away from Anisa somehow since she was the Talent Relations Manager.

Bill knew this would give the kids a boost of confidence since a few of them with great potential had been slacking lately. “Sounds good to me, man. So secret or not?” He didn’t bother mentioning Anisa since her days off were the days of the tapings to be with her boyfriend. She’d made that abundantly clear prior to taking up the position, but Bill still thought highly of her regardless.

Pretending to think it over for a few seconds, Phil saw the disbelief on Melanie’s face and turned away from her to finish the conversation. “Make it a surprise for the rookies. And I’ll let Anisa know what’s going on.” The lie flowed out of his mouth surprisingly smooth and Phil knew he’d have to answer to his girlfriend as soon as the call ended.

“Just call and let me know when you get into town so I can prepare the kids.” Bill requested, jotting down the details since Phil already had a plane ticket reserved for that specific day. “Thanks again for volunteering to do this.”

“Not a problem. Talk to you later, Bill.” Phil ended the call and slowly turned around, bracing himself for the tongue lashing he’d undoubtedly receive.

Melanie didn’t disappoint. “Just what in the hell are you thinking, Phillip Brooks?”

“Before you object…”

“No.” She cut him off abruptly and folded her arms tightly, brown eyes narrowed. “That’s sneaky and underhanded. I realize Anisa won’t talk to you about what’s going on, but you’re planning on violating her trust. Don’t you think that’s a little extreme?”

“Maybe.” Phil amended, leaning against the lockers and began drawing a red X on each of his taped knuckles. “But I’m out of options and patience too. So is Jon, Mia and Krystal. They came to me asking for help and I’m not letting them down, Melanie. She won’t talk to anyone and keeps saying she’s fine when we all know she’s not. I’m not questioning Bill about her anyway.”

“Then why are you going to where her new job is then?” Melanie was always one step ahead of everyone.

“I don’t know, but something is telling me to go down there and talk to Bill about it. I’m just gonna ask him if he’s noticed anything fishy going on with her lately while she’s down there, that’s it. This all started when she took the job as their Talent Relations Manager and if someone is fucking with her down there, I’m gonna find out and put an end to it.” Phil wouldn’t let anyone else hurt his sister, not again. “I’m sorry, but it has to be done this way and I hope you come with me to do it.”

Melanie groaned, tossing her hands up in the air in frustration and couldn’t believe he was dragging her into this mess. “What the hell makes you think Anisa won’t be there on those days?” She had to think of something to convince Phil this wasn’t a good idea, but right now Melanie’s mind was completely blank.

Walking over to her, Phil cupped her face in his taped hands and softly brushed his mouth with his. “Simple, she won’t be. She’ll be in Vegas with Jon for those days off. It’s the only time she gets with him during the week since she has to leave after every Raw and miss the Smackdown! tapings. Trust me, she won’t be there and she’ll never find out we were either.” Phil hoped anyway, but for his sake as well as Melanie’s, he did his best to sound convincing.

Letting Jon in on his plan would be a smart thing except Phil still didn’t fully trust him. What if Jon was the one screwing with his sister and he’d snuck under everyone’s radar? At this point, Phil wasn’t ruling anything or anyone out, no matter how much they claimed to love Anisa. The less people knew the better the results would be. He couldn’t keep the truth from Melanie though, not when they were building a new relationship together.

Melanie sat on the couch and watched Phil do a run-in on Curtis Hennig and R-Truth’s match to try to get his hands on Paul Heyman. They were both in a storyline currently where Paul had screwed Phil at the Money in the Bank pay-per-view event that recently passed on the 14^th of July. Backstage and behind closed doors, Phil and Paul were best friends and had a blast working against each other in the ring. They had such a raw chemistry and the promos were flawless, some of the best ever. While she sat there watching her man reign supreme, Melanie couldn’t help wondering if keeping Phil’s plan a secret from Anisa. Snooping around on his sister was wrong to every degree and a violation of privacy, but at the same time Anisa left him no choice.

“I hope you’re doing the right thing, Phil.” She murmured quietly, leaning back against the metal folding chair and waited for him to return so they could head to the hotel for some much needed rest.

Jetlag was a bitch.

Chapter 8

“She slapped me for no damn reason! Get your woman in line, Good, or I will!”

Normally, Jon would’ve socked Colby in the jaw for saying something like that about Anisa. Nobody disrespected his woman, his girlfriend, and got away with it. But due to a huge blazing red handprint caked across Colby’s cheek, Jon couldn’t defend her. Why the hell would she slap Colby? They were supposed to be friends! Didn’t the circle mean anything to her? Jon was irate, his eyes turning to blue ice crystals and clenched his fists at his sides. Joe noticed Jon’s mood shift and blocked the door of the dressing room, knowing how volatile Jon’s temper was.

“Breathe. You can’t go after her pissed off. You’ll just make things worse.” Joe reasoned, planting his hands on Jon’s shoulders and could feel the anger radiating from him through his palms.

“This is BULLSHIT! Now she’s hitting people she’s supposed to care about!” Jon snapped, stalking away from Joe to try to get a handle on his temper. “No, we’re getting a few things straight tonight because I’m sick of this shit! Whatever is going on with her needs to stop and be handled!” Why the hell hadn’t Phil gone through with his plan yet to talk to Bill Demotte down in Tampa?

“I agree with you, bro. I really do. But going after her blowing up won’t solve anything.”

Joe wasn’t on Anisa’s side by any means, but he also had a much cooler temper than Jon unless provoked. So far, Anisa was smart enough not to strike him the way she did Colby. Something about that didn’t seem right to him and Joe couldn’t put his finger on why. Anisa wouldn’t lash out and smack Colby unless he deserved it, right? She was so emotionally unstable lately though.

“You need to ask Anisa what the fuck happened.”

“Why? So she can lie to my face some more or spout some poor bullshit excuse?” Jon began pacing back and forth like a caged animal, his whole body trembling. “Knowing her, Colby probably said ‘hi’ and she belted him one!”

“Not exactly.” Colby muttered, walking out of the bathroom in his Shield gear with his two toned hair pulled back from his face.

Grey eyes turned to Colby immediately. “What happened, man? Why did she slap you?”

Being the architect of the Shield required being the smartest out of the group and Colby didn’t disappoint. “I asked her what was bothering her. What everybody else already has, I know, but Krystal is torn up about it and that doesn’t set well with me.” That was the truth, part of it anyway.

Joe folded his arms in front of his chest while Jon continued pacing. “Go on.”

“Her response was the same. She spewed bullshit at me about everyone needing to worry about themselves and to keep their noses out of business that’s not theirs.” It stung Colby when Anisa yelled at him about Krystal not wanting to move in with him. She’d been avoiding the subject for months now and he was at the end of his rope. “All I told her was to take her own advice and Jon loves her. And I told her the lying has to stop. Then she slapped me.” He rubbed the still burning cheek with a scowl. “Then she threatened to lodge my balls in my throat permanently.”

That did not sound like Anisa at all. Jon heard enough and shoved Joe out of the way, stalking out of the dressing room. He was determined now more than ever to make Anisa talk to him. Somehow, Jon managed not to bulldoze anyone on the way outside, where he knew Anisa would be. She’d been sneaking off to have cigarettes alone instead of with him. Maybe she didn’t want to be together anymore. Wouldn’t be the first time a woman went crazy on him. Kicking open the back door, Jon’s suspicions on Anisa’s whereabouts were spot on. There she sat on an equipment trunk with a cigarette between her fingers, staring straight ahead. She didn’t even notice he kicked the arena door nearly off its hinges! It was only when Jon stalked over to stand in front of her and plucked the cigarette from her fingers that Anisa saw him.

Colby must’ve told him what happened, she thought, seeing the pure ice in her boyfriend’s narrowed eyes. “Jon…”

“Don’t say a fucking word. Just listen and keep your mouth shut.” Jon ordered, his voice low, gritty and deadly. He stood so close to her their nose practically touched and her thighs were slightly parted. “What the fuck is your problem lately, Anisa? Why do you have a shitty attitude lately and treating everyone who loves and cares about you like trash? Colby was trying to help and you hit him!! What the fuck is that about?! ANSWER ME!!”

“I thought you told me to keep my mouth shut?” Anisa remarked, folding her arms in front of her chest with pursed lips. “Am I allowed to talk now?”

Jon had to step back from her, not wanting to do something he’d regret later. “That snide attitude of yours needs to go or…”

“Or what?” Now Anisa was fed up and hopped off the equipment trunk, closing the distance between them again. “You’re gonna leave me because I won’t talk to you about an imaginary problem?”

“IT’S NOT IMAGINARY!!” Jon exploded, gripping her upper arms roughly and yanked her against his muscular body. “That’s a load of shit and you know it, Anisa. Even your brother is worried about you. Mia and Krystal are too. Joe and, yes, even Colby is! Why do you think we’re trying to get you to talk to us? Why is it so hard for you to open up to me, your fucking boyfriend?”

Tears burned her eyes at his harsh truthful words. “Obviously Colby didn’t tell you the whole story or else you wouldn’t be out here berating me like a 5 year old! You’d be socking him in his smart mouth and siding with me!”

“I’m not trying to berate you like a 5 year old, but you won’t talk to me! So what the fuck am I supposed to do?” Jon’s voice lowered again, this time to barely above a whisper and his eyes never once left hers. “I love you and it’s clear you don’t feel the same way about me.”

“W-What?!” Anisa broke free of him and blinked, the hot tears sliding down her cheeks. “Of course I love you! How can you even say that to me?! Did Colby say that? Is that why you’re out here yelling at me for no reason?”

Jon shrugged, letting his mouth run away with him. “Maybe you want to be with Calaway again. Or Bray Wyatt.”

Every part of her went numb from the top of her head to the tips of her toes. “Jon, t-that’s not true! I do love you!” Was this really happening? “A-After everything that son of a bitch put me through, you honestly believe I want to be with that piece of shit instead of you?”

“Something is bothering you. Maybe you’re not happy with me anymore. I get it, I’m not a huge wrestling star yet and I’m still a rookie to a lot of people. Compared to Calaway, I’m nothing…” Jon gritted his teeth at that revelation, his jaw ticking with each passing second.

Her heart broke into pieces and Anisa felt another wave of guilt crash over her, not believing she made Jon feel so worthless and unwanted. “But you are, Jon.” She reached out to cup his face in her hands, but Jon stopped her and shook his head. “It has nothing to do with him!” Bray was the one who kept planting doubts in her head, not Mark! Why couldn’t she just come clean with the truth? “You’re so much more than Mark ever thought about being…or Bray for that matter! I love you and want only you!”

Jon didn’t believe it though, not with how cold and distant she’d been toward him lately. “You say that, but do you believe it? I don’t think you do.” Now he was about to hit her where it really hurt while pulling a cigarette out of his pack and slid it between his lips to light it. “If you loved me the way you say you do, you wouldn’t keep secrets from me. You’d let me protect you from whatever or whoever is bothering you. And you wouldn’t stay up at all hours of the night instead of letting me hold you in bed or making love to you. Tell me something: Do you still think about Wyatt fucking you?”

That question caught her off guard. “Y-You don’t understand…”

“Then MAKE me!!” Jon took a long drag from his cigarette and flicked ashes away. “Make me understand you! Oh wait – you don’t want me to understand you because then you’d have to come clean with whatever is going on in your fucking skull!”

Panic ensued as Anisa began pacing back and forth in front of him, gripping her hair tightly in her fingers. “I CAN’T! I-I have to deal with this on my own and figure it out!! Why can’t you people understand that?! I’m not ready to talk about what’s going on and pushing me will only make me pull back further!! I love you, Jon, shouldn’t that be enough? I’m with YOU, I’m fucking YOU and yet you think I’d rather be with an egotistical, self-centered asshole who only cares about himself and nobody else!! Or better yet – a psycho who talks in riddles and doesn’t make a lick of fucking sense, who isn’t anywhere near my heart like you are!! In fact, he’s never been in my heart!” Mind yes, heart no. “What do you want from me? What do you all want from me? Why can’t you just leave me alone and let me work out whatever is going on in my head?!”

Jon couldn’t do this anymore and shook his head sadly, turning his gaze away from her. He felt ill looking at the mere shell of a woman Anisa used to be. “Have all the time you want. I’m done pushing you about it.” He flicked his cigarette a few hundred feet away into the parking lot and gripped the metal railing leading up to the back door of the arena. “Don’t come to Vegas this week. I need time away from you, Anisa. You never let me in and I’m sick of it. I’ve given you everything I am and stand for – I haven’t held back once and I thought you’d show me the same courtesy. Obviously I was wrong. So go home, think shit over and when you’re ready to talk to me instead of bullshitting, only then will I give you another second of my time. We’re on a break as of tonight.”

“Jon…”

Her voice cracked while speaking his name, but Jon had to remain strong or else he’d end up hurt again. She wanted time to figure things out in her head and heart, he’d give it to her. He wasn’t selfish, contrary to popular belief. Breaking away from her was the right thing to do, but Jon felt like his heart was being jackhammered in his chest. Trina Michaels had hurt him along with a few other women, but Jon didn’t love any of them compared to Anisa. Unable to hear her sobbing and begging a second longer, Jon stalked past her inside the arena, slamming the door behind him harshly. All Anisa could do was watch him go back inside and hated herself for doing this to them, for destroying their relationship. After what happened with Mark, she had to be cautious though and Bray’s cryptic message kept haunting her. This was her fault and Anisa had nobody else to blame for losing the most important person in her life, besides her brother. Maybe this was for the best though. It would give Anisa time to get her head on straight and back on track.

Whipping her cell phone out, Anisa dialed the airport and waited for customer service to answer. “Hi, this is Anisa Brooks and I need an earlier flight to Tampa, Florida. I was originally booked for the morning, but I need to leave tonight. Whatever you have is fine with me.”

She would go to the NXT meeting in the morning and then drive to Atlanta afterwards. A long drive would clear her mind and hopefully make her realize what a huge mistake she made by not opening up to Jon. However, she didn’t regret a single word between her and Colby Lopez. For some reason, the man always rubbed her the wrong way and she hoped he didn’t hurt Krystal. Colby would commit career suicide if he did that, after all, considering who Krystal’s brother was. Paul would end his career and put him in a vegetative state for the rest of his life. Anisa was more worried about Krystal ending their friendship because of what she did to Colby. He deserved it though. The hatred and malice in his voice while speaking to her was uncalled for, so if Krystal couldn’t understand that, they didn’t need to be friends. It would probably happen due to Colby not telling people the entire truth and making himself look like the victim. Anisa snorted, shaking her head while driving to the airport and tried making the tears stop flowing.

She missed Jon already.

~!~

“You are certain they are on a break now?”

“Yes. I watched the whole thing and Ambrose told her to take all the time she needed to figure shit out. She wasn’t happy about it either.”

A dark chuckle resonated throughout the empty hallway they stood in. “Naturally. The fool does not comprehend what a terrible mistake he’s made. Now she will be ripe and ready to be plucked.”

“Right. She’ll fall right into your arms and then the next part of your plan can begin.”

“It won’t be my arms she falls into, remember that.” He tried hiding the disappointment in his voice and succeeded for the most part. “So tell me again why you are doing this?”

The other man shrugged nonchalantly. “I’m tired of being in the shadow and want to break out on my own. That and Anisa is a pain in the ass to deal with. The sooner she’s away from Ambrose, the better off everyone will be.”

Intrigued, a hand clamped down on the other’s shoulder and a bright sinister smile flittered across his face. “You do realize you’ll be both rewarded and punished for this, boy. We appreciate your help though. Off you go now.”

Using people like tools did his cold heart good, especially when it came to Anisa. How he longed to feel her legs wrapped around his waist again, his dick hardening at the thought of being buried in her beautiful body. Before handing her back over to who she truly belonged with, he had plans of his own to fulfill. Anisa wouldn’t know what hit her until it was too late. The dark chuckle echoed down the hallway again, making his accomplice scurry around the corner.

Chapter 9

July 31, 2013 would be a date Randy Orton always had etched in his memory forever.

This was the day both of them had been waiting for. Ryanne slept like an angel in a soft pink nightgown that went to her knees and spaghetti strapped. The material clung around her protruding stomach that held their beautiful bundle of joy. Randy was on pins and needles, not able to sleep for more than a few hours before getting up at 5 AM to start his day. Their doctor’s appointment wasn’t until noon, so he cleaned the downstairs while Ryanne slept. He was sure not even a freight train would be able to awaken her. Around 9 AM, Randy finally made it back upstairs and crawled into bed with his wife, stroking her cheek with the back of his fingers. The softest of moans slipped from her slightly parted mouth and Randy felt his cock rise to the occasion. Maybe a quick encounter before they had to shower and get ready to go to the doctor was in order. When she moaned again, this time Randy’s name in her sleep, the maybe was tossed out the window and replaced with certainty.

Brushing his mouth to hers, Randy slid his hands down her sides against the silk fabric of her nightgown until he found the hem. He slid it up past her bulging stomach and pulled her closer when Ryanne reciprocated the kiss. They couldn’t make love roughly the way both enjoyed because of the baby, but Randy planned on making her cum buckets full nevertheless. Ryanne gasped when she felt his long nimble fingers stroke her extremely sensitive clit and whimpered, her fingers massaging Randy’s nearly bald head. She wished he would grow his hair back out, but had gotten used to the new look slowly but surely. His lips and tongue teased the spot on her neck just below her ear while his fingers continued their onslaught on her clit, being very gentle in everything he did. The last thing Randy wanted to do was hurt Ryanne, especially in her current state.

“Randy…” Ryanne breathed, still somewhat asleep, but her body had sparked to life. “That feels so good, baby…”

Being pregnant made her body more sensitive, so his tongue, lips and fingers felt more intense. It was as if every caress, kiss and touch amplified her body and she’d never been so horny in her life. If Randy didn’t make love to her at least once a day, Ryanne was crabby and it was because sex while pregnant was the best she’d ever experienced. Randy more than obliged her, giving Ryanne anything she wanted, though he was glad the first trimester of the pregnancy was behind them. The first 3 months was brutal because Randy refused to make love to her and Ryanne was very ill due to morning sickness. Now that she was nearing 5 months, all she wanted to do was eat and have sex with her husband.

“You’re about to feel even better, Ry.” He promised in a husky voice and pulled away from her long enough to stand, shedding his clothes. “Sit up and let me help you get the nightgown off.” Ryanne complied and did as she was told, lifting her arms so Randy could slip the nightgown over her head, leaving her bare naked to his hungry vision. “So beautiful…” He murmured, guiding her back down on the bed with another soft kiss that left both of them breathless craving more.

He’d gotten used to Ryanne not wearing panties or a bra, claiming they were uncomfortable. Randy was certain she did it on purpose to torment him, but he definitely wasn’t complaining either. The doctor assured them they could have all the sex they wanted as long as Ryanne ate and drank regularly to keep from being dehydrated. Randy made sure of that, already having breakfast done downstairs in the oven and planned on feeding his babies as soon as he gave Ryanne a proper good morning greeting.

“Roll on your left side, Ry.” It was a gentle command and one Ryanne immediately obeyed, knowing what position he wanted her in. “That’s it, just relax and feel everything I’m doing to you.”

No matter how many times he had spoon sex with her, Ryanne couldn’t stop her eyes from wanting to roll back in her head at the first penetration. His muscular leg draped over hers and his arm wrapped around her torso carefully to splay his large hand over her football sized stomach. Ryanne bent her body to where Randy would have easy access and both snuggled closer together. Pushing past her already slick folds, Randy groaned in her neck at how tight her walls clung around him. It felt like his dick was being suffocated in a good way. Her soft mewls of approval lit Randy’s blood on fire and his need for her shot through the roof, holding back to let her fully adjust to his size.

“Randy…” Ryanne laced her fingers with his and lulled her head back on his shoulder, fiery red hair splayed all around them. “Oh god…”

“Tell me if I’m hurting you, Ry.” He murmured in her ear, not moving or budging an inch while maintaining control. Going wild on her was out of the question right now. “Jesus you’re so tight around me…”

Ryanne smiled because Randy had tried monitoring his language since they both found out the baby could now hear. “If you don’t move soon, I’m gonna cum without you. Take me, Randy…” Her body shuddered at the first deep thrust and countless moans soon followed.

This was a little slower than Randy liked, but he cared more about his wife feeling good and protecting their baby than getting his rocks off. Thrusting slowly, Randy made love to Ryanne and controlled the power in his thighs threatening to break free. Ryanne could feel everything and more, crying out softly when Randy plucked each of her nipples with his fingers to enhance the sexual bout. It wasn’t long before the hot coil within her belly formed and threatened to spring free, but Ryanne somehow held back.

“Harder, you won’t hurt the baby…” Ryanne urged breathlessly, kissing each of his fingertips and heard Randy growl in her ear, but the thrusts didn’t increase in speed. “Randy, please – I need to cum…”

He loved it when she begged him to go harder, faster, deeper, whatever she wanted. Ryanne was never afraid to voice her wants and needs, especially being pregnant. “New position.” She could take the reins and go as fast as she wanted because only Ryanne would know when it became too much.

Before Ryanne knew what was happening, Randy was lying down with her straddled on top of him in the reverse cowgirl position. His cock instantly slammed home where it belonged and Ryanne cried out, not waiting to adjust to her husband again. This wasn’t new territory to her and Ryanne knew her limits with the baby, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t enjoy hot sex with her husband either. Rolling her hips, Ryanne quickly found the rhythm that worked for both of them and went with it, feeling Randy’s hands grip her waist.

“Cum with me, Randy…” Ryanne moaned, reaching her hands back to lace them with her husband’s and never ceased her grinding, meeting Randy’s thrusts. “Oh yeah right there…”

Randy knew he hit her sweet spot and soon her juices flooded out of her body while he rode out her first and second orgasms. Her third was the end and Randy couldn’t hold back any longer, his cock exploding inside of her. They cried out each other’s names in the intense release and Randy caught his wife’s sagging body before she could collapse on the bed. Shifting on his side, Randy began stroking her stomach and nuzzled it with his nose, pressing soft kisses against her silky skin. To try preventing stretch marks, Ryanne coated her stomach in cocoa butter lotion, so it was extremely soft. Ryanne smiled down at him and knew how excited he was to be a father. Truth be told, Ryanne was both excited and scared for motherhood, but she’d never wanted anything more in her life.

“We find out today.” Randy murmured, finally pulling away from his wife’s stomach to look up in her glittering emerald orbs. “Say it right now.”

“Say what?”

Randy smirked, not moving to crawl up to her level because he enjoyed loving her lower half more than her upper at the moment. “You know what I’m talking about, Ry. Don’t pretend like you don’t.”

Ryanne chuckled at his persistence and rolled her eyes, squealing when Randy gently nipped her skin. “Randall Keith Orton!”

“Ryanne Tessa Orton!”

“You know how much I hate my middle name.” Ryanne pouted, folding her arms in front of her chest and felt the bed dip followed by Randy’s mouth on hers again. “I don’t care what sex the baby is as long as he/she is healthy.”

Groaning, Randy buried his face in the side of her neck and wrapped his arms around her, nipping her earlobe gently. “I agree with that, but I still wanna know what you feel the sex is before we go find out. Wait – you still wanna know, right?”

“Yes because of the nursery. I’ve told you this a million times.” Ryanne sat up a little and looked at the clock, seeing they had 2 hours before the ultrasound. “Come on, we need to shower and get ready to go. Traffic is gonna be horrible.”

“Oh shit – crap, I mean!” Randy pretended to cringe when she smacked him upside the head as soon as he lifted Ryanne from the bed to go to the bathroom. “Sorry!”

“You don’t owe me an apology, but the baby on the other hand…”

Randy knew what that meant and set her down on the sink to stand between her legs. Then he lowered to his knees in front of her and rained kisses all over her belly, properly apologizing to their unborn boy or girl. He stood up, seeing the approval on his wife’s face and kissed her before turning the shower sprays on. Pampering her as much as he could, Randy lifted her to step in the shower together and proceeded to wash every inch of her body, including her hair. He was by far the luckiest man in the world to have this bombshell on his arm and the icing on the cake was having her carry his child.

An hour later, Ryanne stood in front of the full length mirror in a simple knee length red and white polka dot sundress. It had a halter top, leaving her shoulders bare and showed off her glowing skin. Randy walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, moving her hair to the side. His hands splayed on her dress covered stomach and held out her favorite black flats dangling on his fingers in front of her. She took them and sat down at her vanity mirror, slipping her flats on while Randy finished getting ready.

“I love you.” Randy said it so many times, but for some reason this moment felt different. “I know we’ve been through hell with getting pregnant and I still can’t believe it happened, but I never stopped loving you, Ry. You’ve always been my #1 and now you’ll have to share that spot with our little one.”

Ryanne’s hormones were getting the better of her and tears stung her eyes at his sweet words, gripping both of his hands in hers. “There’s nobody else in the world I’d rather share that spot in your heart with. And I know you never stopped loving me. I love you too so much.” Pulling Randy against her, Ryanne hugged him close and let the tears flow, giggling when he lifted her against him until her feet left the carpeted floor.

“Come on, let’s go find out what we’re having and then I’m taking my babies to lunch. Anywhere you want.”

~!~

Sitting in the doctor’s office, Ryanne never once released Randy’s hand and felt her heart leap in her throat when they called her name. They lead the married couple to a room, checked Ryanne’s vitals and then prepped her for the ultrasound. Randy stood beside her, thankful they set up this appointment to where he didn’t miss it. Ryanne watched gel being squirted on the ultrasound wand that would go inside of her. It made her nervous

“You’re doing great, baby.” Randy murmured in her ear and felt her squeeze his hand when the wand was inserted.

Pointing out certain things about their baby on the monitor, both Ryanne and Randy were mesmerized by the movement. Ryanne cried at the heartbeat, which was a solid 145 and Randy kissed her, fighting the urge to stroke her stomach again. 40 minutes later, the technician finally looked up at them with a big grin and the married couple instantly knew what that meant.

“Do you want to know the sex?” The technician asked, trying to tone down her excitement in case they wanted it to be a surprise.

Ryanne looked up at her husband the same time his eyes lowered to hers and they both nodded simultaneously. “Yes.” They answered together, turning their full attention back on the constantly moving monitor.

“Okay, do you see this here?” The technician pointed to the monitor at what looked like tiny white dots bunched together away from the head. “Do you know what that is?”

“Oh my god…” Ryanne covered her mouth with her hand, tears of joy sliding down her cheeks and knew instantly what it meant.

“What Ry? What’s wrong?”

Ryanne had read every baby book made over the past near 5 months because she wanted to be ready for even the unexpected. That included being able to tell on an ultrasound monitor if it was a boy or girl. As soon as the technician pointed out the body parts signifying the sex, Ryanne knew instantly what sex was currently growing inside of her. The baby her and Randy created together, which was miraculous in itself due to all their trouble conceiving.

“Do you wanna tell him or should I?” The technician asked, not wanting to ruin such a beautiful moment between two people who were clearly in love and happy.

“A boy.” Ryanne whispered, locking watery emerald on bewildered worried mystic blue. “We’re having a boy, Randy. It’s a boy.”

The realization of what Ryanne said crashed over Randy and his eyes snapped to the monitor, every part of his body shaking from head to toe. Was she serious? The technician pointed out the boy parts on the ultrasound and he suddenly became overwhelmed with emotion, letting stray tears of his own slide down his cheeks. While Ryanne cleaned up from the ultrasound, Randy called the people closest to them and relayed the message.

They were having a bouncing healthy baby boy.

Chapter 10

“Where are we going?”

“You’ll see.”

They were in the middle of nowhere. The sun hadn’t made its presence felt yet, but the sky was lit up enough to where they could see without needing flashlights. There were mountains in the distance in all shapes, sizes and the view was breathtaking. Small green shrubs and even cactuses were around along with a few other surprises. The two individuals suddenly stopped and midnight blues snapped up to meet another set of lighter blues.

“Jon…”

His mouth suddenly claimed his girlfriend’s and wrapped his strong arms around her body, pulling her as close as humanly possible. He loved the way this woman melted every time he held her and responded with equal amount of passion. It still amazed him they were together, especially after what happened with Trina Michaels. This was the first time she’d agreed to come home with him since his divorce was finalized, not including the day it actually happened. He planned on making it a memorable visit to Vegas too, starting with showing her his favorite place in the world.

The Great Basin Desert.

“Remove your clothes.”

That order was something she hadn’t expected to come out of his mouth. “W-What?! But this is…”

“I know exactly where we are, Ani.” Jon assured her and slid his hands down her tank top covered back to delve beneath her turquoise colored shorts, squeezing her backside. “Get naked.”

Anisa bit her bottom lip and didn’t his hand from unsnapping her shorts, pushing them down her legs. He left behind her matching turquoise cotton panties and yanked her flush against his muscular frame again. Just the glaze of pure lust in his cloudy pale blues sent a shiver of desire coursing through her body. There was never a time Anisa hadn’t surrendered to Jon and, desert or not, she wouldn’t start now. She was just curious how they were supposed to have sex in a desert of all places.

“If I get sand in my vagina…”

Jon smirked, nipping her lobe teasingly. “I’ll be sure to remove it personally. But don’t worry, I came prepared for this.”

Of course he planned this! There’s no way Jon would take her out to the desert without provisions, at least Anisa hoped not. Stepping away from her, Jon took the backpack off his shoulders and unzipped it, pulling out a white sheet. He’d scoured the area for the past month and finally found the perfect spot to do this, to bring Anisa out here and share an intimate moment with her. There was nobody around for miles on end, so no matter how loud she screamed his name, only they would hear it. Jon spread the sheet on the soft sandy ground he managed to find while Anisa undressed the rest of the way, standing naked before him. Just then, the sun peaked slightly over the horizon and lit Anisa up in a golden glow, making her more beautiful than ever. If Jon could capture that moment or live in it forever, he would in a heartbeat. He made sure the sun faced away from them so it didn’t obscure their vision during what Jon had planned.

Anisa was trying to learn how to breathe again while watching Jon undress in front of her. His already tanned skin had a nice bronze to it with the sunrise and it made her mouth water. The hunger for him was suddenly real, every nerve-ending of her body igniting into a fast forest fire. For someone who grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio, he sure fit into the desert and Vegas instead of the Eastern state. She had to wonder why he wanted to have sex in the desert of all places, knowing there was a deeper meaning behind it. At least, that’s what Anisa assumed. Instead of yanking her into his arms like normal, Jon lifted Anisa by the waist and planted her feet on the white sheet. Then he lowered I front of her back to his knees and placed one of her smooth slightly tanned legs over his muscular left muscular shoulder. It didn’t take long for Anisa to figure out what Jon had in mind to do to her and all she could do was surrender to anything he wanted.

“Mmm so wet and ready for me – the perfect breakfast.” Jon slid his tongue up the glistening slit and closed his eyes at the ambrosia touching his taste buds. “Tell me how that feels, darlin’. Talk to me.”

“I – It feels so GOOD!” Anisa squealed out that last word and clung to him for dear life, not expecting to be lifted completely off the white sheet. “Jon!”

She wasn’t close enough for his liking, so Jon improvised and his deep chuckles sent vibrations throughout every part of her body. “Now THIS is more like it. Don’t worry, Ani, I won’t drop you. Nothing except pleasure with a little pain will happen to you out here.” He’d done far too much talking and not enough exploring of her pussy, getting to work holding her up with both legs draped over his shoulders and used pure strength to keep her steady.

As scared as Anisa was to fall, the amount of desire coursing through her veins overpowered the measly fear and she knocked the black hat off his head. It was on backwards and, as sexy as he looked with it on, she absolutely loved his dishwater blonde curls. Every chance Anisa had presented to her, she played with his curls especially when they’d lay in bed together. Sex wasn’t all their relationship was based on, though it was a huge part. There were times they would just lay in bed or on the couch watching a movie and she would stroke his hair with his head resting on her chest. The heat from the quickly rising sun flooded through her and it didn’t take Anisa long to climax, flooding Jon’s mouth with her sweet essence.

“JON!!”

~!~

Anisa remembered that moment like it was yesterday while she lay curled up in bed, sobbing violently. The amount of pain she felt from her broken heart was nearly crippling. She didn’t want to do anything and stayed in bed most of the week she’d taken off, using personal time stored up with WWE. New position in the company or not, she had plenty of personal time to use up and right now it was the last place she wanted to be. Colby Lopez managed to split them up, but she blamed Jon since he had a brain of his own and made his own decision to put their relationship on hold. There was nobody else to blame. Granted, it was partially Anisa’s fault for keeping what happened with Bray to herself, but that gave Colby no right to say what he did either. It wasn’t his place and he should’ve kept his mouth shut. Jon sided with him and Anisa couldn’t be with a man who didn’t defend her against his friends, especially when he only heard Colby’s half of the situation. Incessant knocking had jolted Anisa out of the desert memory and she wanted to kill whoever it was. That was until she heard a familiar voice boom from the other side of the front door. Her bedroom was downstairs since it was a lot cooler than upstairs, even with the central air blasting.

The joys of living in the south.

“Hold your damn horses!!” Anisa growled, stumbling out of bed and out the door down the hallway, her hair sticking out in all different directions. “I’m coming, stop banging!!”

“Then open the fucking door, SIS!”

Unlocking the deadbolt, Anisa ripped open the door and locked bloodshot midnight blues on the blazing hazel orbs of her brother. Phil’s heart shattered in his chest at the condition his sister was in, hardly recognizing her. Deep bruises adorned her eyes from clear lack of sleep, her usual soft honey blonde hair hadn’t been brushed in days and it looked like she hadn’t changed clothes either. She stunk to high heaven too.

“Jesus…” Phil whispered, trying to breathe out of his mouth instead of inhaling the foul stench. “What the fuck happened to you?”

“Dumb question, Phillip.” Melanie chastised firmly but softly and placed a hand on his arm, knowing they had to tread carefully with Anisa. She was emotionally unstable right now. “Sweetie, we just came here to check on you since you haven’t been to work in a week. Don’t pay your brother any attention.”

Phil eyeballed his girlfriend from the side and wondered what she was doing since they’d come here for a very specific reason. “Right…” He didn’t sound convinced at all and slid his eyes back to Anisa, clearing his throat awkwardly. “We’re here to help you.”

“Help me with what, exactly? Because unless you can pull Jon’s head out of his ass, nothing will help me anytime soon. And I’m entitled to personal time off since I have a lot stored up in the company. So just go back to your happy lovey-dovey lives and leave me the fuck alone.” Anisa tried slamming the door in Phil and Melanie’s face, but his hand snapped out along with his sneaker covered foot, blocking effectively.

“Enough with the attitude, Anisa.” Phil ordered, pushing the door back open and stepped inside, pulling Melanie by the hand with him before kicking it closed. “The first thing you’re going to do is take a shower while we cook dinner. Then we’re sitting down and having a long talk.” One he knew would crush Anisa further, but she had a right to know what he’d found out. “And if you don’t want to do this the easy way, there is always the hard way.”

Melanie shook her head and wished Phil would understand the concept of a broken heart. Hadn’t he done the exact same thing when Coralie died? “Come on Anisa, let’s go upstairs and you can talk to me while you bathe. I’ll run the water for you so you can have a bath instead of a shower.” She was afraid with how fatigued Anisa currently was, the woman would keel over and crack her head open if she tried showering. “Phil, go start dinner and I’ll join you shortly.”

There was no way Anisa could fight her brother or his sweet girlfriend off, so she went without a word. A hot bubble bath sounded heavenly right now despite how she felt on the inside and it was nice to have company. She’d been desolate from everyone and everything for a week. Once they were in the bathroom, Melanie helped undress Anisa and tossed the clothes outside of the bathroom to get rid of the body odor stench. Then she started the bath water and helped Anisa step into the tub, lowering her carefully into the water. Melanie made sure not to make the water too hot due to a STRONG possibility of Anisa being dehydrated. The heat would suck whatever was left out of her body and she’d feel worse than she did before the bath. So it was a nice warm temperature that would soothe and relax the body, but not scorch her either.

“Thank you.” Anisa whispered while Melanie poured water from a cup over her shoulders to warm her up further since she currently shivered.

Melanie smiled softly, waving the woman off. “No need to thank me, sweetie. Now just relax and close your eyes. Do you want me to wash your hair for you?” More than likely, she didn’t have the strength to lift her arms.

“What does my brother want to talk to me about?” The question was out of left field, but Anisa hadn’t missed what Phil said. “Is it bad?”

How was she supposed to answer that? “Let’s just focus on you right now and then we’ll worry about everything else later, okay? You need to bathe and eat, then get some rest. If we have to postpone the talk your brother wants to have until tomorrow, so be it. Don’t worry about it right now.”

~!~

“How is she?”

“Besides an emotionally exhausted wreck with a broken heart, fine I guess.” Melanie plopped down on the couch in a heap and sighed at the smell of pine in the air. “I thought you were cooking?”

“Ordered a pizza instead. This place needed to be cleaned. She had ants all over the fucking kitchen from the dishes piled up.” Phil shook his head in disgust, sitting down beside Melanie rubbing his hands together. “I could kill Jon for hurting her like this.”

“Phil, it’s not his fault…” Melanie reminded him softly, rubbing his shoulder since it’d been bothering him lately. “And soon she’s gonna find out why we’re really here.”

He wasn’t looking forward to that – not at all. His meeting with Bill Demott didn’t go the way Phil planned and what he found out made him sick to his stomach. Somehow, he knew Bill had outside information without even realizing it because he was the lead trainer down at the performance center. Still, it didn’t make Phil feel any better being in his sister’s home while she was in her room crying and he was about to shatter her more. He just hoped Anisa could handle what had to be said because if anything happened to her because of this newfound information, Phil would kill all involved. Telling Melanie was bad enough because he’d gone to the meeting with Bill alone, but now he had his sister to overcome.

“She’s going to be fine, Phil.” Melanie assured him, swinging her leg over to straddle his lap and forced his eyes to meet hers. “She’s a lot stronger than you give her credit for.”

“I know that, but after what I found out…” Melanie pressed her finger to his mouth, stopping Phil in his tracks before he could go on another rant. “I’ve done all I can to protect her and it’s not enough. I feel like I’ve failed her, Mel.”

Her fingers slid through Phil’s short dark hair he let grow out after his extended leave with WWE. She loved the length and ordered him to never buzz cut it again, enjoying having the hair to grab onto during their sexual romps. Phil knew it was wrong on all levels to have sex with his girlfriend in his emotionally unstable sister’s house, but her comfort had turned him on. Melanie felt the bulge in his pants and bit her bottom lip to keep from moaning out, especially when he thrust his hips up to start grinding against her jean covered crotch.

“Evil man.” She whispered against his mouth before passionately kissing him, their tongue dueling together animalistically. “Shower now. I need you inside of me, Brooks.”

Phil did not have to be told twice and lifted his beautiful girlfriend from the couch, her legs wrapping around his waist instantly. Hopefully the shower would drown out the sexual noises, but Phil highly doubted it since he planned on making Melanie scream his name. Maybe staying at a hotel was a better option, but they couldn’t leave Anisa alone until she was alright. Once inside the bathroom, clothes flew in all directions and Phil slammed Melanie against the shower wall and let the water coat both of their bodies. She bit into his shoulder to keep from screaming out, but his hard powerful thrusts had her crying out uncontrollably and mixed with Phil’s loud growls.

In her room down the hallway, Anisa didn’t hear anything happening because she was dead to the world and slept harder than she had in a long time.

Chapter 11

Blinking.

That’s all she could do because the rest of her body refused to move. Anisa had woken up after a solid 12 hours of sleep looking 100% better than she had the previous night. Melanie made a huge breakfast and Anisa ate for the first time in a week since the fiasco with Jon happened. She didn’t eat much due to her stomach shrinking, but it was enough to satisfy Phil. The color in his sister’s face had returned instead of looking ghostly pale sickly white and her appetite had slowly increased. After breakfast, Phil led Anisa to the living room to sit down so they could finally talk. Melanie had tried convincing him to wait a little longer, not sure Anisa was ready to hear what Phil found out, but he was steadfast. She just hoped it didn’t relapse Anisa’s progress made and cleaned up the kitchen so the siblings could converse privately.

“W-What made you decide to go talk to Bill of all people?” Anisa finally broke the silence and looked up at her brother, clasping both hands in her lap tightly. She’d never felt more fragile in her life.

Phil heaved a sigh and leaned back against the couch, shrugging. “I don’t know and that’s the truth, sis. Something told me Bill had information nobody else did and I hate that my hunch was right.”

It was hard wrapping her mind around everything Phil told her. Anisa didn’t know what to think or believe, but she trusted her brother completely. He would never lie to her, especially about this. The situation had grown out of hand and too much for her handle alone. She needed help and hiding things from the people she loved wasn’t an option anymore. What Phil found out gave them somewhat of head start to stop the mastermind behind everything.

“I – I thought Bray started the Wyatt Family…”

“I did too, but we were both wrong in assuming that, Anisa.” Phil scrubbed a hand down his face and stared up at the ceiling. “Bill is so proud of the Shield and the Wyatt Family. He believes they made themselves, but…”

“One of them had a helping hand.” Anisa finished for him and stood up from the couch to walk over to stare out the window, silent tears coursing down her cheeks. “All this time – everything that happened all those months ago was because of…HIM.” She couldn’t speak his name, angrily wiping tears away. “I was an idiot to trust Bray – a fool hearted woman.”

“Nisa…”

“No Phil, don’t try to deny it either because we both know it’s the truth. We both know what this means. Once again, it all comes down to my ex-husband – the one man you tried your hardest to keep me from – and I didn’t listen. This is all because of Mark fucking Calaway AGAIN!” Swiping a vase off the nearby table by the window, Anisa didn’t flinch when it smashed to the floor in pieces.

“Anisa, wait!” Phil shouted at his retreating sister’s form and heard the front door slam shut moments later, followed by squealing tires. “FUCK!”

Melanie rushed inside with wide eyes, swallowing hard. “She didn’t take the news well, did she?” It was a rhetorical question.

“What do you think?” Phil snapped, immediately regretting it when Melanie lowered her head and guilt instantly ensued. “I’m sorry, Mel. I don’t mean…”

“I know. You’re just as upset as she is about the situation and I don’t blame you.” Melanie walked over and began cleaning up the broken vase with Phil’s help, both of them not knowing what to say. “Did you tell her everything?”

Phil nodded in response, swiping the broken pieces into the small trashcan nearby and wondered if he did the right thing by telling Anisa. Granted, he was shocked to find out his ex-brother-in-law was the main reason for the Wyatt Family’s birth. Apparently, Mark had gone down to NXT and recruited Bray, Luke and Erik to form the group – the Family. Mark spent countless days and hours down at NXT molding the men and teaching the ways of the business – or at least his train of thought. That was dangerous because now Bray, Luke and Erik had shown just how evil and sinister they could be, especially attacking Glen Jacobs during their debut. No doubt that was a Mark idea. It made Phil wonder how much Mark knew about Bray and his sister, even though they only had sex once. Had Mark been the mastermind behind Bray pursuing her too? He wouldn’t put it past Mark; the man had sunk far too low and far to doubt he was incapable of doing anything else. Mark had an unhealthy, undying obsession with Anisa and it was time to put an end to it once and for all.

“What are you going to do, Phil?” Melanie asked softly once they finished cleaning the mess up and could see the wheels in her boyfriend’s head turning.

“Give her some space and when she comes back, I will get the truth out of her about what’s been going on lately. Something tells me it has to do with those assholes.” Phil grunted, pulling Melanie to straddle his lap on the couch and brought her mouth down on his. “Thanks for being here, baby.”

“No need to thank me. If there’s anything I can do to help with this, you better ask and not leave me in the dark.” Melanie stated, rubbing her nose gently against his and pulled back to massage his shoulders. “I think you need to make a couple phone calls.”

Phil arched a brow. “Who?”

“Jon. I know you’re pissed at him right now, but he deserves to know what’s going on too. His safety and life are in danger as much as hers is with the Wyatt Family.” Melanie knew she was right and heard Phil grunt, continuing the massage a little harder than necessary. “You know I’m right.”

“Yeah – yeah I know. Just let me find out what the hell happened between them first and then I’ll give him a buzz. If I have to drag his stupid ass from Vegas, I’ll do it.”

Hours later, Anisa finally returned just before night fell and there was something different about her. The amount of determination in her bloodshot red swollen rimmed eyes told Phil and Melanie she was ready to talk. They didn’t need to ask her what happened because she’d be forthcoming with it. Sure enough, Anisa sat down on the couch and spilled everything to them regarding Bray’s cryptic messages along with the encounters they had. Melanie held Phil’s hand the whole time and could feel the anger pulsating through his body, but somehow her touch kept him calm.

“And you’ve been keeping this a secret from everyone because?”

“I don’t know.” Anisa murmured quietly, hating she was crying again. Her eyes burned worse than a 1,000 suns, or so it felt like. “At first I brushed it off and tried ignoring him because I know he’s bitter about what happened between us. I don’t blame him, but he knew I was in love with Jon. I told him the night we fucked and he didn’t care at the time. I guess he thought maybe I’d fall for him and leave Jon behind and when I didn’t, that’s when he became bitter. But now that I know he’s been working with Mark all this time, I was wrong about everything. Mark more than likely sent him after to me in an attempt to split me and Jon up and it almost worked. And now that months have passed since WrestleMania and the night the Shield ‘took him out’ and sent him back to Dallas, he’s stirring shit up again by using Bray as his messenger.”

It all made sense. In a very surreal and twisted way, everything that happened lately coincided with the change in Anisa. “That mother fucker is going to pay for everything he’s done to you. They all are.” Phil promised, his voice low and deadly and Melanie blinked when he stood up abruptly from the couch. “I just wish you would’ve told me about Bray sooner, Anisa.”

“I was scared, Phil. Not just of Bray’s riddles, but Jon’s temper too. He is downright vicious, cruel and volatile when his temper spikes and you know that. What do you think he would’ve done had I come clean while we were all on the road? Bray would be dead and probably buried in the Great Basin desert right now!” Anisa wrapped her arms around herself and felt Melanie sit beside her, closing her eyes. “And now I’ve lost Jon because of my stupid attempt to try to deal with this on my own. I didn’t want anything happening to Jon because of me. And now he hates me because he knows I’m hiding something from him and that’s why he put our relationship on hold. I don’t blame him either. I really fucked up and hurt him. I love him so much…”

Melanie’s heart broke at the crack in Anisa’s voice because she could hear and feel all the pain pouring out of the woman. “Jon loves you too, Anisa. I know it’s hard for you to believe right now with everything else going on, but he does. He’s just frustrated and doesn’t know how to stop whatever is happening to you. Now that we know the truth, we can tell him and-”

“No!” Anisa shook her head with finality, eyes snapping up to meet her brother’s. “You can’t tell him, not yet. Please don’t do it. Please bro, I just – I need a little more time before I see him. I’m still hurt by what he did to me.”

Phil had no idea what she was talking about and folded his arms in front of his chest. “What do you mean? What did he do to you?”

Another explanation ensued as Anisa explained what transpired between her and Colby Lopez. More importantly, what the little dick said to her and how Jon sided with his friend while only knowing half the story. “I slapped the taste out of his mouth and I don’t regret doing it. I never liked that sack of shit and now I know why. Krystal isn’t moving in with him for a reason and it’s probably because he treats her like shit too.”

“You don’t know that…”

“Yes I do. He about blew his stack last week when we were in the hallway together talking to Stu.” Stuart Bennett was known worldwide in the WWE as Wade Barrett. A devilishly handsome English man with a quick mouth and brain, not to mention a great body. “He grabbed Krystal’s arm and yanked her roughly down the hall back to her office. Stu wanted to kick his ass and I thought he would pop her arm out of socket. When I asked her about it the next day, she laughed it off and changed the subject. And she had on a long sleeved shirt – in the middle of summer. Tell me there’s not something going on, I dare you.”

As much as Phil didn’t want to believe Colby was abusing Krystal, his sister had concrete evidence and he remembered spotting the woman with that long sleeved shirt on. He’d gotten busted open at a house show shortly after that happened and noticed a faint yellow bruise on her arm while she stitched him up. Just like she’d done with Anisa, Krystal laughed it off and changed the subject. Something definitely wasn’t right and now Colby was interfering with his sister’s relationship as well. Phil suddenly wanted to pummel the little dick into the ground and clenched his fists tightly in his lap.

Melanie was the one to speak up first though. “Why is he so bent out of shape with Krystal though?”

“Because she’s pushing off moving in with him. And why wouldn’t she? I wouldn’t move in with a man who manhandles and embarrasses me in front of my friends and coworkers either.”

Phil and Melanie couldn’t argue that point, agreeing with Anisa’s logic. They sent her to take a shower so she could calm down and went to start dinner together. As much as Phil wanted to call Jon and order him to come to Atlanta, he wasn’t sure Anisa was ready to see him yet. Holding off on that call was the best decision and Melanie rewarded him with a passionate promising kiss of things to come later that evening after Anisa was asleep.

~!~

“Colby, dinner is ready!”

“Be there in a minute, babe!”

Krystal shook her head, knowing he was in game world with Call of Duty and couldn’t hear herself think when the television blaring. It was a small condo he lived in and made her wonder how she was supposed to fit all of her belongings in here along with his. Maybe they had to find a bigger place together first before she decided to move in with him. How could she talk to him about it though when, every time the subject was brought up, Colby got bent out of shape? It was hopeless at this point, so Krystal sat at the dinner table and began eating alone.

20 minutes later, Colby finally joined her. “Sorry about that, I was in a war with an asshole who had to be taught a lesson.” He played the game on the Internet instead of just by himself. “Why didn’t you wait for me?”

“Because when I say dinner is done, that’s when I’m eating. I’m not letting my food get cold just so you can game until YOU’RE ready to eat.” Krystal stated, taking her last bite and stood up from the table to rinse her plate off. “And no, I’m not heating anything up for you. Do it yourself.”

Colby was taken aback by Krystal’s attitude and sighed, knowing she was angry at him for what he said to Anisa a week ago. “Krys, what’s going on with you? Are you getting ready to start your period or something? Because I can go out and buy you a supply of Midol or Pamprin if it means you get rid of that shitty attitude in my place.”

