Part 33:

Lissy drove back to New York the next day. She had a meeting scheduled with Debbie and Max about the purchase of the club. She'd cleared the funds and by tonight, both her and Debbie would be Rets new owners. It felt good to be doing something productive and selfish for once. She was going to be in town for just one night though. She had to get back in her car and drive down to Washington that very night. She parked her car in front of Debbie's building and ran inside. She used her spare key and unlocked the door. Debbie was on the phone.
“Kip, listen, Lissy just walked in all right. We have to meet with Max and the lawyers. Yeah, I'll call you when I get back home. Yeah, me too.”
“Be honest,” said Lissy as soon as her friend hung up the phone. “How do I look?”
Debbie looked her best friend up and down, her eyes unforgiving and shook her head from side to side, “Definitely not your best.”
“I'm wasting away,” said Lissy, falling into a chair, her leg hooked on the armrest. “All of that because of a man.”
“All that because you won't go to the man you love you mean.”
“You understand why I can't go to him, don't you Deb?”
“Yeah, kind of. It's like doctor-patient privilege.”
“Right. Exactly. I knew you'd understand.”
“The boys of DX don't understand you know.”
“Oh, I know. I spoke to them today. It's like. God, it's I'm the devil, just because I, temporarily, dumped their buddy.”
“Temporarily? You're planning on getting back together with Paul?”
“Yeah. when this whole thing with the stalker is over with. I think.”
“Okay, now I'm confused,” said Debbie, “are you or aren't you getting back together with Paul?”
“When I straighten things out in my head about what I really want to do, then, yeah, I'd love to hook up with that big, bad, beautiful hunk of man.”
“What do you mean, what you really want to do?” asked Debbie. “Don't you want to go in with me on that club thing?”
“Yeah, I do. Absolutely. But I wonder how much time I want to give to my business. I mean, with a few easy jobs on the side, I could make enough money to stay comfortable. And with the revenues from the club, I wouldn't have to work so much, I could give Mom a nice retirement package and everything.”
“What would you do to kill time?”
“I'd dance. I thought we could open up Rets during the day as a dance studio. It'd give us a chance to do what we both love, dance, while getting money for renting out the space.”
“That would be a great idea. You're quite the business woman under that disguise.”
“Why thank you!”
“Lissy, I've received an offer, which would give us an almost unstoppable flow of cash.”
“You have? From who?”
“The boys.”
“The boys?” asked Lissy, raising a quizzical eyebrow. “What boys? Kip, Mike, Brian, Sean and.” “Paul?”
“Yeah,” said Debbie softly.
“They want to invest in Rets? Is that what you're telling me?”
“As silent partners, of course, but they'd also be our cash cows.”
“Debbie, I can't believe you're asking me to do this. I'm trying to get away from that man right now. I'm not sure I want to get involved in a business with him.”
“They would be silent partner and Mike has agreed to be the sole voice of their group.”
“How much?”
“How much what?”
“How much do they want to invest in our club?”
“They want in at fifteen percent, no more.”
“And you and I?”
“We'd split the rest.”
“I don't know about this Debbie.”
“They want to invest their money in something worthwhile. In this case, it would be our club. It would be good business Lissy.”
“Fine. I'll take your word for it. But if I end up regretting this at anytime, you're the one who ends up with the beating, not them.”
“I can take you on.”
“You think. Now, I am going to shower and raid your closet. I need to look just right for this meeting.”

Mike was already at the club when Lissy and Debbie got there. He was sitting at the bar with Max, toying with a martini. Both women went up to them, smiling. When Lissy got to Mike however, there was a frown on her face.
“You took me to lunch yesterday. Why didn't you tell me anything about this?”
“Debbie insisted. She wanted to talk to you about it first. If you'd said no, there wouldn't have been a point, now, would