“YOUR place?” Krystal tossed the hand towel on the counter she’d wiped her hands off with and whipped around to face Colby, hazel eyes blazing. “Are you fucking kidding me right now? Since when do you refer this place as just yours? You’ve never done that – it’s always been ours.”

“Well it would be if you decided to move the fuck in!” Colby snapped, suddenly not having an appetite and ducked when Krystal chucked a plastic cup at his head. “What the fuck?!”

“I WOULD MOVE IN IF THERE WAS ANY ROOM FOR MY SHIT IN THIS TINY ASS CONDO, YOU DICKHEAD!!” Krystal exploded, the words from a conversation she had with Stu Bennett a little over a week ago flooding through her mind. “LOOK AT THIS DUMP! THERE’S NO ROOM FOR ANYTHING AND YOU HAVE YOUR SHIT ALL OVER THE PLACE! IF YOU WANT ME TO MOVE IN WITH YOU AND START A LIFE WITH YOU, WE NEED SOMETHING BIGGER!!”

“I can give you something bigger in my pants, Krys.” Colby remarked in a cocky tone, receiving a slap across the face for his troubles and slowly turned his head until dark eyes met angry lustful hazel. “That’s how you want it, huh? You want a bigger place?” He gripped her hips and planted her on the table, the sound of his zipper sliding down echoing around them while both breathed heavily.

“Yes, but right now you’re talking about your dick, so either use it or get away from me.” Krystal ordered, taking a handful of mashed potatoes and smothered it down Colby’s face and rock hard chest.

He chuckled deeply, removing her clothes in record time and proceeded to pour homemade gravy down the valley of her breasts, thrusting deep inside of her. She wanted a bigger place. Was that the reason she hadn’t moved in with him or was it something deeper than that? They ate and screwed for hours in the kitchen, putting food in places neither of them thought they would before finally showering. It was a sex-filled smorgasbord, both getting their fill of each other and sustenance all at the same time.

However, Krystal lay in bed that night wondering if she was moving too fast with Colby and hoped she was making the right decision being with him.

Chapter 12

“You know, sitting there blowing up shit in a video game with your bro isn’t the answer.”

Jon didn’t respond and kept pressing the buttons on the PlayStation 3 controller, trying to get his mind off of every problem currently in his life. More importantly, the love of his life. Didn’t Joe understand he came here to get AWAY from his problems, not talk about them? Apparently not. Maybe it would’ve been better if he went to Colby’s instead. Then again, Jon didn’t much care to see Colby’s face for fear of planting a six inch hole in his skull. He’d taken the idiot’s side and called it quits with Anisa; what the hell was he thinking?

“You know what Mia told me earlier?”

“I’m not interested, just play the fucking game.”

Joe didn’t take that to heart considering everything his friend had been through lately and continued as if Jon never spoke. “Anisa didn’t go with her to pick out the dress.”

That made Jon freeze mid-fight on the game and he paused it instantly, turning cool blues on Joe. “She didn’t? She’s supposed to be the honor of maids or whatever the fuck it’s called.”

“Maid of Honor, yes.” Joe corrected him, setting his own controller down on the coffee table with a sigh. “Mia begged her to come with to pick out the dress and Anisa refused. She’s been locked in her house for the past 2 weeks and nobody can get a hold of her besides Mia. That’s if Anisa hasn’t shut her cell phone off already.”

This worried Jon immensely because Anisa would never cut Mia off. “Well what the fuck am I supposed to do about it?” He stood up from the couch, tearing a hand through his unruly curls and stared out the window. “I got a call from Phil a few days ago.”

“Is he with her?”

Jon nodded, resting his forearm against the wall near the window and pressed his forehead to it. “Yeah. That’s the only reason why I’m not as worried as I should be. He’s been with her for the past few days and he’s gonna try convincing her to come back on the road for Raw. I doubt she’ll do it though. And he told me he found out a few things I need to know, but he won’t tell me. Anisa has to be the one to do it. I ended things with her for a reason and now people are trying to convince me to take her back. Nobody understands how I feel or cares, apparently. She’s the one who kept lying to my face and then slapped the shit out of Colby when he was trying to help her. But yet I’m the bad guy. Fuck it, she made her bed and she can lie in it.”

“Look, I get why you did it…”

“No you don’t.” Jon cut him off, shutting his eyes to try blocking out the pain consuming his heart. “It’s hell on earth being away from that woman. I love her, but she doesn’t love me enough to trust me with the truth. I can’t – I can’t be with someone like that.”

“Have you forgotten, or have you just chosen this moment to have temporary amnesia, that she was also married to the biggest lowlife son of a bitch on the face of the fucking earth?” Joe snapped, turning Jon around to grip his shoulders and could see all the heartache in his friend’s eyes. “I know Trina fucked you over a million times, bro. And Calaway did the same thing to her. You both have trust issues. It’s not just her, it’s also you.”

Of course Jon didn’t forget about her being married to Mark Calaway! How the hell was that possible when the dickhead refused to leave her alone? Granted, they hadn’t heard a peep out of the Deadman since he was sent packing after a Shield beat down on Smackdown! months ago. Still, Jon knew Mark wouldn’t give up on a whim and would be back for vengeance sooner or later. What he couldn’t figure out was why Anisa kept lying to his face and what drove her to the state she was in now? It wasn’t just him breaking off their relationship and Jon knew it, but for the life of him he couldn’t figure out the missing piece to this extremely complicated puzzle.

“I never loved Trina. The marriage was a hoax and I was stuck in it for over 3 years because the bitch refused to sign the goddamn papers!” Jon growled, shoving Joe away and stalked outside on the patio to have a much needed cigarette. “You’re wrong about me having trust issues, Anoa’i. I have complete trust in her, but she doesn’t have any in me or else she would’ve told me what the fuck was bothering her. If my woman is bothered with something, I wanna know about it and not kept in the dark. How can I help her if she won’t let me in? But yet she’ll let Bray fucking Wyatt in just fine!”

Joe was wondering when Jon would bring him up and folded his arms in front of his chest. “You’re still pissed at the fact she slept with him when you two weren’t even together? Are you serious? Get your head out of your ass, Good, and go to your woman before Wyatt DOES steal her away from you! Jesus Christ, are you really that stupid? I thought you were smarter than that.”

“Wouldn’t you be pissed off to find out Mia slept with someone you loathe and despise? Like, I don’t know, CURTIS HENNIG?”

“You mother fucker!” Joe hissed, clenching his fists tightly at his sides so he didn’t belt Jon for mentioning that name in his house. “She wouldn’t go near him with – with…”

“Her pussy?”

This conversation was over for the time being. Joe stalked back inside the house, slamming the sliding screen door and went downstairs to his private gym built in the basement to work off his aggression. The mere thought of Mia and Curtis together in bed made his stomach churn violently, but not to the point of vomiting. He owed Jon a sock in the mouth once his workout was finished and he could breathe normally again without smoke coming out of his ears.

~!~

This was supposed to be one of the momentous days of her life.

Standing in front of a full length mirror, the beautiful ivory gown clung to every curve of her body. From head to toe, she was stunning and it fit her in all the right places. It was an elegant combination of crepe and romantic lace. The style had an open circle cutout back along with a subtle train, nothing too fancy. Mia smoothed the soft fabric down her body while staring in the mirror and tried forcing a smile to stretch her lips, but she couldn’t. And she knew why too. The second most important person in her life wasn’t here to share this moment with her and it broke Mia’s heart. Of course she understood the reasoning, but it didn’t hurt any less since this was the only time available to pick out her wedding dress. She had no idea what she would do if Joe called off their wedding because of something one of his friends said.

Castration and possible murder would definitely be involved.

“Mia, come on honey, we’re dying to see you!” Patricia Anoa’i, the sweetest mother in the world –Mia’s biased opinion- called out excitedly, clasping her hands together.

Not even her future mother-in-law’s enthusiasm could make Mia smile. Along for the momentous occasion with Patricia were her lovely daughters and Joe’s sisters Summer, Myritza and Vanessa. Krystal was along for the ride too since she was a bridesmaid and still needed a dress for the wedding. So far, she hadn’t found anything, but everyone was focused on the bride-to-be. Rightfully so. Summer, Myritza and Vanessa all adored Mia and welcomed her into the family with open arms, much to Joe’s surprise. They were usually cold and distant toward any girlfriends he brought home, but not Mia. Maybe it was due to the fact she had enough family drama going on, but whatever the reason Mia was thankful because she already thought of them as sisters of her own.

“I – I’ll be…”

Mia swallowed hard and began removing the dress before her brain could fully register what her fingers were doing. First went the wedding gown on the floor followed by her redressing in the jeans and tank top she walked into the shop with. Her shoes were next followed by pulling her hair back up in a messy bun. Mia stepped out of the dressing room with tears brimming her eyes, but she wouldn’t let them fall. Patricia frowned at her future daughter-in-law and wondered if she was having second thoughts about marrying Joe.

“Please don’t think I don’t want to marry your son, ma’am, because I do. I love him more than anything. But…” Mia lowered her head and felt an arm wrap around her shoulders, knowing who it was.

“You can’t do this without her, can you?” Krystal asked quietly and felt a few teardrops splash on her bare shoulder since her top was a halter.

“She’s my family and has been for years. When my blood relatives abandoned and disowned me, she was there every step of the way and pulled me out of my funk. And now – now I have to do the same for her. There will be no wedding unless my Maid of Honor is present to help me pick out my dress. If nobody can understand that…”

“Hush sweetheart.” Patricia stepped forward and pulled Mia away from Krystal into her arms in a tight embrace, cradling the back of her head while she cried. “I knew it was difficult for you to do this without Anisa. I know you two are family. That’s why I tried convincing Joseph to hold off on this until AFTER the situation with Anisa passed or was solved, but he refused. So now you can be the one to tell him and when you’re ready to get a dress, let us know. We’re here for you, anything you need, Mia.”

“Thank you, ma’am.”

Patricia smiled and pulled back, wiping away Mia’s tears with her thumbs. “Call me Mom or Patty, please. You’re going to be my daughter-in-law and I already think of you as one of my own. Ma’am is too formal between us.”

“Okay Patty.” Mia didn’t feel comfortable calling the woman Mom yet and was thankful her future mother-in-law understood that. “I’m gonna go call the airport and see if I can’t catch a redeye to Atlanta to check on Anisa. Then I’ll call Joe and let him know what’s going on.”

An hour later, Mia was on a redeye flight headed straight for Atlanta, Georgia and hoped she could help Anisa the same way she did Mia all those years ago.

~!~

“She’s out cold right now.”

Mia wasn’t surprised and walked past Phil into the house, setting her bag down. It was her packed luggage for the upcoming week with WWE and Mia wasn’t planning on leaving without Anisa. “Good, she needs to sleep. Is it just you here?”

“Yeah. Mel had to go back to Chicago for an emergency meeting on one of her big cases. She promised to meet up with us on Monday.” Phil replied, taking the luggage away from Mia to carry it up the stairs for her. “So what made you decide to show up?”

“I was worried about her. Wanted to make sure she was alright.”

“After 2 weeks?”

“Hey! I don’t need to be scolded by someone who waited a week and a half before coming to see his sister.”

“Touché. Sorry.” Phil mumbled, lowering his eyes from Mia and kept his mouth shut until they were in her room. “She’ll be happy to see you.”

Mia doubted that, but she was here nonetheless and took the luggage from Phil to put it on the bed. “So what exactly did you find out?” Anisa mentioned something about Phil going to NXT during their last brief phone call, but didn’t go into details. Come to think of it, she’d been crying too. “I want to know, Phil.”

There was no getting out of this when it came to Mia’s persistence and Phil wouldn’t deny her the information either. “Come downstairs and I’ll make you something to eat. Then I’ll tell you what I know.” She looked famished and the dark circles under her eyes reminded him a lot of Anisa.

Mia’s stomach rumbled to life, making her laugh softly. “I guess I forgot to eat today with everything going on…”

“Uh huh, just as I suspected.” Phil extended his hand and led her out of the room downstairs to the kitchen. “I made some homemade chicken noodle soup for Nisa, but she didn’t eat much of it. So I’ll warm you up a bowl.”

That honestly sounded delicious and Mia’s mouth watered while she watched Phil prepare the soup. 10 minutes later, she carefully inhaled it and Phil briefly wondered if the woman even tasted anything. When she asked for a second bowl, he chuckled and made it for her, watching in fascination as she devoured it. Did Joe know his soon-to-be wife could eat like a pig? Once Mia finished, they went into the living room and sat down on the couch before Phil began the story on how Mark Calaway created the Wyatt Family.

“Oh my god…” Mia whispered, covering her mouth with her hand and looked up at the ceiling where she knew Anisa’s bedroom was. “So it really was him all along…”

Phil nodded, swallowing down his own anger at the situation because he had to be there for his sister right now. “She thinks Bray slept with her on Mark’s orders too, but I don’t believe he did.”

“Why not?” Mia demanded, folding her arms in front of her chest and could feel the chicken soup bubbling in her stomach. Maybe eating before finding this information out wasn’t a good idea. “It makes sense considering Calaway is the mastermind behind their creation. I just – Why can’t he leave her alone? She was so happy with Jon and now everything is a big mess.”

“Something tells me Bray didn’t come clean to Calaway about sleeping with my sister. I don’t know why either. Deep down, Bray does care for her because he’s shown it a few times whenever around Anisa. It’s the little things.” Phil was very observant and didn’t miss much, especially when it came to his family. “She doesn’t think so though. She thinks Bray used her and she’s probably right, but I can’t get rid of how I feel about it.”

Mia understood that, but she was 100% on Anisa’s side with the Bray accusation. Sleeping with someone for their ex-husband was creepy, to put it mildly. Mia suddenly bolted off the couch and flew upstairs as fast as she could to Anisa’s room before Phil could stop her. She opened the door and closed it silently behind her before crawling into bed beside Anisa, pulling her into her arms. It was the same thing Anisa did to her when her family abandoned and disowned her. They were truly sisters and Mia refused to let Anisa wake up alone again like she had been for the past 2 weeks.

One way or another, Mark Calaway’s plan was about to go up in smoke now that his master plan was out in the open.

Chapter 13

Having Mia with her seemed to perk Anisa up and by that following Monday, she was back on the road at work. Mia talked to her about everything that happened, including finding out about Bray being involved with Mark. Anisa felt so vulnerable and didn’t know how to respond to any of this newfound information. Part of her wanted to call Bill and demand to know why he hadn’t mentioned anything regarding Mark being down at the performance center with the Wyatt Family. Then again, she was his ex-wife for a reason and Bill would’ve slapped her in the face with that, so she didn’t bother confronting him. Hell, the man had no idea what Mark was planning and figured he was down there to help build new stars for the company.

“I regret sleeping with Bray. I regret ever meeting him. I regret everything…” Anisa had cried her heart out to Mia with her head on the woman’s lap while having her hair stroked. “I even regret meeting Jon…”

Mia had stopped her as soon as those words came out of her mouth. “No.” She forced Anisa to sit up until they locked eyes and wiped her tears away with the pad of her thumbs. “Listen to me, Jon is not to blame for any of this. I know he took Colby’s side and I’m pissed at him for it too, but goddamn it Nisa, you gave him no choice. You kept everything bottled up inside until he walked away because that’s the only thing he could do! Don’t you dare say you regret anything with him! Bray and Mark, yes, but not Jon. You love each other and you will find your way back to each other, but it’s going to take time and effort.”

Tears flooded down her cheeks as Anisa broke completely down and crumbled to the floor on her knees in front of Mia. Those words cut through to the core of her heart because the loss of Jon physically hurt her. All because of Mark’s ridiculous sadistic game, she had lost the best thing that ever happened to her. Only if Jon wanted her back would Anisa be granted another chance and she didn’t see that transpiring any time soon. She had a lot to make up for, but one thing she didn’t regret was slapping Colby. That was something she refused to bend on when it came to apologizing because, in her mind and heart, the man deserved it. If Jon couldn’t understand that, maybe they really weren’t meant to be. Mia agreed with that wholeheartedly and told Anisa if she apologized to Colby, she would personally shove her foot up the woman’s backside. If anything, Colby owed an apology to Anisa and surprisingly Krystal agreed too.

Before she knew it, Monday rolled around and she pulled into the arena parking lot, glancing in the mirror to make sure she looked acceptable. The past 2 weeks had been rough on her, but it was time to get back into the swing of things and move on with her life. Everything would be dealt with in time. Anisa wouldn’t let Mark and Bray win, not unless it was over her dead mutilated corpse. The dark circles had diminished somewhat under her eyes and it was nothing foundation couldn’t cover up. Her legs were encased in grey leggings accompanied with a brown tunic top that had a grey lace design around the hem on the top and bottom. Her hair was in a tight bun on the top of her head with a few tendrils hanging down to frame her face. Black liner, clear gloss and foundation with brown flats finished her outfit. Simple yet elegant and dressy enough for work.

Passing by the Wyatt Family locker room on her way to her designated office made Anisa stop in her tracks. She must’ve stood there for a good 5 minutes before finally turning to stare at the closed door. There were a few people that walked passed her, but didn’t say a word and Anisa knew why. They more than likely felt the anger and pain shooting out every pore of her body aimed directly at the door. Anisa had no idea what possessed her to do it, but before she could stop herself, her hand came up and knocked, hearing the deep rugged Louisiana accent resonate through it in reply.

“Enter.” Bray called out while continuing to tape up his hands, more importantly the thumb he used to jab his opponents in the throat with. It was his personal tribute to one of his favorite wrestlers in the company – Mick Foley.

Pushing open the door, Anisa stepped inside and waited until it closed all the way behind her before speaking, gaining Bray’s attention. “How much?” It was a blunt question and one she needed answered.

Bray’s head snapped up at the sound of her voice and could see so much pain swirling through her eyes. He heard about her breakup with Ambrose and wondered what the fool did to lose her. “What do you mean?” He was genuinely confused, arching a dark brow in wonder.

Why did he insist playing this game with her? “How much?” She asked again in a stricter tone of voice with narrowed eyes, folding her arms tightly in front of her chest. To emphasis her point, Anisa pulled something out of her small purse and tossed the wad of cash at Bray, purposely bouncing it off his chest. “Maybe that’ll loosen your tongue a little.”

There had to be a couple grand in the wad, but Bray didn’t want a dime from this woman and swiped it from the floor. “What’s this about, Anisa? Why are you throwing money at me? The sex was free…”

“That’s not what I’m paying you for, asshole.” She remarked coolly, knowing losing her temper right now would not play in her favor and decided to go another route to obtain the information she wanted from him. “I’m curious about something.”

Bray watched her saunter closer to him, the same expression on her face, so he didn’t bother reaching out to touch her. “About?” He didn’t like the fact she was now talking in riddles and tore a hand through his hair.

“Splitting Jon and I up. I’m curious, what was your next orders from my ex-husband?”

That was the last thing Bray thought he’d hear come out of her mouth and somehow maintained his composure. “What the hell are you talking about, Anisa? I didn’t split you two up!” He wanted to snap her small frame in half for accusing him of this because all he did was give her a few warnings – in his own way.

“Just stop.” She whispered pleadingly, tears shimmering in her midnight blues while staring at a man she once cared for. A man who helped her through the pain of losing Jon due to him still being married to a psycho bitch. “Don’t lie to me, please. Just – Just tell me the truth.”

“There’s nothing to tell! You’ve lost your mind!”

“Bray, I know everything about you and Mark working together down at the performance center. My brother did a little investigating while I took some time off to get my head on straight and found out everything. Mark is the reason the Wyatt Family exists, not you. He created you, Luke and Erik, didn’t he?” Anisa blinked the tears away, refusing to cry in front of this lowlife and gritted her teeth to keep from lashing out. She wanted to strangle Bray for everything he did to her, for all the riddles and so-called warnings that made her crazy. “He needed new blood to keep an eye on me and chose you to do it. You – You slept with me because of him, didn’t you?”

There was no point in hiding the truth from her now that the secret was out. “No. I didn’t sleep with you because of him.” He suddenly reached out and yanked her flush against his body, his hot breath caking her face. Her perfume permeated the air around him and made Bray drunk with need and desire for her. “I fucked you because I wanted to, not for any other reason and certainly not him. Taker did help us, I admit that and he had me keep an eye on you once we were called up to the roster, but that’s as far as it went. I reported back to him on a weekly basis what I knew, but I didn’t stalk you or anything like that. His main concern was seeing who you tried moving on with from him. As far as I know, he wants to help the company build the future and you can bet your ass, that’s exactly what I am. The future. Perhaps you’re making shit up in your own head to justify your actions of coming to see me and ‘running’ into me in the hallways. Maybe it’s you who doesn’t want to be with Ambrose anymore deep down inside.”

He was doing it again, messing with her mind and Anisa wouldn’t fall for it. Not anymore, not ever again. “That’s not true. That’s just what you want to believe and you don’t want to accept the fact I don’t love you. I never did and I never will. I made my choice, so accept it and leave me alone. I’m done with the games, Bray. And I’m done being screwed around with by my ex-husband.”

Not saying anything for a few minutes while they both stood there staring each other down, Bray finally made the first move. He stepped away releasing her upper arms and shoved the wad of cash she threw at him earlier down the front of her tunic top. There was nothing more to be said between them. She knew the truth and Mark would have to find another gopher boy to watch over his ex-wife. Bray had bigger things to worry about in the company and had to watch out for himself. However, that didn’t mean he couldn’t continue playing games with Anisa simply for the joy of watching her squirm like a worm on a hook.

“Take your money elsewhere and remember to watch who you invite into your bed, sweetheart.”

Scoffing angrily, Anisa turned on her heel and stormed out the door past Luke and Erik, who had opened the door right before Bray’s cryptic warning. “What was that about?” Luke asked, arching a thick black brow and watched a sick smirk curve Bray’s lips. “I know that look…”

“Boys, I think it’s time to up the ante of this game. Gather around and listen up.”

He wasn’t done with Anisa by a long shot.

~!~

Hours later, Anisa heard a knock at her office door while she was delved into her work, having 2 weeks to make up for. Bill hadn’t been lying when he said there was a lot to do in an email he sent her a few days prior to her returning to the road. Anisa could’ve easily made her appearances at the performance center while away, but honestly she needed the time away from everything WWE related. Luckily, she had understanding bosses and a lot of PTO time to use up since she rarely took any time off.

“Come in!” She called out, blinking when the door slammed open and Colby was shoved bodily into the room. “What the hell?”

“On your knees, Rollins.”

“Stuart Bennett, what the hell do you think you’re doing?” Anisa demanded, planting her hands on her hips with a tilted head.

“Don’t be angry with him. I asked for his assistance.” Krystal’s voice came through the door as they both stepped inside, closing it firmly behind them.

Stuart smirked, winking down at Krystal playfully. “Anything for you, love.”

Colby growled, not appreciating the English punk putting the moves on his woman with him watching. “Krystal…”

“Do it or else.” Krystal ordered, pointing at a bewildered looking Anisa and grinned at her. “Come on, out with it, Lopez.”

Stuart had to admit watching Krystal order Colby on his knees did something to his body. Hell, the woman always managed to spark every nerve-ending inside of him, but he’d never reveal that to her. She was with Colby, a skunk boy, who thought he was on top of the world in the WWE. Granted, Stuart wasn’t in a faction like the Shield, but a few years ago when he was the leader of the Nexus, everyone bowed to him. He planned on making that happen again in the near future, but this time it would be on HIS terms and his alone.

“This is bullshit, why do I have to do this?” Colby whined, glaring up at his girlfriend and swallowed hard when her eyes narrowed. “I didn’t do anything…”

“The way you spoke to her was uncalled for and there was a far better way to handle it, Colby. Don’t make me do it.” Krystal whipped her cell phone out and had her thumb hovered over the call button. “All I have to do is apply a little bit of pressure and…”

“NO!” Colby practically squealed like a little girl, shaking his head. “Please don’t!”

Stuart shook his head in disgust at how pathetic Colby currently acted in front of Krystal and rolled his eyes. “Just say it and be done with it, man! Drop your balls and do what your woman wants!” His deep English accent resonated around the room with a slight boom.

Truthfully, it made Krystal weak in the knees every time she heard Stuart’s voice. She loved Colby, but knew if she wasn’t with the youngest Shield member, Stuart would definitely be her second choice. “You have 5 seconds and I’m doing it.” She threatened with a yawn in false boredom, tired of Colby’s stalling.

Grumbling under his breath, Colby cringed when Krystal smacked him upside the head and for the third time pointed toward Anisa. His dark eyes looked up at the honey blonde and took a deep breath, remaining on his knees only because of Krystal’s command. She would pay for this once they were alone back at the hotel and he made her submit to him in every way possible.

“Anisa, I’m – Fuck, I’m sorry okay?” He didn’t mean a word of it and the apology left a bad taste in his mouth.

What a half-assed apology, Anisa thought with a roll of her eyes, and merely waved him off dismissively. “I’m too busy for this. Just leave and keep your opinions to yourself from now on. Because if you don’t, you’ll find your balls lodged in your throat the next time you speak your mind to another woman.”

Krystal snorted at Colby’s scrambling out of the room and put her cell phone away, slipping it in her back pocket. “I tried…”

“It’s fine, thank you anyway. If he doesn’t mean the apology, there’s no sense in giving one.” Anisa said simply and sat back down in front of her laptop. “I’m curious though.”

“What?”

“Who were you going to call that made him squeal like a little girl?”

Krystal laughed along with Stuart, eyes twinkling mischievously. “His Mom.” She left with the English man while Anisa laughed for the first time in 2 long weeks.

Maybe coming back to work wasn’t so bad after all.

Chapter 14

“You want me to what?”

“You heard me.”

“Do you understand what will happen if I do this?”

“Yes, and it’s time for you to come clean to everyone, sis.”

That small conversation lead to Anisa venturing to the Shield locker room and standing in front of the door, knowing Jon was on the other side of it. Phil was out of his mind to convince her to do this. However, her brother was right and it was time to come clean about everything to their circle of friends. It was the first step of many that would help Anisa win Jon back, hopefully. Then again, maybe he really was done with her. She still owed him an explanation and refused to back down, bringing her hand up to knock on the door just as it opened.

The large 6’3 265 pound Samoan stared down at the petite honey blonde and folded his arms in front of his chest. “What are you doing here, Anisa?” He asked in a deep voice, not moving from standing in the doorway.

“Maybe she’s come to apologize to me!”

Anisa rolled her eyes at Colby’s guess and snorted. “Fat chance of that happening, skunk boy.” Her eyes remained on Joe, Jon’s best friend in the company currently. “I need to talk to all of you. I’ll only take a minute.”

Joe wasn’t sure about this considering the foul mood Jon was currently in and glanced over his shoulder, watching his friend shadowbox in the far corner of the dressing room. “Jon, you wanna hear her out, bro?” He wouldn’t be rude to Anisa, but she wasn’t coming inside unless Jon gave permission.

“Do what you want.” Jon grunted, focused on warming up for their match that night and continued striking the air with his fists.

What did she expect? A warm reception? No, Anisa knew better when it came to the Shield men and she had a lot of explaining to do regarding her behavior. Ignoring Colby completely, Anisa walked past Joe after he moved out of the way and her eyes instantly landed on Jon. There was so much power in his body and the fact he was shadowboxing shirtless did nothing to stem the flood of warmth in her lower body parts. All she wanted to do was run over and jump in his arms, but that was out of the question.

“Get on with it. We have a match tonight to prepare for.” Colby didn’t bother hiding his disdain for this woman and pulled his black gloves on he always wore to the ring.

“I – I just came here to invite all of you to my hotel room tonight after the show. Mia, Krystal, my brother and a few others will be there. It’s time for me to come clean about everything that’s happened lately.” Anisa swallowed hard, blinking tears away threatening to form and took a deep shaky breath. “If you want to know the truth, you’ll be there tonight. If not, it’s your loss.” She directed that at Jon, though it was meant for all of them.

Joe hadn’t expected this and didn’t know how to respond, wondering why Mia hadn’t mentioned anything to him. Colby had the same thoughts about Krystal, both of them sharing a knowing glance. This was ultimately Jon’s decision and they wouldn’t go unless he did. As angry as Colby was for what Anisa did to him, he still considered her somewhat of a friend because of Krystal.

“Jon…”

“Here’s my room number.” She handed Joe a slip of paper with it written down and headed for the door. “I hope all of you come, but I understand if you don’t.”

Shaking his head, Joe turned grey eyes on Jon and walked over to the man, standing directly in front of him. “Go after her.” This was his chance to make things right with Anisa and if Jon missed this opportunity, there more than likely wouldn’t be a second. “She’s gonna come clean, isn’t that what you wanted?”

“No, only part of it.” Jon stopped shadowboxing and lowered himself to the concrete floor in front of Joe, beginning to do pushups on his fingertips. “NOW that I’ve ended shit with her, she wants to come clean. It’s bullshit. She doesn’t trust me and I don’t know if I trust her anymore after this. I don’t know if I can be with someone who doesn’t trust me. I’ll go to hear her out, but that’s it.”

There was simply no reasoning with Jon while he was in this current state of mind, so Joe dropped the subject. Jon was making a mistake and it would blow up in his face when Anisa found someone else to make her happy. He did understand where Jon was coming from, but everyone was entitled to make a few mistakes in their lives. That’s how they learned and adapted to life, to help them make better choices. Pushing the situation out of his mind for the time being, Joe sent Mia a quick text letting her know he’d meet her at Anisa’s hotel room later that night along with Colby.

He had no idea if Jon would show up.

~!~

Phil, Melanie, Colby, Krystal, Randy, Ryanne, Mia and Joe all sat in Anisa’s hotel suite. Anisa was sandwiched between Mia and Krystal with each of their arms wrapped around her shoulders for comfort and support. The woman would need it for what she was about to do. They all sat around waiting to see if Jon would show up. He had a bad spill outside of the ring during his match, so the chiropractor was working on his back to loosen it up a bit. Jon was the last in line for the service, so he was taking a bit longer than usual. Joe assured Anisa he would show up, hoping he wasn’t lying and getting her hopes up on Jon’s appearance.

A quarter past midnight, a knock sounded at the door and Anisa was the first to jump to her feet, rushing over to answer it. Two different shades of blue met instantly and relief flooded through Anisa’s body at the sight of the man she loved. He looked incredible in a black beater and blue jeans, his normal attire when he wasn’t wrestling. Anisa was sure his arms had grown since the last time she saw him, which was 2 weeks ago.

“Well, you gonna let me in or what?” Jon demanded gruffly, having both thumbs hooked in the front loops of his jeans.

“S-Sorry…” Anisa mumbled, stepping aside and closed the door behind him while Jon walked over to lean against the wall.

Phil was tempted to belt Jon for the way he was treating his sister, but Melanie’s hand on his arm kept him calm. “Go on sis, tell them what we know and don’t leave anything out.” He planned on saying his piece after she finished and nodded at Anisa encouragingly.

Krystal stood up from the couch and stood beside Anisa, taking her hand and Mia followed suit. There was so much love and support from these people it overwhelmed Anisa, tears sliding down her cheeks. “Thank you both.” She whispered, trying to regain her composure and hastily wiped them away. “The reason I asked you all here tonight is to explain my actions lately. I haven’t been myself and a few of you have pointed that out to me, in your own ways. I didn’t want to believe something was wrong and figured I could handle what was happening or simply ignore it. I was wrong though. There’s been someone in the company who has sent me cryptic messages verbally and – and has fucked with my mind lately. I’ve run into this person and he’s managed to shatter every belief I’ve had, including my previous relationship with Jon.”

“Who?” Joe’s interest was officially piqued and he could already tell Jon was on the verge of blowing a gasket with how red his face suddenly became.

“Bray Wyatt.” Anisa couldn’t look at any of them anymore and walked over to stare out the window, trembling from head to toe. “H-He told me to be careful who I invite into my bed and that something bad was coming. That he’d try to protect me from it the best he could. And I didn’t understand any of it. But now I do. Everything he’s said to me makes sense now that I know the truth.”

“What truth is that?” Colby was intrigued as well, temporarily forgetting about being humiliated by this woman.

This was the part Anisa didn’t know if she could say aloud, especially with Jon standing in the room. She could feel the anger radiating off of his big body, seeping out of every pore, and was thankful her brother stepped in to take over. There was no way she could utter her ex-husband’s name after what she found out, thanks to Phil. Mia and Krystal stayed by her side while Phil stood up to take the floor, explaining what he found out from Bill Demott down at the performance center. Nothing was left out. He didn’t stop talking until everything was said and he made sure nobody could interrupt him, not even Jon.

“That son of a bitch…” Joe growled, cracking his knuckles and shook his head. “He’ll never learn, will he?”

“That’s fucking sickening to use new blood to be his personal spies in exchange for training.” Randy piped in, keeping his arm around Ryanne and held her close, knowing she was upset from this news.

Phil agreed with a resounding nod. “Exactly. Bill said he spent hours down there with Bray, Luke and Erik molding them into the next faction of the WWE. Calaway mentioned something about his ‘Family’ taking out the Shield too, but at the time Bill had no idea Jon and Anisa were together. So he didn’t think anything of it. Now that he looks back on it, he regrets not contacting and warning me about the mother fucker cooking up a plan down there.” He wanted to beat the snot out of his ex-brother-in-law for all the pain his sister suffered ever since the divorce.

“What’s the purpose though?” It was Ryanne’s turn to speak up, arching a perfectly sculpted red brow. “I mean – I get that Mark wants to be with Anisa again, but why go through such lengths? And isn’t he married to Michelle McCool?”

This time, Anisa answered and her voice had dropped to a low sinister tone. “Yes. He’s married to the same whore he cheated on me with. And yet, he refuses to leave me alone. He’s destroyed everything I’ve held dear in my life, or attempted to. And now – now he’s sunk to further lows by using Bray to spy on me to see who I’ve ‘tried’ moving on with from his stupid ass.” She was sick of talking about her ex-husband and wanted this to end once and for all. “Apparently, I don’t deserve happiness unless it’s on HIS terms. I’m done with his games. I’m fed up.”

Phil could see the gears turning in his sister’s head and knew she already had a plan concocted to deal with Mark Calaway. “What’s going on, sis?” He had to ask, his curiosity too strong.

“There has to be a way to lure him back to the company. I know he’s in Dallas right now living his life and being happy while I’m miserable. Well, it’s time to turn the tables on that sack of shit.” More tears began to fall. “After my confrontation with Bray tonight, I’m positive this has been going on since he was signed to the company.”

“Wait a fucking minute, you confronted him BY YOURSELF?” Jon was done staying quiet and practically bellowed that question out, trembling from head to toe in pure rage. “What the fuck were you thinking, Anisa?”

“I wasn’t, but I needed answers on why he agreed to work with my asshole ex. I threw a wad of cash at him and asked him how much. Because I know money talks and Mark has plenty of it to use to influence anyone he wants. Bray denied it and then I accused him of sleeping with me because of Mark’s orders. He denied it again. He can keep lying all he wants to me, but I know the truth deep in my heart and nobody can convince me otherwise. So be mad at me all you want, Ambrose. We’re not together anymore, so you don’t need to worry about little ol’ me. I’ll be just fine alone without any man.” Anisa surprisingly meant that and stormed out of the sitting area to her bedroom, slamming the door shut with authority.

Jon didn’t wait to be told to leave and stalked out of the suite, the door slamming shut making the windows shake. The whole hotel had to hear their outbursts, but Phil was more concerned with his sister right now. Krystal left with Colby while Mia stayed behind with Joe, Phil and Melanie to make sure Anisa was alright.

“I’m not leaving her.” Mia knew she was putting their relationship in jeopardy, but Anisa needed her more than Joe did right now. “She needs me.”

Melanie placed a hand on her shoulder with a tight smile and pushed Mia gently but firmly toward Joe. “Go back to your room and spend time with him. We’re staying with her, so she’s in good hands.” She assured the Indian beauty and watched Joe snake his arm around her waist while whispering sweet nothings in his fiancée’s ear.

“If she needs me, tell her to call.”

Mia reluctantly left the suite with Joe, her squeals echoing back at Melanie and Phil. They couldn’t help laugh and Melanie went to check on Anisa, not surprised the woman was out cold with a tear-streaked face. She had to admit watching Anisa stand up to Jon was a beautiful sight to witness. Phil was a proud big brother too, standing beside his girlfriend and wrapped an arm around her waist.

“Do you think she’ll be alright?” He asked softly in her ear, nuzzling it lovingly and breathed her scent in. God, this woman was turning him to mush!

“In time, yes. I think a big weight’s been lifted off of her too after she came clean about everything tonight. Now the healing can truly begin and hopefully Jon gets his head out of his ass before it’s too late.” Melanie turned, wrapping her arms around Phil’s neck and softly kissed him. “Let’s go down to the bus. She’ll call if she needs us and I know she’s not suicidal anymore.”

Phil groaned quietly when Melanie began assaulting his neck and tightened his arms around her. “Not fair.” He hissed, pulling her against him and shut Anisa’s door silently before lifting Melanie over his shoulder to cart her out of the suite.

Making up for lost time was definitely on the agenda tonight.

Chapter 15

There was no memory of her falling asleep.

Anisa had given Jon a piece of mind during the explanation gathering earlier that night and passed out in a weepy exhaustion. She had no idea how long she’d been out, but incessant banging made her swollen red eyes snap open. Every part of her body ached from lack of sleep over the past 2 weeks, so whoever was trying to beat her door down was about to get the verbal lashing they soon wouldn’t forget. Stumbling out of bed, Anisa took a moment to get to her feet because her head was still thick with sleep. Yawning loudly, she made her way to the door and could hear someone shouting through it, the banging becoming harder.

“Aniiiiiiiiiisaaaaaaaaaaa, open the dooooooooor…”

“What the hell?” She muttered, not in the mood for any shenanigans at 3 AM in the morning. There was obviously some drunken idiot at her door banging on it and Anisa didn’t know if she should answer or not. “W-Who is it?”

She was a fast machine, she kept her motor clean

She was the best damn woman I ever seen

She had the sightless eyes telling me no lies

Knocking me out with those American thighs

Taking more than her share, had me fighting for air

She told me to come, but I was already there

Cause the walls start shaking, the earth was quaking

My mind was aching, and we were making it

And you – shook me all night long

Yeah you - shook me all night long

The voice was low, gritty and rough with a drunken slur Anisa knew all too well. It couldn’t be. She didn’t think twice about it and unlocked the door, opening it with a deep shaky breath. There he stood, the man she was completely in love with, holding a bottle wrapped in a brown paper sack, in a thick drunken stupor. And he was singing! Badly, off-key, to her! Anisa couldn’t say a word because Jon shoved his way into the room while continuing to sing, knocking things over left and right in his stumbling. All Anisa could do was stand there, letting the door shut on its own, in complete bewilderment.

I’m working double time on the seduction line

She’s one of a kind, she’s just mine all mine

Wanted no applause it’s just another course

Made a meal outta me

And come back for more

Had to cool me down to take another round

Now I’m back in the ring to take another swing

Cause the walls were shaking, the earth was quaking

My mind was aching

And you were making it

By now, Jon had circled Anisa until he stood behind her and planted his strong hands on her hips while continuing to sing in her ear. Sleep was suddenly the last thing on Anisa’s mind with his hands on her body and closed her eyes, relishing the feeling of his touch again. 2 weeks without him had been hell on earth and Anisa didn’t care if he was drunk right now. She would take any opportunity Jon gave her to feel his touch and hot breath on her ear along with his raspy voice that made her weak in the knees. They began swaying together and she bit her bottom lip when he stumbled slightly to keep from giggling.

And you – shook me all night long

Yeah you – shook me all night long

Knocked me out I said you

Shook me all night long

You had me shaking and you

Shook me all night long

Yeah you shook me

When you took me

The song was off-key and sounded horrible, but Anisa thought it was the sweetest thing Jon could’ve done. Drunken stumbling mess and all. What killed her was Jon probably wouldn’t remember any of this or doing this for her. Showing up at her hotel suite banging on her door to wake her up and serenading her with the worst rendition of AC/DC’s You Shook Me All Night Long she’d ever heard in her life. Still, it was the thought that counted and it meant everything to Anisa because it showed Jon still wanted her. She was still on his mind every fraction as much as he was hers. Jon suddenly spun her around to face him, their blues mixing together again and began grinding against her while holding Anisa tight against his chest.

You really took me and you

Shook me all night long

You shook me all night long

Yeah – yeah you shook me all night long

You really got me and you

Shook me all night long

Yeah you shook me

Yeah you shook me

All night long

Anisa fought back the urge to cringe when Jon raised his voice to try hitting the high notes like the song did and barely pulled it off. She kept a smile on her face while he continued dancing against her, the rhythm sloppy and pathetic. He definitely wasn’t a dancer. When he finished belting out the last of the song, Jon yanked her flush against his body and they both went toppling to the floor, thanks to losing his footing. Squealing out, Anisa landed on top of him on the carpeted floor with their lips mere inches from each other. He smelled of cigarettes and musk, her favorite scent in the world.

“Jon…”

Before Anisa had a chance to pull away from him, Jon took advantage of the moment and buried his hand in her beautiful honey tresses before slamming her mouth down on his. It was nowhere hard enough to hurt her, but Jon had to get his point across somehow. Even through his drunken haze, Jon knew who he was with and what he was doing. None of it he would regret. After finding out why Anisa had pulled away from him, Jon went for a long walk to think things over and passed by a liquor store. They were in Sacramento, California in the Indian summer, so Jon spent hours sitting on the beach outside of the hotel drinking with ear buds blasting AC/DC in his ears from his IPOD. Before Jon knew what he was doing, he managed to make it up to Anisa’s hotel suite and banged on the door until she answered. Singing to her was an involuntary reaction to what he really wanted to do. Rip her clothes off and have his way with her for hours on end.

Strong hands molded her panty clad backside beneath the Shield t-shirt she had on. Anisa slept in it whenever she was away from Jon, which had been for the past 2 weeks. She washed it of course due to hygiene issues, but other than that it was all she slept in along with undergarments. Soft moans were swallowed by Jon’s tongue massaging hers and pulling her as close to him as humanly possible. Not even the smallest, thinnest string could be slid between the two of them while they rolled around on the floor until Jon won the battle for dominance. The kiss broke as Jon sat back on his haunches to remove his t-shirt quickly and went back to claiming her sweet mouth, both of them in a passion haze.

Anisa had no idea how long they spent kissing each other, but just before things became too heated, Jon suddenly passed out on her. “I love you, Ani.” He’d muttered against her ear, nipped it and a few seconds later his whole body sagged on top of her.

It was a miracle Jon hadn’t crushed her with his muscular frame and Anisa somehow pushed him off of her to roll on his back on the floor. Hot tears coursed down at her cheeks from Jon’s confession and Anisa didn’t know how to respond to any of this. The serenading that lead into 2 hours of making out and him passing out before they could make love. First, she checked to make sure he was still alive and received a resounding answer by the deep snores that soon followed. Anisa quickly grabbed the t-shirt Jon peeled from her body and tossed it on. He still had his jeans on and the erection he sported had gone down significantly in his drunken sleep-induced coma.

What the hell was she supposed to do now? It was nearing 5 AM in the morning and she didn’t want to wake anyone. Leaving Jon sleeping on the floor wasn’t a good idea either, especially with his current back problems. She didn’t know what to do. Walking into the bedroom part of the suite, Anisa grabbed her cell phone from the nightstand and quickly dialed a number, hoping the recipient answered. The whole time ringing sounded in her ear, Anisa kept her eyes locked on Jon to make sure he was still alright and didn’t wake up. How was she supposed to explain what happened and, more importantly, would anyone believe her?

“Ugh yeah!”

Anisa cringed at the angry tone of Mia’s voice and instantly regretted waking her up. She sounded exhausted. “Never mind, go back to sleep.”

Mia shot upright in bed instantly and rubbed her eyes at the shakiness in Anisa’s voice. “What’s wrong, sweetie? Sorry, I didn’t know it was you.” She quickly apologized and nudged Joe awake, knowing something must’ve happened after they left.

Groaning, Joe tried rolling over on his other side with his back facing Mia, but that was until she turned her body to press cold feet against his heated skin. “HOLY SHIT!” He roared, rolling away from her and ended up landing on the floor on the other side of the bed. “Fuck!”

Mia giggled uncontrollably at Joe’s reaction and shook her head, rolling her eyes at his cussing. “Shut it, Anoa’i and get dressed. Something’s wrong with Anisa.”

“No – don’t…” Anisa knew it wouldn’t do any good because she’d startled Mia out of a deep sleep and her shaky voice didn’t help matters. “Girl I’m fine, really. I just…I had – uh – something happened after you left and…” She couldn’t form a single coherent sentence and growled in frustration.

“We’ll be there in 10.”

Mia hung up the phone before Anisa could say another word and all she could do now was wait for her best friend and lover to arrive. 8 minutes later, knocking sounded at the front door and Anisa bolted out of her room to answer it, frowning apologetically. Joe was the first one to notice Jon on the floor dead to the world and his grey eyes snapped up to Anisa, anger slowly filling them.

“Please tell me you didn’t kill him.”

“Joseph!”

Anisa shook her head immediately, tears swelling in her eyes. “No, of course not! I would never be able to kill someone let alone the man I love!” She exclaimed, feeling Mia’s arm wrap around her waist to steady her. Anisa felt as though she could faint at any minute due to lack of sleep. “I’m sorry…”

“Come on, let’s go sit down and you can explain what happened while I make us some coffee.” Mia suggested, guiding Anisa into the kitchen area of the suite while Joe dealt with Jon.

While Joe heaved Jon’s dead carcass to the bedroom where he could sleep comfortably, Mia made a pot of coffee for all of them while Anisa explained what happened. “He showed up at 3 AM and serenaded you?” Was this the same brooding Jon she knew?

“I couldn’t believe it either, trust me.” Anisa muttered, sipping her coffee slowly and hoped the caffeine gave her a boost of energy or made her crash hard for a few hours. “It was sweet though, even if he was drunk off his ass. It shows he still cares about me.”

Mia had to admit, Jon was a man full of surprises and nobody knew what he was capable of. “So, what are you gonna do about this?” She had to ask, sitting down across from her best friend and could see the turmoil in Anisa’s eyes.

“I don’t know.” Anisa whispered, lowering her head shaking it and blinked tears away because she was sick of crying. “I love him. I know he broke things off between us and I accept that, but it doesn’t stop my feelings. And showing up tonight just makes me more confused than ever because I don’t know if he’ll remember what happened or what he did.”

“You two really need to talk without ripping each other’s throats out.” Joe stated, walking up and dropped a kiss on top of Mia’s head before grabbing a cup of java for himself. “Jon’s pissed and I get that, but he still loves you. That hasn’t changed or else he wouldn’t come here tonight acting like an idiot.”

“Joseph!” That was the second time Mia busted out his full first name and this time she added a smack to his arm. “It was a sweet thing for him to do, you brute!”

“Hey, I’m not saying it wasn’t! But come on, I’ve heard that man sing before and I’m surprised he didn’t make her ears bleed!” Joe argued, standing his ground against Mia and ignored her glare, leaning against the table on his forearms. “What else happened?” There was more Anisa wasn’t telling them.

How did Joe know? It was obvious and plain as day on her face apparently. “We – uh – made out for 2 hours…or close to it…” Anisa cleared her throat, feeling her face flush and ignored her friends’ catcalls while finishing her coffee.

After Joe and Mia left to let Anisa get some more sleep, she walked into the bedroom where Jon’s snores filtered from. As much as she wanted to crawl into bed beside him, they had to talk about everything first. Either he wanted to be with her or he didn’t. Anisa sighed, stroking his rugged cheek that had a bit of scruff on it and slid a single curl from his forehead, barely brushing her mouth to his.

“I love you too, Jon, always.” She whispered, resting her forehead to his briefly before forcing herself to leave the room, closing the door behind her.

Laying down on the couch, Anisa turned the television on and flipped through the channels, not really paying attention to what was on. Her mind was completely focused on the man sleeping in her bed. It served her right to be sent to the couch for everything she put Jon through lately. There had to be a way to make this right with him because Anisa didn’t know how many more drunken serenades and make out sessions she could handle without having all of him. Golden Girls came on the television screen and Anisa stopped, absolutely loving this show. Sometime after 7 AM, Anisa finally fell asleep curled up on her side with a small blanket covering her. It was no surprise her dreams were filled of being with Jon and the AC/DC song, planting a small smile on her face.

Maybe there was a glimmer of hope for Jon and Anisa to get back together, but it definitely wouldn’t happen overnight.

Chapter 16

A beating drum.

Sweat poured from every pore in his body while Jon worked the alcohol out of his system the hard way. Joe had him up at the crack of dawn, after another round with Mia, and dragged both Jon and Colby with him. It was more to punish Jon than anything after his drunken performance the previous night. They kept him hydrated with bottles of water, but the workout was merciless and brutal, working every muscle in his body. They had the Smackdown! taping that night and this was the quickest way to detox his body so he was ready for the show that night. The whole time he worked out, all Jon could think about was Anisa and what he did the previous night.

Her soft lips against his and his hands roaming every portion of her perfect frame while they’re tongues danced together for what seemed like hours on end. Imagine his deep disappointment to find Anisa nowhere to be found upon being woken up by Joe that morning. What was worse was Jon didn’t remember his horrible rendition of AC/DC he serenaded Anisa until Joe explained it to him. Then the temporary amnesia dispersed and all the events from early that morning flooded back to Jon in a huge wave of embarrassment. No wonder she hadn’t stuck around and left the room. After Smackdown!, Jon planned on calling Anisa and apologizing for everything, hoping he could convince her to join him in Vegas for their upcoming days off. Then again, it was a long flight from Sacramento, California to Tampa, Florida, so Anisa must’ve had an extremely early flight.

That’s what Jon believed anyway.

Luckily, there was a huge time difference between Florida and California because of the time zones. So whenever WWE had a show in California, they started earlier than normal and finished around 7 PM, which made it 10 PM in Florida. Anisa didn’t go to the performance center and stayed in her hotel room to do her job, not ready to face Bill yet. She couldn’t, not after what Phil found out. What if he knew all along and sided with Mark on the idea of creating the Wyatt Family? Anisa was better off doing her meetings with everyone via Skype and lied to them by saying she was sick. It was lame and the only excuse she could come up with at the time.

For some reason, sleep evaded her and Anisa finally dozed off around 1 AM. She hadn’t been sleeping long when her cell phone rang, jolting her awake. The name flashed across the caller ID screen and Anisa bolted upright in bed, bringing the phone to answer it. Heavy breathing could be heard over the line, but neither one of them spoke for a good solid 5 minutes. What were they supposed to say to each other? Anisa didn’t agree with what Colby said and Jon took his side by ending their relationship. Then he showed up a drunken singing mess and they made out for hours on end, but they weren’t together technically. This was one twisted situation.

“Ani.”

Her bottom lip quivered at the sound of the nickname Jon gave her, the tears threatening to fall. “Hi…” Her voice was a little above a whisper, only loud enough for him to hear.

She didn’t expect him to call, Jon quickly surmised, and knew he had to rectify this somehow. There was only one way he could think of to do it. “I love you.” He confessed, shutting his eyes when the dam broke and Anisa began crying over the phone. “Ssshhh…”

There was no stopping it. She missed him so much and being with him last night felt incredible. It killed her to leave the hotel before he woke up, but she had a flight to catch and couldn’t miss it. So many times she wanted to crawl into bed with him just to feel his strong arms around her. Silent crying continued, but her sniffles through the phone didn’t fall on deaf ears. Jon heard them loud and clear, knowing she was in the same amount of pain being away from him as he was her.

“Did I hurt you last night?” Jon had to ask because the events were still a little fuzzy before the make out session.

“No.” She whispered, not trusting her real voice right now and took some tissues to wipe her tears away.

“Okay good.” Jon breathed a huge sigh of relief and tore a hand through his hair. “I miss you, darlin’ and I know I fucked up. We need to talk. We need to rise above the bullshit and get back to the way we were.”

Those words surprised Anisa and made her heart start thumping powerfully in her chest. “You’re the one who called it off, not me.” She kept her voice low and quiet, reminding Jon of his mistake. “I – I never wanted to break up with you, Jon.” Truthfully, Anisa wanted to be in his arms more than anything in the world and wouldn’t deny anything he wanted at this point.

“Come back to Vegas with me.” They could have a deeper conversation, preferably naked, together and reconnect as a couple. “Give me a chance to make this right.”

“But…What about Colby?” Anisa didn’t want to deal with another scenario where Jon chose one of his friends over her. “I mean – if you don’t trust me…”

Jon was getting frustrated quickly. “Come with me. We’ll talk about everything then, but I don’t wanna do it on the phone. I want to look at you while we talk, to see and touch you…”

Anisa took a deep shaky breath, not able to deny she craved the same thing and shut her eyes. She hoped this wasn’t a mistake to let him back in her life when he’s the one who walked out of it in the first place. “Alright.” She nodded, wiping her nose with the balled up tissue in her hand and leaned back against the headboard. “I’ll come to Vegas for our days off.” If their talk didn’t go as planned, Anisa always had the option of taking a flight right back to Atlanta.

The biggest smile crossed his face and Jon knew he could execute phase 2 of his plan to win Anisa back. “Sweet, now open the door.”

“W-What?” Anisa blinked when he hung up on her and snapped wide eyes to the door, remembering the last time Jon did this.

Somehow, she managed to put one foot in front of the other until the door made her stop, her hand reaching out to push the handle down opening it. Instead of blues mixing together, Anisa was bombarded with a sight of beautiful colorful flowers. They were set in a beautiful amber golden vase. Slowly, the flowers lowered until pale blues locked on watery midnight and Anisa reached out to take the vase from him. He actually bought her flowers, something Jon had never done before. Then again, they hadn’t been together very long before all hell broke loose. Holding them in one hand, Anisa took his with her free one and guided him into the room, setting the flowers down on the nearest counter. Then she released Jon’s hand in order to launch herself into his arms, legs wrapping around his waist clinging to him for dear life. Jon held her close and breathed every inch of Anisa in, brushing the tears away on her cheeks with his lips.

“No more crying, darlin’.” He murmured gently, nuzzling her neck and felt her fingers curling around her fingers while holding onto him. “I’m here now and I’m sorry for what I did. Fuck, I missed you so much…”

Anisa slowly calmed down after a little while and finally pulled back to look in Jon’s eyes, caressing his face with her hands. “You really are here, aren’t you?” She smiled, rubbing her nose gently against his and felt his arms tighten around her a little more.

“Yeah and I’m staying this time. There’s a private jet waiting for us at the airport to take us to Vegas and-” Jon’s cell phone blaring cut him off and he pulled it out to bring it up, seeing a text from Joe. “What the fuck?”

Anisa blinked, feeling her feet touch the carpeted floor as Jon set her down to continue reading the text. “What is it? What’s wrong?” She asked hesitantly, chewing her thumbnail while Jon grumbled and growled under his breath.

“Mother fucker.” Jon hissed, shoving his phone in his pocket and took a deep breath before turning to face Anisa. “No Vegas this week, darlin’. I forgot, Summerslam is Sunday and we’re having Axxess this week in L.A. So we have to head there to meet up with everyone.”

Anisa frowned, knowing all this flying would not bode well with Jon’s body since he hated doing it to begin with. “Shit! I forgot about that too!” Then again, she wasn’t planning on being back with the company until Friday for the house shows and weekend festivities. Summerslam never crossed her mind until now. “Okay – okay it’s fine. I just need to pack up and we can go.”

“Need any help?” Jon offered, wrapping his arms around her waist while she began folding clothes to put in her suitcase.

“Sure, grab my bathroom stuff and call the airport. Let them know we’ll be there within an hour.”

~!~

Another fight.

Krystal didn’t know how much more she could handle from Colby. Fighting about moving in for the millionth time! What part of needing more time did he not understand? She wasn’t ready yet and what was the big hurry anyway? It made Krystal wonder if he had a hidden agenda somewhere and she had no idea what it was. Sighing, she walked along the beach of the hotel they stayed in L.A. that was a few blocks away from the arena. They had house shows throughout the week along with Axxess, radio interviews, appearances, signings, the list was endless. Yet, all Colby could talk about was moving Krystal from Connecticut to Florida as soon as possible. There was only one person she could talk to about this since Mia and Anisa were occupied and Ryanne was in her own world with the pregnancy. Not that Krystal blamed her.

“Hello love.”

“How many times do I have to tell you not to call me that, Bennett?”

Stu chuckled deeply while laying down in his hotel room, sifting through channels. His full attention was on the conversation with Krystal though as always. “Sorry love.” He smirked, not able to help messing with her a little more. “What’s on your mind?”

Why did his accent have to make her weak in the knees? “Just walking around the beach and figured I’d give you a call.” Krystal took a deep breath and kicked the sand. “I got into a fight with Colby…again.”

Now Stu was up and out of bed, already shuffling into his socks, shoes and jeans he had on earlier that day before undressing for bed. “What happened, Krystal? Where are you? What beach?” He had to go to her, not wanting Krystal to be alone right now.

“Outside of the hotel.”

“I’m on my way, do not move an inch.”

10 minutes later, Stu found Krystal standing on the beach with the waves crashing over her bare feet. Her sandals were on the sand behind her and she had her arms wrapped around her body while wearing a deep red hooded sweatshirt. He walked over and stood beside her, staring out at the waves and could feel how visibly upset she was. Stu didn’t say a word and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, pulling her against him until she turned fully to bury her face in his chest to cry. Stroking her hair, Stu closed his eyes hating the fact Krystal was crying against him because his heart shattered at the sound of her sobs.

“W-What’s wrong with me, Stu?” She sobbed harder, voice cracking with emotion and kept her head lowered while shaking it repeatedly. “Why don’t I want to take the next step with Colby? We’ve been together a while now…”

“Krystal, if you are not ready, that is simply how it is.” Stuart made it sound easy, but it definitely was the opposite. “Let me ask you this: Why don’t you want to move in with him? What is stopping you?”

“I – I don’t know…”

“I do.”

“Then tell me.”

“Because he is not the one you belong with, love.”

Finally looking up into his eyes, Krystal swallowed hard at how much sincerity filled deep hazel eyes. Sometimes they looked blue while other times they were green and brown, so she considered them hazel. The beard surrounding his mouth, chin and jaw was neatly trimmed and looked soft to the touch. Without thinking about it, Krystal reached up to smooth a loose hair from his chin back in place. Stu’s eyes instantly darkened and his head turned to brush his mouth softly against the side of her hand up to her fingertips. It was possibly the most sensual experience Krystal experienced in her life and she didn’t want it to end, watching his mouth move from one fingertip to the next before moving down to her wrist. Stu could feel her pulse racing against the tip of his tongue and didn’t bother hiding a groan, wrapping an arm around her waist to pull her closer to his body.

“Stu…”

Pressing a finger to her lips, his mouth suddenly left her wrist to claim her mouth in a searing passionate kiss, lighting every nerve-ending of her body ablaze. Her fingers delved in his dark short hair that was long enough to grab onto. Growling against her lips, Stu lifted her up to where her legs wrapped around his waist and they ended up stumbling slightly into the water, but he didn’t drop her. The kiss didn’t break either, only intensified. Krystal became lost in the moment and didn’t feel the cold water when Stu lowered both of them down into it. Only when he tried reaching down to unsnap her jeans did Krystal snap back to reality and realize what she was doing – and WHO she was doing it with.

“Oh my god…”

“Krystal…”

“I – I have to go.” She stammered, shoving away from Stu and managed to escape the ocean, almost all of her clothes sopping wet. “I – I’ll call you later or text you or – something!”

Mortified, Krystal took off as fast as she could down the beach and left Stu standing there waist deep in the ocean. She didn’t stop until she was back in the hotel suite her and Colby shared, where he currently slept. Jumping I the shower, Krystal peeled the clothes off and kicked them to the side, letting the hot sprays warm her cold body. What did she just do? Kissing Stuart – She actually kissed him! Or he kissed her – she didn’t know what the hell was going on or what she was doing anymore. Tears slid down her cheeks while Krystal washed her body from head to toe until no trace of Stu was on her except in her memory. As she climbed into bed beside Colby, all Krystal could think about was Stuart Bennett and the heated kiss that could’ve possibly changed all of her feelings for the man she currently shared a bed with.

Chapter 17

Summerslam 2013.

Not everyone was happy to see Jon and Anisa back together again, especially Bray Wyatt. He was LIVID when they arrived at the Friday night house show together sickeningly happy. Everything he’d done to try splitting them up failed and Bray was running out of options. He wanted to be with Anisa, to be her ultimate choice, but it wouldn’t happen without Jon in the picture. Drastic measures had to be taken, so Bray hoped Jon enjoyed his brief reunion with Anisa because it was all about to come to a screeching halt.

Anisa watched Jon prepare for his one-on-one match against RVD that night for his United States championship. When they arrived Friday night to the house shows hand in hand, everyone in their circle of friends congratulated them. Joe and Colby both breathed huge sighs of relief while Krystal and Mia demanded details from Anisa on how the rekindling happened. For the past few days, all Jon and Anisa did was spend time together. Mostly naked, of course. The fiery passion they started out with in the beginning came back full force and Jon lost count how many times they took each other to the limit. There was a million dollar smile lighting Anisa’s face up and nothing could wipe it away now that she was back with Jon.

“Penny for your thoughts, darlin’?” Jon asked, jolting Anisa back to reality instead of mulling over everything that happened over the past few days.

“Nothing you need to concern yourself with, Jon. I’m fine, I promise.” Anisa winked, smiling when Jon squatted in front of her to kiss each of her hands. “You need to focus on your match tonight instead of me.”

“Not gonna happen, but that was a nice try.” Jon informed her, brushing her mouth with his softly. “You’re always on my mind, no matter where I am or what I’m doing.”

Anisa’s heart melted, cupping Jon’s face in her soft hands to rub their noses together, sliding her hands up and down his strong arms. “And believe it or not, you’re always on mine.” Then she smacked his backside. “Now get busy and turn into the Boss you are.”

“Yes ma’am.”

Jon chuckled when she shot him a glare, knowing she hated that term of endearment and went back to shadowboxing while she worked on the upcoming meeting with the NXT roster. Before they knew it, the pre-show began and Jon was on his way out to have his match with RVD. The Shield wasn’t part of the actual pay-per-view event, but nobody minded and planned on stealing the show anyway. Joe and Colby went out with Jon while RVD had Big Show and Mark Henry on his side. A knock sounded at the door of the Shield locker room, where Anisa remained and Krystal joined her on the couch. Mia was busy getting ready for a match on the card added at the last minute, so it was nice to have some one-on-one time with Krystal. It seemed as though everything was back to the way it should be with all the couples happier than ever.

However, looks could indeed be deceiving.

Krystal couldn’t for the life of her get what happened between her and Stu out of her mind. She’d been avoiding him for 3 days and so far, he hadn’t hunted her down. Perhaps he felt just as guilty as she did. Krystal didn’t know what possessed her to kiss him back and not slap the hell out of him. Maybe it was all the fighting with Colby lately had finally consumed her to the point where she wanted to do something crazy, reckless. Stu was the perfect distraction for that, but they’d taken it too far with the kissing and making out in the ocean. It couldn’t happen again, no matter how much Krystal wanted him. Sitting next to a happy Anisa made Krystal feel guilty because she remembered feeling that way for Colby. Her love for him was supposed to be everlasting, but slowly it was dying and there was nothing Krystal could do about it.

“Can I talk to you about something that’s on my mind?”

Anisa raised a brow at Krystal, seeing how much turmoil swam in her friend’s eyes and frowned thoughtfully. “Of course. Is everything okay?” She reached out to take Krystal’s hand, squeezing it gently.

“No, everything is so fucked up and I don’t know what to do about it. I know we’re not as close as you and Mia, but…”

Pressing a finger to her lips, Anisa shook her head with tears in her eyes. “No. I don’t rate my friendships. Both of you along with Ryanne and Mel are my best friends. It doesn’t matter how long I’ve known Mia or how short of a time we’ve been friends. I’m here for you as much as you’re here for me. Now tell me what’s going on.”

Krystal opened her mouth to say something when something caught her attention out the corner of her eye on the monitor. “Turn that up.”

Anisa did as she requested, both of them staring wide eyed at the screen while they replayed what happened. The script called for Joe to interfere in the match, not Colby, but for some reason he jumped it and attacked Big Show. He jumped off the ring apron right into Big Show’s massive arms and was driven back first against the steel ring post. This move had been done a million times in the WWE. However, it’d been timed and scripted correctly to where a wrestler wasn’t put on the spot the way Show was. Both Jon and Joe stopped their beatings on RVD and Mark Henry to go check on a crippled Colby while Show backed away looking white as a ghost. As soon as one of the officials held up the X sign with his arms, both women knew something hadn’t gone right.

“Something’s not right.” Krystal was on her feet instantly, heart pounding vigorously in her chest and Anisa joined her. “I – I have to – I have to get out there…”

Anisa flew out the door following Krystal and both stopped at gorilla position to wait for everyone to walk through the curtain. That was until EMT’s rushed past both girls down to the ring and Krystal could only watch the monitor as they carefully loaded Colby’s body on the stretcher. This wasn’t part of the script and Anisa could hear Stephanie behind her panicking due to the pay-per-view starting in mere minutes. All she could do was stand there with an arm wrapped around Krystal’s waist to keep her from running out there. She wouldn’t do Colby any good or the EMT’s, so Anisa had to do what she could to keep Krystal grounded.

“Is Colby okay?” Mia ran up to her friends and could see the worry on both of their faces, frowning. “They’re still not back here yet?” She was dressed in a purple outfit that was a tease to men, but comfortable enough to wrestle in and show her athletic abilities.

“No.” Anisa shook her head, eyes not moving from the monitor. “The official threw up the sign though…”

“Yeah, I saw that.” Mia stood on the other side of Krystal to offer her comfort, but it was shattered when a roaring Paul came stalking up to them.

“What the fuck was that?” Paul demanded, stalking up to his sister with a red face. “Did you know he was gonna do that, Krys?!”

“Paul, don’t yell at your sister like that!” Stephanie scolded, smacking him on the arm and pulled Krystal into her arms in a tight embrace. “Don’t mind your brother. He’s just upset right now.”

“Does anyone know what happened out there, Steph?”

Stephanie sighed, releasing Krystal to grab Paul’s hand and tried calming him down. “Something about Colby jumping script. Excuse me.”

Krystal felt huge tears slide down her cheeks and didn’t bother wiping them away. Paul had every right to be angry at Colby for jumping script. What the hell was going on with him lately? Now he was seriously injured and they had no idea the severity of his injury. Krystal knew about Colby’s past neck issues in ROH and having surgery. What if he had to go through that again? Her thoughts severed when the EMT’s came through the curtain with Joe and Jon hot on their trails just as Mia came running up to everyone.

“What happened out there?” Anisa asked Jon, keeping him beside her by grabbing his arm.

“I – I don’t know…” Jon shook his head, scrubbing a hand down his face. “He can’t move or feel anything. He’s knocked out and unresponsive. They’re taking him to the hospital…” He spoke quickly, following the EMT’s along with Anisa down the hallway toward the exit where the ambulance waited.

Paul stood there looking worried while Joe and Krystal hopped in the ambulance to go to the hospital with Colby. The EMT’s had a breathing mask over his mouth and kept him stable as possible, trying not to jolt too much. Mia had a match to do on Summerslam, so she asked Anisa to keep her posted on what was going on. She wasn’t upset with Joe for going with Colby since the man was like a brother to him. Jon couldn’t drive and handed the keys over to Anisa, both of them taking off after the ambulance. She’d already texted Phil to let him know what was going on since he’d also seen what happened to Colby and promised to be with everyone as soon as he could.

Hours passed by while Joe, Krystal, Jon and Anisa were forced to wait in the lobby for an update on Colby’s condition. Mia, Phil, Melanie, Paul and Stephanie joined them shortly after the event ended, also concerned about Colby. Mia straddled Joe and wrapped her arms around his head to where his ear pressed against her chest over her heart. Whenever he was angry or upset, this was the only position she could keep him calm in and didn’t care if they were in a hospital. Krystal was beside herself with worry and kept pacing in the lobby while texting Stuart. It was wrong, she knew it was, but he kept her calm somehow through the little contraption in her hand. He asked if she wanted him at the hospital with her and Krystal declined, needing to focus on just her boyfriend right now. The drama and issues with Stuart would have to wait until she was sure Colby would be alright.

Anisa could see how much Jon was fidgeting and kept her hand in his, their fingers laced together. “Come on, let’s go have a smoke outside and talk.” She suggested, standing up and guided Jon out of the hospital to the car. They couldn’t smoke directly outside of the building. “So what exactly happened out there?”

Now that Jon was a little calmer, he could talk about it without stumbling over his words like he did at the arena. “I don’t know. Joe was the one who was supposed to interfere in the match and Colby jumped script.” She and Krystal’s suspicions about that were confirmed. “I don’t know why he attacked Show either. He didn’t expect it and when he rammed Colby into the post, he couldn’t block the impact.”

“Oh god…” Anisa covered her mouth with her hand while Jon talked about the match. “So his back and…”

“His neck hit, yes.” Jon finished, taking another deep drag to let the nicotine filter through his body. “He was still awake when the EMT’s came out to get him and Colby managed to say he felt numb…”

That didn’t sound good at all. “So he had no feeling in his body at all?”

“I don’t know.” He hated saying that phrase and leaned back against the rental vehicle they drove here, blowing smoke out of his mouth. “I know Show was freaked out though. And Paul and Steph being up here definitely sets everyone on edge.”

The Shield was the biggest group to date in the WWE, along with the Wyatt Family, but they had dominated for the past year and a half. If Colby was seriously injured, especially his neck, it would jeopardize the current storyline in the company. Anisa felt horrible for Jon and didn’t know what to do or say to make him feel better about it. They’d just gotten back together and now this happened, just when everything was starting to normalize again. They smoked the rest of their cigarettes in silence before Anisa reached up to hug Jon close, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck.

“Everything is gonna be fine.” Anisa whispered in his ear, feeling him lift her to where her legs wrapped around his waist. He wanted her as close to him as possible. “I shouldn’t say this right now, but I’m glad it wasn’t you that got hurt tonight.”

Jon didn’t take that was an insult and buried his face in her neck, nodding. “Me too, darlin’.” The Shield was his career at the moment and if one of the members was out for a while due to injury, he had no idea what that would mean for him and Joe. “I’m a selfish bastard…”

“No you’re not.” Anisa argued softly, pulling back to look in his deep blues and kissed him tenderly. “The company won’t let you and Joe falter just because Colby is injured. Maybe you’ll finally get a single’s push.”

“Leave it to you to look on the bright side of things.”

For some odd reason, the power in the hospital had gone out during the day and their machines weren’t working. So the MRI and CAT scans would have to wait until morning because they had to be reprogrammed. Everyone wasn’t happy about the news, especially Krystal, but there was nothing they could do. Krystal sent everyone back to the hotel while she stayed with Colby, who was currently intubated to help him breathe. He hadn’t woken up yet and the doctors didn’t think he would for at least a couple of days. Krystal didn’t understand why this was happening and felt guilty for the kiss she had with Stuart. Was that why? Was she being punished and forced to realize how much she still did love Colby?

“I’m so sorry, Colby.” She whispered brokenly, kissing his hand and didn’t let go of it, tears rushing down her face. “Please wake up.”

Their relationship could be fixed, even if it meant going to therapy to make it happen. What happened with Stuart was just a kiss and nothing more. Krystal loved Colby and wanted to be with him, nobody else. She had to get over the fear of moving and just do it instead of picking fights with Colby. Moving wasn’t a big deal and it wasn’t like she’d never go back to Connecticut. Krystal ended up falling asleep with her head on Colby’s lap, praying he woke up so she could make everything right between them again.

Chapter 18

“He will never wake up again.”

“There’s too much swelling on his brain.”

“Even if he does wake up, he will need around the clock care for the rest of his life.”

“His wrestling career is over.”

Krystal felt numb from head to toe while listening to Colby’s diagnosis from the doctor. They already contacted Colby’s parents in Davenport, Iowa since they were his emergency contact instead of her. From the moment his parents arrived, Krystal was pushed out of the room while they made a decision on whether or not to pull the plug on their son. Ultimately, they decided to move Colby back to Davenport in hopes one day he would wake up again. The blow from being slammed into a steel pole neck and back first snapped his spine almost in half, paralyzing him from the neck down. No surgery could fix it either. Not only did his neck and back hit full force, but so did the back of his head, which in turn caused the swelling on his brain.

Colby Lopez was, for all intents and purposes, a vegetable.

Walking out of the hospital, Krystal didn’t break down until she got to the car and sat there for at least an hour sobbing. All the choices had been taken away from her regarding Colby. She was tossed out like a piece of trash instead of treating her like his girlfriend, the supposed love of his life, the woman he had badgered for months on end to move in with him. No, she was nothing to the Lopez family and it made Krystal wonder if she was ever part of his world to begin with. Or maybe she was just his on-road girlfriend while he had another on the side his family approved of. Colby had only taken Krystal home to Davenport a few times to see his family, so they barely knew her and vice versa. Not able to stay here any longer, Krystal put the car in reverse and peeled out of the parking lot, speeding back to the hotel with blurred vision. The past almost 24 hours had drained all the energy out of her, but she still had a job to do for Raw that night.

Jon and Joe found out about Colby’s diagnosis from Paul and Stephanie in a company meeting they put together at the last minute. Everyone was in shock by the news of Colby’s accident and Big Show had to excuse himself to go vomit in the bathroom. Jon held Anisa close while Joe did the same with Mia and Paul pulled his sister tightly in his chest while she openly cried. They would play a video montage of Colby and all his success at the beginning of Raw followed by an announcement from Michael Cole on what happened. After that, Jon and Joe went back to the Shield locker room to get ready for their match that night with Anisa, Mia and Krystal. Stuart was in the meeting and stood across the way from Krystal, but didn’t make a move toward her. She was visibly upset and the last thing he wanted to do was make it worse. Stuart would be there for her for anything she needed, even if it meant them being just friends.

“How about some coffee?” Mia offered quietly while the boys prepared to do the show without Colby, the tension thick in the air. “I’ll be right back.” She pecked Joe on the lips before vacating the room to go to catering.

Anisa had no idea how Jon felt or what he was thinking at the moment, hating how quiet he was. Normally, he and Joe would screw around with each other, but tonight they were stoic. Who could blame them? Their comrade’s wrestling career was over, a vegetable and the Shield had ended in the blink of an eye. Anisa wanted to believe this all happened for a reason, just like Coralie’s death, but she was having a hard time coming up with Colby being paralyzed. A few silent tears fell from her eyes that Anisa quickly wiped away, not wanting Jon to see her crying because it would upset him. Focusing on the show was the main goal, then they could become emotionally distressed later that night in the privacy of their hotel room.

If everyone thought nothing else dramatic would happen that night, they were mistaken.

Raw kicked off with the Wyatt Family – or so everyone assumed. It was the music of the Wyatt’s, but that’s not who came through the curtain. The fans went ballistic at the sight of none other than the Undertaker. Bray walked out moments later to stand beside the Deadman while Luke and Erick stayed behind them. The infamous Wyatt Family lantern still made an appearance as Bray walked down to the ring with Undertaker, a sick smile on his face. He sat in the rocking chair and blew the lantern out, forcing the arena lights to pop on. Undertaker was in a pair of black jeans and a leather vest, no shirt beneath. He had black shades over his eyes, his hair still a buzz cut and his goatee was grown out the way it had been back when he was the Lord of Darkness in 1999.

The secret was out. There was no point hiding in the shadows anymore. Walking over to the other side of the ring, Mark reached out and grabbed a microphone from the ring announcer, Lillian Garcia, before moving with fluid grace to the middle of his yard.

“Surprise.” He rumbled in a deep dark voice, slowly pulling the black shades from his acidic eyes to tuck in the front of his black muscle shirt tucked in the jeans. “You know, for years I have come out here and slain everyone in my path. And it’s no secret, I am not who I used to be in the ring. I am man enough to admit that. Even with the countless nights I have spent trying to heal myself from wars I’ve had in this ring, this sanctuary, it’s not enough anymore. I have to be honest with myself as well as all of you. It is time to look to the future – to MY new family.” Smirking, Mark gestured to the men standing behind him, looking like a proud father. “These men I’ve taken under my wing. No, they are not a ministry. Those days are behind me. No – no – no this is the new Family born and bred for destruction. MY Wyatt Family.”

Bray waited until Mark finished cutting the promo before moving to drop to his knees in front of him with his arms outstretched. Luke and Erick moved to stand behind Bray, one with the lamb mask and the other with crazy dark eyes. Mark stepped up to Bray and placed his hand on the man’s forehead, rolling his eyes in the back of his head, thunder rumbling throughout the arena. It was deafening how loud the crowd was and overwhelmed Mark’s ring entrance along with all the cell phone lights that looked similar to cigarette lighters back in the day when Mark was on top of the WWE.

Anisa watched the entire segment in silence, shaking like a leaf and knew without a shadow of a doubt Bray lied to her about everything. There was no ‘maybe’ about it anymore. The Wyatt Family was bred by Mark and she wanted to know what Bray’s orders were when it came to her. When it came to them sleeping together. Drama with Colby and now her ex-husband was too much for Anisa to handle. Anger overcame all over other emotion she felt as Anisa rose to her feet and stormed out of the locker room with purpose.

“Anisa? Anisa, wait!”

She wasn’t hearing anyone though. Jon and Joe were on their way to the ring for their match, so they had no idea what was happening. She preferred it that way. Jon would only try to stop her from what she had to do. Just as she arrived at gorilla position, the Wyatt Family and her ex-husband stepped through the curtain. Anisa made a beeline for Mark, wanting to claw his eyes out for everything he’d put her through lately, but Bray quickly stepped in front of him.

“Get out of my way!” Anisa shouted, not bothering to hide her disdain for Mark, her eyes nothing more than midnight blue fire.

“Stand down, Anisa.” Bray ordered, wondering if she’d lost her mind coming here to confront them by herself. Didn’t she know how dangerous her ex-husband was?

“Go fuck yourself, Wyatt.” Anisa kept her eyes on Mark. “I’m not afraid of you – any of you. You’ve got some serious explaining to do, Mark William Calaway! What the fuck is this about? What did you order Bray to do with me? I know everything, so you might as well come clean now, asshole!”

Stroking his black beard that wasn’t nearly as long as Bray’s, Mark considered his ex-wife’s demand and shrugged. “Be more specific, Nissie.”

For some reason, the plane ticket ordeal months ago came to mind. Jon’s seat ended up being switched with Bray’s, so she was forced to make the flight sitting with Bray. That’s what started their brief relationship the more she thought about it. Did Mark have something to do with it?

“The plane tickets.”

Mark knew exactly what she was talking about and chuckled wickedly, the sound resonating around the area they stood in. “The tickets were swapped. Couldn’t very well let you have a happy ending with the boy, now could I?” Divorced or not, Anisa belonged to him and always would until the day she died.

Her eyes suddenly locked with guilty ice blues of Bray. “So all that time you were comforting me during my rough patch with Jon. It was all a lie, wasn’t it? You were following orders from him, weren’t you?”

Mark didn’t let Bray speak and stepped forward, pushing the man to the side. “I needed eyes to watch over my property.” He made it sound like it should’ve been obvious what was happening all this time.

“You sick mother fucker.” Anisa spat angrily, clenching her fists tightly at her sides so she didn’t lash out and strike her ex-husband. “Let me show you something, Calaway.” Pulling something out of her back pocket, Anisa opened her wallet and flashed her driver’s license at him. “You see that? My last name isn’t Calaway and hasn’t been for a long time. It’s Brooks. MY family’s name, the name I will never again dismiss, even if I do get married again. And it damn sure won’t be with the likes of you or your cronies. You see this?” She held her left hand up, revealing nothing on her left ring finger. “I got rid of my wedding band that linked to you because I couldn’t stand having a single thing attached to you. I have NO ties to you, no children, NOTHING! I’m with Jon now, no matter how many times you try to split us up. I love him, NOT you.”

“Then it looks like there’s only one option left.”

“What is that?”

“Make your boy disappear.”

Overcome with emotion, huge tears slid down Anisa’s face as she slowly backed away from her ex-husband and the Wyatt Family. After all the pain he caused her, everything she’d gone through, he wouldn’t let her be happy. Mark wasn’t happy in his marriage, so naturally Anisa couldn’t find happiness without him. The only person she wanted at that moment was Jon. There was nothing more to say to Mark. Anisa knew the truth and now she wished she hadn’t gone after it. Shaking her head, Anisa bolted down the hallway toward the Shield locker room as fast as she could, tears flying behind her.

~!~

“You have to go see your sister now.”

Phil looked up at his girlfriend with an arched brow. “What happened?” He got to his feet at how shaken Melanie was.

“I – I tried to stop her, but…”

Phil didn’t waste another second and flew out of his dressing room toward the Shield’s, or what was left of it. He burst through the door and stopped at the sight of his sister curled up in Jon’s arms sobbing violently. Jon looked helpless while holding her as tight as he could without hurting her, his blue eyes begging Phil for some kind of assistance. He didn’t know what to do for his girlfriend and it killed him to hear her heart wrenching sobs. Somehow, Phil managed to calm Anisa down enough to where she could speak to them without hiccoughing. It too broke his heart to see his sister in such turmoil and something told him it had to do with Mark’s surprise appearance on the show. Slowly, Anisa told Phil, Jon and Joe what happened with Mark and everything she found out. Phil swallowed his anger down along with everyone else in the room and lowered his body to be eyelevel with his sister, reaching out to wipe her tears away with his thumbs.

“Tell me what to do, sis. Give me permission to finally end this for good.” Phil begged, not knowing how much longer he could hold back from killing Mark Calaway and held Anisa’s face gently.

“Crush him.” She whispered, turning to bury her face in Jon’s chest and held onto him for dear life, never wanting to let him go again.

Mark’s words cut her deep when it came to hurting Jon. She loved him so much and knew if Mark really wanted to get rid of Jon, he would in a heartbeat. Jon hoped Phil had a plan to demolish Mark once and for all. If he did, he wanted in and he was sure Joe wanted a piece as well. After Raw, Jon took Anisa back to the hotel and wasn’t surprised when she fell asleep while they sat in traffic on the way. It took them a half an hour to get down the street from the arena and Jon refused to wake her up. He lifted her in his arms and carried her inside, cradling her to his chest. The dark circles around them were slowly diminishing, but not fast enough for Jon’s liking. He planned on making her relax, having talked to Joe about their upcoming days off.

Instead of going to Vegas or Atlanta, he was taking Anisa to Pensacola, Florida so she could finally go wedding dress shopping with Mia. The girls needed a break with everything that happened and Krystal planned on tagging along too since she was a bridesmaid. With Colby permanently out of action, Jon and Joe had to strategize and figure out what the next step was in each of their careers. Singles or a tag team? Laying Anisa down, Jon brushed his mouth to hers softly and removed her shoes to make her more comfortable. He hadn’t let her in on his plan yet and decided to wait until tomorrow to tell her. After a quick shower, Jon crawled into bed in a pair of black boxer/briefs and wrapped his arms around Anisa, burying his nose in her hair falling fast asleep.

Mark Calaway was about to be introduced to the real world of hardcore.

Chapter 19

“Wait, we’re not going to Vegas for our days off?”

Jon shook his head and continued packing, zipping his bag up. “No. Mia needs to find a wedding dress and she wants her Maid of Honor with her. Krystal is invited too.” They all could use a getaway and Joe’s place in Pensacola seemed the most logical.

“Do you think it’s a good idea to bring Krystal with us given what happened to Colby?” Anisa asked quietly, staring out the window of their hotel room deep in thought. “I don’t wanna make her feel like a 5^th wheel.”

“She won’t.” Jon walked over to wrap his arms around her waist, resting his chin on her bare shoulder. “We’re bringing Stuart with us for the trip, but it’s a secret. He’s gonna stay at a nearby hotel in case Krystal needs him.”

The men in their lives had everything figured out and planned, leaving little room for argument. Anisa honestly didn’t mind going to Pensacola, having gone a few times and fell in love with Joe’s home. It wasn’t too big, but not too small either – the perfect size for a man of his stature. Going shopping for Mia’s wedding would be a nice distraction from everything that transpired lately too. Turning around in Jon’s arms, Anisa didn’t need to jump because he was already one step ahead of her. Lifting her from the carpeted floor, Jon held Anisa against him with ease and captured her mouth in a passionate kiss, both of them in just towels from a shower they just had together.

“Keep this up and we’ll miss our flight, darlin’…” Jon muttered in a low voice against her ear, caressing her sides with his strong hands.

“Would that be such a terrible thing?” Anisa remarked cheekily, midnight blues glistening with need and want for the man currently holding her up with pure strength.

Jon growled softly, grazing the flesh of her neck with his teeth. “Didn’t get enough this morning and in the shower?”

Anisa whimpered, shaking her head. “I could never get enough of you, Jon…” They still had a lot of loss time to make up for. “I missed you so much…”

“I know. Me too, Ani.” He sat on the bed with her straddling his lap and deftly removed the towel from her body, immediately going on the attack of her breasts.

Moaning, Anisa lulled her head back and felt Jon pull her closer, his tongue swirling teasingly around her nipple sending shivers down her spine. “Jon…” Her fingers had a mind of their own and buried in his thick unruly wet curls, Anisa becoming lost in the sensuality of this moment.

Pounding on the door jolted both Jon and Anisa out of their passion hazes, especially when Joe’s deep voice flowed through the room. “You guys better be ready! The plane leaves in an hour!”

Of all the times Joe had to interrupt them, it had to be now. Jon was officially annoyed with his best friend and pulled back to lock eyes with Anisa. She wanted him as much as he wanted her, but they couldn’t leave Joe and Mia standing outside the door either. Grumbling a few choice words, Jon stood up and deposited Anisa on the bed, giving her a searing kiss full of promise to finish what they started later. Anisa received the message loud and clear, winking and began to dress while Jon went to let Joe and Mia in. Krystal was with them, but didn’t look happy about it, black shades over her eyes.

“Did we – uh – interrupt something?” Joe asked, sucking down half a bottled water and tossed Jon one, knowing he’d need it.

“Yeah, but nothing I can’t fix later. Come in, we’re just finishing getting ready.” Jon walked back to the bedroom and slipped through the door to grab his clothes to put on.

10 minutes later, everyone was on the way to the airport with Jon and Anisa sitting in the middle seats while Krystal took the far back. Anisa glanced back at her a few times, seeing stray tears sliding down her cheeks from beneath the shades she had on. Her heart broke for Krystal, not knowing what she’d do if what happened to Colby was Jon instead. Then again, Colby had changed in recent weeks and not for the better, especially pressuring his girlfriend to move in with him. Jon had the same track of mind and decided, as much as he wanted Anisa to move to Vegas with him, he would not mention it until she did. The last thing he wanted to do was pressure her into something she wasn’t ready for, like Colby had done to Krystal.

“Is he on his way?” Jon quietly asked Joe, leaning forward to where he spoke in his friend’s ear.

Joe nodded, glancing at Jon through the rearview and caught glimpse of Krystal curled up in the backseat. She hadn’t removed the shades from her eyes and had a hooded sweatshirt on with the hood over her head to hide from the world. Hopefully they weren’t making a mistake by inviting Stuart along for their days off. They were good friends and Joe figured if anyone could help Krystal through what happened to Colby, it was Stuart. Mia had her reservations and he didn’t know if Jon let Anisa in on what was going on, so he kept his voice low while talking. Anisa wanted to sit in the back with Krystal, not wanting her to be alone, but at the same time she didn’t want to be away from Jon either.

Arriving at the airport, everyone boarded the plane and luckily they were next to each other. Krystal took the window seat and kept her eyes on it, leaving her shades on. The couples sat together, so that left her all alone and Krystal deserved it. She deserved to be alone after what she did to Colby and what happened to him. Even though she had no idea he’d jump script on Paul Wight, Krystal still blamed herself for it. Being stubborn about the whole moving in must’ve pushed Colby to attack Wight and, in turn, ended his wrestling career. She didn’t see the person sit beside her and leaned her head against the seat, closing her eyes to let more tears flow.

“I’m here for you, love.”

That deep English accented voice snapped Krystal out of her temporary despair, but she didn’t turn around. “What are you doing here, Stuart?” She asked in a monotone, sniffling.

He didn’t expect her to be happy to see him. “Need a vacation and heard Pensacola, Florida was the perfect place to escape.” Stu reached over to take her hand and laced their fingers together, prepared to be pushed away. “I was worried about you. Still am.”

“Or maybe you’re just looking for an easy piece of ass.” Krystal kept her voice down and instantly regretted saying that to Stuart, fresh tears falling.

Stu didn’t take that heart and kept her hand in his, stroking the back of it with his thumb. “No Krystal, sex is the last thing on my mind. I am here for anything you need. So if that is sex, so be it. If not, just tell me what you want and it’s yours.”

This time, Krystal did turn to look at him and slowly pulled the shades from her bloodshot, swollen eyes. “Sex is the last thing on my mind, Bennett.” All she could do was cry and let the guilt slowly tear her apart.

“You need rest.” Stu murmured, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and lifted the armrest to give them more room. “Come on, lie your head down and close your eyes. I am not going anywhere.” He stroked her hair gently and soothingly, lulling the emotionally drained woman he cared a great deal for to sleep against him.

~!~

Meeting Joe’s mother, Patricia, at the wedding dress shop the following day was truly the best distraction. From Colby’s unfortunate accident to Mark’s reappearance as the Wyatt Family’s leader, everyone needed a break from the company. Krystal sat beside her while Patricia took the other side of Anisa, holding her hand with a smile. When Mia walked out in the same wedding dress she originally tried on weeks ago, Anisa felt tears sting her eyes at how breathtakingly beautiful her best friend looked.

“That’s it. That’s the one.”

“You really think so?” Anisa’s opinion meant everything to Mia and she was the happiest bride-to-be now that most of her wedding party was here.

Anisa beamed brightly and emphatically nodded, taking both of Mia’s hands in hers. “Absolutely. I’d never lie to you, Mia. This dress was made for you and nobody else.”

They embraced tearfully and brought Krystal into the fold, not wanting to leave her out of the tender moment. Mia and Anisa had known each other for a long time and now one of them was getting married. With her wedding to Mark, Mia had been there every step of the way from the moment of the proposal to the day Anisa signed the divorce papers. Anisa was confident in saying and thinking Mia would never get divorced from Joe, unless he made a fatal mistake the way Mark had.

“I can’t believe you’re getting married.” Anisa whispered, cupping Mia’s face and kissed her forehead. “Just remember, I’m always here for you even if you are gonna be an old married hag.”

Mia barked out a watery laugh and smacked Anisa on the arm, rolling her eyes. “Don’t call me that! God! I’m not THAT old.” She grumped, turning to face her future mother-in-law and accepted a loving hug from her too. “Thank you for coming today. Sorry about last time.”

“I told you, no need to apologize sweetheart.” Patricia smoothed out her soft black hair down her shoulders and couldn’t believe her baby boy was getting married. “Just make my baby happy, you hear me?”

“I promise, Patty.” Mia hugged her again and then went to change out of the dress, not wanting to ruin it before her big day.

While Mia changed, Anisa walked outside with Krystal to have a smoke break and to hopefully strike up a conversation with her. “So, how are you feeling? Did you get any sleep last night?”

Krystal shrugged, slipping her black shades back on. “Some. Stuart stayed up texting me late though. Whose idea was it to bring him to Pensacola?”

“Jon and Joe’s. They figured he’d be able to help you through what’s going on. Because we all know you’ve blamed yourself over what happened to Colby.” Anisa blew smoke out of her mouth before taking another drag, flicking ash away. There was no point in lying to her.

“I should’ve just moved in with him. Then maybe none of this would’ve happened.” Krystal cleared her throat to keep from crying and leaned back against the building out of the sunlight. “I just – I don’t understand why he jumped script in the first place. I can’t help blame myself for his brash behavior as of late, no matter if I have zero control over what someone does. I don’t get it.”

Neither did Anisa. She’d been going over what happened with Colby over and over in her head, but nothing made sense. Jon had done the same thing. She knew Joe and even Mia probably had too. There had to be a reason for it. None of them would have the answer until Colby decided to wake up one day, if he ever did. Wrapping an arm around Krystal’s shoulders, Anisa assured her everything would be fine and they’d find the answer eventually. Mia and Patricia joined moments later, the women deciding to go out for a nice lunch at a local restaurant. For the first time in months, Anisa felt completely relaxed and was determined to enjoy herself. They all toasted Mia’s impending wedding to Joe, which was in a little over a month’s time.

~!~

The only thing Joe and Jon had to take care of were their tuxedos for the wedding. Mia hadn’t asked for anything else, so Joe was leaving the rest of the planning up to her and his mother unless they requested something else. Lounging around in basketball shorts and bare chests, Joe and Jon went to battle on the PS3, trying to relax. They called Stuart asking him to join in the fun, but the Englishman declined, not wanting to push Krystal too far too fast. She’d been through enough lately.

“So, what the fuck do you think they’re gonna do with us now?”

Joe shrugged, pausing the game to grab a beer out of the mini fridge he had set up in the game room. “I have no idea, bro. I guess we’ll have to go our separate ways and start having single’s careers.” He didn’t want to talk about that during their few days off. “Anyway, how’s Anisa doing?”

“She’s hanging in there.” Jon smiled tentatively, leaning back against the couch with his own longneck and took a swig from it. “This Mark shit needs to end soon though. She’s not sleeping much unless I wear her out.”

There was something else twinkling in his friend’s blue eyes, but Joe couldn’t quite put his finger on what it was. “What aren’t you telling me?” He leaned forward, resting his forearms on his knees and glanced at the clock, wondering what was taking the girls so long at the dress shop.

“I’ve been thinking about asking Anisa to move in with me. I know it’s a huge step for her to take after her marriage to the asshole. And we’ve been put through the ringer the past 6 months, but I love her. I want her with me in every way, not just on our days off.” Jon didn’t open up fully with a lot of people, but he did with Joe. They were family, after all, not just best friends.

“Does that include marriage and kids?”

Jon merely shrugged, standing up to walk over to the open screen door leading to the back deck and lit a cigarette. “Not really worried about it right now. If she wants marriage, I’m willing to try it again. But something tells me she doesn’t want marriage and I don’t blame her. Hell, we’ve both been through hell in marriages. If it happens, it happens and if it doesn’t, we can be happy just being together.” He wasn’t touching the subject of kids. “Is it too soon to ask her?”

Understanding where his friend came from, Joe respected Jon’s wishes regarding the marriage question. “I don’t know, bro. That’s something you need to figure out for yourself. I was 100% ready when I asked Mia to marry me and share our lives together. She wants kids and so do I, so it works for us. But you guys are different and have a different relationship. You’ll know when you’re ready to ask her though and don’t rush it either. She’s not going anywhere unless you push her too fast.”

They ended the conversation and went back to gaming, each in their own deep thoughts about the women in their lives.

Chapter 20

Doing their best to stay out of the war with the Wyatt Family, Mark Callaway, what was left of the Shield and Phil proved to be a waste of time. They were in it and about to find out the hard way. Phil and Melanie decided to join the Orton’s at their St. Louis home for their days off while Jon, Anisa and Krystal went to Pensacola, Florida with Joe and Mia. Phil’s penthouse in Chicago had to be fixed due to water damage, so it was either stay with Ryanne and Randy or another hotel. Ryanne needed help baby shopping and Randy planned on having the nursery completed with Phil’s help while the girls were gone. 6 almost 7 months pregnant, Ryanne was running out of time to get everything done and had started nesting, wanting everything to be perfect for their baby boy.

Melanie had a sister who recently had a baby and she helped pick out all the décor for her niece’s room. She was the one who offered her help, without Phil knowing, until later that night when they were alone in the hotel. Phil wasn’t thrilled about going baby shopping, but that was until Melanie told him to help Randy with the nursery while the girls had a shopping day. It’d been a while since Phil and Randy hung out together and Melanie had gotten close to Ryanne due to having baby fever of her own. Phil didn’t need to know that though, not this soon into their relationship.

“What color did you want to paint the room, Ry?” Randy asked while they stood in the 4 car garage that held his yellow Hummer and 3 other vehicles. It still had enough room to store a few things…like buckets of paint. “Didn’t we decide on lime green?”

Ryanne frowned, shaking her head and rubbed her pregnant belly soothingly. “I don’t think so. I wanted to do a jungle theme, but now I’m thinking the walls should be blue.”

This was the third time Ryanne had changed her mind in the past month, which explained the 10 buckets of paint in all different colors. “I thought you said blue was too cliché, sweetheart?” He reminded her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders.

“I know – I know, but lime green…” Ryanne shuddered, rubbing the back of her neck. “I just don’t want it too bright or too dark for him. I’m sorry…” Her hormones had taken Ryanne on a whirlwind of emotions lately, so it was no surprise when tears began falling. “I’m so confused!”

Melanie decided to step in and took over for Randy, holding Ryanne close while looking down at the different paint bucket colors. “It’s okay, Ryanne, we’ll figure this out. You said you wanted a jungle theme, right?”

Ryanne nodded, sniffling and slowly began calming down, wiping her tears away. “Yeah…”

“So, why not do either a brown or beige? I personally would go with beige because it’s light enough to where you can add décor on the walls if you want. Decals or whatever you have in mind, but it’s still color as well.” Melanie suggested, seeing Ryanne’s emerald eyes light up and secretly winked over at a relieved Randy.

“White woodwork and ceiling would look good too.” Phil piped in, proud of his girlfriend for calming the insane pregnant one down – or so that’s what he referred to Ryanne lately because of her crazy hormones.

Ryanne beamed, doing a complete 180 on her emotions and turned to her husband, leaning up to kiss him softly. “Beige and white sounds perfect.” She rubbed her nose gently against his, stroking his slightly scruffy jaw. “Thanks for putting up with me.”

Chuckling, Randy slid his hands down her back until he came in contact with her backside, giving it a gentle squeeze. “Always sweetheart, always.” He planned on having the beige and white paint while the girls were gone on their shopping trip for the baby’s room. “Now go have fun with Mel and enjoy yourself. Leave everything else to me and Phil.”

“Okay, but not before I pee first. Your son is being lethal with my bladder.” Ryanne rushed into the house as fast as she could, hearing Melanie’s giggles follow her.

Phil laughed, shaking his head and grabbed two of the beige paint buckets while Randy grabbed the white, both heading into the house up to the nursery. “Thanks for coming to help us, man. We really appreciate it.” Randy popped open the beige paint and poured some in the long bucket for the walls.

“No problem. Melanie was the one who suggested it.”

“You really like her, don’t you?” Randy had noticed a huge change in his friend ever since he started dating Melanie.

Phil smiled genuinely, dipping the paint roller and began priming the walls with primer so the beige wouldn’t crack. “Yeah, she’s great. A godsend, really. After Coralie died…” He stopped, clearing his throat because it still hurt to mention her name. Phil hadn’t talked about her since the funeral and maybe it was time since he’d moved on with Melanie. “It was almost like she was a resurrection in the version of Coralie I always wanted. Does that make sense?”

“She’s definitely a gem compared to Coralie. No offense, but I have no idea what you were thinking being with her.”

Phil raised a brow, pausing the priming to look over at his best friend. “I thought you got along with her because of Ryanne…”

“Ry and Coralie were best friends like me and you. I tolerated her because of Ryanne and you when you started dating, but that’s it. She had this attitude that always rubbed me the wrong way. Ryanne didn’t see it and neither did you, so I didn’t feel it was right to point out. When she started cheating on you…”

“We don’t know if she did or not.” Phil cut him off, wondering how long Randy felt this way about Coralie. “I never realized how much you disliked her. Does Ryanne know how you feel?”

Randy swallowed hard, shaking his head. “I’m afraid she’d divorce me if I told her how I felt about Coralie. The woman is dead. I’m not talking about her dead best friend, especially while she’s pregnant.” He wasn’t that stupid or had a death wish. “Anyway, I like Mel more than Coralie. End of story.”

“So do I.” Phil murmured, looking up at the ceiling of the baby’s nursery and hoped Coralie was the one who sent Melanie into his life. “And I love her.”

“Promise me we keep this between us.” Randy thrust his fist out toward Phil and he bumped it, both of them deciding to take this conversation with them to the grave. “So, beige or white first?”

~!~

“So, what are we looking for first?” Melanie asked, looping her arm through Ryanne’s to keep the woman from falling since she couldn’t see her feet anymore.

“We need everything and hopefully they can have it shipped to the house.”

Melanie grinned, patting Ryanne’s hand. “Leave it to me. I’ll make sure everything goes the way you want it. My sister called me an angel when I went shopping with her for my niece, Khloe.”

Ryanne had no idea why she was so drawn to Melanie considering her best friend had died only months prior. It was hard not to like Melanie, she was so warm, caring and loving wrapped in the perfect package. How Phil ever managed to meet her was beyond Ryanne, but they’d quickly became close. Ryanne hadn’t befriended anyone as fast as Melanie since Coralie and surprisingly, she didn’t feel guilty about it. Though if Phil ever gave this wonderful woman up, Ryanne would personally shove her foot up his backside.

“How old is your niece now?”

Melanie had to think about it for a few seconds. “She’s about 8 months now. I haven’t talked to my sister in a few months, come to think of it. I should call her sometime…”

“Maybe you can do it tonight after we’re done shopping. Just to check up on your niece and see if you can go visit them soon.” Ryanne suggested, stopping when the baby decided to kick and knocked the wind out of her temporarily. “Damn, this kid is gonna be a football player if he keeps kicking like this.”

“Are you alright?” Melanie asked, concern lacing her voice and wondered if going shopping was the smart thing to do. “It’s not a contraction, is it?”

“No, I’m fine really. Just give me a minute and we can walk again. The shop is just a little ways down.” They were in downtown St. Louis and had to park a few blocks away from the baby shop Ryanne wanted to make all of her purchases for the nursery. “Okay, let’s go.”

10 minutes later, they were walking through the baby shop that had gorgeous furniture and décor, everything Ryanne wanted for her jungle theme. She was a huge animal lover and so was Randy, so the theme worked in both their favor. Though Randy did want to do a St. Louis Cardinals theme that Ryanne quickly dismissed, not wanting their baby surrounded by sports right out of the womb. They shopped for a few hours and finally decided on a dark brown 4-in-1 crib, matching dresser, changing table, jungle themed décor for the walls along with decals and a border Ryanne wasn’t sure if they’d need yet or not. Standing in line to purchase everything they picked out, Ryanne was busy admiring a jungle themed photo frame while Melanie looked around the shop. She felt eyes on them, but couldn’t find the culprit, until she heard a little shuffling to the right.

Standing across the way near the exit doors was Luke Harper and Erick Rowan.

“What the hell?” Melanie whispered, moving a few steps closer to the checkout cashier, but kept one eye on Luke and Erick.

What were they supposed to do? Melanie didn’t want Ryanne to see them because she would panic. Luke and Erick noticed they’d been spotted, slowly making their way toward them. Melanie had to act fast, running out of the shop was pointless so she had to create some kind of diversion. She just hoped Ryanne was on board and ready to make a run for it. They’d have to come back to purchase everything for the baby’s room. Melanie pulled her cell phone out and texted Phil, letting him know where they were and what was happening – more importantly, who was in the baby shop.

“Ryanne, we have to go.” She whispered, standing directly behind the pregnant woman. “Don’t turn around. Just do what I say, okay?”

Confused, Ryanne felt another kick in her abdomen and groaned softly, just nodding at whatever her friend wanted to do. “Everything okay?” She whispered back, looking over her shoulder and felt every part of her body freeze at the sight of Luke Harper and Erick Rowan. “Oh my god…”

“Relax and look forward, I got my eyes on them if they try to make a move.” Melanie assured her, placing a hand on her friend’s shoulder and stepped forward again as another customer left the shop.

It was now or never. There was a voice command application on her smartphone and Melanie downloaded it to show Phil later that night. It was funny at all the different voice tones it held and there happened to be one that sounded like a monster. The application was already open, so all Melanie had to do was press the ‘play’ button to create the only diversion she could think of. She supposed they could fake Ryanne’s water breaking, but Melanie didn’t want to draw that much attention. A little chaos is all they needed to escape the two behemoths currently making their way toward them.

“FIRE!!!!!!!!!!!”

The shop was busy and everyone started panicking, including the workers. Melanie grabbed Ryanne’s hand and ducked throughout the chaos to another aisle while people made a beeline for the exit. She could hear Luke and Rowan growling over the noise, but the problem was they were too tall to be swallowed up by the crowd in the shop. Somehow miraculously, Ryanne and Melanie made it out of the shop unscathed, running as fast as Ryanne could toward their parked car.

“THERE THEY ARE!”

“SHIT!” Melanie cursed, wondering how the behemoths escaped the shop so quickly and wished Ryanne could run a little faster. “Ryanne!”

Quickly catching up with the women, Luke snatched Melanie from Ryanne while Erick pinned Ryanne to the nearby car. “Let me go!!” Ryanne cried out, trembling from head to toe and felt tears slide down her cheeks since Erick had both of her wrists captured above her head pressed to the car window.

“Don’t fight me, girl. You won’t like what happens if you don’t listen.” Erick warned, a sick smirk crossing his face and lowered his hand to caress her pregnant belly, groaning in her ear. “So hard…”

Ryanne felt the chunks rising in her throat, not moving an inch and looked over at Luke having his hands on Melanie. He was 3 times her size, but Melanie wasn’t going down without a fight. That was until Erick threatened to cut the fetus out of Ryanne’s womb. Ryanne sobbed openly while Melanie stopped fighting against Luke, staring up into his dark unforgiving eyes. What did they want with them?

“Please don’t hurt her.” Melanie murmured pleadingly, not caring what happened to her as long as Ryanne and the baby were safe. “Do what you want with me, but let her go.”

“Mmm I don’t know about that.” Erick growled, enjoying the soft skin against his fingertips.

“Erick will take care of her, don’t worry, precious.”

Melanie didn’t like the sound of that, hoping Phil received her text message or else they would more than likely be taken away by these behemoths. Suddenly, the squeal of a car echoed behind them and jolted Luke and Erick out of their sick euphoria with the women. Randy and Phil jumped out of the yellow Hummer, running toward them and Erick wasn’t amused, locking eyes with the pregnant beauty in his arms.

“This isn’t over, sluts.”

“Definitely not.”

They took off down the sidewalk away from the women just as Randy and Phil joined them, each going straight to their loves. Ryanne clung to her husband for dear life, sobbing uncontrollably and felt her knees give out, Randy instantly lifting her against him. Melanie wiped the few tears from her face that fell from her eyes, assuring Phil she was fine. They were just scared and thankfully nothing major happened. Taking them back to the house, Ryanne passed out from exhaustion while Melanie did the same thing against Phil. He stroked her hair while Randy paced back and forth, finally stopping in front of his best friend with determined ice cold eyes.

“I want in the fight. I’m gonna RKO Erick Rowan straight to hell for touching my wife.”

Phil could only nod and knew this war had just taken a very interesting turn.

Chapter 21

Go to the spa and relax.

We went to work out for a few hours.

Enjoy yourselves and take your time.

Smiling at the note, Anisa’s heart fluttered at how thoughtful Jon and Joe were to send them to the spa down the street. They’d been worried about the girls with everything happening lately and wanted them to relax. A spa with facials, massages and anything else they wanted was just the ticket. Anisa bounced out of the kitchen in excitement and rushed upstairs to wake Mia and Krystal up, leaving the note behind.

“Wait, the boys actually planned a spa day for us?” Mia blinked, trying to fully wake up and yawned, stretching her arms in the air. “That doesn’t sound like them at all.”

“I know, I think Stu chipped in for Krystal too.” He was still staying at the hotel a few blocks away from Joe’s house. “Now we just have to go wake her up and-”

“Tell me about the spa day Joe, Jon and Stu planned for us?”

Both Anisa and Mia jumped at the sound of Krystal’s voice from behind them, their heads snapping around with wide eyes. Krystal folded her arms in front of her chest, looking bright-eyed and bushytailed. Anisa opened and closed her mouth, but no words came out while Mia tried dislodging her heart from her throat.

“I just…”

“We were just…”

“So, do you know for a fact Stu pitched in?” Krystal walked into the room and sat down next to Mia, dressed in a pair of skinny jeans and short sleeved black top.

Anisa narrowed her eyes thoughtfully. “What if he did?”

It was Krystal’s turn to look sheepish, lowering her own gaze to her lap. “It’d be a nice gesture on his part…I guess.”

She was confused by these sudden feelings for Stuart when her ex was turned into a vegetable only days ago. Then again, these feelings had festered ever since Krystal met Stuart and they became friends. When Colby’s attitude changed and he started treating her badly all because she wouldn’t move in with him, Krystal gravitated toward Stuart for comfort. The man was sweet and his accent turned her insides to mush. Krystal felt guilty and knew it was wrong to want to be with another man so soon. Deep down, she knew Stuart was part of the reason why she hadn’t moved in with Colby.

“So what’s going on between you two anyway?” Anisa had to ask, scooting closer to Krystal and gave her undivided attention.

Krystal shrugged, trying to brush the question off. “We’re friends. There’s nothing going on between us. I don’t even know why he’s staying in a hotel in Pensacola when he has a place in Tampa.”

“Maybe he likes you and wants to be here for you.” Mia stood up from bed to grab some clothes to change into. “Clearly he likes you and you must like him or else you would’ve sent him packing.”

“No. I don’t like him – like that!” Krystal argued, scoffing with a roll of her eyes and got to her feet. “He’s a good friend of mine and that’s it. I can’t – I mean, he’s handsome and sweet and everything, but I just lost Colby and…”

Anisa grabbed Krystal by the shoulders and locked eyes with her. “Don’t do that, sweetie. If you like Stuart, don’t be afraid to show it. Colby treated you horribly over the last few months before his accident. There’s nothing wrong with moving on and Stu feels something for you or else he wouldn’t be here. He wouldn’t be staying in a hotel just in case you need him. Don’t feel guilty about it either. What happened to Colby isn’t your fault and you weren’t that important in his life or his family’s, or else they would’ve included you on what to do with him.”

“She has a point – actually several valid points.” Mia piped in, slipping into jeans and managed to change into a tank top without her friends seeing her bra, removing the negligee she wore over her head. “I say go for it with Stuart. He’s a hot piece of English meat we both know you wanna sink your teeth into.” Sometimes Mia could be too blunt about certain subjects in life.

Krystal’s cheeks flamed up instantly, the crimson red painting her skin telling both Mia and Anisa all they needed to know. “Shit.” She muttered, sinking back down on the bed. “Maybe I do like him a little, but I don’t even know where to start trying to date him. I mean, we’re friends and he’s never shown me a sign he wants more than friendship from me.”

“Or maybe he has and you just haven’t noticed it.” Anisa pointed out, tossing Mia one of her shoes tucked under the bed. “Come on, let’s go to the spa, relax and talk more about this.”

“And maybe give you some pointers on how to deal with the English stud too.”

Mia was in a playful mood for some reason and it was a nice a change of pace considering all the hell they’d been through lately. The girls finished getting ready and headed out to the spa, laughing and having a great time. Even Krystal joined in and she had to admit it felt wonderful to be happy again, smiling as well. They walked into the spa and decided on facials first before full body massages. Turning their cell phones on silent so they wouldn’t be disturbed, each woman undressed and slipped into a soft fleece white robe. They never saw the countless calls and text messages from Melanie and Ryanne warning them about the danger more than likely headed their way.

“Oh my god, this feel so heavenly…”

“I don’t remember the last time I felt so relaxed.”

“Ditto.”

The women were in their glory, but that still didn’t deter Anisa and Mia from Krystal’s current issue. “So, have you decided on how to approach Mr. Bennett?” Anisa decided to bring the subject up again while their faces were painted in a light cucumber cream.

Krystal sighed while her face was rubbed and caressed, shrugging since shaking her head wasn’t a current option. “No, I honestly forgot about it until now.” She secretly hoped her friends had as well.

“I think you should show up at his hotel room after we’re done here since you’ll be plucked, waxed and freshly massaged. We can go shopping, get you a knockout outfit so you can rock his world.” Mia grinned, laughing along with Anisa while Krystal rolled her eyes at both of them.

“Has anyone ever called you the terror twins?”

“More like the terror bitches, but you’re close enough.”

“I can’t do that. Showing up to his hotel room in what exactly?” Krystal’s curiosity had gotten the better of her and the question left her mouth before she could stop it.

Anisa held her hand up before Mia could speak and smiled softly. “We’re not saying show up in slutty lingerie and tackle him to the floor, Krys.” She assured the timid woman. “We can find you a suitable outfit -Preferably a dress because your legs are to die for- and get your hair and makeup done, if you want. We can make you look more stunning than you already are and maybe Stuart will take you out to dinner or something.”

“I don’t know…”

“What do you have to lose?” Mia demanded, sitting up a little and grunted when the person working on her face pushed her back down. “Sorry…”

“Besides my dignity and pride? Not to mention my sanity?” Krystal shot back, folding her arms in front of her chest and felt cucumber slices placed over her eyes.

“But he likes you. So it’s a win-win situation.” Mia pressed, refusing to give up until Krystal at least gave Stuart a chance. “Just make the first move and let him do the rest of the work.”

They wouldn’t leave her alone, so Krystal decided to give them a glimmer of hope. “I’ll think about it, if you two stop pestering me for the remainder of this spa visit.” Compromise always worked in her favor.

Anisa shared a glance with Mia, both of them nodding in agreement. “Agreed.” They stated simultaneously before sinking back into their chairs, letting the relaxation overtake them completely.

After the facials with manicures and pedicures included, the women were lead to separate rooms for their full body massages. Anisa could hear thunder rumbling overhead, wishing she’d check the weather forecast prior to leaving the house. The masseuse, Donna, assured her everything would be fine and it was just a small thunderstorm headed their way. The windows covered with blinds rattled from the harsh wind the storm produced outside, causing the lights to flicker. They didn’t go out though until halfway through the massage. Anisa was face down on the comfortable bedding with a towel covering her backside. Just as she was about to fall completely asleep, it was lights out followed by a grunt. Anisa frowned, slowly opening her eyes and couldn’t see anything, trying to adjust her eyes to the enveloping darkness. Starting to push herself up from the bedding, Anisa was pushed back down by larger stronger hands and hot breath caked her ear.

“Good girl, don’t scream or your friends won’t see the light of day again.” A dark southern voice murmured in her ear that only belonged to one person.

“Bray.” Her eyes snapped open and Anisa’s breathing quickened, especially when hot oil was poured on her back. It was more than necessary, some of it dripping on the floor. “W-What do you want?” And what the hell was he doing here?!

Rubbing the oil into her soft silky skin, Bray could feel his dick jump in his pants while touching Anisa again. “I just want to talk to you, honey. Explain my actions and relax you a bit.” He sounded so sincere, but Anisa knew better.

She didn’t say a word and obeyed Bray’s commands because she knew Mia and Krystal were in jeopardy right now.

“I don’t expect you to understand why I’ve done everything in my power to split you and Ambrose up. I just know how I feel about you. And I don’t expect forgiveness either. But I can promise you one thing.” Bray moved her hair over her shoulder to rub her neck and shoulders, trying to ease the tension out of her body before venturing down to her lower back.

“And what’s that?” Anisa whispered, swallowing hard and fought back tears stinging her eyes.

“I won’t let Mark hurt you again.”

~!~

Krystal’s whole body trembled from head to toe while being held down by her wrists, her captor crawling on top of her body. “Please…” She whimpered, feeling a hand cover her mouth.

When the lightning flashed through the window and lit up his face, Krystal began screaming at the sight of Ryan Reeves on top of her. He chuckled wickedly, bending down to flick her earlobe with his tongue and loved the feeling of her body quaking beneath his. She wanted him and the best part of this whole plan was her newly acquired single title. Colby was plant food, so there was no way Krystal would stay by his vegetative side.

“We both know what you want, Krystal.” Ryan grunted, grinding against her through the towel covering her lower half. He was tempted to remove it, but didn’t want the zipper on his jeans exploding open because of his erection. “You have no idea how badly I wanna fuck you on this table right now.”

The memory of her rape from high school suddenly flooded back to Krystal, making her flip out. Her body squirmed against Ryan’s, trying to do whatever she could to break free of him. This couldn’t happen to her again! Tears leaked out of her eyes and the panic ensued to the point where Krystal found an inner strength she didn’t know she had. Ryan toppled to the floor off of her, growling and Krystal jumped up, hightailing it out of the room slamming right into Mia.

~!~

“Mmm that feels good…”

She didn’t notice the lights go out due to the cool towel over her eyes or the change in hands on her body in one swift motion. Mia’s body was pure gelatin, her bones liquefied in mush. It wasn’t until the hands wandered lower on her body Mia started questioning what was going on. She knew the massage stayed away from her backside, so when the hands groped her sexually, Mia immediately pushed up fast.

“FUCK MY NOSE!”

Not bothering to see who had molested her, Mia hightailed it out of the room and wrapped her body up in a towel. Just as she came out of her room, Krystal rushed out of hers, both of them colliding into each other. Krystal clung to Mia for dear life, sobbing and trembling from head to toe, keeping her eyes on the door in case Ryan decided to follow her out.

“What happened? Where’s Anisa?!”

~!~

“You need to leave Ambrose before this war escalates past the point of no return, if it hasn’t already.” Bray warned, trying to give Anisa valuable advice instead of putting the fear into god in her the way Mark wanted. “You’re in the middle of it and I can only do so much to keep the monster away from you. Everyone you love. Everyone you care about. They will all suffer in the crossfire if you stay with Ambrose. The Wyatt Family will demolish what’s left of the Shield and prove we are the future of the WWE – superior. I welcome this war, Anisa, remember that and think about what I’ve said.”

Frozen solid to the bedding, silent tears slid down Anisa’s cheeks at Bray’s harsh and truthful words, feeling her stomach churn violently. His hands left her body and the lights came on moments later, forcing Anisa’s eyes to snap open in temporary blurred vision. Bolting upright, Anisa jumped off the bedding and barely missed the knocked out masseuse that had originally started her massage.

“Oh thank god!” Mia crowed with relief, all of the women embracing tightly in their towels. “W-We have to get out of here…” 

“I know…” Anisa could tell Krystal was too shaken up to speak and felt her heart break for the poor woman, wondering what happened to each of her friends. Then again, maybe it was better not finding out. “Go get dressed. They’re gone. We’ll do it one at a time and then get the fuck out of here.” 

Nodding, Mia scampered into the dressing room to yank her clothes on while Anisa took care of Krystal. She was shaking so badly, her teeth chattered and Anisa did her best to calm the woman down. After Mia finished dressing, Anisa was next and then Krystal followed, refusing to dress alone. Anisa stayed with her after Mia’s insistence and the women rushed out of the spa 5 minutes later toward their vehicle. None of them checked the messages on their phones, which had added ones from Jon, Joe and Stuart begging them to call as soon as they saw them. 

Chapter 22

It was a miracle Jon, Joe and Stuart didn’t trample over each other trying to get out of the house as soon as Mia’s vehicle pulled in the driveway. Anisa had barely put the car in park before Jon ripped the door open, almost off its hinges, and yanked her out against his chest. She’d been so petrified from what happened at the spa, she forgot to buckle her seatbelt or else Jon would’ve strangled her with it accidentally. Joe did the same thing with Mia and Stuart played it careful with Krystal, helping her out of the vehicle.

“Where the fuck have you been?” Jon demanded, pulling back to look in his girlfriend’s eyes and saw deep fear within them. “What happened, darlin’?”

Bray’s words and everything he did came soaring back to her memory, forcing tears to surface and slide down Anisa’s cheeks. “W-We went to the spa you told us to go to for the day.” She stammered out, seeing the confusion swirling in Jon’s eyes. “Jon…”

“Let’s get them inside first and find out what happened. It’s getting chilly out here.” Joe didn’t wait for anyone else to follow, carrying Mia inside the house with her cradled against his chest. “It’s okay, baby girl, I got you.” Mia couldn’t stop crying, burying her face in Joe’s chest and clung to his muscle shirt with her fingers.

Stuart wanted to pull Krystal in his arms and never let her go, but he had a feeling if he tried doing that, he would lose his genitals. “He’s right, love. Let’s venture inside and you can explain what happened.” He refused to leave her side, placing a hand on the small of her back while guiding her through the front door.

Sitting on the couch with Anisa seated sideways on his lap, Jon kept his arms around her waist stroking her back soothingly. Stuart looked helpless while Krystal was standoffish, not wanting to be touched. He could only imagine what happened to the women at the spa they did NOT send them. What the hell was that about anyway? Jon had to take a few deep breaths and broke one of Joe’s rules, lighting up a cigarette to let the nicotine keep him calm. Joe would’ve ripped Jon a new asshole normally, but he let it slide this time and opened the window above him while holding Mia close.

“I’ll get them all some water, gentlemen.” Stuart offered, walking out of the room toward the kitchen and left Krystal seated alone with her arms wrapped around herself.

Each woman took their glasses of water from Stuart, thanking him and chugged half of it, all of them trying to calm down. “Now, what’s this about us sending you to the spa?” Jon couldn’t hold the question back any longer, his eyes locked with watery midnight blue that broke his heart.

“I woke up this morning and – and found a note on the kitchen table from you telling us to go to the spa.” Anisa didn’t bother hiding anything from Jon, not this time and wiped a few stray tears away.

“What note?” Joe demanded, looking over at Jon and both of them had the same expression on their faces – confusion. Pure bewilderment.

They had no idea what she was talking about, Anisa thought, feeling her stomach churn more and took a deep breath to slow her racing heart. “Fuck.” Anisa broke away from Jon and pulled the note out of her jean pocket, handing it to him.

“What the fuck?” Jon growled, blue fire erupting in his eyes while reading the note aloud to Joe and Stuart. “Go to the spa and relax. We went to work out for a few hours. Enjoy yourselves and take your time. What the fuck is this shit? I didn’t write this!”

“Neither did I.”

“I was not here to do so.” Stuart piped in to clear his name and glanced down at Krystal, wishing he could do something to make her stop trembling. “What is going on here?”

Everything Bray said to her at the spa was slowly happening. “I know who did it.” Anisa announced, making all heads snap around to stare at her. “It was Bray.”

“C-Curtis was there too.” Mia finally spoke through hiccoughs, feeling Joe instantly tense up against her and didn’t bother wiping her tears away.

It’d been a while since Curtis Axel reared his ugly head and tried something with Mia. Joe figured it would happen sooner or later, but working with Bray had been the last thing he expected. Ryan Reeves too. Had Mark come up with a plan to build an army in order to achieve what he wanted? The thought sickened Joe and angered him at the same time, but Mia was the most important person at the moment. He’d work out his aggression in his gym with Jon and Stuart later after the women were asleep.

“And R-Reeves…” Krystal admitted quietly, keeping her eyes lowered to the floor and tightened her arms around herself. “All of them were at the spa with us and…attacked when the lights went out. It was terrifying…”

Stuart frowned deeply, feeling his blood pressure skyrocket along with his temper and gnashed his teeth together tightly. Blowing his stack in front of Krystal couldn’t happen, not when she was already this fragile and scared. He had to help her first and THEN rip Ryan Reeves’ heart out of his chest. Carefully sitting down beside Krystal, Stuart wrapped an arm around her shoulders and that’s all it took for the chestnut beauty to break down, burying her face in his chest sobbing violently. Jon and Joe had murderous intentions in their eyes as well, but they too held their tempers back for the women they loved.

“He must’ve – or someone broke into your home to plant that note for us to find, Joe.” Anisa spoke in a monotone voice and walked over to stare out the window, shutting her eyes briefly. “Mark did it to me frequently before we started dating. He’d somehow break into my hotel rooms and even showed up one night at my house. It scared me at first, but he never hurt me, so I let it slide. I’m so sorry this happened to Mia and Krystal. I – I’m sorry…” Leaving the room, she needed some space and time alone to mull over everything Bray told her at the spa, the guilt eating her alive.

Mia frowned, hating that Anisa was blaming herself for someone else’s actions she was powerless to control. “I-It wasn’t her fault…” She stammered out to Joe, looking up into his anger-filled grey orbs and stroked his face with the back of her hand. “I’m tired, take me to the bedroom please.”

Nodding, Joe lifted her in his arms and carted Mia to the bedroom, knowing she wouldn’t say what happened with Curtis in front of everyone. Neither would Krystal or Anisa for that matter. Once Joe set her down and pulled the blinds closed, he procured two aspirin from his jean pocket before joining her in bed. Mia immediately snuggled against him, curling against Joe’s strong warm chest and slowly went over what happened at the spa.

~!~

“Ani…”

“Don’t try to make me feel better, Jon.” Anisa ordered, sitting curled up by the window in a nearby chair that was in the guest room. “And don’t you dare tell me this isn’t my fault when we both know it is. This never would’ve happened if Mark wasn’t after me and you fucking know it. My best friends were attacked because of me, even though the assholes had their own agendas.”

Jon couldn’t argue any of those facts and held his hands up, clearing his throat to gain her attention. “Fine. I won’t say it. But know that I am thinking it and I love you, no matter what that piece of shit did to you today. Did he hurt you?”

Feeling his strong hands begin massage her shoulders, Anisa shook her head and swallowed hard, looking down at her clasped hands in her lap. “No. He just came to give me a message.” She wouldn’t tell Jon what Bray did to her unless he asked.

Sure enough, that was his next question. “What did he do to you and what was this so-called message?”

Slowly, Anisa told him everything Bray did with the massage oils and where he touched her along with his message about protecting her from Mark…and leaving Jon. “He said ‘I welcome this war’, which means there’s one coming. And I know without a shadow of a doubt Mark has hired on Ryan Reeves and Curtis Axel. That’s why they were there today. And this is all because Mark won’t let me be happy with you.” Tears once again flooded her eyes. “W – What are we supposed to do, Jon?”

“Hit him where it hurts.” Jon stopped massaging her shoulders to walk around and squat in front of her, taking both of Anisa’s hands in his. “You belong to me now just as much as I belong to you. I love you and I would never hurt you the way that dick has, Ani. It’s time he gets a taste of his own medicine.”

“And how are we supposed to do that?”

Standing, Jon yanked the t-shirt over his head he wore while working out and Anisa felt her body ignite in flames at the rain reflection illuminating his beautiful body. Jon pulled her up to stand in front of him and undressed her before heading into the bathroom for a much needed shower. He would scrub her body from head to toe until she felt only his touch and then work her body up into a frenzy to where she begged him to claim her.

There was no answer for Anisa right now, but Jon would find one, no matter what he had to do.

~!~

“Do you want to tell me what happened with Reeves?”

“No.”

“It might make you feel better, love.”

Krystal hated being called that because she wasn’t Stuart’s love, even though she wanted to be. It was a tease to her. “Why the hell do you insist on calling me that?” She demanded, turning to look at him finally and felt her heart hitch in her throat at the look of pure sincerity in his hazel eyes.

She changed the subject on him – the cheeky morsel, Stuart thought, simply sitting there wearing a pair of black spandex shorts and no shirt. He hadn’t dressed after the workout because he’d been too worried about Krystal’s whereabouts. “It’s a habit, sorry.” He cleared his throat awkwardly, rubbing his hands together in front of him instead of doing what he really wanted to do, which involved taking her face and kissing her breathless. That was definitely out of the question. “So what do you want to discuss then?”

“I don’t know…” Krystal didn’t really feel like talking and felt disgusting, craving a shower to remove Curtis’s touch from her body. “You don’t have to stick around, if you don’t want to.”

Itching. It was a sign to Stuart she didn’t feel right and he did something that would either make him lose his genitals or bring him one step closer to Krystal. “Take my hand.” He requested, holding it out and watched her beautiful hazel eyes widen. His were bluer while hers held brown. “You can trust me, Krystal.”

Of course she trusted Stuart. What did he want her hand for though? Krystal hesitantly reached out to take his hand and felt him pull her up from the couch, guiding her down the hallway to her room. What was he doing? Stuart kissed the back of her hand gently and pushed her to sit on the bed while he walked into her private bathroom. Krystal had no idea what he was doing in there and hoped he hadn’t exploded in her toilet or else he was cleaning it with a toothbrush.

10 minutes crept by – then 15 – and by the time 20 struck, Krystal had waited long enough, heading toward the bathroom door just as Stuart walked out. “Undress.” He commanded, watching her eyes widen to the point of almost falling out of her skull. “Relax, I will not watch and give you privacy.” Handing over her cotton robe, he kissed her forehead this time and turned his back fully to her.

It was awkward undressing in front of a man she considered a friend and who had his back turned, but Krystal managed to do it somehow. “You can turn around now.” She quietly said, tying the robe around her body a little tighter and once again took a hand he outstretched, letting him lead her into the bathroom.

“Thank you for trusting me.” He said in her ear from behind once they were in the bathroom. It was intimately lit with candles he’d found under the sink and the huge Jacuzzi tub was filled with massive amounts of bubbles.

“Wow…” Krystal was amazed at what Stuart managed to do in the span of 20 minutes and slowly walked over to the tub, dipping her hand in to check the water temperature. “Stu…”

“Now have yourself a relaxing bath, love. Take your time. I’m not leaving tonight, not after what happened.” He was tempted to remove the robe and take her in the tub to have his way with her, but Stuart had built his resolve against Krystal. “If you need anything, I’ll be right outside the door watching television.”

Before Krystal could say anything else, he left the bathroom and she sank down on her knees in front of the tub, placing a hand over her pounding heart from Stuart’s thoughtful surprise.

~!~

“Are you fucking kidding me?”

“This shit has gone too far.”

“Agreed.”

“What are we gonna do about this?”

Phil scrubbed a hand down his face while watching his sleeping girlfriend in the bed and shook his head. “I don’t know. I’m thinking about flying us out there tomorrow so we can all strategize on what to do. They went too far today.”

“No shit.” Jon growled, wanting to tear Mark limb from limb and wished he’d done it when the Shield sent him packing on Smackdown! all those months ago. “And this time it’s gonna be out of the fucking ring.”

Joe and Stuart both nodded, all of their women currently upstairs sleeping and hopefully having nothing except sweet dreams instead of being plagued with nightmares. “Randy wants in too?” He waited for Phil’s confirmation and took a long swig of his beer. “Fine. We got one day left since there’s no Friday house show this week. Fly out tomorrow and we’ll figure out what’s going on. Ryanne is allowed to fly, right?”

“Yeah, I’ll double-check with Randy, but that shouldn’t be a problem. See you guys tomorrow and warn my sister ahead of time, please. I don’t want her freaking out thinking you called me.” Phil knew how Anisa operated and he didn’t want anything jeopardizing her reunion with Jon.

“Will do, see you tomorrow, man.”

Ending the call, Jon looked at Joe and Stuart, all of them pissed beyond belief and too revved up to sleep. So what do grown men do when they’re angry, but too tired to work out? Joe had the answer, tossing out PS3 controllers to his comrades and fired the game system up.

It was time to blow off some steam Call of Duty style.

Chapter 23

“Well done all of you.”

The men grinned at their boss and licked their chops at the delicious steak dinner they were being rewarded with. Mark was proud of the men he hired on as lackeys, deciding anyone close or associated with his ex-wife would have to suffer for her insolence. All she had to do was do what he wanted and all this pain would go away. Hell, he’d even call off Curtis from Mia, a soon-to-be married woman and Reeves from Krystal, Paul Levesque’s sister. That had been a hard one to decipher on whether or not to add to his army, but Mark wasn’t afraid of anyone. The WWE needed him, they were floundering due to not creating enough Superstars. His appearances brought in massive amounts of money, put backsides in seats and quite frankly, no other Superstar compared to the Undertaker.

“Those cock teases have no idea what’s in store for them!”

Ryan grunted while stuffing a roll in his mouth. “So TRUE!” He laughed, food spitting all over the place and high-fived Curtis.

“I plan on making Mia regret all the times she shook her ass in my direction and gave me erections right before going to the ring.” Curtis growled, chomping on his steak and poured more sauce on it, eyes lighting up. “She’ll definitely be receiving several protein shakes.”

“So will Krystal, after I beat her ass for not coming to me willingly.”

Mark chuckled at their banter, sipping a tumbler of whiskey and leaned back in his chair with his feet propped on the table. “Gentlemen, remember to be lenient. They simply don’t have brains.” He murmured, acidic eyes sliding over to where his main henchman, Bray Wyatt, sat quietly.

Bray was trying not to take a gun and blow his own brains out at the sick banter going on at the dinner table. Mark’s dinner table. The Undertaker’s dinner table. The legend invited all of them to his place in Dallas, Texas after they scared Anisa, Mia and Krystal at the spa. Michelle was on vacation in the Florida Keys with their daughter and her sister, so Mark had the house to himself to do what he wanted. Bray had been the one to plant the note. Joe really needed better security because a simple snip of wires on the side of the house with a pair of pliers let him right in. They’d left the women alone on top of it, so Bray, Ryan and Curtis could’ve had their way with them right in the house. After they were finished at the spa, Bray, Reeves and Curtis hopped a redeye flight to Dallas to meet up with their mentor. However, Bray didn’t want to hurt Anisa the way Ryan and Curtis did Mia and Krystal. His feelings for her ran deep and he wanted to do what he could to protect her. Bray had to protect Anisa from Mark, no matter what it took. What better way to do it than residing in the enemy camp and making Mark THINK Bray was on his side? Granted, he still wanted Ambrose eliminated, but it would be Bray having Anisa as his, not Mark. He just had to figure out how to make this all happen his way without hurting Anisa in the process.

Was Bray having a change of heart, Mark wondered in thought, taking another long sip of his whiskey. “Bray, take a walk with me, boy.” Mark ordered, standing to his full 6’10 height and sauntered over to the balcony door, sliding it open.

Shit, Bray mentally cursed, obeying the Deadman’s command and walked out on the back patio deck, bright blues staying on his current boss and adversary. “What’s on your mind, Deadman?” He asked nonchalantly, folding his arms in front of his chest.

If something else happened between him and Anisa than Mark instructed, Bray would suffer the consequences to the highest degree. “Just wanted a rundown on what happened with Anisa today.” He made it sound conversational, but hidden deep under the tone was suppressed danger.

Bray heard and felt it too. They both turned to stare out at the long stretch of land the ranch house was attached to. “I did what you ordered. Scared her, warned her of the war that is coming if she doesn’t end her relationship with Ambrose and left.” He lied through his teeth, refusing to tell Mark about massaging Anisa’s soft body and using hot oils. “Her selfishness will end up having all of the people she loves and cares about destroyed. She got the message.”

Smirking wickedly, Mark accepted what Bray said and believed him – for the most part. Anisa was a very fiery woman and addicting, compelling like a witch. From the moment Mark met her, he was spellbound and couldn’t stop pursuing her. Breaking into her hotel rooms to leave roses and jewelry wasn’t hard at all, or her own house in Atlanta. It didn’t take him long to drag her into his web, his fly, and he was the spider awaiting his prey. Mark devoured her on a nightly basis and Anisa enjoyed every second of it, so he had no doubt she would again. Married or not, Mark screwed who he wanted, when he wanted and how he wanted, whether Michelle knew about it or not. Anisa would simply have to be the other woman and she’d get used to it eventually.

“Are you hiding anything from me, Bray?” Mark slammed the rest of his whiskey back and set the tumbler on the ledge of the deck, his eyes never leaving the stretch of land. “Regarding my ex-wife, that is.”

“I have no reason too, Deadman.” Bray noticed the trap before Mark spoke a word and was ready for whatever the man tossed his way. “I am here to simply serve you. After everything you’ve done for me, Luke and Erick, it’s the least we can do.”

If Mark ever found out he was lying, or what happened with Anisa all those months ago when he had sex with her, Bray would be dead. He would be buried somewhere in this long stretch of land for sure. So he had to do what he could to keep Mark from the truth. Lying a lot was in Bray’s future and he could only hope Anisa didn’t tell the Deadman about their night of passion together. His future depended on her mouth remaining shut and taking that night to the grave.

Considering his henchman for a few minutes in silence, Mark finally reached over and clapped Bray on the back to show good faith. “Thank you for everything you’ve done. Make sure you eat and get a good night’s rest. We have a busy day tomorrow.”

Bray nodded, watching Mark walk back inside the house and leaned against the ledge, staying outside a little while longer gazing up at the starry sky. He hoped Anisa heeded his warning and took it to heart. Once this war started, there was no stopping it until everyone was hurt or worse.

~!~

Anisa slept for exactly one hour before she was up again, pacing the floors of the guest bedroom in Joe’s house. What happened with Bray weighed heavily on her mind, especially his warning about a war coming. A war – what did that mean? She’d already put together the fact Mark hired Ryan Reeves and Curtis Axel, but Bray hadn’t hurt her the way they did her friends. Why was Bray kind to her? Did he really have feelings for her? It didn’t matter, she was in love with another man and Bray had to get over what happened between them all those months ago. That’s what fueled his hatred for Jon, she was sure of it. Pacing, Anisa heard the men downstairs hollering at the television with a lot of cussing and trash-talking, smiling softly. At least they were blowing off steam in a healthy way and destroying the buttons on controllers instead of their bodies with a tumultuous workout.

What Jon said also stuck with Anisa. Hitting Mark where it hurt most. There was only one way to do that, but she didn’t want to stoop to his level. She needed help, not knowing who could assist her in dealing with Mark. Then suddenly, the answer popped in her head and Anisa’s eyes snapped to the cell phone lying on the nightstand. Should she? If the call was made, there was no turning back and truthfully, she hadn’t spoken to this person in weeks. The whole situation with Jon had taken up most of her time, naturally, and Bray screwing with her mind.

“Fuck it, I have to do something.” She muttered, walking over to the nightstand and sat on the bed, holding her cell phone. “Please don’t hate me for this, Jon…”

10 minutes later, Anisa finally made the call and waited, each ring sending her heart slowly crawling up her throat. “Hello?” A deep voice resonated in her ear after 4 rings straight and Anisa temporarily lost feeling in her tongue. “Hello??”

“Glen.”

“Hey Anisa.” He greeted, sitting in his recliner in Nashville, Tennessee enjoying some downtime while his wife slept upstairs. “What can I do for you, honey?”

Anisa made sure Jon wasn’t coming up the stairs and crept over to the door, flipping the lock on it. “I’m sorry for waking you up. I know it’s late.” Oh god, it was going on midnight in Tennessee!! “But something happened today and…I need your help, Big Red.”

Sitting up a little at the crack in Anisa’s voice, Glen set his beer on the table and headed outside to have this conversation. “What happened?” His voice deepened to a lower baritone, hazel eyes narrowing slowly.

For the next hour, Anisa went over everything that happened since Glen had been out with an injury from the Wyatt Family. He was fully healed from it, but not according to the storyline. Glen had taken some much needed time off to recuperate from being on the road with the company and recharge his batteries. He was due back in a few weeks, possibly months, and Anisa hoped he would break away from his sanctuary to help her deal with Mark Calaway. Glen listened silently, clenching his fists tightly every time Mark and Bray were mentioned. Seeing Mark on Raw announce he’d been the mastermind behind the Wyatt Family shocked Glen and he could only imagine what Anisa had gone through. At the time, he didn’t want to bother her for fear of dredging up painful memories. Not to mention, he was Mark’s best friend.

“I wouldn’t ask for your help if I wasn’t desperate, Glen. But I am now. I’m sick of his games and everything he’s put me and the people I love and care about through. It needs to end and you’re the only one who knows him better than me.” Anisa made several logical points Glen couldn’t argue against, but she also prepared to be hung up on.

Of course Glen would help this poor woman get out the clutches of Mark Calaway. “What did you have in mind?” Anisa wouldn’t have called unless there was something cooking in her brain already.

“You’ll really help me?”

Glen smiled in spite of everything he just heard and sat down in a lounge chair by his pool. “Anisa, my friendship with you never ended after you divorced Mark. I never once cut you out of my life or him. It wasn’t about choosin’ sides, honey. I think of you as a little sister and when my sister is in pain because of an asshole, you damn right I’ll do what I can to help.”

Tears slid down Anisa’s cheeks at Glen’s heartfelt words and she tried hiding the fact she was crying, but the sniffles gave her away. “I never stopped thinking of you as a friend and brother either.” She murmured, wiping her eyes with a tissue she plucked from the nightstand. “And I appreciate any kind of help you give me.”

“Good, glad we solved that. So what’s your plan?”

After talking for another hour on the phone with Glen and strategizing, Anisa made another call she needed and waited for the recipient to answer. “So, I did something you may be pissed at me for.” Were the first words out of her mouth as soon as they answered.

“What the hell did you do, sis?” Phil grumbled, glancing at the clock on the nightstand and mentally slapped himself since they had to get up soon to catch a redeye flight to Pensacola. Had Jon warned her about them coming?

“I – I called in some reinforcement.” Anisa admitted sheepishly, dabbing her eyes and laid down in bed, crying wearing her out. “Did you hear what happened today?”

Phil sighed, answering his own question about Jon telling her and slipped out of bed without waking Melanie up. “Yeah, I called Jon earlier and you were sleeping. Ryanne and Mel were attacked today by the Wyatt’s.”

That made Anisa bolt upright in bed with wide eyes. “WHAT?!” Why hadn’t Jon told her and more importantly, why hadn’t Phil called her? “What the hell happened?” Did they attack the same time Bray, Reeves and Curtis did?

“Look, it’s really late and I need to get more sleep. Don’t worry, we’re flying out tomorrow morning – or rather in a couple hours – and having a meeting. Now who the hell did you call to help us?” He scrubbed a hand down his face and groaned out loud when his sister mentioned the Big Red Machine. “You called Calaway’s best friend? Are you insane?”

“Maybe, but what other options do I have at this point? Mark is building an army and I need to find a way to cut him off at the knees. I have a plan too, actually Glen and I have one.” Anisa’s head snapped toward the door when she heard Jon’s voice from down the hall and knew the call had to end. “See you tomorrow. Keep this between us or else.”

Phil blinked at the abrupt ending and shook his head, trying not to think about what his sister cooked up with Glen Jacobs, of all people, and went back to sleep.

Anisa quickly unlocked the door and jumped in bed, scrambling to the side and tried looking exactly the way Jon left her so he didn’t know she was up. Closing her eyes, Anisa heard the bedroom door open and Jon shuffling out of his basketball shorts to join her in bed. He was either naked or in boxer/briefs whenever he went to sleep. Jon smiled at his sleeping angel and brushed hair from her face, softly kissing her lips. He didn’t want to wake her, knowing she had a hard day and tomorrow would be rougher with the arrival of her brother, Melanie, Randy and a near seven month pregnant Ryanne. What Jon didn’t know was Anisa had a surprise guest coming of her own that could hopefully help them win this impending war.

Chapter 24

The Orton’s, Phil and Melanie arrived around 10 AM the next morning with breakfast waiting for them. Their flight had been delayed due to maintenance repair work on the plane and Randy didn’t feel it was safe with his paranoia. So they ended up getting a later flight to Pensacola than expected. Anisa tried remaining calm while waiting for her brother to arrive…along with Glen. She still hadn’t told anyone about him coming, too nervous about it because he was Mark’s best friend. Everyone would call her an imbecile and try to send Glen packing out of the house. When the doorbell rang, Anisa jumped off the couch and rushed to the door, tossing it open to stare back in her brother’s relieved hazel eyes.

Phil immediately enveloped Anisa in his arms and held her tightly against him, not surprised when she began crying. “I’m so sorry, Nisa.” He whispered against her hair and blinked his own tears away, hating he wasn’t there to stop the spa attack. “I’m here now though.” One way or another, he had to stop Mark from tormenting his sister.

“It’s not your fault.” Anisa pulled back to let Phil wipe her tears away and kissed her forehead, reluctantly releasing her. “I’m just glad all of you are safe.” Her gaze moved to Melanie and the Orton’s, frowning at how pale Ryanne looked.

Ryanne was exhausted and had dark circles under her eyes from lack of sleep. Every time she tried closing them, all she could see was the ginger haired monster caressing her pregnant abdomen and in turn, it made Ryanne nauseous. Randy cracked a hesitant smile at Anisa and everyone else while guiding his wife to the couch, procuring some crackers from his jean pocket.

“Do you have any ginger ale?” Randy directed that question to Joe and Mia rushed to the kitchen to grab a can. “Thanks. Here, drink this baby and relax.”

Obeying, Ryanne stayed silent and sipped the ginger ale, feeling her stomach slowly calm down. Jon walked over to Anisa, wrapping his arm around her waist and kissed the side of her neck. Anisa squeezed his hand in reassurance she was fine, accepting a soft kiss on the lips before joining everyone in the huge living room. There were several couches and loveseats, so seating was not an issue.

“So, what the hell are we gonna do about Calaway?” Phil asked impatiently, hands clasped while rolling them like he did before going to the ring for battle. It was a habit he had throughout his life. “He’s gone too far and needs to be stopped.”

“I talked to Joe and Stu about this last night, a little with you too. You know what I wanna do.” Jon wrapped an arm around Anisa’s shoulders, wanting her close to him until this situation with Bray and Mark was solved.

This should’ve been the time Anisa came clean about her visitor coming, but her window of opportunity disappeared. Mia could tell something was going on with Anisa while sitting with her man across the way, stroking his thigh gently with her fingertips to keep him calm. Krystal noticed it too, simply sitting beside Stuart without any physical contact. She was nowhere ready for that step with them yet.

“Deal with it outside of the company?”

Randy arched a brow at Phil, mystic blues looking over at Jon. “How the hell are we supposed to do that? Don’t forget who we’re dealing with.”

“Well, I managed to get a hold of Stephanie last night after we spoke.” Phil rubbed the back of his neck, feeling the tension in his body rising quickly. “She wasn’t happy at all with Mark, but I asked her to let us handle it. She’s giving us until Monday night to come up with a strategy to deal with him or else she’s taking action.”

Jon could’ve strangled Phil for involving the McMahon’s, especially the Billion Dollar Princess, and bit his tongue to keep from lashing out. “And just who the hell is the strategist gonna be?” Just as that question slipped out of his mouth, the doorbell rang throughout the house.

This was it. Anisa took a deep breath and stood from the couch, hoping Jon didn’t break off their relationship over this. “I couldn’t agree more and luckily, we have the perfect strategist on our side. Excuse me.” She left the room with Jon hot on her trail and opened the door before he could stop her.

“Oh fuck.”

“Not exactly the greetin’ I was hopin’ for, but hello to you too, Ambrose.” Glen grunted, stepping inside the house and kept his eyes locked on Anisa in case she had second thoughts about this.

There was no turning back. “I didn’t tell them…” Anisa admitted sheepishly, midnight blues pleading with Jon silently not to lose his temper.

Phil was the first one up off the couch, a huge smile crossing his face. “I’ll be damned…” He never had an issue with Glen Jacobs and knew the man wanted a piece of the Wyatt Family after their lethal attack on him. “Sis, you’re a genius.”

Anisa breathed a sigh of relief and could feel Jon standing directly behind her, his hot breath caking her neck. Boy was she paying for this surprise later once they were alone. It sent a surprisingly titillating jolt down her spine, especially when his hands clamped on her hips to pull her back against his chest. The rest of the men welcomed Glen with open arms, shaking hands while the women stayed seated, all of their eyes narrowed on Anisa.

“I had to do something and I was going to tell all of you, but…”

“Some warning would’ve been nice.” Mia didn’t bother hiding her apprehension and folded her arms in front of her chest, ignoring her fiancé’s warning look. “What’s he doing here anyway?”

“Hi Glen.” Krystal didn’t know how to feel about his arrival, even though she was friends with Big Red, thanks to Anisa.

“Mia, you know I’ve never been on Calaway’s side, so stop with the attitude.” Glen scolded, walking over and pulled her up from the couch, giving her a near bone crushing hug. “We’re friends, remember?”

Gasping, Mia had no choice except to hug him back and patted his back. “Can’t…breathe…” She choked out and Glen immediately released her with wide eyes, shaking his head at a smirk curving her lips.

“Not funny, Mia.”

“Sorry Big Red. Had to give you a hard time somehow.” Then she gave him a true hug around the neck and Glen dropped a kiss on her head. “I take it you’re all healed up?”

Glen nodded, flexing his arms playfully with a grin. “Right as rain, honey.” It was his term of endearment with all women. “And before you ask, no the wife doesn’t know I’m here. So let’s keep this between us, alright?”

“Absolutely.”

Anisa walked over to loop her arm through Glen’s, winking at Mia and everyone took their seats once again. Glen sat on the other side of Anisa while Jon stuck to her side like glue. She hated it’d come down to Glen being forced to choose between her and Mark, but the man was insane. He’d lost his mind actually. One of the many – MANY reasons Anisa divorced Mark in the first place aside from cheating on her with Michelle McCool. Hell, she wasn’t bitter about that anymore now that she found Jon and she wished Mark would find happiness with Michelle, his wife. Why he insisted on screwing with her life was beyond Anisa and she was tired of it, hoping Glen could help her vanquish Mark out of her life once and for all.

“Before we were interrupted…” Phil chuckled ruefully, continuing what was discussed with Stephanie. “The war is gonna begin on Raw. She’s pitting Jon, Joe and myself in tag-team action against the Wyatt Family for the main event.” Obviously, they had to use Phil due to Colby’s accident. “She’s made it crystal clear none of the women are allowed in the storylines, especially Mia because of her upcoming wedding and honeymoon.”

“Damn straight.” Joe liked the sound of that, thankful they’d been thought of and the wedding wouldn’t have to be put on the backburner.

“We’re hoping to solve this mess before your wedding, man. Or Ryanne’s baby shower and having the baby.” Randy added his thoughts, having been on the phone with Stephanie with Phil on speakerphone.

It was Mia’s turn to speak. “If we have to push the honeymoon back, so be it, but I won’t change our wedding day. I want to be married to Joe more than anything and these assholes will not stop me on doing it on the day we chose.”

“Not to mention they’ve put out too many deposits for the wedding, so it’ll be difficult getting refunds.” Anisa piped in, winking over at Mia and felt Jon’s hand grip her thigh, massaging it gently.

“Or my baby shower. Obviously, baby boy is gonna come when he’s ready, no matter what’s going on around us.” Ryanne added, stroking her protruding belly and smiled when their son kicked against her touch. “That’s right, you tell them, sweetheart.”

Everyone shared a laugh before getting back to business.

Glen understood that, leaning forward resting his elbows on his large jean covered thighs. “In other words, no more games can be played from this point forward.” Every woman in their circle of friends had been attacked because of Mark and too many boundary lines crossed.

“Whatever it takes to protect my family, I’ll do it.” Randy vowed, squeezing his wife’s hand and felt their fingers lace together instantly while she rested back against the couch.

“I warned Mark to leave Anisa alone several times and even came to blows with him.” Anisa didn’t know that bit of information, so maybe it would heighten her confidence in him that he wouldn’t betray her. “Instead, he hired lackeys to do his dirty work and I’m sick of letting him get away with hurting whoever he wants. It pisses me off he can’t leave you alone, honey. We need to get rid of him for good and that’s gonna be hard since Mark is like an undying cockroach.”

“We cannot put our lives on hold for these monsters either.” Stuart had been quiet up until now and reached over, taking Krystal’s hand to make sure she knew he was still there. “And I will do what I can to help. Anything to protect Krystal and her friends.”

That meant a great deal to her, but Krystal didn’t know how she felt about Stuart grabbing her hand in front of everyone. They weren’t together and she didn’t want their friends getting the wrong impression or idea. Still, it felt nice to be cared about by a man for a change instead of being demanded around. Instead of pulling her hand away, Krystal scooted closer to him and rested her head on his shoulder, his hand never hers. Mia and Anisa shared a secret look with each other, both agreeing silently it was time to go through with the plan they hatched at the spa before the attack happened. Krystal deserved happiness in her life and if Stuart was the man to grant that, they would stop at nothing to make sure they ended up together.

“Oh, almost forgot to tell everyone we have a 5 day weekend since Summerslam wiped everyone out with all the appearances and whatnot. So we have until Monday morning to relax and come up with a plan to deal with Calaway.” Phil couldn’t believe he let that information slip his mind and smirked when all the men roared out loud in unison.

Anisa, Mia, Krystal, Ryanne and Melanie all shook their heads simultaneously at the men, gathering together on the couch Ryanne occupied to ask how she was doing. After the men conversed a little more, Jon broke away from the pack to pull Anisa away and guided her down the hallway to their bedroom. She turned around to try talking her way out of not telling him about Glen coming, but Jon silenced her with an earth-shattering kiss that left Anisa weak in the knees.

“Wow okay, I wasn’t expecting that type of reaction.” Anisa breathed out once the kiss broke and stared up in his still somewhat heated blues, sneaking her tongue out to wet her bottom lip.

“You drive me fucking crazy, woman.” Jon growled, gently nipping her bottom lip and soothed it with his tongue, releasing her temporarily. “So we have 3 days before having to join reality again. Do you wanna stay here or fly back to Vegas?”

That was a tough question because Anisa didn’t know if her brother was staying in Pensacola since they’d went to such lengths to fly out. “I don’t know. Do you?” She had a feeling Jon was feeling homesick for Vegas and didn’t blame him. “Do you want to go home?”

“Only if you come with me. I don’t give a damn who else comes with us, but I want to sleep with you in my arms and not worry about the massive amount of bullshit headed our way until Monday morning.” Jon said truthfully, sitting on the bed and grabbed Anisa’s hand, pulling her to stand between his legs. “There’s no point in staying here cramping up Joe’s place when we have our own. Glen is leaving to go back to Nashville for the time being and I think your brother is going back to Chicago to check on how his place is doing.”

Jon had something specific he wanted to do with Anisa in Vegas, but if she really wanted to stay in Pensacola, he wouldn’t force her to leave. Mia would be safe with Joe and Krystal…Anisa couldn’t leave without solving the Krystal dilemma. Swinging her legs over his to straddle Jon’s lap, Anisa passionately kissed him and trailed her mouth down his jawline, enjoying his arms encircling her waist tighten around her.

“We can go back to Vegas…” She murmured against his ear and traced the outer part of it with her tongue, his responding shiver making her smile. “But not until I help Mia with Krystal. We’re gonna make her over and force her to go on a date with Stu. As soon as we finish with that, we can leave and spend the next couple days alone together, just the way you want.”

“I’ll call the airlines then, so you better get out there and start making her over. What makes you think she’ll let you have your way?” Jon had to ask, pulling back to look in her eyes and swallowed hard when Anisa removed her top, letting it drop to the floor beside them.

Pushing his t-shirt up over his head, Anisa pressed her bra covered chest against his and slid her fingers through his unruly curls. “I always get my way in the end, baby.” Winking, she jumped off his lap and barely made it to the bathroom before Jon caught up with her, squeals flowing through the door.

First she would satisfy her man and then help Krystal.

Chapter 25

“Excuse me for sounding moronic, but…can you repeat that?”

Anisa smiled at the confusion in Stuart’s English accent and placed a hand on his arm. “Mia and I have been talking and we want you to take Krystal out on the town tonight. Just the two of you, whatever you want. I heard what you did for her last night with the bath and you can try lying about how you feel for her, but it’d be pointless.”

“Look ladies, I appreciate your concern…” Stuart began to say, but Mia quickly cut him off.

“Don’t even try using a ‘but’ on us, Bennett. Do you like her – yes or no?” Mia demanded, folding her arms in front of her chest while they had him cornered on the outside screened-in patio deck.

Stuart blew out a large breath, nodding. “Of course I do, but…”

“I said yes or no, sir. It would be rude of you NOT to abide by a ladies’ request.” Mia countered with a smirk, refusing to back down from this and her try at an English accent was horrendous. “She likes you and you like her. Therefore, it’s time to go out on a date and explore your feelings for each other. She needs this after everything that’s happened recently.”

“That is precisely why I do not want to push her into this. She had a relationship with Colby and it would be rubbish of me to try sweeping her off her feet so soon. Believe me, I want to be with her and show her how a woman is supposed to be treated. I want that more than anything, actually. But she needs time.” Stuart had to plead his case with these two fearless women.

Anisa understood that and suddenly had an idea pop into her head. “Okay – okay fine, no date.”

“WHAT?!”

“Just hear me out before you go blowing up at me, Mia.” Anisa shot a glare at her best friend and looked back at an apprehensive, uncomfortable looking Stuart. “How about taking her out to a movie then? Just something to get her out of this house and everything that’s happened off her mind for a little while. Friends go to movies together all the time.”

Anisa was a genius, Mia thought, nodding excitedly with a big grin on her face. “Yes! How about that arrangement?”

They wouldn’t give up until he agreed to this and Stuart couldn’t think of a single reason why taking Krystal out to a movie was a bad idea. “I suppose they do.” He conceded, scrubbing a hand down his face and glanced back inside the house where Krystal currently sat on the couch in front of the television, oblivious to this conversation. “Alright – you win, I will take her to a movie tonight.”

Both women kissed Stuart’s cheeks and sauntered back into the house triumphantly, making a beeline straight for a bewildered Krystal. They ushered her upstairs to Mia and Joe’s bedroom to transform her into a drop dead gorgeous beauty for Stuart. When they were finished with her and Stuart saw her, he wouldn’t know what to do with himself. Krystal was gorgeous already, but they wanted to make her stunning and eye-catching to the English god. At least, that’s what Krystal called him on more than a few occasions to her friends over the past few months. 2 hours passed before the transformation was complete and Krystal could only stare back at her reflection, hardly believing this was her.

Foundation hid blemishes and the blotches on her skin from all the crying she’d done lately, her lips were painted a deep cherry red and her hazel eyes were outlined in black liner accompanying bronze eye shadow. Anisa decided a natural look would be better, but couldn’t resist the red gloss Mia had in her makeup case. While Anisa chose the makeup, Mia was in charge of wardrobe and decided on a knee length red and black plaid skirt with a matching short sleeved top that had a scoop neckline and showed off just a hint of her flesh, enough to showcase her pierced bellybutton. Anisa did her hair in banana curls to rest over her shoulders, nothing too fancy since this was just a movie outing. To finish off the look, Mia slipped 2 inch black open toed heels on Krystal’s feet without stockings, nylons or anything since her legs were already tanned.

“Don’t you think this is a little…much to be going to a movie?” Krystal asked her friends hesitantly, standing up from the chair to look in the full-length mirror.

“Nope.”

“Absolutely not.”

“Stu is going to die when he sees you!”

“Just go out tonight and have fun. Don’t worry about anything else going on.”

That was easier said than done, Krystal thought, deciding not to voice that opinion. Her friends worked so hard to make her beautiful, even if she was going to the movies with Stuart. It wasn’t a date. She tried fighting the idea at first until Anisa pointed out friends went to movies together. This was just a movie outing and nothing more. Krystal thanked her friends and headed downstairs, nearly losing her breath at the sight of Stuart waiting for her. He sat on the couch looking scrumptious in a black buttoned up shirt with the top two undone to show off a hint of chest and the sleeves were rolled up to his elbows. Accompanied with the shirt were skintight black jeans that looked painted on, sculpting his immaculate backside and showed just what religion he was.

Stuart was busy undressing her with his deep bluish hazel eyes and stood up from the couch as soon as Krystal began making her way downstairs. The girls did a phenomenal job on her and he’d have to personally thank them somehow, especially choosing red and black plaid. He did love a woman in plaid and Krystal looked stunning from head to toe.

“Hi.” Krystal murmured quietly, wondering where everyone else was and flushed when Stuart took her hand to kiss the back of it.

“You look exquisite, love.” Stuart couldn’t take his eyes off of her and hated they had to go to a movie where it’d be dark most of the time. “Are you ready?”

Every time he called her love, Krystal felt her heart skip a beat and she suddenly realized this type of reaction never happened with Colby. She loved Colby, but maybe she’d never been IN love with him as much as she thought. Krystal still needed time to get over what happened though and she sincerely hoped Stuart knew this was just an outing as friends. Taking his offered arm, Krystal let Stuart guide her out of the house to his waiting vehicle and slid into the passenger seat, smoothing the skirt out over her legs. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d dressed up for a man or someone opening her car door for her. Stuart was definitely putting the moves on her and Krystal could only hope this evening didn’t end up being awkward.

“So, what movie did you want to see?” Stuart asked, driving down the road and kept the radio low so they could converse.

Krystal kept her hands clasped in her lap, shrugging. “I didn’t really have time to look online at what’s playing. Did you have one in mind?” She finally looked up at him, melting at the smile splayed on his mouth.

“To be honest, I do not want to spend time with you in a dark theater. I’d rather take you out to dinner and then maybe a walk on the beach later or whatever comes to mind.” Stuart had always been honest with her and reached over to take her hand, lacing their fingers together. “We can do whatever you want though, Krystal.”

“Stu…”

“As friends, of course.” He squeezed her fingers gently and let them go, keeping both of his hands on the wheel. “Forget what I said, we can go to the movie and then maybe dinner afterwards, if you feel up to it.”

The movie was boring to Stuart, though Krystal enjoyed it since it was a comedy. Dinner afterwards was quiet and awkward, though Stuart tried initiating conversation. Krystal wasn’t ready for this, couldn’t he see that? This was putting their friendship in a dangerous spot. It was clear they both had feelings for each other. A blind man could see it. Krystal had to lay the law down to Stuart though because, if he wanted to be with her as much as he seemed, he had to give her time to heal from her previous relationship. Pulling up to Joe’s house, Krystal heard him cut the ignition and looked over at him, seeing slight agitation in his face.

“I appreciate you taking me out tonight, Stu. I really do. But you need to understand I’m nowhere ready for this, not with everything that’s happened. Mia and Anisa tried to push me in your arms and it doesn’t work like that. I was in a serious relationship with Colby. Granted, things fell apart between us right before his accident, but-”

“It wasn’t an accident, Krystal.” Stuart cut her off abruptly, his eyes never leaving the windshield in front of him and felt the tension form in the small vehicle.

That statement confused Krystal and she didn’t know how to respond or react to it. “W-What are you saying?” She stammered, feeling her heart hammer inside her chest and tears swelled in her eyes when Stuart looked at her finally, his eyes chilling her to the bone. “Stuart…”

“You heard me and I am not repeating myself.” Stuart simply replied, firing the vehicle back up and turned to look straight ahead again.

“Tell me what you did.” It was a demand, a watery choke from her throat that shattered Stuart’s heart while hers continued pounding vigorously. “If it wasn’t an accident with Show, then…”

“I wanted to be the one to take him out for you, not Show. They would not give me a match, so I improvised. Show and I came up with a plan, but we never expected the piss ant to jump script and attack him. Show was caught off guard, that part was a complete accident.” Stuart couldn’t hide the truth from her any longer, squeezing the steering wheel tightly in his hands. “I am not a good person, Krystal, especially when those I love and care about are hurt.”

Blinking, huge tears slid down Krystal’s cheeks while listening to Stuart’s confession. “What was the original plan?” She had to know, not bothering to wipe her tears away and sniffled, feeling like her world was falling apart around her everywhere she turned.

He’d already said too much, but Stuart had to show Krystal somehow how much he cared about and loved her. “Show planned on snapping his leg.”

Krystal gasped in horror, covering her mouth with her hand and felt her eyes widen. “WHAT?! What the hell? Stu, why would you…?”

“Because I love you, Krystal. I love you and he kept hurting you every time he would push for you to move in with him. Every time you came to me crying and questioning your feelings and relationship with him, it killed me I could not do anything to take your pain away. So I did something about it. I just did not anticipate Colby would take himself out of action for good. If I am being honest, I never want him to recover.” All of his feelings and everything was laid out on the table for her. It was up to Krystal on whether or not she accepted it or resented him forever. “And I am not sorry he is a vegetable now.”

Not able to listen to another word, Krystal opened the passenger door and slammed it shut behind her, flying into the house in tears. Stuart expected that reaction and decided to give her time alone, driving back to the hotel where his stuff remained. He planned on taking that secret with him to the grave, but the more Krystal talked about needing time to heal from her relationship with Colby, the angrier it made Stuart. Once back at his hotel, he poured a shot of brandy and sat at the window staring out into the skyline of Pensacola, wondering if he blew his shot with Krystal for good.

~!~

It was a beautiful Saturday night in Las Vegas, Nevada and Jon had taken Anisa out to dinner. They usually ordered takeout, but this was a special night so he splurged a little. Jon was extremely penny-pinching and didn’t need the finer things in life the way most of the other WWE Superstars and Divas did. Anisa wore a simple strapless black mini dress that went 2 inches above the knee and hugged all of her curves. She had 2 inch black thigh high leather boots on, one of Jon’s favorite pairs of hers. After a wonderful meal, Jon drove out to the desert and pulled over just as the sun set over the horizon. He put the car in park and got out, guiding Anisa to the cliff wrapping his arms around her.

“Oh god, you’re not gonna try having sex with me out here again, are you?” Anisa joked, giggling when Jon growled against her neck and melted into his warm body. “You know I loved it when you surprised me like that.”

“I know, I’m not stupid, darlin’.” Jon replied, nuzzling her neck with his mouth and nose, pressing soft kisses against her skin. “I brought you out here to ask you a very important question. It’s the reason I wanted to come back home instead of staying in Pensacola.”

Anisa felt her pulse begin to race and swallowed past the lump formed in her throat, slowly turning around to look up in his blues. “Jon…” Her tone held warning and fear combined with confusion.

“Ani, when I put us on that break it almost killed me. I couldn’t function without you in my life by my side. I was smoking a lot more than normal and all I wanted to do was get you back. That’s how much I love you. Serenading you was also a bonehead thing for me to do, but I don’t regret it because we’re here again, where we need to be – where I want to be. That break put everything in perspective for me. This is the place we came when you first came to Vegas to see me after my divorce court hearing.” He pressed his forehead to hers, feeling how much his words made Anisa tremble and tightened his arms around her.

“Jon…”

“Move in with me.” Jon murmured against her mouth, fighting the urge to kiss her because he wanted to hear her answer. “Leave Atlanta and make Vegas your home with me. It’s already our place, but I want it to be permanent. I want your shit everywhere and I want to wake up with you in my arms instead of us in separate states on our days off.”

“Wouldn’t it be better if you moved to Atlanta with me because of my job in the company now?” Anisa reached up to stroke his face with the back of her hand and relished being in his strong arms. “I wanna live with you, but flying from Tampa to Vegas every week is gonna get tiring fast.”

Jon thought about it for exactly 3 seconds and lifted her up, spinning her around in circles away from the edge. “Looks like I got some packing to do then.” Squealing in excitement, Anisa tossed her arms around his neck and passionately kissed him, wrapping her legs around his waist.

They were officially moving in together.

Chapter 26

He had an idea.

Glen flew home from Pensacola to spend the last 2 days with his beautiful wife before rejoining the WWE. It’d been a couple weeks since the Wyatt Family took him out and it was time to return. Besides, he had a very important talk with Anisa to do, the idea rolling around in his head constantly. Now all he had to do was actually call Anisa and set up a time they could go to dinner or somewhere to talk privately. However, as eager as Glen was to tell Anisa his idea, he decided to let her enjoy the rest of the weekend with Jon in peace. When Monday morning rolled around, Glen kissed his wife goodbye and hopped a plane to Phoenix, Arizona, where Raw was emanating from. As soon as the plane landed, Glen whipped his phone out and dialed Anisa’s number, waiting for her to answer.

“Hello?” A soft sleepy voice answered a few rings later followed by a yawn and a male muffled growl.

Damn, he woke her up. “It’s Glen. I need to talk to you alone. It’s important.” There was no point in beating around the bush and time was not on their side.

Sitting upright in bed, Anisa pulled the blanket up to her naked chest and tore a hand through her haphazard honey blonde hair. “What’s going on, Glen?” She ignored Jon’s sudden interest in her conversation and tried ignoring him, remaining focused on the call. “And what time is it?”

“Just past 10 in the morning. I’m in Phoenix already for Raw. Are you here? Maybe we can go get coffee or something and talk?” He suggested, trying not to sound too pushy and grabbed his luggage off the conveyor belt.

“Our flight isn’t until noon.” Anisa stretched her arms in the air and snapped her eyes open, tossing the covers off of her. “Did you say 10 AM?! Jon – JON, GET UP! We have to go! I’ll be there as soon as I can and then I’ll call you, Glen.”

She hung up and jumped out of bed, flying around the room trying to get ready. Jon followed suit, cursing his dead cell phone and his stupidity for forgetting to charge it the night before. Anisa tossed him clothes to dress in, glad they packed the previous night or else they’d have to change their flight time. 20 minutes later, they rushed out of Jon’s condo building and at exactly noon sharp, their plane took off toward Phoenix.

“So, what did Glen wanna talk to you about?” Jon tried sounding conversational, but possessiveness overtook his voice.

Anisa didn’t miss it either. “I don’t know. He just said it was important, so I’m guessing it has something to do with taking down asshole. Though he did say alone…” Now she was purposely testing Jon to see if he’d fly into a jealous rage.

“Well you’re not, so he can get the idea out of his fucking head right now.” Jon left no room for argument in his firm gritty voice and draped a possessive arm around Anisa’s shoulders. “I’m going with you.”

She really didn’t want to fight with Jon since they just got back together, but Glen made it clear on the phone he wanted to talk to her privately. “As much as I appreciate you being overprotective of me, I can take care of myself, baby.” Anisa smiled coolly up at him and buckled up when the announcement came over the intercom they were ready to take off.

“I’d feel a lot better if I came with you, darlin’.” Jon pushed, rubbing her arm up and down soothingly. “He IS Calaway’s best friend…”

“And yet he’s agreeing to help us. Therefore, he’s my friend too. You’re not winning this argument, Jon. I love you, but I do trust Glen and I’m going to talk to him ALONE about whatever is on his mind and that’s final.” She stated with finality and pulled out a book from the bag she carried on the plane, flipping it open to the spot she left off on.

All Jon could do was sit beside her frustrated and couldn’t believe Anisa bested him in an argument, scowling darkly. There had to be a way to change her mind. Jon didn’t want her venturing off alone with Glen somewhere secluded where he could have his way with her, betray her or do both by handing her over to Mark. Didn’t she think of that outcome? He opened and closed his mouth several times to restart the argument, but it was clear Anisa was finished with it for the time being. Leaning his head back against the seat, Jon placed his headphones on and blasted music in his ears, trying to calm down.

~!~

“You want me to what?”

“I know it’s a lot to ask, but he’s been up my ass all night. I just need a small escape so I can meet Glen and talk to him without Jon breathing down our necks.” Anisa explained, staring into her brother’s confused eyes and chewed her bottom lip. “He’s leaving me no choice except to sneak off.”

Phil had to hand it to his sister; when she was determined to do something, nothing stood in her way. Though, he wasn’t sure how to distract Jon long enough for Anisa to make her getaway. Talking about the upcoming war was out of the question because everything had been said at Joe’s during their days off. Why was it every time Anisa needed his help with something, it was close to impossible to pull off?

“You just got back together…” Phil felt the need to point that out because sneaking off with another man, friend or not, wasn’t the best way to continue an already broken relationship. “Maybe…”

“Either you help me with this or I’ll go find someone else who WILL do it.” Anisa was steadfast and planted her hands on her hips, midnight blues narrowing on her brother. “Let me worry about my relationship and you just find a way to keep Jon occupied.”

There was no point in changing her mind. “Fine – fine, sorry.” He mumbled, glancing at the clock and suddenly a light bulb went off in his head. “I’m such an idiot.”

Anisa raised a confused brow. “Why do you say that?”

“We’re having a 6 man tag match together for the main event against the Wyatt’s.” Phil had spaced that fact and felt like smacking his forehead for being stupid. “Just leave with Glen while we’re in the ring. Easy-peasy and I’ll play dumb saying I have no idea where you are when Jon questions it.”

“See, I knew I could count on you, bro.” Anisa hugged him tightly around the neck and kissed his cheek, bounding out of the room to text Glen, letting him know the plan.

Not even a minute later, Glen responded to her with a simple smiley face icon.

~!~

“We need to break Mark down mentally.”

Talk about cutting to the chase, Anisa thought, sitting across from Glen in a nearby bar not far from the hotel. “This is what you wanted to discuss alone?” Maybe sneaking away from Jon hadn’t been the wisest decision. “And what do you mean mentally?”

Taking a swing of his beer, Glen didn’t speak at first and tried coming up with the right words to say. “Mentally as in fucking his mind up, Anisa. I’m coming up blank. He’s the master of mind games and you want to hit him where it hurts most, right?” She nodded, sipping her own beer. “Then hurting him physically won’t be nearly as effective as mentally. If you’ve got anything at all that will help, I’m all ears.”

There was one secret Anisa swore to take to the grave, but if revealing it would help remove Mark from her life forever, she was willing to use it against her ex-husband. It would no doubt tear Mark apart from the inside out, if she decided to use her secret. The problem was, she didn’t know how Glen would respond. Mia was the only person who knew about it, nobody else, not even her brother. Finishing off her beer, Anisa kept her eyes zeroed in on the table while slowly shredding a napkin.

“Anisa…”

“In 2007 when I first met Mark and he began pursuing me, I gave into him one night and we had sex. I consider it being the beginning of us dating since we weren’t in an actual relationship at the time. We were feeling each other out basically, but we were also reckless. It was the first time we had sex and…no protection was used.” Then Anisa thought about it and took back that last line. “No, I was on birth control. That’s right, yes. I had protection, but apparently it wasn’t enough to stop one of Mark’s bastard swimmers from finding my damn egg.” Her hands began shaking while telling the story and Glen could only sit there, listening intently. “A little over a month after we slept together, I started having symptoms and…”

“You were pregnant.” Glen didn’t bother questioning it and kept his voice low, eyebrows drawing together. “Go on.”

Tears filled Anisa’s eyes while she continued revealing the secret. “When I found out about it, I immediately called around until I found an abortion clinic. Mia went with me because I couldn’t do it alone and I flat out refused to tell Mark I was pregnant. We only had sex once for fuck’s sake and I knew it was way too soon for us to have a baby. And if I’m being totally blunt and honest about it, I never wanted to be a mother. I even took the morning after pill I bought at the nearest Walgreens and it didn’t stop the pregnancy. Anyway, I had the abortion and Mia swore to me she’d never mention it again. This is the first time I’ve talked about it since I went through the process. It wasn’t an easy decision to make by any means, but I’m glad I did it because if I hadn’t, I’d be tied to that psychotic asshole for life and probably still married to him right now.”

To say Glen was shocked into silence was the understatement of the century. All Mark ever wanted was for this woman to have his children throughout the brief years they were married. Granted, it was for control more than anything, but deep down inside Mark wanted a child with Anisa. The fact Anisa had an abortion to kill their unborn child and never telling the man made her cold and sadistic in Glen’s eyes. He had definitely underestimated her. This was the perfect thing to use against Mark, though Glen would be lying if he said he had mixed feelings about it.

“Wow.” Glen cleared his throat and regained his train of thought, rubbing the back of his neck. “Good – that’s good, now we just have to figure out how to use this against him.”

Anisa had that covered as well, having a few ideas brewing in her twisted mind and ordered another beer. Glen listened to what she had in mind and couldn’t believe how deranged this woman was. How she came up with some of the ideas had Glen silently thanking the man upstairs he wasn’t the one she was after or vice versa. Mark wouldn’t know what hit him once this sick mind game began. Both agreed it was best to keep this between them for the time being since only one other person knew about her abortion. For now, it would be just her, Glen and Mia going through with this plan and if they needed help down the road, then they could tell the others. Around midnight, they left the bar and headed back to the hotel with Anisa hesitant to face the music with a more than likely ticked off Jon.

The moment the door opened to their hotel room, Jon was on his feet still in half his wrestling gear. As angry as he’d been for Anisa’s deception, Joe and Phil talked him down to where his temper simmered to below boiling. The longer Anisa remained gone, the more worried Jon became and eventually his anger turned into hope she would come back unscathed. Anisa was drained mentally and emotionally, her eyes still somewhat swollen from crying. Anything Jon tossed at her wouldn’t compare to the amount of pain she experienced reliving her secret with Glen. Jon could see the deep sadness in her eyes and heaved a sigh, pulling her against him in a tight embrace.

“Jon…”

“Ssshhh, just relax and calm down, darlin’.” Jon soothed in a deep voice, rubbing her back and felt her hands grip his to where her nails slightly dug into his skin. “How about a shower? I haven’t had one yet and you’re shaking like a leaf.”

Anisa slowly looked up at him and touched his face with her fingertips, their noses gently rubbing together. “I’m sorry.” She didn’t know what else to say or what could be said for sneaking off without him. “I had to do it and there’s no excuse…”

“I know.” Jon rested his forehead against hers and lifted her in his arms, legs instantly encircling his waist. “I was an overprotective prick and you did what you had to do. I got it. Now shower time.”

Nothing more about what Anisa did was discussed that night.

~!~

“Well, it’s past midnight and we haven’t heard anything from Jon. Think he kept his cool?” Mia asked, lying on her stomach while Joe’s hands massaged her bare back.

“Hope so.” Joe grunted, not sure how Jon would react once Anisa returned to the hotel from her sneak away with another man. “Otherwise, we’ll be disrupted and then I’ll have to hurt him.”

Mia giggled softly and then moaned as her fiancé’s lips caressed the back of her neck. “Mmm what do you think Glen wanted to talk to Anisa alone about anyway?” Her voice was nothing more than a breathy moan.

He was trying to make love to her and all Mia could think about was their friends. “Lift up, baby girl.” Joe would get her mind on only him the only way he knew how.

“We need to – oh Joe!” Mia’s thoughts went directly in the gutter the moment his dick penetrated her from behind, his large hands gripping her shoulders. They could definitely talk later.

“Always tight, wet and ready for me. Spread those beautiful thighs for me and hold onto the headboard.”

Mia’s eyes shot open when Joe lifted her to straddle his thighs with him resting on his haunches, his hands moving to grip her hips. Instead of holding onto the headboard, Mia reached back to wrap her arms around his neck, tilting her head to the side to accept a passionate kiss from him. The position they were in was erotic and different, not something Mia was expecting from her Samoan Adonis. Thrusting and popping his hips up to continuously hit her sweet spot, all Mia could do was hold on for dear life and cried out his name in repetition. Jon and Anisa were the last things on her mind with Joe balls deep inside of her and his mouth sealed to her neck.

They could help their friends and deal with everything else tomorrow.

Chapter 27

All Mia could do was stare at her best friend with an open mouth and wide eyes. Anisa swallowed hard, her nerves skyrocketing with each passing silent second between them. What could Mia say? This subject hadn’t been discussed since 2007, so Mia was caught off guard. They both vowed to never mention the abortion again. Mia had nightmares for weeks after it happened along with Anisa and she wasn’t the one who had the procedure done. She wasn’t in the room either. The recovery wasn’t too bad, though Anisa was in some pain and the doctors assured her it was natural. Mia stayed by her side the whole time, bringing her friend back to health physically, but emotionally and mentally Anisa was wrecked.

“Why did you tell him?” Mia asked quietly, standing outside of the arena they were hosting Smackdown! in that night and watched her friend take a shaky drag from a cigarette.

“He asked me if I had anything that could fuck with Mark’s mentality.”

“And you chose THAT?” Mia exclaimed, completely dumbfounded by her friend’s fortitude. “You said you never wanted the asshole to find out. Why the sudden change of heart?”

Anisa blew smoke out of her nose and mouth, flicking ash away. “It wasn’t easy for me to do, Mia. Don’t stand there assuming it was hunky dory for me to tell Glen about it.” She heaved a sigh, looking out into the parking lot of parked vehicles. “But I have to fight fire with fire and if that means Mark finding out after all these years, so be it. I’m tired of him screwing with my life and my relationship with Jon. This shit has to end for good. And what I have planned will not only screw with Mark mentally, but emotionally and physically too.”

She had a point, as much as Mia hated admitting it. “Do I dare ask?”

“The only reason I’m telling you any of this is because you’re the only person who knew about the…procedure. And if you really wanna know my plan, I’ll tell you. You won’t like it though.” Anisa stated tonelessly, knowing she couldn’t let her emotions win over or her conscience for that matter.

“I figured as much.” Mia muttered, reaching out to wrap an arm around Anisa’s shoulders. “I support you, no matter what, Nisa. Now tell me what you have planned in that diabolical head of yours.”

Anisa had a mean streak when provoked, so Mia prepared herself to hear absolutely anything. Her eyes grew wider as she listened to Anisa’s plan unfold, feeling both sickened and fascinated at the same time. She really did have a wicked sense of retribution, Mia thought, a slow smirk creeping across her face.

“What do you think? Too much?”

The normal answer would’ve been yes under any other circumstances, with the exception of this one. “No. Like you said, Mark has screwed and toyed with you for years since the divorce and maybe getting a taste of his own medicine will finally make him see the light. I just hope you can handle going through with this.” She was more worried for Anisa’s mentality considering everything she’d been through already.

If Mia was on board with the plan, that’s all the reassurance Anisa needed to go through with it. “Good, phase 1 starts next Monday for Raw.” Then she had an afterthought. “Let’s keep this between me, you and Glen, okay? With Ryanne pregnant, I don’t want to upset her with abortion talk.” Mrs. Orton didn’t need any more stress after the attack from Erick Rowan, the sadistic ginger-haired monster of the Wyatt Family.

Mia agreed instantly. “You got it. I wasn’t planning on telling anyone, not even Joe. The less he knows about this plan, the better. Are you going to tell Jon?”

“I – I haven’t decided yet.” Anisa finished her cigarette and felt the urge to light another one up, but refrained to try saving what was left of her lungs. “Part of me does, but a bigger part of me is scared he’ll judge me. I don’t know what his feelings are about abortion and I really don’t want to find out. There’s no subtle to bring up the subject of me aborting my ex-husband’s baby years ago.” She was hoping to leave that chapter of her life behind once Mark was finally out of her life forever.

“True.” Mia agreed, wondering what she would do if the roles were reversed.

“Would you tell Joe, if it was you?”

Of course Anisa would ask that, Mia grumbled in thought, and merely shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know. I feel the same way you do – half and half. Though I do know Joe is a huge family man, so more than likely he’s against it. I could be wrong though. Like you, I hope to never have that answered.”

“You know I love Jon, right? I would never do anything to hurt him, not intentionally anyway.” Anisa had already hurt her boyfriend once and never wanted to go through it again. “But this is a huge secret from my past and I know he has stuff from his he doesn’t want to tell me. So I don’t see the reason in bringing it up. What he doesn’t know won’t hurt him.”

“If he does find out though…”

“I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it.”

The backdoor of the arena opened and both girls turned their heads to see who it was, smiling at a timid Krystal Levesque headed their way. They hadn’t gotten a chance to ask how her date with Stuart went the other night in Pensacola and were eager to find out the details. Things had been hectic what with Jon agreeing to move to Atlanta in Anisa’s house and Mia wedding planning like crazy. This was literally the first time all 3 women had a chance to stand around and talk without rushing off to take care of other business.

“So, how did it go with Stu?” Mia’s grin faltered when Krystal lowered her eyes to the ground, shuffling her feet back and forth. “Oh no, what happened?”

How the hell was she supposed to tell her friends Stuart’s confession? Krystal was having a hard time wrapping her own mind around it and hadn’t told anyone, keeping to herself for the past few days. She understood why Stuart planned to hurt Colby with Paul Wight’s help, but at the same time the amount of resentment she felt toward both men couldn’t be ignored. Granted, it wasn’t their fault Colby was an idiot and decided to jump script before Wight had a chance to execute Stuart’s plan. Still, it made her wonder what would’ve happened had Colby’s leg been broken instead of him being a vegetable for the rest of his life.

“Sit down, Krys.” Anisa offered, patting the spot next to her on the equipment trunk and took her hand once Krystal did, feeling how badly her body trembled. “What’s wrong? Did Stuart hurt you?” Maybe pushing Krystal to go out with the Englishman hadn’t been a bright idea.

“No!” Krystal exclaimed and cringed at how high her voice was, clearing her throat. “No.” She repeated, this time in a lower register and didn’t realize tears had built in her eyes until they began flowing down her cheeks. “I – I’m so confused and don’t know what to do about this.”

Mia could tell Krystal was on the verge of becoming hysterical and shared a worried look with Anisa, taking Krystal’s other hand. “Talk to us, sweetie. What happened?” She coaxed soothingly, rubbing Krystal’s back trying to calm her down.

It took a few minutes before Krystal could speak and kept her voice low, trusting these women completely. “Stuart confessed something to me when we went out together the other night and…I can’t get it out of my head. I’m having nightmares about it and I’ve been avoiding him like the plague.” The dark circles under her eyes signified lack of sleep.

Anisa felt a twinge in the pit of her stomach and encouraged Krystal to continue. “You can tell us anything, but only if you want to. We’re not pushing or forcing it.”

“I know and I need to talk about it before it drives me into a mental institution. And I can’t talk to Paul about it because he would not only fire Stu, but probably Show as well.” Krystal muttered that last part, shaking her head sadly.

What did Show have to do with it? Anisa frowned deeply along with Mia, both of them giving Krystal their undivided attention. “Go on, sweetie. Let it out and tell us what’s going on.”

Slowly, Krystal told her friends everything Stuart confessed a few nights ago on their night out together. How Colby’s injury was supposed to be a broken leg instead of a severed spine. She cried while explaining it, unable to keep the tears at bay and could already feel a huge weight lift from her shoulders now that someone else knew besides her. Both Mia and Anisa were shell-shocked and didn’t know what to think, do or how to respond. Stuart had asked Show’s help to take out Colby for a while to hopefully get his head out of his backside and it boomeranged.

“Jesus…” Anisa whispered, covering her mouth with her hand and couldn’t imagine what Krystal felt inside at the moment. “We had NO idea about that when we pushed you go out with him, Krys. I swear to you…”

“I know you didn’t and I wanted to go because I do like Stu. I’ve always liked him, even before Colby’s accident. I just – I can’t believe he went as far as to try teaching my boyfriend a lesson by taking him out of the ring with another man’s help. It’s baffling, mind-blowing and I have no idea how to feel about it.” Krystal wiped her tears away, accepting a tissue Mia procured from her pocket and blew her nose, sniffling. “What happened to Colby…?”

“Is nobody’s fault except his own.” Anisa cut her off before Krystal could start placing blame and guilt on herself for the accident. “Look at me, Krys, and listen to what I say. You are not to blame for what happened to him. Colby jumped script like a moron and got himself injured. You had nothing to do with it.”

“And even if Show had broken his leg, that still wouldn’t be your fault because you can’t control the actions of Stuart. He’s his own person and makes his own decisions. Clearly, he was pissed off at how Colby was treating you and went about it the wrong way.” Mia added, rubbing Krystal’s hand to keep her calm since the gestured worked thus far. “None of this is your fault, understand?”

It was nice to hear both of her friends’ support and made Krystal feel a little better about the situation. “I don’t know what to do about Stu now. I’m so…not afraid, but a little intimidated now that I know what lengths he’ll go to for me. I want to talk to him…”

“That man cares a great deal for you, sweetie. A blind man can see that, just like I told you in Pensacola. And after what he confessed to you, though it was wrong, it’s still incredibly sweet. He was trying to be your protector.” Mia explained, wondering if Anisa agreed with that and kept her dark eyes on Krystal. “I know what happened with Colby is still very fresh and it’s gonna take more time getting over, but…what do you feel for Stuart?”

Krystal smiled genuinely, squeezing Mia’s hand and clutched the used tissue in her other one, refusing to liter outside of the arena. “I like him. I don’t know how far it goes, but I definitely like him.” She admitted openly in a sheepish voice, feeling her cheeks start to burn.

“Like as in…how? Friends or more?” Anisa pried, unable to stop her curiosity from peaking.

“More; definitely more.” Krystal didn’t hesitate with that answer and hopped off the equipment trunk. “I need to head back inside for round 2 of injuries tonight. I’ll see you both later and thanks for the talk.” They hugged quickly and watched Krystal scamper back inside the building.

“That girl’s got it baaaaaaaad.” Mia said in a sing-song voice, causing Anisa to groan in response.

“Woman, my ears don’t need to bleed tonight.”

“Oh shut up! You love my singing and you know it!”

Anisa rolled her eyes, draping an arm around Mia’s shoulders. “I hope she realizes how much that man loves her. There’s no caring about it anymore. Any man who does that and goes to those extremes to protect a woman – that’s love, period.”

“Oh I know that, but I wasn’t about to drop the L bomb on her. Krystal is fragile enough as it is right now. I just can’t believe Stuart actually planned to take Colby out. Do you think Joe and Jon know?” Mia asked while they walked back inside the arena. She had a match and Anisa had some more work to get done since she was leaving that night to go to Tampa with her boyfriend escorting her.

“I doubt it. And they better not find out either. Best to keep that secret as well.”

The girls parted ways and headed in opposite directions, one to a dressing room and the other to her office. Anisa worked the rest of the night until the Smackdown! taping ended, thankful she’d been left alone. No shenanigans whatsoever from Bray, Mark or any of his posse. It unnerved Anisa since she knew Bray was there for the taping, but she also refused to live her life in fear of him. Whatever came her way from this point forward, Anisa planned on fighting back with everything she had and it started with the plan for Mark. Everything had been ordered, printed out and mailed to her place in Atlanta. Jon would be moving in as soon as they had more than 2 days off, which was fine with her.

Jon walked in Anisa’s office and saw she was in deep thoughts, fingers flying over the keys of her laptop. He smirked, knowing she didn’t see him walk in or hear the door for that matter. If the woman didn’t stop daydreaming, someone could come in and take advantage of her – someone who wasn’t as loving and friendly as him. No scolding tonight, he was sore and ready for the plane ride to be over so they could soak in a Jacuzzi at their designated hotel for a while upon arrival. Hell, maybe Anisa would be in the mood for a little loving in the hot water too, if Jon had his way. When he placed his hands on her shoulders, Anisa jumped about a foot in the air out of her seat and clutched her chest, whipping around in the chair to face her hysterically laughing boyfriend.

“You ASS!!” Anisa growled, smacking his chest none too gently and tried to dislodge her heart from her throat. “You scared me to death!”

“I know!” Jon wheezed, coughing because of how hard he laughed at her and received another smack. “Darlin’, you know I like it rough, so if you don’t want to miss our plane I suggest you stop doing that.”

Anisa shivered at the desire coursing through Jon’s eyes and wondered briefly if they could catch a redeye flight to Tampa. “Screw it.” She undressed in front of him and sat on the desk, nothing except her heels on and Jon followed suit, knowing exactly what she wanted. “Front or back?”

“Just fuck me, Jon.”

Moans and groans flowed from behind the door as Anisa cried out Jon’s name and he bellowed out hers, both not realizing they had someone eavesdropping on their sexual bout.

“JON!”

“ANISA!”

Bright blues darkened with rage and Bray clenched his fists tightly at his sides, stalking away before he kicked the door down to beat the hell out of Jon for touching what was HIS.

Chapter 28

Waking up, Mark thought it would be a day like every other with no surprises. Boy was he wrong! Michelle was still in Florida and he’d been on the road with the company to keep an eye on his new entourage. He was a man and had needs, so naturally he found a woman similar looking to Anisa at a local strip joint in the city. The moment he found her, it didn’t take long for the whore to drop on her knees and give him ‘special treatment’ in the VIP room. Her mouth felt wonderful and Mark kept his eyes closed, the whole time envisioning his ex-wife on her knees pleasuring him. They ended up breaking the rules when Mark locked the door and ordered the stripper to bend over while unfastening his jeans. Hungry for his cock, the stripper obliged without hesitation and got in the position her client wanted, not minding her thong being ripped from her body. Long flowing blonde hair and deep dark blue eyes, Mark was in heaven while he had his way with her for the night. Every time he released, Anisa’s name slipped out of his mouth while filling the condom with his seed. There was no way he could chance getting a whore pregnant, not when he was still married to Michelle. Mark jolted out of his thoughts when a hand slipped out from under the covers to caress his bare chest, just a hint of hair on it since he didn’t wax anymore.

“Didn’t you get enough last night?” He rumbled darkly, not stopping the small soft hand from slipping under the covers to start stroking his awakened cock. “Mmm you wanna ride my cock again?”

“Considering I lost my job last night for you, it’s the least you can do for me.” The sultry voice remarked and a leg swung over to drape across Mark’s waist, a condom already in her hand tearing it open with her teeth.

“Turn around then.” He didn’t want to look at her while they had sex, trying to keep the image of Anisa’s face in his mind instead of the whore currently sinking her pussy down on his cock. “Now ride me.”

The stripper didn’t mind and did what Mark demanded, following every order to achieve another earth-shattering orgasm from him. Mark watched his pulsating cock disappear every few seconds while the whore bounce on him, crying out while plucking at her own nipples. He had no desire to touch her breasts and kept his hands on her waist the whole time, not bothering to pleasure her as much as she was him. After all, why should he have to do all the work?

Michelle always complained about him not paying enough attention to her body in the bedroom and there was a very good reason for that. What used to be an athletic slim body had turned into bones and Mark was honestly afraid he’d crush her if they had rough sex. His ex-wife, on the other hand, had a body any woman would kill for with curves that were begging to be caressed and fully shaped breasts his hands loved grabbing onto. Michelle didn’t have much of a chest, though Mark tried convincing her to get a breast enhancement and had the taste slapped out of his mouth for his troubles. Deep down, he knew it was karma for cheating on Anisa with Michelle, but Mark didn’t regret it either and dealt with anything tossed his way.

“Oh yeah, oh fuck you feel so good, Undertaker…” The stripper moaned out blissfully, remembering her client’s name he gave her and gasped when he suddenly positioned her on all fours. “W-What are you…?”

“Shut up.” Mark whispered, burying his hand in her blonde tresses and positioned his cock at her other available hole.

“I – I don’t do that…”

“I said SHUT UP!” Mark slammed her face down on the bed, holding her neck to where she couldn’t move and ignored her flailing arms while pushing his cock inside of her tight hole. “You know you love my dick in your ass, don’t deny it, whore.”

All the stripper could do was cry out while this monster violated a region of her body she’d never explored. Mark didn’t care. It wasn’t the first woman he raped and it wouldn’t be the last. She practically begged for his cock earlier and now she was acting like he was hurting her when she probably had several dicks in her hole at once. Not bothering to let her adjust to him, Mark plummeted in out of her unreceptive body and growled out his release minutes later. It didn’t last nearly as long as he wanted, but was enough to satisfy him for the time being.

“Y-You MONSTER!!” She shrieked once he slid out of her and released her neck, tossing her to the floor in a heap.

“Get the fuck out of my hotel room, whore. And don’t bother runnin’ to the police about this. Everyone saw you pawin’ at me at your job last night and practically humpin’ me on the way up here last night. So go cry rape to someone who’ll listen, if you can find ’em.” A wicked smirk crossed his face when the dawning realization flashed across the stripper’s face, all the hope for help dying in her eyes. “And I’m not payin’ for sloppy pussy either, now beat it.”

Hightailing it out of there with clothes in hand, the stripper made haste to the nearest bathroom to clean up and passed by a bewildered delivery boy on the way. He’d just gotten to the hotel room he had a package for when the door swung open and a naked woman flew past him like her backside was on fire. Mark raised a brow at the delivery boy, signed the dotted line on the contraption in his hand, tossed him a $50 and told him to take a hike. Who the hell would send him a package to a hotel?

“Probably Michelle…” He grunted, shaking his head and wondered what his wife sent him now. “What the fuck?”

Inside the package was a neatly folded dark purple baby blanket with white letters RIP etched in the soft material. It was crocheted, handmade and Mark didn’t know what to make of the gift. Who the hell would send him a baby blanket? Was Michelle pregnant again? And if so, why would she embroider RIP? Rest in Peace was his in-ring catchphrase for the WWE. Mark was confused and didn’t bother touching the blanket, instead whipping out his cell phone to call Michelle. If this was her idea of telling him she was knocked up again, this was the wrong way to do it.

“Hello?”

“What the fuck kinda game are you playin’, woman?” Mark demanded in a growl, walking away from the package and rubbed his nearly bald head in frustration.

Michelle blinked, hearing the anger in her husband’s voice and held her hand up in a ‘one second’ gesture to her sister, walking away from the breakfast table. “What are you talking about, Mark? I haven’t talked to you since yesterday. What’s going on?”

Mark quickly explained the gift and Michelle was sickened that someone would send him a vile gift like that. “So if you didn’t fuckin’ send it, then who did?”

“Did you manage to ask the delivery person who the package originally came from? They’ve gotta have records for that.” Michelle suggested, frowning deeply and saw her daughter waving her back over to the breakfast table since it was finished. “Look, I have to go, but keep me posted on what’s going on. I love you.”

“Yeah bye.” Mark grunted, shaking his head in disbelief and dialed another number, waiting for the recipient to answer. “Get to my room in 5, son. We have a situation that needs to be addressed immediately.”

~!~

A baby blanket? Bray could only stare at the thing Mark tossed his way as soon as he walked inside the man’s hotel room. The smell of sex and sweat lingered in the air, so Bray breathed out of his mouth as much as he could. It was disgusting. Mark ranted and raved for a good solid hour about the baby blanket, demanding to know who sent it to him. Then he ordered Bray, Luke and Erick to find the culprit, by any means necessary. They were now at the arena with Mark holed up in his dressing room and Bray carousing the halls, trying to find a clue to this mystery. He ended up running into the one person who brightened his day, no matter if they were on the outs, and decided to screw with her a little to liven his night up.

“Well, well, well…”

Anisa was not in the mood for Bray’s games and rolled her eyes. “Make it quick, Wyatt. I have a job to do and don’t have time to deal with you right now.” She fought back a smirk at the sight of a baby blanket in Wyatt’s hand – the same one she’d sent to Mark.

It was the first of many packages he’d receive.

Phase 1 in session, Anisa thought happily, keeping a stone face in front of Bray so he didn’t cotton onto anything. “Well?”

Bray didn’t expect to be tongue-tied with Anisa and cleared his throat, holding the blanket up. “Do you know anything about this? The Deadman received it this mornin’ and-”

This was the way he planned on grilling her about the blanket? Anisa wanted to laugh in his face and fought the urge strongly, not wanting her plan to go to waste before it had a chance to really begin. “How the fuck would I know anything about what Mark receives? I’m not his wife anymore and I certainly have better things to worry about in my life than his…whatever that is.” She played dumb, congratulating herself on sounding convincing. “Maybe his current wife is trying to tell him something. Wouldn’t be a surprise. Tell him to do that, I have to go.”

Bray could only watch her walk away and looked at the baby blanket again, wondering how he’d sunk this low in his wrestling career.

~!~

His whole body shook from head to toe.

Bray walked in Mark’s dressing room just as an object came flying at his head, barely ducking the impact. It exploded into a thousand pieces, bouncing off the concrete wall before all the pieces landed scattered on the floor. From what Bray saw, it looked to be a destroyed tape recorder – an old one judging by the shambled small tape dangling from the contraption.

“I’m gonna take a wild guess and say this is another ‘gift’?” Bray surmised, seeing how enraged Mark was and kept his distance from the Deadman, just to be on the safe side. “Do you-” He barely got those two words out before Mark stormed out of the dressing room, leaving Bray standing there perplexed.

This shit was ending NOW, Mark thought angrily, stalking to his best friend’s dressing room with purpose.

Glen was busy getting ready for his in-ring return on Raw when the door flew open and he immediately turned to stare at a very irate Mark. The packages must’ve started arriving, he thought, and folded his arms in front of his chest with a tilted head. “Have ya ever heard the concept of knockin’?”

Green acid flowed out of Mark’s eyes while staring at Glen, fists clenched tightly at his sides. “I need your help. Formalities will have to wait until later.” He said through gritted teeth.

As if Glen would help him after all the hell Mark put Anisa through lately. No, he was on her side, but Mark didn’t know that and never would if their plan went off without any problems. “You gonna tell me what’s goin’ on or stand there snortin’ and breathin’ heavily like a bull in heat?” He couldn’t help goad Mark a little.

Mark let that slide because Glen was his best and only friend in the company currently. He explained what happened that morning with the baby blanket, sending the Wyatt’s on the hunt to find out who delivered it. The postal service was zero help and they had no recollection of the package coming through. There was no boy with a blue hat and jumpsuit either that worked for them. So whoever the boy was had been paid personally to deliver the package with the baby blanket.

“Found another one tonight outside my dressin’ room shortly after sendin’ the Wyatt’s out huntin’ again.”

“What was the package this time?” Glen tried sounding disgusted even though he was thoroughly amused at how frazzled Mark was.

Shutting his eyes, Mark had a hard time speaking and took a few minutes to regain his bearings. “It was a tape recorder…with the sound of a baby’s cry on it. And the cry turned into a flat line.

How Anisa came up with THAT one, Glen had no idea and made a mental note to commend her on the devious brain she had. “Are you serious? That’s fucked up, man.” Now it was Glen’s turn to do his part of the master plan. “Maybe Michelle sent them.”

“Called her already. Said she has no idea about the blanket and I haven’t asked about the recorder yet.”

“What if it was a joke on her part?” Glen suggested, watching Mark’s eyes turn even darker if that was possible since they were already acidic pools. “Don’t get me wrong, I love Shelly to death. But you gotta admit, a baby blanket and a tape recorder with a baby’s cry and flat line on it? That’s pretty sick. Maybe she’s gettin’ back at you for somethin’ you did to her a while back.”

The more Mark thought about it, the more convinced he became that Michelle could’ve been the culprit. He remembered a few months ago when Michelle took a pregnancy test and had been excited about it, only for Mark to tear her down. He didn’t want any more kids with her at the time and told her to plan for an abortion because they had their hands full already. Michelle gave him the silent treatment for a month straight with no sex and forced him to sleep in the guest bedroom of their ranch.

“That fuckin’ bitch…” Mark hissed, clenching his fists tighter to the point where his nails dug into the skin of his palms. “I’ll kill her if she did this.”

Glen nodded, glad he’d egged Mark on and convinced him to investigate his wife instead of anyone on the roster. “For all you know, she could be a psycho bitch deep down inside. I’d definitely check her shit out and make sure it’s not her screwin’ with you.”

“Thanks man, I owe you one.”

Glen smirked once Mark left his dressing room and picked up his patent leather glove from the bench, slipping it on chuckling. “Don’t mention it.”

Chapter 29

Stretching for her match, Mia’s focus was on Brie Bella that night and nobody else. Her wedding plans and Curtis was pushed in the back of her mind. It’d been a few weeks since Mia had been in the ring due to a few of her matches being cancelled at the last minute. Stephanie assured her it was just her father going on a tangent wanting things changed around to his liking. Frankly, the old man should’ve retired long ago, but he couldn’t let his daughter and son-in-law take over the company he built. Mia didn’t blame him, but on the other hand her matches were being messed with along with everyone else’s. It sort of reminded her of the WCW days where people received their scripts right before going out in front of thousands of people to perform. She never worked for that company, thankfully, but now Vince was starting to turn senile and had no idea how to run the WWE, hurting his company in the process.

Shaking her head, Mia tried ridding all negatives thoughts out of her mind and continued stretching before lacing up her boots. Just as she finished, the door to her locker room opened and Mia smiled, thinking it was Joe with her back facing him. The smile immediately vanished from her face when she turned around and stared into the cold eyes of the wrong Joe – Curtis Hennig. Mia didn’t move an inch, recalling the last time she tried defending herself against Curtis and decided against attacking him. Her cracked cheekbone had healed perfectly, but it didn’t stop Mia from thinking back to the night Curtis injured her purposely.

Curtis waited for her to scream or make a move toward him, disappointed when all his Indian goddess did was stand there staring at him. He decided to test the waters and closed the distance between them, roughly grabbing her chin to survey her healed cheekbone with a snort. Good, he didn’t want to pine for a scarred woman, especially when it was by his own hand. Why couldn’t she understand he loved and wanted her? Why did she have to be in love with a Samoan behemoth who would never make her truly happy? Mia had to open her eyes before she made the biggest mistake of her life and married the wrong man.

“Your wedding will never happen, cupcake.” His finger slid down her cheek to her jaw, gently caressing the soft skin while her eyes remained locked on him. “Do you want to know why?”

“Enlighten me.” Mia kept her voice stoic, though a hint of agitation shined through and she fought back the urge to roll her eyes.

“Simple. I’ll put an end to him the same way Big Show did to Rollins.” Curtis smiled triumphantly, thinking he held all the cards when in fact nothing he said bothered Mia. “So enjoy the Samoan bitch while you can because soon it’ll be over.” He backed her up against the nearest wall, his hand splayed on her flat toned stomach and felt every part of her body tense. “Because if I can’t have you, no one will.” Burying his nose in her hair, Curtis inhaled the intoxicating scent of her pomegranate shampoo and closed his eyes, relishing the feeling of their bodies being close.

Mia didn’t know what to say or how to react to any of this, wishing he would just leave her locker room. There’s no point in saying something to piss him off just so he can crack or break anything else on my body, she thought, letting Curtis say and think what he wanted regarding her being with Joe. Her fiancé could and would demolish him when the time was right; it was only a matter of time.

Still nothing. Curtis became frustrated with her silence and wondered what thoughts went through her mind currently. “You enjoyed my hands on your body and you can’t deny it, cupcake.” He crooned in her ear, pressing further against her body to where their lower extremities brushed together and groaned. “You would’ve fought me off if you didn’t enjoy the massage I gave you.” Pulling back, he stared into her dark even eyes and curled his upper lip, gripping her hip somewhat roughly. “What? No smartass comeback?”

Mia shook her head, though in her head she said plenty and currently cussed him out violently. Just wait you piece of dog shit, Joe is gonna rip you apart when he finds out about this, Mia thought angrily, squaring her shoulders and felt sick to her stomach at the feeling of Curtis’s unimpressive erection against her inner thigh. If he didn’t leave soon, she would vomit all over him and end up being hurt again.

“Good little bitch, you’re learning.” Curtis grunted, tired of pushing her buttons and traced her bottom lip with the tip of his thumb. “Good luck in your match tonight, cupcake, I’ll be watching.” Tempted to kiss her, Curtis held back and left the locker room with a mile long grin, the door closing behind him.

Sprinting in the bathroom, Mia barely made it to the porcelain toilet and emptied the contents of her stomach. She didn’t stop until there was nothing left, tears streaming down her cheeks and tried to stop trembling from head to toe. Curtis legitimately scared her and she had no idea why since Joe was twice his size. Touching her healed cheekbone, Mia peeled herself off the floor and stumbled over to the sink to douse her face in cold water. This match against Brie couldn’t be cancelled. Mia had to suck it up and go out there with a smile on her face, no matter the kind of hell her body currently felt on the inside. She was just glad she never wore her engagement ring during matches since she was supposed to be perceived as a hot single WWE Diva. Needing to go have her hair and makeup done by WWE’s beauticians, Mia headed out after some color returned to her face, contemplating telling Joe about Curtis’s visit.

She ended up running into Melanie on the way to finish her look for the show.

“Hey Mia, where are you rushing off to?” Melanie hadn’t spent an obscene amount of time with Mia unlike Anisa, but still considered the Indian beauty a friend.

“Getting my hair and makeup done.” Mia noticed the change in attire on Melanie and quirked a brow. “Why are you dressed in jeans and a WWE t-shirt?”

“Well, since I’m taking some time off from my firm and traveling with Phil, I asked Stephanie and Paul if they had any job openings or anything I could do so I don’t go out of my mind with boredom.” Tourist attractions only lasted and were fun for so long. “So they put me on the ring crew – part-time.”

Mia blinked, not expecting that and couldn’t help thinking of Coralie since her job had been on the ring crew. “How does Phil feel about that?” She asked quietly, both of them walking down the hallway toward the beautician station.

Melanie didn’t cotton onto why Mia asked that and shrugged with a smile. “He doesn’t mind and wishes I would take this time to relax, but I’ve worked most of my life. Besides, I do have experience on scaffolds since I worked for my brother’s band in high school installing light installations for their concerts. That was before I decided to become a lawyer, of course. As much fun as it was, I knew I wouldn’t survive on the small pay from my brother gave me.”

This was further proof Phil had found the perfect woman after Coralie. “Wow, is your brother’s band still around?” Mia was intrigued and Curtis’s visit was temporarily forgotten for the time being.

“Oh god no!” Melanie laughed, shaking her head. “Our parents were VERY strict when it came to education and he was forced to go to school just like me. Only, he ended up majoring in engineering and now runs his own car repair shop. Mom and Dad aren’t thrilled with it, but at least he’s making decent money and supporting himself. And on occasion, he does rock out with his old band buddies whenever one comes to town.”

“Sounds like he’s happy. Are you with being a lawyer?”

“It’s stressful at times, not gonna lie. I wouldn’t trade it for the world though. I love my clients and I fight for the little people. Big rich assholes don’t impress me and neither do the huge checks they try flashing my way on a daily basis.” Melanie was steadfast in the kind of clients she represented and lawyer reputation she wanted. “I’ll also admit I love being on the road with Phil and spending time with him.”

Mia stopped in her tracks and looked up at Melanie, seeing the truth shining in her brown eyes. “I need to ask you something and I don’t want you to think I’m a bitch for it, but I’m honestly curious…”

“You think Phil and I are moving too fast because of Coralie’s death, right?” Melanie folded her arms in front of her chest, reading the woman like a book. “Look, I know it may seem fast to people and they think I’m using him for his money, when I’m not. I have my own money and I’m very well off. I have a degree from Harvard University and I’m one of the best lawyers in the country. Yes, I’m tooting my own horn here - sorry. Bottom line is I love Phil. I didn’t mean for it to happen as fast as it did, but you have no control over who you fall in love with. I don’t blame people for being skeptical about it either. I even tried walking away from Phil because I didn’t want to be a rebound for him from Coralie. But the heart wants what it wants and if it doesn’t, it’ll make your life miserable. And when it comes down to it, the only people that matter are me and him because it’s nobody else’s business what happens between us.”

“I get it.” Mia said truthfully, placing a hand on Melanie’s shoulder gently. “And I accept it. Coralie was my friend and I will never forget her, but I’m also glad Phil isn’t alone and has you. And if you two are in love and happy, that’s all that matters. Thanks for being honest with me.”

Melanie winked, the smile never once leaving her face during the whole speech. “Maybe we can move on as closer friends now that you know the truth.”

“Count on it.”

The women parted ways with Mia hightailing it to the beautician station and Melanie going to the ring to fix a light installation on the scaffold. Somehow, it came loose after the installation, so the bolts had to be tightened the old-fashioned way. Melanie was never afraid to get her hands dirty and climbed the ladder, the familiar exhilarating feeling sweeping over her. Heights didn’t bother her either, especially since she was strapped in a safety harness. She was the one to ask for a job to do since Phil was busy getting ready for his match and didn’t want to be disturbed. Not that he said those exact words to her, but Melanie could read between the lines.

“Shit, gonna take a few times to get a hang of this again.” She mumbled, making it to the top with tools in hand and walked across the scaffold toward the light in question. “What the hell?”

Not only was the light loosened, but an object was over it preventing a full ignited stream toward the ring. The closer she got to the light, the more she realized what the object was. Light shined through the thin object, making the eyes stand out like two black holes. A lamb mask. Shaking slightly, Melanie didn’t touch it and whipped around to head back down the ladder, only to smack into what felt like a brick wall. Melanie stumbled backwards, her equilibrium temporarily knocked off track and the velocity sent her right over the scaffold railing. Screaming ensued from the coworkers below and Melanie prepared herself for the landing, when a strong hand shot out wrapping around her wrist. Melanie gasped, choking on her own scream and snapped her head up to lock terrified brown on crazed eyes. Luke would let her fall, Melanie was sure of it and felt tears slide down her cheeks freely.

“P-Please…” She whispered in a stammered plea, closing her eyes when his grip loosened just a little.

Luke had no intention of letting her fall and had to use his strength to pull her back up over the railing. He wanted to scare her, not watch her fall to her death. Not when he wasn’t done playing with her yet. Melanie’s heart leapt in her throat when Luke placed her in front of him on her feet and scrambled away from him, swallowing hard. Why didn’t he let her fall? Snatching the lamb mask off the light, Luke turned around and placed it over Melanie’s head before disappearing off the scaffold. There was a small bridge leading to the scaffold platform and light fixtures, but he had to make a jump to get to it.

Melanie couldn’t move or speak, not able to reach up to tear the lamb mask off of her head. She was frozen stiff, mumbling Phil’s name repeatedly. He was the only one she wanted at the moment. 20 minutes later, Phil flew down to the ring and climbed the ladder to the scaffold Melanie was on as fast as he could. He stopped short at the sight of the lamb mask on her face and immediately tore it off, pulling her shaking body against his. Openly crying without making a sound, Melanie clung to her boyfriend for dear life and refused to let Phil go, clinging with everything she had. Phil swallowed his anger down at the Wyatt Family for the time being, needing to take care of Melanie first.

“Wrap your legs around my waist and hold on tight, baby.” Phil whispered in her ear, keeping his voice as low and soothing as possible.

Carefully, they descended the ladder together and Phil felt Melanie bury her face in his neck, continuing to cry. Phil informed the supervisor of the ring crew, Max, his girlfriend was done for the night. He didn’t care if they fired Melanie; it wasn’t like she needed the job to survive when she was a top well-known lawyer. Phil kicked himself mentally for not seeing the trap from the Wyatt Family sooner and shook his head, not letting Melanie go for a second. As much as he wanted to take her to the trainer’s room to be checked out, Phil knew she’d just been scared half to death.

“Calm down, Mel, I got you. I got you now.” Phil murmured, trying to calm her down and turned the corner headed to his dressing room. “I won’t let anything happen to you, I promise.”

All Melanie could do was nod in response, too scared to talk at the moment.

Chapter 30

“Oh Randy…”

He smirked, continuing hitting the right spot just the way his wife liked it. “Feel good, baby?”

“Mmm yes…” Ryanne breathed, feeling her eyes roll in the back of her head and melted further into the couch. “Harder…”

Randy obliged, refusing to deny his beautiful pregnant wife anything. “Is that better?” He wanted to make sure Ryanne enjoyed what he did and it wasn’t too hard or soft.

“Uh huh…”

The door suddenly swung open with Phil carrying a violently sobbing Melanie and Randy pushed Ryanne’s feet off his lap, stopping the orgasmic massage. Ryanne jolted out of her comatose state from the foot massage and pushed off the couch with wide emerald eyes, wondering what happened to her friend. Phil walked past his married best friends to sit on the couch with Melanie still clung to him, kissing a few of her tears away.

“What happened to her?” Ryanne demanded, feeling Randy’s hand on the small of her back while she rubbed her pregnant belly. “Is she alright?”

“Wyatt Family.” Phil growled quietly, hazel eyes ablaze with anger. “I’ll tell you about it later. I need to calm her down first. My match starts the show tonight, so I need you guys to stay with her while I’m out there.” He wanted her to get checked out by the trainer’s, but Melanie refused to let him go.

Randy was already a step ahead of him. “I’ll go get Michael and bring him here. If he’s not available, maybe Krystal can come down to check her out. Ryanne, stay here and try to stay calm.” Dropping a quick kiss on his wife’s mouth, Randy hightailed it out of the dressing room he currently shared with Phil and headed to the trainer’s room.

Walking over to sit on the couch beside Phil and Melanie, Ryanne reached out to hold her friend’s hand, trying not to cry.

~!~

The opportunity was too perfect to pass up.

One minute Randy was on his way to the trainer’s and the next he was clocked in the skull, seeing stars before darkness consumed his body. His attacker quickly lifted Randy under his arms and dragged his limp carcass to a nearby room out of sight. A sick smirk curved his lips while staring at the knocked out Randy Orton and the attacker rubbed his hands together. Now Ryanne was easy to mess with and they had the perfect plan in store for her. Yanking something off his head, Randy’s face was covered in a mask before the attack left the room to execute phase 2 of his plan.

“Did you do it?”

The attacker nodded silently.

“Do you know what must be done next?”

Another nod with no words spoken.

“Then do it. Contact me when you’re done with her.”

~!~

“Where is he?” Ryanne paced back and forth in front of Phil while Melanie slept in his arms, chewing her thumbnail nervously. “It’s been almost a half an hour.”

“Sometimes it takes longer to grab a trainer, depending if they’re busy or not. Don’t worry, I’m sure he’s fine.” Phil tried reassuring the pregnant woman and could see the worry etched in her face.

“Just like you thought it was a good idea for Melanie to take a job on the ring crew with a lunatic after her?” Ryanne retorted, immediately regretting those words and lowered her eyes to the floor. “Sorry…”

Phil merely shrugged, looking down at Melanie and knew what Ryanne said was the truth. “You’re not wrong.” He admitted quietly, resting his head against his girlfriend’s. “But I also can’t tell her what to do. Mel is her own person and the most stubborn woman I’ve ever met. When she sets her mind to do something, nothing can dissuade her.”

“I know, I’m sorry I didn’t mean to say that. I just…these hormones make me crazy and the fact Randy isn’t back yet with those jerks out there…” Ryanne made it a habit not to cuss because their baby boy could hear everything now. “I shouldn’t take it out on my friends.”

“Don’t worry about it, preggers.” Phil grinned and felt Melanie shift in his arms, snuggling further against his body. “How am I gonna make it to my match tonight if she won’t let me up?”

Ryanne thought it was incredibly sweet how attentive Phil was with Melanie, reminding her of Randy in so many ways. “Just get up quickly and set her on the couch. I doubt she’ll wake up.” If Phil remained in the room, Ryanne wouldn’t be able to leave to go search for her husband.

“You sure about that?” Phil sounded skeptical, once again looking down at Melanie’s sleeping face and brushed a strand of hair from her cheek. “I don’t wanna leave her alone.”

“But you have a match and you can’t let the fans down. Trust me, I’ll keep the door locked and everything. I won’t let anyone in until you get back.” Ryanne tried not to sound desperate and took a deep breath, hoping she convinced Phil to go out for his segment to kick off the show. “Go on, just do it fast like ripping off a band-aid.”

Frowning thoughtfully, Phil knew Ryanne made a good point about the fans and swiftly stood up from the couch, depositing Melanie on it carefully. She shifted a little, but didn’t wake up and both sighed a huge breath of relief. Phil grabbed a sweatshirt of his and draped it across her before exiting the room to go prepare for his match. Ryanne waited exactly 5 minutes and left, locking the door behind her with a key Randy gave her earlier that night. Some of the arenas had locks on their doors and some didn’t. Luckily this one did. She trekked down the hallway and kept close to the wall, emerald eyes peeled for any sudden movement. If Randy wasn’t hurt and just screwing around talking to fellow coworkers, she wouldn’t be happy because he caused her unnecessary worry.

The same hallway and spot where Randy had been taken out, Ryanne stopped at the sight of little red droplets on the concrete floor. “What the hell?” She murmured, realizing it was blood and wondered where it came from. Then she noticed part of a t-shirt hanging from one of the nearby equipment trunks and began trembling from head to toe. “Randy…” It was his Viper t-shirt, only with the snake head to make it look like it’d been cut off symbolically. “Where are you?”

“Right here.”

Ryanne’s scream was muffled by a huge hand covering her mouth and her body being dragged to a nearby pitch black room, thrust inside none too gently. “No! Let me out of here!! RANDY!!” She screamed, pounding on the door and gasped when the baby kicked her hard, enough to knock the breath out of her. “I’m sorry baby boy…”

If she didn’t calm down and think rationally, the baby would put her through hell and Ryanne didn’t want that. Her pregnancy was already at high risk, so any added stress to her life affected the baby negatively. Ryanne took a deep shaky breath and managed to slide her hand against the wall until she found the light switch.

And regretted flipping it.

A dark red light pooled the room she was locked in and Ryanne could barely see through it, trying to adjust her eyes. She was horrified at what surrounded her. Baby doll heads hung on the walls from strings connected from their hair. Ryanne covered her mouth with her hand, unable to hold back tears and felt her heart rate accelerate. What kind of sick twisted person would do this? What was the point of showing her cut off baby doll heads? Panic flooded her body as Ryanne whipped back around to start yanking on the door handle, not thinking about her pregnancy at the moment. She had to get out of this room and find her husband, hoping he was alright.

Time seemed to stop while she was locked up.

A groan sounded through the room, too soft for Ryanne to hear at first, but once she stopped yanking on the door handle for a second, it was clear as day. She jumped and snapped around, eyes searching for the owner of the groan. Someone else was in here with her?! Ryanne shakily walked away from the door to search the room and noticed movement out of the corner of her eye in the darkest corner.

“W-Who’s there?” Ryanne shakily called out, hoping she didn’t regret helping whoever was in the room with her.

“Ryanne?” A weak low voice responded followed by a deep cough, groaning.

She knew that voice anywhere and felt her heart nearly stop, relief coursing through every part of her body. “Randy? Oh god, Randy!” Ryanne rushed over to the dark corner and cupped her husband’s face, thanking whoever above for watching over him. “You’re bleeding…”

“I know.” Randy grunted, reaching up to caress his wife’s face with the back of his hand. “What the hell are you doing here? You’re supposed to – to be in the locker room…”

“You never came back and I had to come find you.” Ryanne admitted, sniffling and felt Randy’s hand on her stomach, the baby kicking a few seconds later against his palm. “Baby boy is happy we found you too. What happened?”

Randy couldn’t remember and felt like 50 bricks were on his pounding head, but he had to focus on getting Ryanne to safety. “I don’t know. Come on, we gotta get outta here and get you to a hospital.” He managed to stumble to his feet without using his wife for leverage and leaned back against the wall.

Ripping off a piece of the sundress she wore, Ryanne pressed it to her husband’s lacerated forehead and tried ignoring the hanging baby doll heads surrounding them. “YOU need medical attention more than me. And I can help you, now lean against me and we’ll head toward the door.” She instructed in a voice full of finality and draped Randy’s arm around her neck. “That’s it, one step at a time.”

Once they arrived at the locked door, a surge of anger and adrenaline pulsed through Randy, giving him temporary strength. “Stand back, Ryanne.” He ordered, pushing her a few feet behind him and used all the power in his leg he could, kicking the door open after a few tries.

Ryanne rushed to his side, gasping when Randy suddenly collapsed face first in the hallway and that was all she could handle. “SOMEONE HELP ME!!” She screamed at the top of her lungs, dropping down by Randy’s side to try waking him up. It didn’t work; he was out cold. “PLEASE SOMEONE HELP ME!!”

“I FOUND THEM!!” Krystal shouted over her shoulder, rushing around the corner toward the Orton’s. “Thank god!”

“P-Please h-help h-him…” Ryanne was past hysterics, hiccoughing and felt a pair of arms wrap around her shoulders from behind.

“Let them work on him, Ry.” It was Melanie.

Ryanne shook her head, tears streaming freely down her face. “I-I c-can’t l-leave h-him…” So much had happened that night, she wasn’t sure how much more anyone could handle.

Melanie looked over her shoulder at Phil helplessly, wishing there was something she could do to calm her pregnant friend down. “This isn’t good for the baby…” She pointed out quietly, blinking when Ryanne erupted.

“I DON’T GIVE A FUCK ABOUT THE BABY RIGHT NOW!! MY HUSBAND IS HURT BADLY AND I’M NOT LEAVING HIS SIDE!! NOW GET THE HELL OFF OF ME!!”

“We have to get him to the hospital immediately.” Michael announced, already having an ambulance waiting at the arena on standby and gave Krystal a worried look. “Try to calm her down until they arrive.”

Krystal didn’t blame Ryanne for being hysterical, even though all Melanie was trying to do was help. The paramedics arrived moments later and loaded Randy on a stretcher, placing a breathing mask over his nose and mouth to help him breathe better. The laceration on his forehead was at least 3 inches deep and required staples, but they had to give him scans to make sure no brain damage was done. Phil texted Anisa letting her know what happened and knew she’d inform Mia, giving her the option on whether to come to the hospital or not. Ryanne hopped inside the ambulance to make the trip to the hospital with her husband, holding his hand the whole time praying he made it through this.

“I love you, Randy, please be okay.” She pleaded softly, kissing his hand repeatedly while they injected an IV into his arm.

~!~

“We were gone for 2 hours?” Ryanne asked wide eyed while a stress test was performed on her body.

She hated the round sensors pressed against her stomach because the baby moved away from them. It was almost as if he could sense them and did everything in his power not to cooperate. Luckily, the heartbeat was normal and she hadn’t gone into premature labor, though Braxton Hicks had started.

Melanie nodded, holding Ryanne’s hand and chuckled when the heartbeat lowered because the baby moved again. “Wow, he really doesn’t like those, does he?”

“You have NO idea. He HATES them with a passion.” Ryanne shook her head, not believing her and Randy had been missing at the arena for 2 hours. “Was Stephanie and Paul mad at Randy?”

“No, but they are furious with the Wyatt’s. They interrogated them after the show and the Wyatt’s had an alibi for everything that happened.” Melanie shivered at the memory of being up on the scaffold, trapped like a rat with Luke Harper and nowhere to run or hide. “They were fined and an investigation is being done.”

Ryanne rolled her eyes at that, sitting up a little more in bed while eating some ice cream. “Nothing will be done. They have a mastermind manipulator on their side and Paul is chummy with the Deadman. They’ll do a half-ass investigation and call it a day. So what happened to us won’t be avenged.”

“The hell it won’t.” Phil growled, walking inside the room after eavesdropping a little on their conversation. “We have a plan to take out those assholes, trust me. Just focus on taking care of my godson.”

“I am. How’s Randy?” Ryanne wished she could be with him right now, but the doctors were monitoring the baby’s heartbeat to make sure no contractions started up.

“Grouchy and wanting out of here.” Phil chuckled, walking over to drop a kiss on Melanie’s head. “We’re all 4 leaving tonight, as long as neither of you need to stay for observation. I told Nisa, Jon, Joe and Mia not to come up because there’s nothing they can do and Krystal left an hour ago. She was pretty shook up.”

“Don’t blame her. We all were tonight.” Melanie mumbled, hoping this madness ended sooner rather than later.

Around 3 AM, the Orton’s, Melanie and Phil left the hospital with all clean bills of health and headed back to the hotel for some much needed sleep.

Chapter 31

No amount of foundation or makeup could hide the dark blemishes under Krystal’s eyes from lack of sleep. Between Colby’s paralysis and her relationship ending with him to finding out Stuart had plotted to break Colby’s leg for her and now her friends being attacked at the arenas was an overload for Krystal. She was physically, mentally and emotionally drained from everything happening lately. Not only that, but Ryan Reeves was still after her and Krystal had a feeling Mark was a big part of the reason due to what happened when she first started with the company. Everything was falling apart; her friends were with their loved ones and she’d avoided the only man she could tolerate right now like the plague. Krystal had no idea what she was supposed to say to Stuart after his mind-numbing confession and it broke her heart their friendship was more than likely over.

Looking down at her buzzing phone jolted Krystal out of her deep thoughts while standing in the trainer’s room. The Smackdown! taping was about to begin, so everyone was rushing around last minute trying to prepare for it. Anisa had sent a text letting Krystal know Randy and Ryanne took off back to St. Louis for the duration of the week because of his head trauma. Also, the hospital strongly recommended Ryanne see her OBGYN and have an ultrasound done on the baby to make sure everything was fine. All tests and scans came back normal for her, but they wanted to take every precaution due to her high pregnancy risk. Randy received 14 staples in his forehead and a severe concussion, so the company didn’t know how long it would be before he could get back in the ring.

“What a mess…” Krystal mumbled under her breath, shaking her head and replied a simple ‘thanks’ before slipping the phone in her back pocket.

The show ended with Stuart and Joe closing the show in a tag match against Reeves and Curtis. It was a last minute switch since Randy was originally supposed to be Stuart’s partner. Being a dark match, the officials didn’t mind the change at the last minute and it ended up being a great match. That was until Reeves blasted Stuart in the face with a wrench he procured from under the ring. Stuart was out for the count, slumping on the mat like a sack of potatoes and his eye had already began bruising over.

“Shit.” Krystal covered her mouth with her hand, unable to do anything except watch Reeves climb on top of Stuart for the pin and victory. “That son of a bitch cheated!”

Michael blinked at Krystal’s outburst. “Krystal…”

“I know – I know, we have to stay bias, but that was uncalled for! Now Barrett is laid out in the ring and probably needs a trip to the hospital.” Krystal was annoyed and angry, wanting to destroy Ryan Reeves for putting his hands on her man. Wait, did she just refer to Stuart as hers? “Shouldn’t we get down there and help him?”

Michael opened his mouth to say something and stepped in front of the door when Krystal tried storming out. “You need to calm down and-”

“GET OUT OF MY WAY BEFORE I RIP YOUR HEART OUT!!” Krystal screamed, shoving Michael away from the door and ripped the door open, stalking out of the trainer’s room needing air.

Somehow, she ended up at her brother’s office door and knocked before thinking rationally, tears sliding down her cheeks. Paul opened the door and rose a brow at the sight of his distraught sister. “Krys, what’s going on?” He pulled Krystal in his arms, pulling her into the office so they could talk privately. “Why are you crying?”

“I’m crying?” Krystal’s voice cracked and she lifted her hand to touch the wet streaks on her face, sniffling. “I – I didn’t realize…”

Paul sighed heavily and continued holding his sister, stroking her back letting her cry on him as much as she needed. Things had been tense in the company lately, especially with Colby’s accident. That was just the tip of the iceberg though. Paul had no idea about Colby pestering Krystal to move in with him, to move from Connecticut to Florida or the way he treated her in the last month of their relationship. It was time to come clean to her brother about everything and Krystal could only hope half the state they were currently in didn’t blow up with Paul’s temper.

“There’s something I need to tell you…a lot to tell you, actually.” Krystal corrected, pulling her hand from Paul’s to clasp them tightly in front of her.

“What’s going on, Krystal?” Paul’s voice had dropped to a stern tone and his hazel eyes narrowed with every word that came out of his sister’s mouth.

The only thing Krystal left out was Stuart’s plot. Everything else she admitted through tears, heartache and shame. Only because Stuart’s plan didn’t come to fruition did Krystal keep it hidden, not wanting to destroy another man’s wrestling career. Paul didn’t interrupt or cut her off, listening to every word and when she finished, he handed her some tissues to wipe her tears away. What the hell was he supposed to say to all of that? Ryan Reeves messed with Krystal several times, including trying to blackmail her into going on a date with him. Paul and Stephanie fined him $10,000, but apparently that wasn’t enough to leave Krystal alone. He wanted to rip Reeves limb from limb and started heading for the door when Stephanie walked in, stopping her husband from nearly bulldozing her.

“Where’s the fire, babe?” Stephanie stayed in the doorway and watched Krystal animatedly shake her head behind Paul’s back.

“I need to go talk to someone.” Paul growled, the amount of anger in his eyes telling Stephanie he would kick this someone’s backside and talk later.

“Why don’t we sit down and-”

“No, I need to do this NOW.”

Krystal couldn’t keep quiet any longer. “He’s gonna kill Reeves!” She cried out in exasperation and swallowed hard when Paul spun around to glare at her. “Don’t let him out of the room, Steph!”

Stephanie obeyed, shutting the door with her back pressed against it and folded her arms in front of her chest. “So what the hell did Reeves do this time?” She demanded while Paul paced like a caged animal back and forth in front of her, eyes moving to Krystal.

Heaving a tired sigh, Krystal relayed the situation to Stephanie and could see her sister-in-law’s face quickly turning red. “Steph…”

“He did WHAT?!” Stephanie refused to be disrespected and that included any member of her family, tied to marriage or not. Krystal was part of the McMahon family through her marriage to Paul, so any Superstar screwing with her was also screwing with the McMahon family. “Why didn’t you come to us sooner about this, Krys?”

“I thought I could handle it on my own…and with Colby’s accident, I just…” Krystal began crying again, hating her emotions for overpowering the resolve and Stephanie immediately went to her, engulfing her in another warm embrace.

Stephanie felt horrible for not talking to Krystal sooner. The company had gone haywire lately after Colby’s unfortunate accident and the scripts were a mess, being rewritten on a daily basis thanks to her father, Vince. “We’re gonna figure this out, I promise. Have you heard anything from Colby’s parents about his condition?” As far as she knew, Krystal was still Colby’s girlfriend.

“No…and I won’t either.” Krystal’s voice lowered due to being hoarse from crying so much. “They told me at the hospital not to bother contacting them about how he’s doing. His condition is none of my business and I’m no longer his girlfriend. I was never good enough to take care of him. Their words, not mine.” Paul also hadn’t known that confrontation happened with Colby’s parents until now.

“ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?”

“Paul Levesque, calm yourself down NOW!” Stephanie barked, snapping her fingers and pointed to the nearby chair, ordering him to pop a squat while she finished talking to Krystal. “Blowing up will not solve anything and you know that.”

Paul scowled angrily, curling his upper lip in a snarl. “So what am I supposed to do? Sit here with my thumb up my ass and not defend my sister??” Sometimes he wondered why he married Stephanie in the first place.

“No, but you’re certainly not gonna act like an idiot and go hunt Colby’s parents down to beat the snot out of them either!”

That’s why, Paul thought, feeling his temper simmer a little at her harsh yet truthful words.

“Enough about Colby. I want to know what’s gonna be done about Reeves. After that incident in Pensacola, I don’t feel safe anymore and now he’s working with Calaway. I don’t know what to do because he could pop up at any moment and take what he wants. He’s twice, if not three times, my size.” Krystal voiced her concerns regarding Ryan Reeves for the first time since starting her job with WWE and had contemplated quitting just to get away from him.

This put Stephanie in a really awkward situation because, on one hand, Krystal was her sister-in-law having problems with an employee of the company. On the other, Krystal too was an employee like Reeves, so it would come down to his word versus hers. Granted, there was the blackmail information they had against Reeves, but Stephanie also hadn’t turned that into the company headquarters and dealt with it by fining him. So Reeves could turn around and put Stephanie in a world of trouble since he knew she didn’t go to corporate with his blackmail.

“Krys, you know I’d do anything for you, but…”

“It’s the family business.” Krystal finished for her quietly, already knowing what that meant and was tired of the ‘family business’ getting in the way of stopping these dickheads from hurting her along with people she loved. “Don’t worry about it.”

“Krystal…”

“No Paul, you heard what she said. But implies she’s torn between helping her sister-in-law from an asshole and doing ‘what’s best for business’.” Krystal did the quotation marks with her fingers, trying to swallow her own anger down. “I have to go.”

It took a few minutes after storming out of her brother and sister-in-law’s office to realize what she thought minutes prior. Hurting the people she loved – Reeves hurt Stuart tonight and she used the L word in her thoughts. Krystal froze in the hallway and felt the breath leave her body, leaning against the wall while coworkers passed by on their way out of the arena. She loved Stuart? I love him, she thought, feeling something in her heart explode and rush through the rest of her all the way to the tips of her fingers and toes. Krystal had to get out of here and go check on Stuart, knowing he was on his way back to the hotel since the show was long over with.

The drive back to the hotel was made in silence, so many thoughts coursing through Krystal’s mind. Halfway to the hotel, she received a text message from Mia, letting her know Stuart was taken to the hospital for medical attention. With her disappearance, Michael was swamped with injuries at the end of the night and sent some of the Superstars to the hospital. Making a quick and illegal U-turn, Krystal broke speed limit laws and ran a few red lights to get to her destination. Stuart was the only person she cared about at the moment and now knew she loved him. Squealing her tires in front of the emergency room, Krystal hopped out and rushed inside as fast as she could, running right into Mia and Joe.

“How is he?” Krystal croaked out, completely breathless from running.

Mia smiled, tossing a thumb over her shoulder toward the hospital door Stuart was currently behind. “Minor concussion and 5 staples in his eyebrow. His eye is swelling shut, but other than that he’s fine.” She summarized and could see the look of hesitation in Krystal’s eyes. “Go talk to him.”

Panic ensued and Krystal shook her head, tears brimming her eyelids. “No.” She cleared her throat since it felt like a frog was lodged in it. “M-Michael asked me to come check on him, make sure they took care of the injury. I don’t need to see him. Thanks for staying here and waiting for him. See you guys later.” As fast as she rushed inside the hospital, Krystal left the same way peeling away from the building heading toward the hotel.

What the hell was wrong with her? She was positive being with Stuart is what she wanted and now…now Krystal was being a coward. A big fat coward! Arriving at the hotel, Krystal didn’t know how long she sat behind the wheel crying, but eventually forced herself out of the vehicle. She took the back stairs, not wanting to run into anyone and regretted it when the door opened to the second floor revealing Ryan Reeves. This was not the night to screw with her, Krystal thought, hoping he bypassed her without causing a scene.

It was too much to hope for, naturally, because Reeves couldn’t help gloating about what he did to Stuart in front of her. Krystal had no idea what possessed her to do it, but suddenly a surge of rage rushed through her and her foot swept out to nail him between the legs as hard as she could. Reeves screamed out in pain, cupping his genitals and hit his knees in front of her with eyes squeezed tightly shut. She wasn’t done either. Krystal proceeded to take the wrench Reeves had carried and waved in her face while passing her on the stairs, picking it up from the floor.

“K-Krystal…”

There was nobody to stop her from doing this and Krystal reveled in what she did next, cracking Reeves right in the face with the wrench – the same way he’d struck Stuart earlier that night. “How does it feel, you sick prick?” She hissed quietly, watching him fall back and pressed her tennis shoe covered foot against his throat none too gently. “Let this be a lesson to you, Reeves. Don’t start something you can’t fucking finish. Because when Stuart heals, and he will, he’s coming for your ass and there’s not a damn thing that will stop him from blasting you in the face with his bull hammer. Only it won’t be scripted, he’s just gonna do it and hopefully disfigure your face for the rest of your pathetic worthless life. Sleep well, asshole.”

Dropping the wrench purposely on his other eye, Krystal pulled away from the fallen man and headed up the stairs with an extra kick to her step. Since her family refused to help out get rid of the prick or any of Mark’s posse, Krystal decided to take out one of the members personally. Now she just had to find the courage to tell Stuart how she felt for him, wishing tonight was it. As she fell asleep that night alone in the cold lonely bed, Krystal stared out the window hoping Stuart made it back to the hotel safely. With him on her mind, it soothed Krystal enough to fall into a deep slumber and she didn’t wake up until later the next morning.

Chapter 32

It was hard to believe in just 8 hours, they were moving Jon to Atlanta to share Anisa’s house – their house. She’d already added his name to the paperwork since she owned the house outright. No house payment was a beautiful thing and all Anisa had to worry about was property taxes at the beginning of each year. Now, it would be her and Jon’s responsibility. Anisa talked over everything with Jon regarding the house, had him sign the necessary paperwork and they celebrated by making love. She smiled at the memory of Jon blowing raspberries on her neck while she faxed the paperwork over to finalize the move. Looking over at her boyfriend playing his game console, Anisa felt like the luckiest woman in the world to have him in her life. It’d been a long road in just the span of months, but she’d never been happier, even with everything else happening to not only them, but their friends as well. Soon, it would all come to an end, both Jon and Anisa having separate plans in mind on how to deal with Mark Calaway and his Family. A knock at the door of their hotel room jolted Anisa out of her thoughts and made her drop the clothes she’d been packing away to answer it.

“I got it, keep gaming.” Anisa assured him, dropping a quick kiss on his lips on the way.

Jon shrugged, not about to argue and continued hammering away at the buttons on the controller to vent some of his frustration. “Thanks darlin’.”

Opening the door, Anisa raised a brow at the sight of Glen standing before her and immediately pulled him inside the room. “What are you doing here?” She demanded, closing the door behind him. “If anyone saw you…”

Glen chuckled, holding his hand up to stop her. “Relax, I was cautious, but you weren’t answerin’ your phone and I had to talk to ya.” He glanced over her to stare at Jon playing a game of sorts and directed his attention back to her. “It’s about the plan.”

“Right. Jon, we’ll be in here if you need anything.” Anisa shoved Glen into the nearest room and shut the door, folding her arms in front of her chest. “What about it?”

Jon didn’t care about his game and dropped the controller, slinking over to the door to try eavesdropping on Anisa and Glen’s conversation. What plan was Glen talking about? Anisa hadn’t told him anything and Jon could feel his jealousy rearing its ugly head, the green eyed monster returning with a vengeance. Anything Glen had to say to HIS girlfriend, he should’ve said in front of her boyfriend.

“Phase 2 will start Monday and Mark already suspects Michelle.” Glen informed her, needing to make this quick so Jon didn’t think something fishy was going on with Anisa.

“Just as we planned.” Anisa rubbed her hands together, an evil smile crossing her face with glittering eyes full of mischief. “Everything is going the way we hoped. I’m so happy.”

“Me too, just remember this isn’t over yet.” Glen reminded her, not wanting Anisa to get a big head and start acting cocky before they brought down the Undertaker for good. “Walk me out.”

Jon sprinted back to his game and pretended to keep playing, pale blues locked on the television screen. Anisa had her arm linked with Glen while leading him to the door and crooked her finger for the big man to lean down. She kissed his cheek, thanking him for the update and promised to meet up on Monday sometime. They couldn’t do it at the arena – too risky. As soon as the door closed and Anisa turned around, she was tossed over Jon’s broad muscular shoulder squealing. His game was turned off and Jon planted Anisa in the middle of the bed, pinning her with their fingers laced over her head. Obviously he had something on his mind, so Anisa waited for him to say something and sighed when Jon buried his face in the crook of her neck.

“You ready for the big move tomorrow? There’s a lot to do, darlin’.” Jon growled against her soft skin, nipping it and released one of her hands to let her touch him.

“Of course I am.” Anisa stroked his face tenderly with the back of her hand and saw so many questions in his eyes along with hesitation. Was he having second thoughts about moving in with her? “Are you?”

“Born ready, Ani.” Jon promised, kissing her softly and let it linger, feeling her legs wrap around his waist.

Even the kiss wasn’t as passionate as usual, which was a sign to Anisa something was bothering Jon. “What’s wrong?” She whispered against his mouth, rubbing her nose against his. “Talk to me, Jon.”

Jon groaned, hating how well she could read him and sat back on his haunches, lifting Anisa to keep her close to him. “I just wanna make sure this is what you really want. That you want me to move in and you want to be with me.” He hadn’t felt this much insecurity since his childhood years.

“Of course I want you. You’re the only man I want and need, Jon.” Why was he having doubts about their relationship suddenly? And the answer hit her like a ton of bricks, forcing Anisa to extract herself from Jon’s arms. “This is about Glen, isn’t it?” She stood up from the bed while Jon remained where he was, shaking her head in disbelief.

“You’ve been spending a lot of time with him over the past few days since you called and asked for his help.” It still burned Jon she hadn’t come to him to make that decision when they were supposed to be a team. “Maybe you want him instead of me.”

She had to find a way to convince this stubborn man she loved him and no one else. “Turn around.” Anisa watched him obey her soft command and straddled his lap, wrapping her arms around his neck to keep their eyes locked. “Why would I want an old man when I have you? I only asked for Glen’s help because he knows Mark better than I do.”

Maybe telling him about the abortion would help the situation and make Jon understand why she enlisted Glen’s assistance. Letting him in on the plan wouldn’t be the worst decision, would it? Jon wouldn’t go running his mouth about the plan to anyone, not even Joe, if she asked, though Anisa wouldn’t mind since Mia knew already. However, what if Jon was against abortion and thought she was a monster for killing her baby? He didn’t seem like the type of person to be against it, but looks were often deceiving. It was a 50/50 shot and Anisa felt completely torn, pressing her forehead to his trying to figure out what option to take.

Jon sensed her worry and pulled her closer to where their chests pressed together, his arms tightening around her slightly. “What’s going on, Ani? What’s going through that brain of yours? And why are you trying not to cry?” He could see the tears shimmering in her midnight blues and felt his heart begin cracking down the middle. This woman would be the death of him with her tears.

“I’m scared.” She admitted quietly, caressing his strong arms up and down with her soft hands, trying to find the courage to tell him the dark secret. “I-I don’t wanna lose you…” The tears slid down her cheeks as soon as that confession slipped out of her mouth.

Whatever Anisa had to tell him was bad, Jon surmised in thought, and he hoped it wasn’t anything they couldn’t fix. “You won’t.” He promised in a raspy voice, kissing her mouth softly. “Now tell Dr. Feel Good all about it.” She cracked a small smile at the nickname she gave him months ago and knew there was no turning back now.

For the next hour, Anisa came clean about the abortion and Mia being the one to take her for the procedure. She explained Joe didn’t know because they both made a vow to never speak of the horrifying experience again. Jon stayed quiet throughout the revelation, nodding his head to acknowledge what she said so Anisa didn’t think he wasn’t listening. He heard every word spoken and watched each tear slide down her cheeks, the pain of what happened and what she did clear on her face.

“So now we’re using what I did against Mark.” Anisa accepted some tissues Jon handed her, not moving from the straddled position and blew her nose since he kept kissing her tears away.

Jon swallowed hard, having a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach the ‘plan’ with Glen had to do with the abortion. “What does the plan involve?” He asked subdued, not angry at her for what happened because he understood her logic at the time. It did make him wonder if Anisa would ever do something like that to him if their relationship didn’t last. “You made it this far, might as well tell me everything, darlin’.”

Another half hour passed while Anisa explained all the packages Mark had and would receive, which started a few days ago on Monday at the arena. Jon had no idea what a vindictive woman he’d fallen in love with and made a mental note to NEVER anger her. Anisa waited to be pushed off his lap and ordered to leave the room, but instead Jon cupped her face raining kisses over it. There’s no way he wouldn’t support her 100% through this and, after her explanation about everything, the green eyed monster became dormant again.

“You are truly twisted and diabolical, darlin’. One of the many reasons I love you.” Jon stated before lifting her over his shoulder again and smacked her cotton short covered backside, giving it a squeeze. “Time to clean up and then sleep. We got a busy day tomorrow.”

Anisa was too shocked by Jon’s reaction to argue or say anything, falling asleep that night with a big weight lifted from her shoulders in the love of her life’s arms.

~!~

“So, I know you both wanted an outside wedding, so I was thinking of getting one of those huge tents in case it rains.”

Mia only half-listened to what her future mother-in-law, Patricia, said, nodding. “Sounds good.” She was a million miles away, deep in thought about Curtis’s warning for Joe.

It was obvious something bothered Mia, so Patty set the book of wedding plans aside to take Mia’s hand and snapped her back to the present. “There’s something bothering you, afafine.” It was the Samoan word for daughter.

There was no point in lying to Patty, not when she referred to Mia as a daughter and felt a few tears escape her eyes. “Sorry.” She mumbled, wiping them away.

“It’s alright, just take your time and tell me what’s wrong.” Patty soothed, stroking Mia’s hand to try calming her down a little.

Mia came clean about everything regarding her and Curtis Hennig, from the moment she entered the company and he set eyes on her to cracking her cheekbone, all the way to his threat to Joe. It relieved her to be able to talk to someone about this, but Mia had a feeling Patty would run straight to Joe once they finished talking. She kept nothing from her son and neither did he, unless it wasn’t necessary for mother to know. They were extremely close – actually, Joe was close to all of his family. When she finished, Patty pulled Mia into a tight motherly hug, promising to keep this between them because the threat had to come from her son’s fiancée and nobody else.

“Everything is gonna work out the way it should, afafine. You’ll see. Now let’s go over some other things for the wedding and-” Patty was cut off by the ringing of the doorbell throughout her son and Mia’s house, raising a slow brow at her future daughter-in-law. “Expecting company?”

“No…” Mia frowned, wondering who was at the door and felt apprehensive to answer it. “Stay here, Tina.” She ordered softly, using the Samoan word for mother with Patty and hesitantly walked out of the sitting area to the front door.

Patty could see her and stayed put for the time being, ready to defend herself if she had to. Mia hated the paranoia, but everything happening lately had her on edge. She wished Joe was here at the moment and wondered if calling Sika, Joe’s father, would be a good idea. When the doorbell rang a second time, Mia swallowed hard and knew whoever was here to visit wasn’t leaving. They were persistent.

“Who is it?” Mia called through the door, cursing silently for the shakiness in her voice and felt Patty walk up to stand beside her. “Patty…”

“Answer the door, Mia. I’m right here for you.” Patty wrapped an arm around Mia’s shoulders and both prepared for who was on the other side.

The moment the door opened, Mia felt her heart plummet to her stomach and she was sure it stopped beating for a few seconds. “Oh my god…” She gasped, covering her mouth with her hand as fresh tears stung her dark eyes.

A woman with long raven hair and dark eyes mirroring Mia’s stared back at her and Patty, a stoic expression on her face. “Hello Mia.” She greeted in a soft, even tone, eyes slowly moving to the older woman holding her.

“Mother?” Mia couldn’t believe it, seeing Patty’s eyes widen out the corner of her vision. “W-What are you doing here?” More importantly, how did she know where Joe lived?

Patty became protective instantly, tightening her hold on Mia a little. “You’re Mia’s mother?” She questioned, not bothering to hide the skepticism in her voice.

The Indian woman nodded affirmatively. “Yes.”

“The same daughter you disowned months ago?”

Shame and regret filled the woman’s eyes. “Yes.”

“Patty.” Mia smiled at her future mother-in-law and kissed her hand, patting it gently. “Thank you, but let me handle this, alright?”

“Very well. I’ll go make some tea.” Patty turned on her heel and swept to the kitchen, prepared to hurt Mia’s biological mother if the woman was here to try persuading Mia not to marry her son.

“I’m only asking this one final time and then I’m slamming the door in your face. What are you doing here?” Mia demanded once Patty was out of earshot, tears drying up quickly and folded her arms in front of her chest. “If this is about Narhari…”

“It’s not.” Mia’s mother cut her off, tears sliding down her cheeks. “I-I’m so sorry for hurting you the way I did, daughter. I never meant to do it. Please forgive me.”

Mia hadn’t expected this and felt a twinge of guilt for the way she spoke to the woman who gave birth to her. “Why did you then?” She whispered, refusing to let her mother in the house until she got a truthful explanation.

“Your father. He was adamant about following the traditions of the tribe and, at the time, I admit I was on his side. But after his death, Narhari’s mother came and told me he was in love with someone else – that he never wanted to marry you. She couldn’t give her blessing because of the arranged marriage between our families, so I severed it.” She’d never been as proud of herself as she was that day, especially the huge smile on Narhari’s face. “He deserves happiness as much as you do, my girl. Your father is dead now, as I told you months ago, and I’m finally free to make my own decisions in life without him weighing me down. I loved him, but the traditions were too extreme for me. So I left the tribe and now live here in Pensacola to be close to you. If you’ll forgive me and grant me another chance to be your mother.”

As angry and hurt as Mia was at her family for the arranged marriage, all of it melted away while she listened to her mother’s confession. “Momma.” She tossed her arms around her mother’s neck and squeezed tightly, sobbing her heart out.

Patty overheard the whole conversation and cried as well, thankful Mia had the huge heart to forgive her biological mother. Mia welcomed her mother in the house and they all sat down to have tea together, immediately going over wedding plans. Once Patty left to head back home to be with her family, Mia and her mother had some quality time to get to know each other again and ended up falling asleep in each other’s arms on the couch with Mia’s head on her mother’s chest listening to her steady heartbeat.

Chapter 33

Everyone met up at Jon’s place in Vegas around noon or a little after for the big move. Jon didn’t have a lot to pack up, not a materialistic person. It wouldn’t take more than a couple hours since Jon sold most of his things, thanks to his friend living in Vegas. Anisa had a king sized bed, a fully furnished house and more than enough televisions. He would keep his gaming consoles and little items, including his wrestling gear from the Moxley days. Jon treasured them, especially his black vest with MOX spray-painted in red on the back in huge letters. That was something he would be buried with when the grim reaper finally picked his number. Anisa felt horrible Jon got rid of nearly everything he owned, but he assured her it was fine. Even if they split up, he had money to replace everything and Anisa promised he would never have to do that. The vow made Jon smile and they shared a moment before Joe, Phil, Stuart and Krystal interrupted.

Stephanie and Paul were nice enough to send one of the McMahon private jets to Vegas to save on shipping expenses. Jon rented a U-Haul big enough for all of his things, not wanting to make several trips to the airport. It was a hassle getting through the airport because of heightened security, so Jon tried covering all the bases ahead of time. It took 12 hours to pack up Jon’s 2 bedroom condo and fly to Atlanta to carry everything in. Phil caught a flight from Vegas to Chicago to be home with Melanie, which Jon and Anisa didn’t mind. Joe stayed because Mia was flying in the next morning from Pensacola and apparently she had big news for him regarding their wedding. Stuart and Krystal took up Anisa’s invitation to stay the night at the house, not wanting them to fork over money for a hotel. The house had 4 bedrooms, so Krystal would have her own room and Stuart his.

After a quick meal, it was time to call it a night just as the clock struck 1 AM and Jon collapsed back on the bed in a heap, staring up at the ceiling. Anisa walked in a few minutes later with a smile and shut the door, already changed into sleeping cotton shorts and a matching tank top. Turning his head, Jon drank every inch of her beautiful body in and slowly sat up, his long legs stretched out in front of him. She was an evil woman and he loved her more than life itself, not able to function without her. When they were split up, all Jon did was drink himself silly every night and worked out his aggression in the gym. There was no other women he pursued, even though Colby suggested taking him to a strip joint prior to his accident. Jon crooked his finger to beckon her over and Anisa obeyed, swinging one leg over to hook around his waist before settling on his lap, removing the black beater he wore.

“I think Dr. Feel Good deserves a proper welcome home.” Anisa purred, caressing his chest and felt the muscles ripple against her fingertips while Jon massaged her soft inner thighs.

A smirk curved his mouth and Jon arched a curious brow, wondering what his woman had in mind. “I’m not home yet, but I’m about to be.” He growled in a raspy husky voice, nipping her earlobe with his teeth. “Because the only place I truly feel at home with you is buried deep inside my pussy.”

She loved Jon’s dirty talk, shivering with anticipation. It didn’t matter how many times they had sex, it always made her exhilarated at what was coming. “Such a coincidence I had the same thought, eh?” Standing, Anisa pushed her boy cut cotton panty shorts down her legs and kicked them to the side before straddling him again.

No more words were spoken, just grunting, groaning, moaning and crying out along with the headboard slamming against the wall repeatedly.

~!~

Tossing and turning, Krystal tried to get comfortable in the bed to try to get some sleep, but it wasn’t working. She was exhausted from today’s move and felt her eyes burning, yet she couldn’t fall asleep. What the hell was wrong with her? Krystal knew the answer and it currently slept in the bedroom right across the hall from her. They hadn’t said more than a couple words to each other throughout the day while helping Jon, each in their own deep thoughts. His eye looked terrible from Reeves’s wrench attack, a deep swirl of black, blue and purple mix along with swelling. Krystal wondered if Stuart had ice or took something to bring the swelling down, frowning thoughtfully. Just a quick peek inside the room wouldn’t hurt and if he didn’t have ice, she could get him some.

Carefully, Krystal tiptoed from her room to the guest room Stuart occupied and slowly turned the knob, cracking it open. There he was sleeping on his back in a pair of dark red boxer/briefs with slightly damp hair from the shower he took earlier. Krystal felt all the breath leave her body at the sight of him and pushed the door open further, unable to stop advancing toward him. It was a strong magnetic attraction with Stuart being the magnet and Krystal the metal piece. Stuart felt the bed dip beside him and popped one eye open, turning his head to see Krystal sitting on her knees in front of him. He’d be lying if he said he wasn’t slightly startled, but also curious why she was in his guest room. As tempted as he was to question Krystal, the fear of scaring her off forced Stuart to keep his mouth shut and wait for her to speak first.

“I keep thinking over what you confessed to me on our…night out together.” Krystal admitted softly, keeping her eyes on the clasped hands in her lap. “I just have one question about it and I promise I’ll never bring it up again.”

Stuart was fully awake now and stayed where he was, hands folded on his stomach to keep from reaching out to touch her. “What is it?” He didn’t call her love like normal because Stuart had no idea how Krystal felt about him yet.

“Did you mean it?” Her hazel eyes rose to meet his, so many emotions coursing through her.

The question confused Stuart. “Mean what?” He hated questioning her, but there were a lot of topics that came up that fateful night.

“What you said…” Krystal swallowed hard, trying to keep her emotions in check and watched Stuart sit up to be eyelevel with her. “About me…” She sounded like a pausing idiot and felt her cheeks flame up in embarrassment. “I mean, if you didn’t and said it because the heat of the moment-”

Stuart cut off her rambling by pressing a finger to her mouth, silencing the frazzled beauty in front of him. “I love you, Krystal. And I meant what I said about Colby too. I hope the piss ant never awakens.” It was exactly what he said in the car that night and Krystal felt her heart skip a beat at his words. “Now, allow me to ask you a question.”

“I love you too.” Krystal blurted out before Stuart could ask, taking his hand from her mouth and scooted closer, feeling his arm hook around her waist. “And I’m not just saying it because I’m upset over everything that’s happened recently. I fell in love with you and I figured it out when you were attacked last night at the taping. I went to the hospital to check on you, but Mia and Joe were there and…I panicked…”

Hearing her confess that simple phrase was almost more than Stuart could handle. “I know. They told me you came and I wish you didn’t leave, but we cannot change the past. All we can do now is move on from this, love.” He caressed her back beneath the tank top, enjoying her soft silky skin against his touch and pulled her closer. “Now, I have a request from the woman I love and who loves me in return.”

Krystal smiled through tears, enjoying being this close to Stuart and reached back to slide his hand up until it came in contact with the clasp of her bra. “I want to be with you, Stu.” She didn’t care if they were in their friends’ house, knowing Anisa would be ecstatic Stuart and Krystal had finally found their way to each other. “I’m ready to move on with you.”

All Stuart wanted was a kiss, but Krystal offering everything to him at once sent his mind in a spiral. Making love to this woman was all Stuart wanted from the moment he laid eyes on her. “Love, are you absolutely positive this is what you want? Because I can wait. I’m a patient man and I will wait an eternity for you, if that’s how long it takes for you to heal. If we do this, I want you to only think of me and no one else. All the guilt from what happened to that piece of shit needs to be gone before I make love to you. So can you look me in the eye right now and tell me you are 100% ready?”

“The moment I admitted my love for you, everything else I let go, including him.” Krystal removed her long night shirt and tossed it over her shoulders along with her bra, taking Stuart’s hands to plant them on her bare breasts. “I’m yours, Stu, and I’ve waited long enough. I know you have too. So stop questioning this and claim what’s yours.” She laid back on the bed and brought Stuart with her, gasping when he tweaked her nipples. “That’s right, make me feel good…”

Growling, Stuart knelt between her soft thighs and continued teasing her nipples, his mouth working its way up instead of down. “Give me a taste of those lips, love. Then I will show you how a woman should be treated in the bedroom.”

The moment his mouth touched hers, roaring flames surged through his big body and Stuart couldn’t break the kiss. The softness of her lips felt like heaven, silky rose petals and their tongues touching for the first time was more exhilarating. Krystal moaned softly in his mouth, thoroughly enjoying the taste of Stuart and wanted more, craving it. She had no idea how long they laid there with him on top kissing, but time seemed to stop. It could stay still in this moment forever and would if Krystal and Stuart had it their way. Stuart reluctantly broke the kiss, sliding his tongue across her lips and moved down her jaw until he arrived at the spot just below her ear. Krystal gasped, clutching his muscular arms and shivered against him, both lost in the moment of sheer ecstasy. All Stuart could think about was, if her lips tasted that exquisite, he could only imagine what her lower ones had in store for him and panned on finding out before the night ended.

“Oh Stu…” She moaned out when his mouth enclosed around one nipple while his strong hand continued rolling the other between his fingers. “Oh god, you’re killing me, baby…”

He pulled away long enough to flash a smirk and his darkened hazel orbs told Krystal he was only beginning. After switching breasts, not wanting to leave a single speck on her body untouched, Stuart finally worked his way down her flat toned stomach. His teeth locked around her navel ring and very gently tugged, emanating another deep moan from Krystal. Good, she was enjoying everything he offered thus far and his mouth watered at the scent of her strong arousal permeating the air around him. Krystal shivered when Stuart planted his face between her thighs and spread them wider for him, planting her feet on his broad shoulders. That wasn’t close enough for Stuart, so he pulled her down the bed until her legs draped over his shoulders and began the torment on her inner thighs.

“Stu, please…” Krystal hadn’t been touched in what seemed like forever and was going out of her mind, not above begging at this point. “Taste me, drive your tongue inside of me and drink me dry…” She coaxed, burying her fingers in his hair and squeezed, his forearm immediately coming up to hold her down when Krystal bucked up out of surprise at the first touch of his tongue against her outer lips.

“I plan on having my fill of you before claiming what’s mine.” Stuart promised huskily and went back to the task at hand, grunting approvingly at how soaked she was. “So beautiful…”

Krystal didn’t bother trying to be quiet, not caring who heard her or if she woke up the entire neighborhood. She was receiving the best oral sex of her life with Stuart’s skilled tongue and fingers driving in and out of her at the same time. Slowing down and speeding up had her whimpering, pleading to climax for him. They didn’t fall on deaf ears, though Stuart could honestly devour her pussy for hours on end. He wondered if filling her with his cock would be as satisfying as tasting her on his tongue. There was only one way to find the answer to that question. Once Krystal climaxed twice, Stuart took pity on her and pulled his mouth from her addicting pussy, eyes clouded over with lust, desire and love.

“You are mine now, Krystal, do you understand?” Stuart demanded gruffly, capturing her mouth in a passionate searing kiss that left both of them breathless.

She also tasted herself on her tongue, igniting the flames in her raging body further. “Yes – yes take me! I’m yours, Stu.” Krystal breathed out, nodding and didn’t care if they were in the missionary position. By now, she would’ve taken his cock anyway he wanted to give it to her. “Mmm take it slow, it’s been a while…”

Stuart could tell instantly by how tight she was and nearly lost his breath, barely sliding the tip of his cock in. He was engorged, much bigger than Colby had been and Krystal wondered how the hell they could make love. Slowly, second by agonizing second, Krystal’s walls stretched to accommodate Stuart’s massive girth and he snapped his hips, burying his cock to the hilt inside of her receptive body. Krystal cried out against his shoulder, her breath gone and heart pounding furiously, clutching onto Stuart for dear life. Only when she was fully adjusted did Stuart begin thrusting in and out of her, slow and gentle at first. It wasn’t enough for either person though and soon Stuart had Krystal’s legs once again over his shoulders while he plummeted in and out of her sweet tight pussy, groaning at how amazing she felt.

“Your pussy was made for me, love, only me…” He groaned, watching her reach out to grab the headboard and met him thrust for powerful thrust, the sounds of flesh smacking flesh echoing throughout the room. “Oh yes, I’m close, Krystal…”

“Explode, cum with me, Stu…” Krystal urged, trying to hold her climax back as long as she could, but the tension felt too good to not completely shatter. “STUART!!!”

Only when she came again did Stuart give into his own need and buried his cock inside of her, exploding his seed against her back wall. They called each other’s name again, Stuart tensing for a moment and sagging, both of them collapsing back on the bed in a sweaty satisfied heap. Krystal laid there with Stuart’s head on her chest and couldn’t wipe the smile from her face while catching her breath. It was everything she thought it would be with her English hunk and more, glad she came to his room tonight. Stuart wasn’t done with her though and pushed himself off of her, softly capturing her mouth in another kiss that quickly turned heated.

Neither planned on getting sleep that night, too engrossed in each other and finding each other finally.

Chapter 34

The following Monday morning started horrifically for Mark. Not only had Michelle threatened him with a divorce if he didn’t stop the ridiculous accusations of sending him psychotic gifts, but Mark woke up with 2 separate packages waiting outside his hotel room. He was afraid – the first time in his life, from what he could recall anyway – to open the packages, already knowing whatever they held would make him sick to his stomach. Whatever this mind game being played on the master of mind games was working and destroying his personal life at the same time. The clues revolved around a baby, Mark had figured that much out, but what kept him awake at night was the sound of a baby’s cry following a flat line. In all his years on this earth, Mark had never killed a baby, so why were the packages telling him otherwise?

Rubbing his tired eyes, Mark brought the packages inside his room and set them on the table, pacing like a caged animal. How could packages intimidate him so much? He was the Undertaker, damn it! The most feared entity in the wrestling industry to date! How the hell could small packages scare him to the point of making his hands tremble? Squeezing his fists tightly, Mark growled and stepped up to the first package, squaring his shoulders before tearing it open. Inside, vials of red liquid lay prone on the bottom on a black velvet compartment to space them out so they didn’t shatter. Mark picked one up out of the package and eyed it, scrubbing a hand down his face in perplexity.

“At least it has nothin’ to do with babies.” Mark muttered, dropping the vial back inside the package before eyeballing the second one. “Here goes nothin’…”

Dead fetuses stared back at him. Hundreds of pictures filled the package almost to the brim and Mark barely got through 3 before rushing to the bathroom to empty the contents of his stomach. He’d gone on a drinking binge the night before, so his head was pounding relentlessly against his skull while vomiting violently. Once Mark was sure nothing else was in his stomach, he finally pressed his forehead against the cool porcelain toilet and closed his eyes to keep the tears at bay. Whoever had sent those revolting packages to him had Mark in actual tears and he wasn’t sure how much more he could handle. Who was doing this? And why were they targeting dead babies to send to him?

Mark had done a thorough background check on his wife behind her back and the only packages she’d sent out were returns to one of her favorite stores in Dallas. Glen’s suspicions it was Michelle had gone down in flames, but if it was his wife she was using a different alias. Truthfully, Mark didn’t think she was that smart and took the suspicion off of her for the time being. He would search the house high and low once he returned to Dallas to make sure it wasn’t Michelle sending the packages. Once Mark felt like he could stand without vomiting again, he stumbled over to the sink and splashed cold water on his face, trying to get the dead fetus pictures out of his head. There was nothing more in his stomach to bring up, though it gurgled and rumbled, demanding sustenance. He wasn’t stupid enough to eat right now and had to find a way to get rid of the pictures without looking at them again. Whipping his cell phone out, Mark called his bitch boy, Bray, to come to his rescue yet again and warned him the pictures were unappetizing.

20 minutes later, the men arrived at Mark’s hotel suite and began looking over the evidence. Bray had witnessed disturbing things in his life, but this – this went above and beyond perverse. These packages with the gruesome ‘gifts’ went to a whole other level of psychotic. Whoever came up with this mind game had driven the Deadman to his knees and made the man believe his wife had something to do with this. Deep down, Bray didn’t believe for a second Michelle had anything to do with the packages, but kept his thoughts to himself.

“Boss, who the fuck keeps sending these?” Bray wondered aloud, thankful he just had some toast for breakfast and flipped the first photo over to block the others. “This is…”

“Fucking demented.” Luke finished, shaking his head in disbelief. “This is something you’d do, Taker.” He didn’t call Mark ‘Boss’ like the others.

Erick nodded silently, keeping his thoughts to himself regarding the packages.

“If I knew who it was, I wouldn’t need your help, Bray. Do me a favor and keep your stupid questions to yourself!” Mark snapped, tossing the package with the vials of red liquid across the room. The loose one he took out of the safety container they were in shattered against the wall, everyone in the room jumping at the sound. “FIND THEM! FIND WHO’S DOING THIS BY ANY MEANS NECESSARY!!”

The Wyatt Family, Curtis and Ryan all rushed out of the room like their backsides were on fire, leaving the emotionally unstable Deadman alone.

“What happened to your eye?” Bray directed that question to Ryan, who had a nice shiner along with deep bruising painting the left side of his face.

Ryan snarled, not wanting to discuss it and gingerly touched his face. “None of your business. Just focus on finding the asshole screwing with the Boss.” The wrench attack was unexpected and he’d underestimated Krystal. Next time they met, it would be very different and Ryan planned on making her hurt worse than he currently did. “Let’s go Hennig, we have work to do.”

Scampering after his partner, both in and out of the ring, Curtis was smart and didn’t question what happened to Ryan, having a feeling it had to do with the WWE COO’s little sister.

~!~

Early Wednesday morning, Phil made it back home to Chicago and wasn’t surprised to find Melanie waiting for him. It was a little after 4 AM, thanks to a delay in his flight because of a storm, so finding her asleep wasn’t a huge shock. He knew Melanie had an important meeting with one of her clients at 8 AM and sleep was needed. Phil showered, changed and slipped into bed pulling Melanie against him before falling asleep. The annoying ringtone from his cell phone woke Phil out of a deep slumber several hours later, one eye cracking open. His vision was temporarily blurred and Phil answered it on the 5^th ring, voice thick with sleep.

“Punk.”

“Is Mr. Brooks available?”

Phil didn’t recognize the woman and rubbed his tired eyes, slowly sitting up in bed. “Yeah, who is this?” It sounded like the woman had some kind of accent, but Phil’s brain was still somewhat fuzzy.

“Mr. Brooks, this is Evangeline from the Rehaclinic in Bad Zurzach and the reason for my call today is regarding a patient of ours – Margaret Brown.” She explained while looking over some paperwork on her desk. “You took care of her expenses, correct?”

Every part of his body tensed at the mention of Coralie’s Aunt Maggie and Phil shut his eyes, knowing what was coming. “She died, didn’t she?” It was a mere statement and there was no point denying the harsh truth.

“Yes sir, last night.” Evangeline replied solemnly, clearing her throat to keep her own emotions in check. “The reason for my call today is to ask how you wanted to proceed with arrangements.”

Her body would have to be shipped back to the United States, her own country, in order to have a proper burial. Phil felt nauseous throughout the conversation and ended the call 20 minutes later, agreeing to pay for all arrangements. Coralie was gone and, as far as he knew, had no other family to rely on or deal with Maggie’s death. Evangeline informed Phil there was a will written and left behind in Maggie’s belongings, which listed everything she requested done at the time of death. Maggie always knew she wouldn’t make it, but Phil’s generosity provided her enough time to get all arrangements in order. Wiping tears of sorrow away, Phil trudged into the bathroom for a much needed shower and had no idea how he was supposed to explain any of this to Melanie. It was a miracle the woman hadn’t left him yet, but maybe this would push her over the edge.

Halfway through the shower, Phil got an unexpected surprise when the shower curtain ripped back and Melanie stepped inside. She was beautiful from head to toe and Phil suddenly had to have her, pulling her flush against his wet body. Their mouths clashed together in a rough passionate kiss that made Melanie’s toes curl. Behind the passion was anguish and sadness, two emotions Melanie was very familiar with when it came to Phil. Something must’ve happened while she was out for her meeting. Sex was the only thing Phil could think of to heal him and he was glad Melanie hadn’t questioned anything, just went along with whatever he wanted. He took her hard and fast, promising to make it up to her later. The amount of aggression and anger in the thrusts had Melanie’s world spinning off its axes while she held onto him, digging nails into his tattooed skin. Even rough and hard, sex with Phil was amazing and the best she’d ever experienced with a man.

Suddenly, a flashback hit Phil so hard it made his erection die instantly, the memory puncturing open wounds in his heart. “Fuck.” He cursed, pulling away from Melanie and stalked out of the bathroom, water dripping everywhere on the carpeted floor.

Melanie blinked, shutting the water off and wrapped a towel around her body before following Phil, seeing him standing stark naked staring out the window. Her breathing was somewhat ragged from being close to climaxing and the intensity of their short bout. The closer she went toward Phil, the more she realized just how upset he was and gently touched his back with both hands, kissing the middle of it.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Melanie asked quietly, hoping he wasn’t trying to end their relationship.

How could Phil tell Melanie about the last time he had sex with Coralie and basically raped her? Granted, Coralie hadn’t complained until he called her filthy names and accused her of cheating on him. He still didn’t know the truth if she did or not, having died and taken it to her grave. Phil still had nightmares about the call where she professed her love to him and managed to say goodbye before the plane crashed. Shuddering at the memory, Phil pressed his forehead to the cool glass window and shut his eyes, tears sliding freely down his cheeks. Maggie’s death had brought back all the pain, sorrow and regrets Phil had during his relationship with Coralie and how he wished for one more day with her. He loved Melanie as much as he could, but his heart hadn’t fully committed to her and Phil didn’t know if it ever would.

“Coralie’s relative – the Aunt in Switzerland I’ve been taking care of – died last night.” Phil muttered, loud enough for his girlfriend to hear and heard her soft gasp, followed by arms encircling his waist.

There was no point in apologizing for a situation that was out of her control, but Melanie wanted to be there for Phil anyway she could. “What happened? I know she had an illness, but you never elaborated.” She managed to guide him to the bed and they sat down together with Phil pulling her to straddle his lap.

“Died in her sleep, from what the lady at the clinic told me.” Phil heaved a sigh while Melanie stroked his hair, knowing this happened for a reason. He had to come clean to her about what he did to Coralie. “I need to tell you something…and I’ll understand if you don’t wanna be with me anymore once you know the truth.”

Melanie frowned, caressing Phil’s face and kept his solemn hazel eyes locked on deep brown. “Phillip…”

“Don’t. Just let me confess and then you can talk however long you want.” Phil cut her off, needing to do this before he lost his nerve and took another shuddering breath.

All Melanie could do was sit there and listened to every word that came out of her boyfriend’s mouth. He honestly thought he raped Coralie? Melanie didn’t blame him considering how rough and callous Phil was with Coralie, but she wouldn’t call it rape. They were consenting adults, even if Phil had verbally abused her throughout. The fact Coralie ordered Phil to contact her when he knew what he wanted told Melanie what they did was more than consensual. Obviously, Phil had a different mindset.

“Look at me, Phillip.” Melanie commanded, fingering his chin to force his eyes to once again meet hers. “I’m not going anywhere. What happened between the two of you was messy and complicated. From what you described to me, she enjoyed what happened that night, but your cold shoulder afterwards confused her. I didn’t know Coralie personally, so I can’t tell you if she cheated or not, but if I was a betting woman, I would say she didn’t. I would put all of my eggs in her basket, so to speak. You need to forgive yourself for everything that happened with Coralie. Because it’s slowly eating away at you and breaking you down. I know you loved her and I know I can’t replace her, but I do love you. I love you so much and I’m willing to wait as long as it takes to claim all of you, if you’re willing to let me help you heal. Because I can’t compete with a memory. And it kills me seeing you beating yourself up over something that happened months ago. The only way you will lose me is if you see no future with me. Because that’s all I see is a future with you.”

“I do love you, Mel. You know I do.” Phil could see the hurt in her eyes and pulled her closer, not surprised to see tears sliding down her cheeks. “I don’t know what I’d do if you weren’t in my life, helping me through this, baby. You have no idea how much I appreciate it and love you for sticking by me at my worse. And you’re right, I do need to start healing and moving on. But that memory has haunted me for months and I didn’t know how to tell you knowing there was a chance I could lose you. So you say the word and I’ll do whatever you want. I owe you everything.” He kissed each of her hands and then cheeks before claiming her mouth in a soft kiss. “Name it; I’m yours no matter what.”

His words did her heart good and Melanie knew he was ready to take the next step with their relationship. “Do you really mean that?” When he nodded without hesitation, Melanie’s smile lit up her entire face and the decision to test him was too much to resist. “I want you to meet my parents then. They live in New York, but they came to Chicago for a conference meeting with my firm and they want to meet my wrestler boyfriend. I told them I’d ask if we could have dinner with them tomorrow night. If it’s too soon…”

Phil cut her off before she could go on any further and pressed a finger to her lips. “What time and what should I wear?” He chuckled when Melanie squealed out, tackling him back on the bed and they picked up right where they left off in the shower earlier.

Taking this step meant a lot to Melanie, but it was a bigger deal for Phil because he really was ready to move on from Coralie.

Chapter 35

“We’re gonna go to my parents for dinner tonight. Mom called and insisted.” Joe announced while shaving in the bathroom, after a morning spent in the shower sexing up his fiancée.

Mia smiled at him through the reflection, brushing her teeth and spit out some of the foamy paste to talk. “Sounds fine to me. I didn’t feel like cooking and I’m sure she wants to talk about the wedding some more.”

“Wouldn’t be a surprise.” Joe chuckled, kissing the top of her head and smacked her towel covered backside, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively. “That’s not until later this afternoon, how about some breakfast?”

Nodding, Mia continued brushing her teeth and Joe left to get dressed, leaving her with inner turmoil. She hadn’t told Joe about her mother coming back into her life yet and felt awful for keeping a secret from him. There was no easy way to tell him what happened though. Joe was overprotective of her and Mia was afraid he’d let his Samoan temper flare when it came to her mother. She loved him so much, but also wanted her mother around for any children they would have together. With her father out of the picture for good, Mia finally had a chance to have a relationship with her mother and she was scared Joe would try taking that away from her. Spitting more toothpaste out, Mia rinsed her mouth and walked into the bedroom to get dressed. Simple red cotton shorts and white racer back top with red stripes down the sides, no undergarments. She’d slip some on before they went to her future in-laws for dinner.

Breakfast consisted of French toast, sunny side up eggs, hash browns and bacon. Mia fried up the eggs and hash browns while Joe took care of the main course and bacon, both enjoying cooking together. It was rare to happen because of how demanding and strenuous their jobs were. Of course, Joe had to sneak in a few kisses and a quick make out session that nearly burnt the bacon and two pieces of French toast. Neither cared though, just enjoying being together nor having small talk regarding the upcoming overseas tour to Australia. They didn’t discuss Curtis Hennig or anything that happened recently and Mia was perfectly fine with that. After breakfast, Mia insisted cleaning the kitchen and sent Joe into the living room to watch some television, kicking him in the backside to get her point across. Then she joined him about an hour later, cuddling on the couch with a bowl of popcorn while watching a football game.

Dinner at the Anoa’i’s reminded Mia of Thanksgiving due to how much food they always had, including the cookouts. She looked in the full length mirror and adjusted the green and blue strapless tunic top with a matching blue bra beneath. A jean skirt that went to the middle of her thighs accompanied the top and Mia slid into green flats matching her top. Her long raven hair was pulled up in a high ponytail on top of her head to keep it off her neck. Even though Indian summer was nearly over, Florida had some of the hottest days during it and today was no exception. They would all be outside since it was a BBQ, so Mia dressed accordingly. She turned around when a knock sounded at the bathroom door and knew it was Joe telling her to hurry up so they could leave. Checking herself one final time in the mirror, Mia was satisfied with her appearance and walked out, leaving with Joe a few minutes later heading to the future in-laws.

Upon arrival, Joe and Mia were embraced tightly by the family members before the men ventured outside to wrestle in the grass. Patty led Mia into the kitchen to help her with the rest of the preparations and to discuss some more details about the wedding. That’s not all Patty walked to talk about though. While Mia finished cutting up the broccoli, Patty continued with the celery and finally switched the topic discussion from the wedding to what she really wanted to converse.

“Have you told Joe yet?”

Mia shut her eyes briefly, shaking her head slowly. “No.”

Patty heaved a sigh, walking over to wrap an arm around Mia’s shoulders. “Why not, dear?”

“Because I’m afraid he’ll call off the wedding or leave me.” Mia admitted quietly, stopping the chopping of broccoli and felt tears burn her eyes.

“I doubt he’ll do either, but the longer you keep this secret from him the worse it’s going to be. The wedding isn’t far off.” Patty didn’t mean to pressure her daughter-in-law, but time was not on Mia’s side either. “Do you want me to tell him?”

As much as Mia wanted to push her responsibility on someone else, she couldn’t. “I appreciate that, Tina, but this is something I need to do. Whether Joe likes it or not, she’s my blood mother and I won’t turn my back on her, especially after hearing her confession it was mostly my father enforcing all the traditions. I’ll tell him tonight at home. I don’t want to cause a spectacle here.”

Patty nodded in understanding, kissing the top of Mia’s head with a soft smile. “I’m always here for you if you need me. Don’t forget that.”

“I won’t.”

Meanwhile, outside with the men of the family, Joe had a headlock on Jonny while his twin brother, Josh, stood back laughing. Trinity had her phone out videotaping her husband being manhandled by Joe, also laughing. She loved antagonizing him because Jonny would become dominant later on once they were alone and it made their sex life explosive. Once they finished the wrestling match, with Joe dubbed the winner and Trinity licking Jonny’s wounded ego, Sika sat down with his youngest son, handing him a well-deserved beer. They discussed a few things regarding the WWE and other sports until the wedding came up.

“I bet you were surprised to find out Mia’s mother is coming to the wedding, eh?” Sika commented, watching his son’s eyebrows drop to his nose and immediately regretted bringing the subject up. “Atali’i…”

“What are you talking about, Tama?” Joe demanded, using the Samoan word for father much like Sika just did for son, every part of his body tensed and his jaw tightened. “Mia’s mother disowned her…”

Why hadn’t Mia told him? Sika’s head snapped up along with Joe’s when the door opened and Patty stepped out, setting food on the table alongside Mia. The tension between father and son was thickened, both women noticing and Patty locked eyes with her husband. She demanded him to come help her with the rest of the food, dragging Sika by the arm and left Joe alone outside with an apprehensive Mia. Joe tried very hard to keep his temper in check, a hard stare directed at his longneck beer instead of the woman he loved.

“Joe, what’s wrong?”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

Mia swallowed hard at the deep baritone of her fiancé’s voice and felt her heart rate speed up. “Tell you what exactly?”

Slamming his tightened fist on the table, Joe finally looked up at Mia with blazing grey eyes and saw the fear in hers, angering him further. “Now is not the time to play dumb with me, Mia.” He stood up, slamming the chair back into place and squared his shoulders. “Got something to tell me?”

Patty must’ve told Sika, Mia thought, wanting to strangle her future mother-in-law for not keeping this secret between them. “I was going to tell you tonight…”

“When? After we fucked?” Joe growled, losing his patience fast and felt the smoke sliding out of his ears figuratively.

“Of course not!” Mia exclaimed, raising her own voice a little and glanced at the sliding glass window, seeing Patty giving Sika a tongue lashing of her own. “Look, having this conversation at your parents isn’t the time or place. When we get home tonight…”

“NO! You’re gonna tell me now!!” Joe erupted, the veins popping out of his muscular arms from how deep his fingers dug into the palm of his hands.

Mia couldn’t remember seeing Joe this irate in all the time they’d been together and took a step back, afraid he would raise a hand to her. That’s how angry he was. “She’s my Mom, Joe.” She said quietly, refusing to meet his eyes and cringed at another growl. “It wasn’t her trying to force the tribe’s traditions on me. It was my father… and she’s very sorry…”

“Oh she’s sorry, so that’s all it takes after DISOWNING HER OWN DAUGHTER to forgive her?! SHE’S A PIECE OF SHIT, MIA! HOW COULD YOU TRUST A LOWLIFE BITCH LIKE THAT TO COME BACK INTO YOUR LIFE?!”

Blinking, huge tears slid down Mia’s cheeks at Joe’s harsh words about her mother. Maybe he was right. Maybe it wasn’t a smart idea to let her mother back into her life with open arms, but Mia honestly thought Joe would’ve understood. He was the biggest family man she knew and always put the ones he loved first before anything, including his wrestling career.

The moment tears fell from her eyes, Joe’s temper simmered and regret filled his expression. “Baby girl…” He started walking towards her, but Mia took another step back and held her hand up, halting him.

“Don’t.” Mia didn’t bother stopping the tears, trembling from head to toe at Joe’s outburst. “I-I thought you of all people would’ve understood. I thought you would’ve accepted my decision to have my mother, the woman who gave birth to me, in our lives. But I was wrong. I’m leaving. I need time to think alone, so don’t bother coming home tonight.”

Mia walked past him and Joe reached out to stop her, but she was too quick for him. “No Joe, don’t touch me. You lost that privilege.” She stormed around the house toward the vehicle they drove in together and pulled her set of keys out, slipping behind the wheel peeling out of the driveway moments later.

The family gathering was officially destroyed and called off due to Patty giving her youngest son the tongue lashing of a lifetime. Joe could only sit there and let his mother tear him apart verbally with a lowered head, hating himself for upsetting Mia. His overprotective side kicked into high gear and Joe hadn’t been able to rein his Samoan temper in. Patty sent him to his room with no dinner to think about his actions and hurtful words, smacking the back of his head for good measure. Then she tossed a pillow and blanket at Sika, demanding him to sleep in the living room tonight for opening his mouth. As Joe lay in his old bed staring up at the ceiling, all he could think about was Mia and wondered if she wanted to call the wedding off.

He could only hope she didn’t.

~!~

“So, when am I going to see my beautiful sister outside of work?”

Krystal rolled her eyes while holding the cordless phone against her shoulder, mixing some batter in a bowl to make cupcakes. She had a craving for them and had to sate it. “Here I thought you were sick of me since we work together, Paul.”

“Well I’m not. And we want you to come over to the mansion tonight for dinner. Steph wants to catch up on things and talk about something other than work. And the girls miss their Auntie Kryssie.” Paul replied, jotting down some notes for an upcoming meeting tomorrow at WWE headquarters.

She did love her wonderful nieces and goddaughters to pieces. “You just had to toss the girls at me, didn’t you?”

Paul chuckled, knowing Krystal couldn’t deny anything the girls wanted, especially when it came to seeing her. “Hey! In my defense, they’ve been asking about you for a few days now.”

“Alright, alright fine! Just not tonight, I have plans.” She glanced over at Stuart walking out of the bathroom in just a towel and had to learn how to breathe again. He had such a beautiful body. “But I’m bringing someone with me.”

Raising a brow, Paul sipped his coffee and held his hand up to Stephanie before she could ask him a question. “What do you mean you’re bringing someone? Who?” Suddenly, his meeting notes were the last thing on Paul’s mind.

“Is she dating someone?”

Krystal smirked at her sister-in-law’s whispery curiosity and pressed a finger over her lips, silencing Stuart. Instead, he wrapped his arms around her waist and pressed a soft kiss to Krystal’s neck, over her pulse point. It sent a shiver down her spine in return. It took all of 3 seconds for Krystal to invite Stuart back to her place in Connecticut so they could spend more time together. Stuart agreed immediately since they had the weekend off due to no house shows scheduled. It happened once in a while, not that anyone in the company complained.

“Tell Step the answer to her question is yes and you will find out who it is tomorrow night. Love you.”

“You really are an evil woman.” Stuart noted against her ear, tightening his arms around her waist while continuously nibbling on her lobe.

“Maybe I am.” Krystal shrugged nonchalantly, melting against Stuart’s advances and turned her head just as their mouths collided. “Now get dressed, we can’t be cooped up in my house the whole time you’re here.”

Stuart’s bluish hazel eyes gleamed with wicked intentions, but his idea immediately faded when she shook her head pointing to the room where his clothes were. “Not fair, love.” He grumbled, reluctantly releasing Krystal to go get dressed as ordered while she did the same thing.

20 minutes later, they were out the door on their way to a small coffee shop down the street from Krystal’s. She wanted to give Stuart a tour of the town she lived in, the day too beautiful to stay inside. Krystal parked in a spot on the street downtown and held hands with Stuart, walking down the sidewalk making small chat about whatever came to mind. It was nice to be with a man who enjoyed the simpler things in life instead of someone completely obsessed with his job 24/7.

“So, I probably should’ve talked to you about how we were going to tell my brother about being together…”

Stuart stopped her from talking, taking her hand kissing the back of it. “Love, I do not care who we tell as long as everyone knows you belong to me and I belong to you.” He knew the hell she went through keeping her relationship with Colby a secret from her brother and Stuart would not let her make that mistake again. “There is no reason to keep what we feel a secret, is there?”

“Of course not, I just wanted to make sure you were okay with it.” Krystal felt relief course through her at Stuart’s sweet words and she leaned over, softly kissing him cupping his face in her soft hand. “I love you so much.”

“Ditto, love.” Stuart rubbed his nose gently against hers, thanking the waitress for bringing their beverages over and held his up. “To new beginnings and hoping your brother approves of us.” Even if Paul didn’t, that wouldn’t stop Stuart from being with Krystal. Nothing would.

“To new beginnings.” Krystal tapped her coffee against his and they sealed the toast with another kiss.

Somehow, Krystal knew Paul would accept Stuart as opposed to Colby and refused to worry about it until the following night.

Chapter 36

“Nisa, something happened and I didn’t know who else to call…”

Anisa stood up from the couch, hearing the agony in her best friend’s voice. “Whoa – whoa slow down, Mia. Calm down and take a few deep breaths.” She coaxed softly, walking over to stare out the window while Jon watched ESPN – until his own cell rang moments after Anisa’s did. “Now tell me what’s wrong.”

Through heartbreaking sobs, Mia recalled the events at Joe’s parents that lead her to speeding down the road toward the airport. She still couldn’t believe the way Joe blew up at her over letting her flesh and blood mother back into her life. Was that really so wrong to do? Her mother explained why she went along with her father and Mia forgave everything. Why couldn’t her future husband do the same and respect her wishes?

“Wow. I’m sorry, but he’s a dick for doing that to you, especially in front of his parents.” Anisa wanted to rip Joe’s balls off and shove them down his throat for hurting her friend. “You’re always welcome here. Jon won’t mind once I explain what a dickhead his friend is. Just get on the plane, relax a little and when you get here we’ll eat a ton of ice cream.”

Mia choked out a watery laugh, wiping stray tears away from her cheeks. “I’m on my way. Thanks again, Nisa.”

“No need to thank me, just get here.”

~!~

“Bro, that’s fucked up.”

Joe paced back and forth like a caged animal in his parents’ house, gritting his teeth listening to Jon agreeing with him. “I just don’t fucking understand why. Why is she forgiving her mother who disowned her? You know me, man. I’m huge on family, but goddamn it they really hurt her – her mother really hurt her – and I’ll be damned if it happens again!”

If anyone knew what it was like having a crappy mother in their life, it was Jon. Growing up, Jon had to watch his mother work the street corners of their neighborhood just to put food on the table. His friends and everyone in the community knew about it, but that didn’t stop Jon from making a life for himself. He still couldn’t believe Anisa accepted him completely for the person he was since Jon was wired a little differently than other men. Maybe it was the main reason she wanted to be with him. Jon didn’t know and tried not to question it, just enjoying being with Anisa for however long she wanted him. In his mind, he wasn’t good enough and always prepared to be let go since Jon considered himself boring. In the ring, he was perfection or close enough to it, but outside in the world of reality, Jon lived his life as simple as possible. As far as his relationship with his mother went, Jon saw her once every couple months whenever WWE went to Cincinnati for an event, but never spent more than a few hours with her. He still hadn’t introduced Anisa to her and wasn’t sure if he ever would, not wanting his mother knowing about his personal life.

“Have you talked to her about how you feel?” This was not Jon’s forte and it made him uncomfortable talking about his best friend’s relationship.

Joe heaved a sigh, plopping down on the couch and scrubbed a hand down his face in frustration. “Not really. I blew up at her and let my temper get the best of me. My Mom is so pissed right now and said if the wedding is called off, she was personally shoving each receipt up my ass.”

That was an image Jon would not soon get out of his mind. “Bro, I really don’t need to picture things being shoved up your ass. Thanks.”

“Sorry.” Joe muttered, leaning back against the couch and closed his eyes. “I don’t wanna stay here. My Mom is giving me the evil eye whenever she passes by me and my Dad is disappointed. They both love Mia so much. I’m such a dick and I don’t know what to do to make this right with her. She ordered me not to come home tonight.”

Unbeknownst to Jon, Mia was on her way to the airport to come stay with him and Anisa. Apparently, Anisa and Jon’s thoughts were linked because Jon offered the same thing to Joe. Staying with his overbearing mother and father wasn’t the right place to be right now for Joe, Jon knew that much. Anisa wouldn’t mind; Joe was practically family just like Mia. They hung up after Jon convinced Joe to fly out to Atlanta and looked up when Anisa walked into the room, setting her own cell phone down.

“Everything alright?” She asked, sinking down beside him on the couch and felt his arm wrap around her shoulders.

“Peachy darlin’, just had a chat with my bro.” There was no point in telling Anisa about his invitation to Joe. “You look hot in black.”

Anisa felt her cheeks turn a crimson, lowering her eyes from his. “Jon…”

He tossed the PS3 controller aside and moved to kneel in front of her, sliding his hands up her soft thighs to rest on her hips. “I mean it, Ani. You are hot and the fact it’s my t-shirt just makes you hotter.”

The desire in his eyes was not missed by Anisa, but she knew it wouldn’t take long for Mia to arrive from Pensacola. The flight would be short, especially if it was a redeye. Even a quick session with Jon wouldn’t finish in time of her arrival and the last thing Mia needed to see was her friends sexing it up. She was fighting with Joe and coming there for support. So as much as Anisa wanted to let Jon have his way with her in the living room, they couldn’t.

“Not tonight.” She tried pulling away from Jon, but he was steadfast and yanked her flush against him, burying his face in her t-shirt covered breasts.

“Give me one reason why not.”

“Because Mia is flying in tonight and I don’t need her walking in on us fucking.”

Jon stopped what he was doing and pulled back to stare up at his girlfriend, mentally cussing violently. “Are you serious?” He stood up and sat back down on the couch, tearing a hand through his haphazard dishwater blonde curls.

“Yes…” Anisa’s midnight blue orbs narrowed on her boyfriend suspiciously. “Is that a problem?”

“No, why would there be?” Jon strode into the kitchen that was connected to the living room, the house having an open floor plan and grabbed a beer out of the fridge.

Anisa was hot on his trail. “Out with it, Good. What’s going on?” She demanded, folding her arms in front of her chest. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out Jon was hiding something from her. “Who was on the phone earlier?”

“Nobody.” Jon was a horrible liar and had no idea why he tried doing it with Anisa. The woman knew and read him like a book cover to cover.

“That’s one week.”

Jon raised a brow. “One week for what?”

“No sex. Wanna make it 2 or do you tell me the truth?”

His pale blue eyes nearly shot out of his skull. “Wait a minute – WHAT?! You’re withholding sex from ME?”

“Yes.”

“Darlin’, that’s not fair! I didn’t do anything!” Jon whined in a growl, wanting to strangle Joe for putting him in this predicament.

“You have 5 seconds and I’m adding another week on.” Anisa’s menstrual cycle would be during the two weeks she punished Jon, but he didn’t need to know that. “1…2…3…”

“ALRIGHT!” He practically roared, clutching the beer can tightly in his hand and crunched the aluminum. “It was Joe. And I invited him to come stay with us too.”

Anisa shut her eyes, a low groan escaping her and felt like beating Jon over the head with a wooden spoon. “Goddamn it, Jon! Mia is coming here to get AWAY from him! How could you do that without asking me first?!”

“That’s the pot calling the fucking kettle black, Anisa.” Jon shot back, narrowing his own eyes and became defensive. “He’s my best friend just like she’s yours. I didn’t think I had to ask since this is OUR house now, or so you keep claiming.”

Ouch, that was a low blow, but a truthful one, Anisa thought, taking a deep breath not wanting to fight with Jon. “You’re right, I’m sorry. This is your house as much as it is mine now and you’re welcome to invite anyone you want. I just wish you would’ve asked me first and I should’ve done the same thing.” With everything going on in the WWE lately regarding her ex-husband, the last thing Anisa wanted to be was on the outs with the man she loved.

“Same here.” Jon sucked down half of his beer before closing the distance between them, wrapping his arms around her waist to pull Anisa close to his body. “So, this business about withholding sex from me…”

“Still stands.” Anisa smiled sweetly up at him, but it didn’t quite reach her eyes. “You lied to me, or tried to and I won’t tolerate that. One week without sex won’t kill you.”

Jon smirked, sliding his hands lower to squeeze her pert backside and hovered his mouth over her ear. “Sounds like a challenge to me, darlin’. And you know what happens when I’m challenged.” His voice was low, husky and raspy all at once, sending shivers down Anisa’s spine. “Looks like I’ll have to see how far I can push you until you surrender to me, hmm?”

“Try all you’d like, Jon, but I’m a lot more stubborn than you think.” Anisa smacked his basketball short covered backside and walked out of the kitchen to go prepare the guest rooms for Mia and Joe.

All hell would break loose when they arrived.

~!~

“What is he doing here?”

“What is she doing here?”

The simultaneous question made both Jon and Anisa cringe together, guilt swirling in each of their eyes. Joe tried stalking back out the door, but Jon stopped him while Anisa guided Mia upstairs away from her angry fiancé to talk. They both knew what happened, but had only heard one side of the story, so Jon and Anisa felt lost. Mia ended up crying herself to sleep while recalling what happened with Joe while Joe gamed downstairs with Jon, blowing things up to keep his temper in check. Anisa walked downstairs a little while later and sat down in the nearby chair, waiting for the boys to finish the round they were currently on.

“Is she alright?” Joe asked in a low voice, refusing to meet Anisa’s eyes and took another beer Jon handed him.

“Didn’t think you cared.” Anisa remarked, crossing one leg over the other since Jon’s t-shirt went past her thighs.

Joe rolled his eyes, cracking open the beer to take a long swig. “Of course I care. I love her, even if she’s a stubborn woman.” He grunted, setting the can down on the table and heaved a sigh. “I just don’t want her getting hurt again by that heartless bitch.”

“I understand why you got upset about it, but you need to come to grips with something, Joseph, if you plan on being in Mia’s life. She is stubborn, bullheaded and likes things her way. I was shocked when she told me she forgave Maline, but after Mia explained to me why she did, I get it and respect her wishes. She wants Maline there for her wedding and for any children you two have in the future. Shutting her mother out is too much for her, especially after all the time she lost because her asshole father couldn’t let her make her own life choices. What if it was you in her shoes, Joe? Put yourself there for a minute and really think. What if Patty disowned you because it was Sika’s demand? What if they didn’t support your decision to leave the NFL to go into the wrestling business and they disowned you for it? Would you be able to forgive Patty if she came to you after Sika died and admitted it was because of his demand she had to disown you? Think about it.”

“Fuck.” Joe lowered his head in shame and shut his eyes, feeling guilty for the things he said to Mia. “I’m a fucking idiot.”

“No. You were just trying to protect her in your own way and it backfired.” Anisa moved to sit next to Joe between him and Jon, taking the controller out of the Samoan’s hand. “Go to her now. Go tell her you don’t want to call the wedding off and you still want to be with her. Because she told me she thinks you don’t want to marry her now.”

Joe’s heart shattered at that confession and he immediately rose to his feet, dropping a kiss on top of Anisa’s head. “Thank you.” He rumbled, rushing out of the room upstairs to Mia’s designated room and stood outside of it, hoping she was still awake.

Snapping her head up after just getting out of the shower, Mia figured it was Anisa checking up on her again. “Come in.” She mumbled, keeping her back to the door and tightened the towel around her body a little. “I told you I’m fine, Nisa.”

“Baby girl, I’m sorry.” Were the first words out of Joe’s mouth and he watched her head snap around to face him with wide dark eyes.

“Joe…I can’t…”

He cut her off, needing to make things right before he lost his Indian goddess forever. “Please just hear me out.” He pleaded, taking a step toward her and didn’t stop until he was in front of Mia, lowering to both knees with his grey orbs never leaving hers. “I’m sorry for hurting you, baby girl. I love you and I don’t want to call the wedding off. I was trying to protect you because I remember how much pain you were in when your family disowned you for being with me. I still feel guilty about it because you chose me over them. Instead of being supportive of your decision, I tore you apart and hurt you. I just hope you can forgive me for being an asshole and let me make it up to you.”

Blinking, huge tears slid down Mia’s cheeks while she listened to Joe’s heartfelt words and apology. “You really hurt me, Joe.” She didn’t bother wiping them away and felt Joe take her hands, their fingers lacing together. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about my mother sooner and I promise not to keep anything from you again. But my decision to have my mother back in my life again stands and if you can’t accept it…”

“I accept it.” Joe rose to his feet and sat on the bed, pulling Mia down to straddle his lap wrapping his arms around her. “I love you and if having your mother in your life makes you happy, that’s all I care about. And I know it’s going to take time to get back in your good graces fully, so tell me what to do and it’s done.”

Mia thought about it for a half a second and cupped Joe’s face, softly kissing his lips. “You can start by making love to your fiancée.” She mumbled against his mouth, not caring whose house they were staying in and felt Joe guide her down on the bed. “If you ever hurt me again, we’re done, Anoa’i.”

“Understood, baby girl.”

The rest of the night was spent with Joe worshipping Mia’s body from head to toe and Jon doing everything in his power to make Anisa break her ‘no sex for one week’ stipulation.

Chapter 37

The feeling of her soft skin against his fingers refused to leave Bray’s mind. He missed Anisa fiercely, wishing there was something he could do to make amends. Why couldn’t she choose him? Why did it have to be Ambrose? Bray didn’t understand it. They had a connection, even if it was one night of unbridled passion. She said his name that night, not Ambrose. The dick hurt her and in turn she came to Bray with open arms, surrendering to him asking to take the pain Ambrose caused her away. Bray longed to be with her again, to have her writhe beneath him and hear her sweet voice cry out his name in the throes of passion. However, there was one obstacle in his way Bray didn’t know how to remove without suffering severe consequences.

The Deadman.

Everything Mark had done up to this point was to get Anisa back. The man was married; did Mark really think Michelle would allow him to screw both her and Anisa at the same time? The man was deluded, psychotic and not in his right frame of mind. Bray thought about all the ways he could rid Anisa of Mark, but none of them played well in his favor. Erick and Luke were completely devoted to Mark and had done his bidding with Ryanne Orton and Punk’s new squeeze, Melanie. So that was another problem Bray had to take care of since the men who once followed him were no longer his to command. They were still called the Wyatt Family, but Bray didn’t feel part of it anymore.

There had to be a way to reach Anisa, to make her see the truth and realize Ambrose was no good for her. She deserved better, a man who would worship her both in and out of the bedroom instead of the other way around. Love was a fickle emotion and downright dangerous because it blinded even the smartest people in the world. He had to get her away from Ambrose somehow long enough to make Anisa see her error in judgment, in choice. But how? How could he when she was protected by so many people? Ambrose, her brother Punk, Randy Orton, the Samoan idiot Reigns and now apparently Barrett had joined the fray. It was close to impossible to get near Anisa at this point, but Bray had to do it somehow, someway before he lost her forever.

Bray had the weekend to come up with a plan and so far, nothing came to mind. He was frustrated, especially after finding out Ambrose had moved to Atlanta into Anisa’s house. Now they were shacking up together and it would only be a matter of time before she wound up pregnant. Bray couldn’t let it happen, not unless it was his child she carried. Squeezing the beer can tightly, Bray swallowed the rest of it down and tossed it behind him in the nearby trashcan, rising to his feet. Just as he headed outside to his vehicle to go buy some more beer at the local store, his cell phone rang and the name flashing on the caller ID made his blood run cold.

What did Calaway want now?

~!~

“Mark…”

“Shut up.”

Michelle clamped her mouth shut and could only stare at the two packages on their kitchen table. She finally came back from Florida with their daughter to spend some time with her husband. They had a night full of passion and sated their sexual desire for the time being. Michelle had woken up to an empty bed with Mark nowhere in sight and ventured downstairs to see where he’d ventured off to. It was no surprise to find him in the garage tinkering with his prized motorcycles. Though he didn’t have nearly as many as before with all the auctions he’d participated in, giving away his prized possessions for good causes.

Not again. He didn’t want to open the packages. The tape recorder of a baby crying followed by a flat line and pictures of dead fetuses was too much. Mark had nightmares of Michelle giving birth, only for the baby to die and look like one of those dead fetuses. He burned every single picture, but the image of them still seared his memory. Now he received two more packages with no return address on them, just his. These mind games had to stop before Mark ended up having a nervous breakdown and completely snapped.

“Give me the knife.” He ordered his wife, acidic eyes never leaving the packages on his kitchen island and felt the cool handle rest in his hand.

Michelle could only watch the first box open and felt sick to her stomach at the object Mark pulled out. “What the fuck is that?” She demanded, eyes wide and covered her mouth with her hand at how sickly her husband looked.

A dark purple baby onesie with the phrase ‘I Love Daddy’ embroidered on the front in white lettering lay in Mark’s shaking hands. It was ripped and had red substance splattered all over it, signifying blood. Michelle tried hiding a gasp of horror with a hand over her mouth, feeling incredibly nauseous. This is what her husband had yelled at her about over the phone, demanding to know if she was screwing with him. Michelle would never do something so heinous and cruel, especially with how much pride Mark had being a father.

“Mark, this is…”

“Fuckin’ sick, I know.” He finished his wife’s statement and set the onesie down on the table, suddenly wanting to dip his hands in scalding hot water. “Somethin’ tells me the other package won’t be any better. You don’t have to stay in here, Shelly.”

Michelle refused to leave her husband and shook her head. “Open the other one.”

Baby blocks. They were glued to a wooden platform and spelled out ‘YOUR MOVE’. Michelle was mortified while Mark simply stood there with a reddened face, his anger level rising vastly. It was a clear message and one Mark would not take lightly or brush off. Michelle could only gape at the blocks and squealed when Mark hurled it across the kitchen, splitting it directly down the middle. The blocks rolled off the broken platform and stopped at Michelle feet, making her squeal again kicking them across the room. Mark rolled his eyes and shoved Michelle out of the kitchen, gritting his teeth at her incessant bickering about calling the police to report this.

“MICHELLE!!” He finally roared, stopping her in mid-rant and guided her none too gently to the stairs. “Let me handle this. Just go upstairs and relax.”

“But…”

“NOW!”

Michelle scampered up the stairs, obeying her irate husband.

Why couldn’t the stupid bitch listen for 3 seconds? Mark growled, rolling his eyes and stalked out to his garage to make a phone call. He waited until Bray answered and explained the packages he received that day.

“I want whoever is doin’ this found, Bray. My wife just saw what I’ve been dealin’ with and it needs to come to an end. Find the asshole and bring them to me, dead or alive.” Mark ordered in a low deadly voice, ending the call abruptly and went upstairs to make sure Michelle hadn’t turned hysterical.

Bray shook his head and tossed his cell phone to the side, refusing to look for the culprit sending these packages to Mark. Served him right. He was getting a taste of his own medicine. Of course, he would have to call Erick and Luke to tell them the orders, but Bray would do it on his terms. Smirking, he stepped out on his back patio deck and turned around, extending his arms before falling back into the cool awaiting pool.

~!~

Butterflies flapped wildly in Mia’s stomach while she got ready to go out to dinner with her mother and fiancé. It would be the first time they met face to face and she hoped Joe behaved himself as promised. He’d been the one to suggest doing this, so they left Atlanta the next day to fly back to Pensacola. Naturally, Mia’s mother was skeptical about the dinner meeting and Mia assured her everything would be fine. If she truly wanted to be in Mia’s life, Joe came with the package and she had to respect and accept it.

“It’s gonna be fine, baby girl. I promise.” Joe reassured her, wrapping his arms around her waist pressing a soft kiss to her neck. “And you look beautiful tonight.”

Mia wore a simple black skirt that went to her knees and a short sleeved sheer dark blue top with a black camisole beneath, buttoned up. Joe had a dark blue polo shirt and black jeans on with black shoes, his raven haired pulled back in a sleek tail at the nape of his neck. He trimmed his goatee and shaved the scruff off, wanting to look clean-cut meeting his future mother-in-law for the first time.

“You look great too.” She turned around, accepting a soft kiss and stroked his smooth cheek with the back of her hand. “Come on, let’s get this over with.”

Joe chuckled, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and guided Mia out to the car, opening the door for her. “Don’t make it sound like we’re being lead to the gallows.”

“Sorry.” Mia cracked a hesitant smile, though it didn’t reach her apprehensive brown eyes.

A few minutes later, they were on their way to the restaurant Maline Malik would meet them for dinner. It was a small local bistro that served Italian and Mexican food, but had other options available too. Joe pulled up into a nearby parking spot and helped Mia down from the huge truck, walking hand-in-hand with her inside. Their reservation was ready to be fulfilled and just as Joe pulled Mia’s chair out for her to sit down, a throat cleared behind them. Maline stood before her daughter and Joseph Anoa’i, brown eyes mirror images of Mia’s. She was Indian, beautiful and Joe knew instantly where Mia inherited her looks from.

“Mom.” Mia greeted her with a loving embrace and finally turned to face Joe with a hesitant smile. “Joe, I’d like you to meet my mother – Maline Malik. Mom, this is the love of my life and future husband, Joseph Anoa’i.”

Maline stepped forward, extending her hand with a soft smile. “Hello Joe, it’s finally nice to meet you.” She meant it, especially with all the gushing her daughter did during their reunion.

It was hard to stay angry at this woman, her kind eyes and smile warming Joe’s heart. “Nice to meet you too, ma’am.” He rumbled politely, shaking her hand and guided both of them to sit down, pulling out Mia’s chair and then Maline’s before taking his own beside his fiancée.

Dinner went without any problems or arguments, everyone enjoying themselves discussing the upcoming prenuptials. It did Joe’s heart and frame of mind good to see Mia’s beautiful smile on her face, wanting it permanently implanted. It made her twice as beautiful when she smiled and there wasn’t much to be happy about with everything happening. Mia excused herself to use the restroom, leaving Joe alone with her mother. This was Joe’s only opportunity to say what he needed in order to move forward, determined grey eyes locking on Maline.

“There’s one thing I need to say and I hope you don’t think I’m being disrespectful.”

Maline expected this and set her fork down on the plate, giving Joe her undivided attention. “Go ahead, Joe. Say what you have to.” Her tone was full of understanding.

“Mia told me the reason why you disowned her all those months ago and I’m fine with it. But since I am marrying her and she will be my wife and future mother of my children, that makes me extremely protective. So I’m only saying this once: If you hurt Mia in any way, shape or form again, you’ll answer to me and won’t like what happens.” Joe meant every word he said, refusing to back down from the older Indian woman. “I love her enough to protect her from anyone, even her own flesh and blood.”

Maline’s heart swelled with love and admiration for this incredible man who made her daughter exceedingly happy. “I appreciate your honesty, Joe. And I give my word to you now, I will never hurt my daughter again. I made that mistake once and nearly lost her. I won’t do it again.”

“Good, then welcome to the family.” Joe raised his glass of wine and Maline did the same, both of them toasting each other to the future.

~!~

From the moment Ryanne stepped foot inside her St. Louis home, Randy sent her to bed and refused to let her do anything. Her body had gone through a massive amount of stress recently and Ryanne had to relax completely if she planned on making it to full term with their baby boy. Randy had a plan, hearing his wife bellowing through the intercom and pressed the button to respond.

“Hold your horses, sweetheart. I’ll be up there in a minute!”

Finishing the preparations for her lunch, Randy lifted the tray from the kitchen counter and headed upstairs to their master bedroom. Ryanne laid in bed pouting, hating being bedridden, but she understood why Randy was doing it. Erick Rowan had scared her and luckily she hadn’t gone into premature labor, but the doctors said her stress level had to lower immediately or she would. Tapping at the door, Randy pushed it open and Ryanne’s emerald eyes shot open, her jaw dropping to the bedding.

“Lunch has arrived, beautiful.” Randy announced, walking over and set the tray down on the nightstand, dropping a soft kiss to her shocked lips.

“W-What are you wearing?”

Randy smirked, slowly turning around until she could see his bare muscular toned backside. “You don’t like it?” He asked, sticking his bottom lip out and Ryanne suddenly burst out laughing at her husband. “Oh great, you’re laughing at me now.”

Laughter was the best medicine and Randy nailed it with what he currently had on. It was her white and blue striped apron and that’s ALL he had on. So his junk was covered, but Ryanne could clearly see the outline of his dick through it. She reached out, smacking his backside and laughed harder when he carefully pounced on her, raining kisses all over her face. It was moments like these Ryanne cherished most with her husband. He always knew what to do and say to make her feel better, even at her worst. There was no fear to make himself look like a clown if it meant making her happy and bring out her incredible smile.

“You are such a goofball.” Ryanne finally calmed down enough to talk, kissing the tip of his nose and forehead before his mouth. “I love you so much.”

“I love you too and as long as I’m your goofball, nothing else matters.” Randy rubbed his nose against hers, hissing out when she reached down to squeeze his bare cheek and growled. “Woman, stop teasing me.”

“What are you gonna do if I don’t?” Ryanne challenged in a mumble against his mouth, stroking his strong broad shoulders and squeezed his other cheek.

Ripping the apron off, Randy delved under the sheet and showed his wife instead of telling her, both of them enjoying being alone together.

Chapter 38

“So, how was your dinner with big bro and the family?”

Anisa sat in catering with Krystal, catching up from their long weekends with Doritos and cottage cheese – one of Krystal’s favorite snacks. It was surprisingly good. Jon was currently working out with Joe and going over their scripts to make sure they were on the same page. Stuart was working out as well, but chose to do it at the local gym down the street, so that left Krystal to go to the arena alone. She didn’t mind, understanding why Stuart didn’t work out at the arena because it was very distracting. She smiled at the memory of dinner with her brother, Stephanie and beautiful nieces.

“I was surprised at how incredible it went. Paul didn’t try intimidating Stuart and I think it’s because I didn’t try hiding my relationship with him unlike Colby.” It still hurt Krystal to mention her ex-boyfriend’s name, but the pain was slowly diminishing thanks to Stuart being in her life. “Steph is all for it too and the girls loved him.”

“That’s good. I’m glad Paul accepts and respects your relationship and I think he’s the guy for you. Colby wasn’t.”

After her blowout with Colby, Anisa never looked at him the same way again. Yes, his accident was tragic and she felt terrible for his family, but Anisa fully believed in karma. Colby treated Krystal like garbage toward the end of their relationship and all to make her move in with him. Luckily, Krystal didn’t and now she was with a better man who wouldn’t push her to do something she wasn’t ready for.

“At first, Colby was wonderful, sweet and kind, everything I wanted in a man. But then I kept putting off moving in with him and it pushed him over the edge.” Krystal recalled their last fight before the accident happened and then Stuart’s confession about working with Big Show to take Colby out of action for a while – a confession Krystal would take to her grave. “I really thought Paul would be livid I was dating another coworker and it shocked the hell out of me when he welcomed Stuart with open arms.”

Anisa chuckled, taking a bite out of her bagel and sipped her coffee. “I can imagine.” She swallowed the bite of food. “Did you ask big bro if he was feeling alright?”

“Touched his forehead and all. He looked at me like I was nuts.” Krystal laughed, sipping her own coffee and leaned back against the chair. “It was adorable how the girls kept fighting over Stuart, so he placed them on the couch sitting in the middle and read them a story. I snapped a few pictures without him realizing.” She took her cell phone out and swiped across the screen, showing the snapshots.

“That’s just overkill with the cuteness.” Anisa grumbled with a smile, nudging Krystal to show she was joking. “Aww they fell asleep against him!” She gushed at a particular picture with all 3 girls curled up against Stuart and each other while he continued reading.

“He carried Aurora up to her room and tucked her in while Paul and Steph got Murphy and Vaughn.”

That shocked Anisa because Paul and Stephanie were very careful who had contact with their children. Then again, Stuart had been in the company for a while now and Paul must’ve trusted him along with Stephanie. “Sounds to me like you finally found a winner, girl. I’m really happy for you.” Anisa reached out to squeeze Krystal’s hand to show she meant the words coming out of her mouth. “And I’m not sorry Mia and I went behind your back and pushed you two to go out.”

“Neither am I.”

The smile on Krystal’s face blew up at the sound of the deep rugged English accent behind them and chewed her bottom lip. “Ditto.” She murmured, feeling a pair of arms wrap around her shoulders and lips kiss the crown of her head. “We were just discussing how well dinner went with my family over the weekend.”

Stuart smirked, resting his chin on top of her head. “I gathered, love, but thanks for telling me anyway.” His eyes slid over to Anisa. “I owe you and Mia everything for giving me the swift kick in the ass to finally make her mine. Anything anytime, name it and it is yours.”

“I’ll have to keep that in mind, sir.” Anisa giggled, mocking a bow in his direction and winked at the adoring couple, tossing her garbage away. “I need to go hunt down Jon. You kids behave yourselves now and don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”

“Doesn’t that pretty much rule out everything?”

“Not everything. I’m sure your Englishman can come up with a few new ideas.” Anisa remarked, leaving catering to hunt down Jon so they could go outside for their traditional smoke break.

He ended up finding her. “Hey darlin’, done with your little powwow with Krystal?” Jon kissed her softly and draped an arm around Anisa’s shoulders while they continued walking down the hall.

“Yeah, surprisingly the bosses were cool with her dating Stuart…” Anisa trailed off, not sure how Jon felt about Krystal moving on with another man since she was dating someone he considered a brother. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean…”

Jon shrugged, the smile not leaving his face. “It is what it is with Colby. He made a mistake that ended his career and, yeah, we were close, but Krystal has to move on with her life sooner or later. And Stu is a good guy. But if he hurts her, he has to deal with me and Joe beating the shit out of him.”

“You’ll have to stand in line because Paul, Stephanie, me and Mia will be first before you guys get your hands on him.”

“Mmm my feisty woman…” Jon growled, nipping the side of her neck and enjoyed the sounds of Anisa’s squeals softly echoing around them. “Come on, time for that smoke break, darlin’. Then I gotta get ready for the show.”

They continued walking toward the back exit and Jon couldn’t resist telling Anisa what happened during the workout with Joe. She laughed, leaning against him and Jon wrapped his arm around her waist to keep his woman from falling over. Barely able to breathe, they turned the corner and her laughter instantly ceased at the sight of her ex-husband, eyes immediately narrowing. Anisa wondered if he enjoyed all of her special gifts she’d sent him lately and could tell by the dark circles painting his eyes Mark hadn’t gotten a lick of rest.

“Move.”

Mark had no time to stop and antagonize Anisa, his mind solely focused on finding the person responsible for all the sick packages he’d received. He shoved Anisa out of the way, making her stumble into Jon and continued on his way. That did not set well with Jon at all. Nobody disrespected his girlfriend and put their hands on her, no matter who they were. Anisa could see the anger filling Jon’s eyes and tried stopping him, but it was too late and his long legs quickly caught up with Mark. She followed, keeping a safe distance away from the two men until Jon whipped Mark around and plowed his fist into her ex-husband’s face, shocking Anisa into momentary silence.

“Apologize to Anisa now, dick.” Jon growled in a command, ready to strike the Deadman again if he didn’t comply.

NOBODY, especially a rookie, struck and demanded anything from him! Mark was livid, the acid in his eyes seething with rage. Not thinking clearly and temporarily forgetting his mission, Mark’s focus went to Jon and suddenly tackled the rookie to the floor, throwing punches. Jon traded blows, every blow from Mark met with an equal one from Jon. He also shadowboxed as part of his training regimen, so his punches were lethal, quick and both became bloody in no time. Anisa cried out for them to stop, wanting to try breaking them up, but a pair of strong arms wrapped around her waist preventing her from doing so. It was Bray. She could tell by the tattoos seared in his skin and tried breaking free, but Bray refused to let her get hurt. Security quickly followed, breaking Mark and Jon apart pulling them off each other roughly. Jon had a laceration over his right eyebrow while Mark’s nose was a crimson mess, both of them glaring hatefully at each other. Suddenly, a surge of anger flooded Anisa’s body at the sight of her boyfriend hurt at the hands of her ex-husband.

“Fuck!” Bray grunted when Anisa delivered a hard pointy elbow in his gut, forcing the air out of his lungs and she managed to break away from him to rush to Jon’s side.

After checking to make sure Jon was alright, Anisa turned deadly blackened eyes on the man she used to love – the man she gave her heart to long ago – and shoved Mark with every ounce of strength in her body. Bray was taken aback by how strong Anisa was, noticing her body was more toned up these days and had a feeling she’d been working out with Ambrose. He caught Mark’s stumbling body and pushed him back upright, bright blues never leaving Anisa for a second. She was a petite woman and Bray was afraid Mark would snap her in half for pulling that stunt, hoping the Deadman managed to control his volatile temper.

However, Anisa was far from being done with Mark and felt her own temper skyrocketing. “HOW DARE YOU ATTACK JON, ASSHOLE!? WHO THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU ARE? YOU NEED TO GROW UP AND START SHOWING THE PEOPLE YOU WORK WITH SOME GODDAMN RESPECT, EVEN IF YOU DON’T LIKE THEM! THIS IS NOT HOW A LOCKER ROOM LEADER IS SUPPOSED TO ACT, MARK WILLIAM CALAWAY, AND YOU KNOW IT!! I’VE HAD ENOUGH OF YOUR CHILDISH GAMES AND ANTICS WITH YOUR IGNORANT POSSE, FAMILY, WHATEVER THE FUCK YOU WANNA CALL THEM! YOU’RE A SAD EXCUSE FOR A MAN, USING OTHERS TO DO YOUR DIRTY WORK SO THE BLAME CAN’T BE PLACED ON YOU! TO HAVE YOUR EX-WIFE SPIED ON BY ROOKIES AND TO BE TRICKED INTO SLEEPING WITH ONE OF THEM ALL TO KEEP TABS ON ME IS DISGUSTING, SICK AND LOW! TO HAVE THEM FUCK ME JUST TO TRY DESTROYING MY RELATIONSHIP WITH A MAN WHO ACTUALLY LOVES AND CARES ABOUT ME, FLAWS AND ALL! WHO DOESN’T CARE IF I EVER GET PREGNANT AND ACCEPTS ME FULLY FOR THE PERSON I AM! I HATE YOU, MARK CALAWAY! I FUCKING HATE YOU FOR EVERYTHING YOU’VE PUT ME THROUGH LATELY AND FOR YOU TO PUT YOUR HANDS ON THE MAN I LOVE, WHO NOW HAS MY HEART, WILL NOT BE TOLERATED BY ME! DO YOU UNDERSTAND THAT?”

By now, everyone siding with Anisa had arrived while the rest of Mark’s Family did and Mark stopped fighting security, the words his ex-wife screamed at him hitting like a ton of a bricks. What did she mean having one of his men fuck her to keep tabs on her? He never did that! Why would Mark do that when he wanted Anisa in his bed? Gritting his teeth, Mark’s eyes narrowed to dangerous slits and never took them away from his equally angered ex-wife.

“I never sent my men to fuck you, Anisa…”

“Oh bullshit! That’s such horseshit and you know it! Don’t deny it, Calaway! Don’t you dare stand there and lie to me pretending you didn’t know about me and Bray hooking up!” Anisa had just spilled the beans on Bray without realizing it and Bray simply lowered his eyes, muttering something incoherent under his breath.

All eyes were suddenly on Bray because everyone in the company knew Anisa had been with him briefly. Jon pulled Anisa back against him, ignoring the blood slowly sliding from the cut over his brow and rested his chin on top of her head, arms around her waist. Everyone who thought Anisa was done dropping bombshells was sadly mistaken because her temper was at an all-time high and hadn’t settled down after the first explosion. Tears of raw pain and anguish slid down her cheeks while Jon held her tightly against him, but Anisa couldn’t enjoy it or calm down. Whipping her left hand up for both groups to see, along with security, Anisa didn’t bother wiping the tears away from her cheeks and let them fall freely. She knew how much Mark hated seeing her cry and he deserved to feel as much pain as she currently did.

“Do you see this finger? At one point, it had a diamond ring on the left ring finger, but as you can see it’s no longer there.” Having her purse in hand, Anisa opened it up and took out her wallet, flashing her driver’s license next. “Do you see that name in fine black print? It doesn’t say Calaway ANYWHERE on it! It says Anisa Marie Brooks! Clear as day! I changed my last name as soon as our divorced finalized, asshole! Yes, it took a lot of money to do it, but being called Calaway for the rest of my life after everything you put me through wasn’t happening! So there is SOLID proof that I DO NOT belong to you anymore, Mark! I’m NOBODY’S property and my decisions are all my OWN! I do what I want, when I want and how I want, including aborting an abusive, possessive, self-absorbed piece of shit’s demon spawn years ago!”

Jaws dropped all around, including Mark’s, even the people who knew about the abortion prior to hearing it said aloud. They did not expect Anisa to mention it ever again, let alone out loud for a quarter of the roster to hear! Had she lost her mind? Maybe. Mark’s reaction was priceless, the anger instantly draining out of his body and eyes, no fight left inside of him for the time being.

“What the hell are you talkin’ about, Anisa?” Mark demanded in a low quiet voice, feeling his black heart break in pieces when a smug smirk curved her mouth. “You…”

“Did you enjoy all the special gifts I’ve personally sent you lately?” Anisa folded her arms in front of her chest, not having any other packages to send out, so there was no point hiding the culprit any longer. “That’s right, Calaway. I decided to give you a taste of your own medicine – to fuck with your mind and heart for a change and I know I succeeded. How does it feel knowing when we first started dating, I wound up pregnant by you and aborted the child because I didn’t want to have it? I’d rather die than ever be pinned down by the likes of you for the rest of my life! And I don’t regret it one damn bit either!” It hurt Anisa to talk about, but the regret was long gone and replaced with pure satisfaction.

“YOU HEARTLESS, EVIL CUNT!!” Mark roared, flying into another fit of rage and it took all of his men holding him back from ringing her neck. “I’LL KILL YOU!! I’LL FUCKIN’ KILL YOU FOR KILLIN’ OUR CHILD!!”

Jon immediately yanked Anisa out of harm’s way when Mark charged at her, wrapping his arms around her tightly forcing her head to rest on his chest. Over his dead body would he allow Mark to hurt Anisa for speaking the truth. Glen stepped forward when Mark managed to break away from his Family and swung his fist as hard as he could, knocking Mark completely out cold. The Family caught his falling body while Glen shook his head and looked at Jon, silently telling him to get Anisa away from here.

“Come on darlin’, definitely time for a smoke now.”

Anisa went with him reluctantly, trembling from head to toe and broke down against Jon as soon as they were outside of the arena away from everyone, clinging to him for dear life.

Chapter 39

“This has to end, Jon. Please end it for good.”

Anisa sobbing against him later that night shattered Jon from the inside out, begging him to put an end to this feud with Mark Calaway. Truthfully, he wanted the same thing and didn’t know how much more Anisa could handle before having a complete psychological and emotional breakdown. He was worried about her, waiting until she cried herself to sleep before extricating from the bed to make an important phone call. Stepping out on the balcony, Jon lit up a smoke and scrolled through the contacts on his phone, grunting when the thing messed up on him.

“I hate technology.” He muttered, lighting his smoke and finally found who he wanted to call, pressing the green button.

“Hyde.”

“DJ, its Mox.” Jon greeted, glancing through the sliding glass balcony door to make sure Anisa was still asleep. The less she knew about this plan, the better. “Listen, I need a favor…”

DJ listened intently to what his former CZW champion wanted, intrigued by the idea and agreed when it was all said and done. Jon thanked him and hung up a few minutes later, calling Joe hoping Mia was sound asleep the same way Anisa was. He explained the idea to Joe, who thought it was brilliant, and they both agreed to keep this from the women for the time being. Phil, Randy, Glen and Stuart were called next. Surprisingly, all the men agreed with the plan and were relieved everything was finally coming to a head after months of trickery and their women being put through hell. Jon fell asleep with Anisa in his arms, a big smile on his face buried in her soft honey blonde hair.

~!~

The following night at the Smackdown! taping, Jon, Joe, Phil, Stuart and Glen stood in the parking lot waiting for Mark and his Family to arrive for a secret meeting between the groups. The women were sent back to the hotel for much needed rest and relaxation. They hired a private masseuse to go to Jon and Anisa’s suite, having tables set up for massages and everything. It was the only way to convince them all to leave the arena, especially Ryanne. Her feet were swollen from the baby, so Randy wanted her to relax as much as possible. Everyone was tired of Paul and Stephanie twiddling their thumbs regarding this situation and Jon promised DJ to pay for any damages done to the place he owned. It was the old CZW arena in Philadelphia and he still owed the property, the ring and everything still set up. It hadn’t been used in a while, but Jon was willing to take the risk along with the rest of the men.

This had escalated to a personal level and gone way too far.

“Jon, what if he doesn’t go for this, man?” Joe asked, glancing at his partner in crime and best friend with hesitation in his eyes.

“He will.” Jon replied confidently, rubbing his hands together and began rolling his shoulders, eyes zeroed in on the backdoor of the arena.

“How do you figure?” Phil chimed in, hoping Melanie forgave him for keeping this meeting from her.

Jon smirked, blowing smoke out of his mouth and nose before flicking his cigarette across the parking lot. “Because he’s gonna get an offer he can’t refuse.”

Just then, the arena backdoor opened and Mark stepped out with his Family in tow, Bray singled out from the others. He had his head lowered and the closer he came to Jon’s group, the more they realized his eye was nothing more than a black, blue and purple mixed mess. Apparently, finding out Bray slept with the Deadman’s ex-wife hadn’t set well with Mark and he’d beaten the hell out of one of his men. Good, Jon would have no problem taking the leftovers and finishing Bray off once and for all. Jon stepped forward the same time Bray did, both folding their arms in front of their chests with squared shoulders.

“What the fuck are you doing? I don’t wanna talk to a lackey.” Jon informed the previous leader of the Wyatt Family, cold pale blues turning to Mark. “I wanna talk to the leader.”

Bray gnashed his teeth at Jon’s impudence and grunted when Mark shoved him back none too gently to take his place, not appreciating being disrespected.

“Make this quick, boy. What’s your challenge?” Mark demanded, keeping his voice low and sinister, still irate at Anisa’s confession. He was angrier at himself than anyone for not finding out what she did sooner.

“Philadelphia is where this needs to go down.” Jon was about to throw down a gauntlet and if Mark accepted, it would be the end of him. Or Jon would die trying. “An old CZW arena resides there I used to wrestle in with the company. There will be no rules, no WWE involved, no companies or crowds. Just 6 on 6 no holds barred and the last man standing wins for their team. The loser agrees to whatever the winners want regardless.”

This offer intrigued Mark, not expecting it from the likes of a rookie and stroked his black small beard thoughtfully. “Where in Philly, boy?” This wouldn’t be his first fight and certainly not the last.

The date was set for 2 weeks after Joe and Mia’s wedding, one week after Ryanne’s baby shower. They didn’t want to those two occasions to be soured because of this battle. It would give everyone time to prepare for the fight instead of rushing into it.

“Paul and Stephanie don’t need to know either.” Mark added to the list of stipulations and figured they might as well cover all bases. “And what about Anisa?”

For once, they were on the same page, Jon thought, eyes narrowing at the mention of the woman planted in the middle of this war. “We’ll handle our women. Just worry about making arrangements for your current wife because she will be a widow and your precious daughter fatherless. Because I plan on ending you once and for all.”

Mark squared his shoulders, stepping up to the rookie and their noses practically touched, each group of men moving forward as well. It was clear who the leaders were. Jon never made promises he couldn’t keep and this one he planned on going through with for Anisa. He chuckled at Jon’s bravery and slapped the boy on the back harshly, squeezing his shoulder a little too hard.

“See you in 2 weeks, boys. Prepare yourselves.”

The Family walked away with Mark leading the way and Jon finally turned to face his own men – his friends and comrades. “Do you think he’ll leave us alone until after the wedding and baby shower?” Randy asked, hoping Ryanne could enjoy the rest of her pregnancy without worrying about Erick Rowan.

Jon nodded, rolling his shoulder Mark touched and licked his top lip. “Yeah – I think we’re all in the clear until the fight.” His eyes moved to Glen Jacobs, the wild card in all of this and Jon extended his hand, both of them having a mutual understanding regarding Anisa. “Thanks for being on our side, man. It means a lot.” They had their differences, but Jon knew without a doubt Anisa belonged to him and she was merely friends with Glen, nothing more.

“Thank me when we put them down for good.”

~!~

Wedding day arrived for Joe and Mia, the day filled with pure joy and no problems. Sure, the flowers were a little wilted due to the humidity in Florida, but nonetheless it was the day Joe and Mia had hoped for. They worked long and hard for months planning the perfect wedding day and it had finally arrived. Mia was in a simple slim strapless white dress with a sweetheart neckline, her hair swept up in a ton of curls on top of her head with a small sparkling headband. She refused to wear a tiara, not wanting to be a princess on her wedding day. Flip-flops were her choice in shoes, no matter what anyone’s opinion was and it didn’t matter since the dress flooded over her feet anyway. Joe wore a crisp white buttoned up short sleeved top with tan khaki’s with flip-flops like his bride. The colors were white and aqua, simple and beautiful for the small ceremony – or as small as Patty would allow. Joe did have a lot of family to invite, but half of them didn’t show – only the important ones that actually mattered attended to show love and support for the newlywed couple.

After the ceremony ended, it was time to party and the reception was underway. It had speeches from Anisa and Joe’s older brother, Matt, who was his Best Man. Jon didn’t mind being a groomsmen and Stuart had taken over Colby’s spot in the wedding, everything working out. Everyone danced long into the night before the newlyweds took their leave to go on a weekend honeymoon to Hawaii. Mia promised Ryanne she’d return in time to come to the baby shower and Ryanne told her not to worry about it, wanting her friend to enjoy her honeymoon. Anisa couldn’t be happier for her best friend and felt Jon hold her from behind while the limousine drove away toward the airport with Mr. and Mrs. Anoa’i. He guided Anisa back to Joe’s place, where they were staying for the night and Jon took his time ravishing Anisa’s body from head to toe. After hours of making love, Anisa curled up against Jon with her head resting on his strong chest, hearing his heart beat against her ear.

“I know you’re planning something.”

Jon tensed slightly, his eyes lowering the same time hers lifted, two shades of blue clashing together. There was no anger in Anisa’s eyes or resentment, just pure curiosity. She hoped he would tell her the truth about what was going on, what she saw Jon and the other guys whispering about for the past week. Anisa could be very observant when she wanted to be along with Mia, Krystal and Ryanne, all of them noticing the same thing. They discussed it somewhat at Mia’s bachelorette party 2 days before the wedding commenced and Anisa decided they had to trust in their men to do the right thing. If Jon didn’t want her knowing, Anisa would respect him for it, but it didn’t stop her from mentioning it in hopes of hearing the truth from him.

“Don’t worry about it, darlin’. Just know that everything is gonna work out. Do you trust me?” Jon stroked her back and hair, refusing to get angry at his girlfriend for simply wanting to know what was going on.

“You know I do.”

“Do you trust in us?”

Anisa swung her leg over Jon’s waist to straddle him, cupping his face passionately kissing him. “With all my heart, Dr. Feel Good.” She smiled, rubbing her nose against his and gasped when Jon sat up to slide inside of her receptive body. “I love you…”

“Then don’t worry about anything and let me handle it. Just focus on making that beautiful pussy of yours cum all over my dick again. That’s all you need to have your mind on right now.” Jon growled, burying his face in the crook of her neck and rolled them over to start another round of lovemaking with his girlfriend.

~!~

“I can’t believe this is happening!!”

Mia and Ryanne swallowed hard looking each other while Anisa and Krystal tried keeping their pregnant friend calm. “Just breathe through the contractions, sweetie. You’re doing great!” Krystal coached, taking the cup of ice Anisa had and put another piece in Ryanne’s mouth.

The baby shower started off amazing with delicious food, great company and mountains of gifts. Ryanne had Braxton Hicks throughout the day and the baby had been very active, keeping it to herself for the most part. That was until the Braxton Hicks turned into full on contractions and Krystal was the first to notice. She sat Ryanne down and began timing the contractions, ordering Mia to call Randy back home immediately with the rest of the men. One contraction hit, then 7 minutes later another – then 5 minutes later another – 7 minutes later another – and it kept fluctuating between 5-7 minutes for the next several hours. They couldn’t bring Ryanne to the hospital until her contractions were 2-3 minutes apart, according to the doctor. For some reason, this baby was stubborn and wanted out faster than a normal first time pregnancy should’ve been. Not only that, but Ryanne was at high risk, so Krystal felt it was time to take her when the contractions moved to 4 minutes apart. Better safe than sorry. She looked up when the front door opened and Randy rushed inside, immediately going to his wife’s side holding her hand.

“Jesus baby, are you okay?” He asked, kissing her hand repeatedly and hated the tears sliding down Ryanne’s cheeks.

“Randy – Randy it hurts so bad…” Ryanne whimpered, burying her face in his chest and squeezed his arms tightly, crying out when another contraction swept through her violently. “OH GOD!”

“We have to get her to the hospital NOW!” Randy barked, lifting his pregnant wife in his arms to carry her out to the car and didn’t bother waiting for anyone else.

6 hours later, a beautiful baby boy’s cries filled the room and was placed into the exhausted arms of Ryanne. 8 pounds even and 20 inches long, the next generation of Orton was finally brought into the world. The baby boy had dark brown fuzz for hair and deep emerald eyes that mirrored his mother’s, though they hadn’t changed completely and would as the months progressed. Ryanne and Randy openly wept for their newborn son, checking to make sure he had all 10 fingers and toes. There was nothing wrong with him miraculously and Ryanne was relieved, kissing Randy repeatedly thanking him for not giving up on having their family.

“So, what should we name him?” Randy asked while Ryanne breastfed the baby boy in her arms, both of them going over several names, but they hadn’t found the right one yet.

As Ryanne gazed lovingly down at her son, there was only one name that popped in her mind and she hoped Randy agreed with it. “Reece.” She stroked the baby’s forehead and was unable to take her eyes from him. “Reece Keith Orton.”

“Sounds perfect, baby.” Randy brought his mouth down on hers softly, being careful not to crush their new son. “I love you, Ryanne.” He was so happy and blessed to witness the birth of his son instead of being stuck on the road with the WWE.

“I know you do. I love you too.” She reached up with a free hand to stroke her husband’s face and kissed him again, lulling her head back closing her eyes. “I think he’s done, will you burp him for me?”

Randy immediately took Reece from his wife’s arms and patted the baby gently, grinning when the boy let out a loud belch. “That’s my boy.” He chuckled, walking over to the rocking chair and proceeded to rock his son to sleep while Ryanne passed out in sheer exhaustion.

Chapter 40

“Bray, if you’re screwing with me…”

“I’m not Anisa, I promise.” Bray grunted, pressing an ice pack against his swollen eye and leaned back in his recliner chair. “I’m doing this because I’m tired of being under Calaway’s thumb and being his beating post.”

Anisa cringed when he said that because she knew how volatile Mark’s temper was. “He really didn’t know about us, did he?” It was more of a statement than a question, her voice full of regret for outing Bray. “I thought…”

“Water under the bridge, Anisa. There’s bigger fish to fry.” He coughed a little, standing up from the chair to look out the window. “What I told you is the honest truth. You do whatever you want with the information, but now you know everything.”

Anisa had a hard time wrapping her mind around this sudden information and had no idea what she was supposed to do with it. “She’s been through enough, Bray. She’s happy now and telling her this will crush her.” Clasping her hands together, Anisa pressed her forehead to the cool glass window in the guest bedroom in Joe’s house and felt tears sting her eyes. “Why are you telling me this now?”

“Because I love you, Anisa. I know you don’t love me. I’ve tried winning you back countless times and its obvious chasing you is a waste of time. So it’s time for me to come clean with everything and separate myself from your ex-husband before I end up losing my career.” Bray heaved a sigh, pouring a tumbler full of whiskey and swallowed half of it down. It would help with the current pain he was in. “I admit, I planned on taking advantage of you once Mark destroyed Ambrose – or how he planned doing anyway. But you’d never be truly happy with me and I get it now. I finally understand and I’m sorry for everything I’ve put you through. Hopefully, this information will at least lessen the animosity between us.”

“Goodbye Bray.”

Anisa felt huge tears slide down her face and tossed her phone on the bed behind her, shutting her eyes to let the pain wash over her. Bray had done too much damage for her forgiveness, but at least he came clean about the information overload she was burdened with. What was she supposed to do? How could she tell Krystal her ex-boyfriend, who was in a vegetative state, had worked for the devil all along? Colby working with Mark made her stomach churn and blood boil all at the same time. Bray confessed the reasoning behind Colby working with Mark too, which in turn made Anisa more nauseous. He wanted her out of Krystal’s life and Mark promised it would happen once she was back in his clutches. If Colby wasn’t already a vegetable, Anisa would’ve sent him to his grave for this and now she had to make a decision on whether or not to tell Krystal.

Sometimes things were better left unsaid.

~!~

The night before the fight, Glen received a call from Bray Wyatt asking him what he could do to redeem himself in the man’s eyes. He wanted this war to end and knew who the winning side was. Mark didn’t stand a chance and Bray refused to put his wrestling career on the line for a man that beat the living hell out of him. The huge welts on his back from being whipped like a dog with a leather belt blazed on Bray’s bare skin, unable to wear any clothing. Now Glen sat on the plane with the rest of the men he planned on fighting beside and still hadn’t mentioned his phone call with Bray Wyatt. Each man was in their deep thoughts about what was to come, the pain they were all about to endure because Mark and his Family would not go down easily.

However, little did Mark know he’d already lost some of his men, thanks to Bray.

“There’s something I need to come clean to all of you about and it needs to be done before we land.” Glen broke the silence between all of them, still not believing Randy agreed to come with after having a beautiful baby boy. “I got an interesting phone call last night…”

Jon, Joe, Phil, Randy and Stuart all listened intently to what Glen said regarding Bray Wyatt, their brows rising as far as possible. Glen had called Bray back after contemplating the man’s request to switch sides, both coming up with a plan to swerve Mark. Surprisingly, the group of men are all for the plan, but Jon had doubts about Bray and he hoped it wasn’t a trick from the Eater of Worlds. Otherwise, his wrestling career would be over because Jon would personally end it.

“You sure about this, Big Red?” Jon borrowed Anisa and Mia’s nickname for Glen, walking off the plane through the terminal with each man having a bag in hand.

“If he stays on Mark’s side, he loses and if he turns on Mark, he wins. It’s a no-brainer and he sounded 100% sure on the phone when we talked. He called me, don’t forget that either.” Glen pointed out, clapping Jon on the back reassuringly and went to grab a rental big enough to hold all six men plus more.

Jon hoped Glen was right, his phone vibrating and pulled it out seeing there was a message from Anisa. I love you. Be careful and come home to me safely. He hadn’t told her what they were doing precisely, but Anisa had her suspicions it had to do with Mark and left Jon alone about it. She had to make sure her man knew she loved him regardless of what happened though.

Love you too. Stop worrying and enjoy time with the girls. I’ll call you when I’m on my way home. Jon texted back, shutting his phone off and slid it in his back pocket, joining Glen along with his group of friends to head out to the rental vehicle.

~!~

Vicious and brutal.

With a deeply gashed cheek and bloody forehead, Jon stood over Mark surveying the damage on his face. It was nothing more than a crimson mask. The plan with the Wyatt’s was flawless and nobody had turned their back on the winning team. Mark couldn’t believe he lost and the men he took under his wing from NXT – Bray, Erick and Luke – had turned on him all to save their wrestling careers. He spit blood out, every part of his body hurt and Mark was sure he had broken bones somewhere from all the steel chair shots from Jon. The rookie hadn’t held back and took his anger out in a very destructive way with Mark’s body being the main target. Pulling something out of his back pocket, Jon unfolded the paper and tossed it on Mark’s chest, turning his head to spit blood out of his busted mouth.

They were demands and they were really simple: Stay the hell away from Anisa because she no longer belonged to him and retire from the WWE forever.

“A new breed runs the yard now, Deadman.”

Stumbling away from Mark’s broken carcass, Jon was on his feet even though he limped, stopping in front of an equally exhausted and bloody Bray. The brawl had taken hours to finish, each man having something to prove. Randy got his hands on Erick Rowan for good measure, splitting his head open with an RKO on a steel chair and Stuart knocked one of Ryan Reeves’ teeth out of his mouth. Joe made sure Curtis Hennig would never again touch another piece of flesh on his wife’s body, breaking each finger for good measure along with his arms. Phil delivered a ‘Go to Sleep’ high knee to Luke Harper, knocking him temporarily unconscious and ended up breaking his nose for good measure. That was before the Wyatt Family turned on their team to join Jon’s, shocking Reeves, Curtis and Mark. It was suddenly 9 on 3 and Jon had to admit Mark put up one hell of a fight, refusing to go down easily.

Bray held his hand out for Jon to shake and both men yanked at the same time, their bodies colliding against each other roughly. “Do not hurt her or you will pay the price, Ambrose.” He promised through tired truthful bright blues, making Jon smirk in response.

“Stay away from her and we won’t have a problem, Wyatt.”

They both had a mutual understanding.

“Well played boys, well played.” Mark whispered, watching everyone leave the building and closed his eyes to let the darkness consume his body, the pain too much to handle.

Glen snorted, calling an ambulance for Mark before leaving the premises and couldn’t wait to be back home with his beautiful wife.

A few hours later, the plane landed in Pensacola and the men made their way back to Joe’s house to greet their women. Jon texted Anisa before getting on the plane and her only response was ‘hurry’. She missed him as much as he did her and now they could finally live their lives together peacefully, besides the chaotic world of the WWE.

“They’re back!”

Anisa was the first one out of the house, all the girls spilling out of the front door to greet their beaten victorious men. She jumped into Jon’s arms, passionately kissing him while Mia and Krystal did the same thing to Joe and Stuart. Ryanne simply enjoyed the embrace from her husband while holding Reece, all the girls crying. Melanie tackled Phil to the grass, raining kisses over his face and held him close, thankful he was alright. All the women shared that appreciation and guided their men inside the house to start the pampering, each welcoming their man home properly.

After the fight, everything went back to normal in each couple’s lives. They worked hard in the WWE, entertaining crowds and falling in love with each other every day that passed by. Phil left the WWE shortly after the fight, wanting to experience life to the fullest with Melanie, who still had her law firm open in Chicago. Paul and Stephanie respected Phil’s decision and didn’t punish Anisa for being his sister, unlike the vicious rumors spread all over the internet. They valued her too much since she did an excellent job at the performance center and chose new talent for NXT. Anisa received a call once or twice a week from her brother to check-in and she couldn’t remember ever hearing her brother happier than he was with Melanie, not even Coralie.

Before anyone realized it, 5 months passed and WrestleMania was once again upon them. WrestleMania 30, to be exact. Jon was pumped and ready, not minding Mark had returned for his final match against Lesnar. Anisa wasn’t bothered by it either. They were happily living in Atlanta together and their relationship had strengthened to the point where Jon contemplated taking the next step by asking Anisa to marry him. Then again, they were the type of people who lived life day to day and didn’t need a piece of paper or expensive jewelry to define their love for each other. They had the ‘marriage and kids’ discussion, both open to it, but not looking for it to happen either.

2 weeks after the fight – one month after their wedding – Mia informed Joe they were expecting their first child and she was quitting the WWE to become a full-time mother and wife. Joe was ecstatic, not able to wait to be a father and admitted only to Mia he’d been jealous of Randy flashing pictures of Reece all over the company. Now, she was 6 months pregnant and struggling to walk around because Joe had blessed her with twin baby boys. Mia had twins on her side of the family along with Joe, so they had a pretty high chance of conceiving twins. Joe tried getting her to stay home and relax, but Mia refused to miss WrestleMania and planned on having her last match before retirement after the twins were born.

Meeting Stuart’s family, they instantly fell in love with Krystal and invited her to come visit them in England sometime, preferably during the WWE’s upcoming European tour. It did Stuart’s heart good to have his family accept Krystal because he was a huge family man and had no doubt they would fall for her as fast as he did. Stuart and Krystal were engaged to be married sometime in the near future, already living together. It didn’t take more than 2 months after the fight before Stuart begged Krystal to move in with him and she accepted without a second thought. There was no hesitation or fear unlike she had with Colby when he asked her to move in. With Stuart, everything was smooth and came natural, just the way love was supposed to be. Granted, they had their share of fighting and arguments, but at the end of the day they wound up in each other’s arms falling more in love. Currently, Krystal was hard at work in the trainer’s room preparing for the biggest event of the year and all the injuries they would sure have before the night ended.

Ryanne giggled at something Mia said while they sat in catering and Anisa excused herself to go join Jon for their traditional smoke outside. She smiled at the sight of him pacing and waited until he turned around to face her, his heart nearly stopping at the sight of her. Damn, she looked incredible and the short blue dress she wore did nothing to help the current problem in his cargo pants.

“Hey darlin’, sorry I started without you.” He handed over the cigarette and wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling Anisa against him softly kissing her.

“Mmm it’s okay, I’ll give you a pass since tonight is Mania.” Anisa remarked, swiping some gloss from his mouth and took a long drag of the cigarette, handing it back to him. “How are you feeling?”

“Fucking nervous.” Jon admitted openly, rubbing the back of his neck and began jumping up and down to keep his adrenaline elevated. “Excited and nervous.”

Anisa chuckled and hopped up on the equipment trunk nearby, crooking a finger at Jon beckoning him over to her. “You are incredible in the ring, so what the hell are you worried about? You got this, Dr. Feel Good.” She began massaging his tense shoulders and arms, enjoying the fact he was currently shirtless pressing soft kisses down his spine.

Turning around, Jon captured her mouth and wrapped her legs around his waist, enjoying her soft body against his. It was hard to believe the year they had and most couples wouldn’t have handled half the stuff tossed their way. However, Jon and Anisa weren’t ordinary couples and neither were Joe and Mia, Krystal and Stuart, Phil and Melanie and the Orton family. They expected the impossible when it came to the world of professional wrestling, at least Jon and Anisa did. There’d been a lot of virulence throughout the year, but now everything had settled back into a solace state and each couple would make sure it stayed that way as long as possible.

The End.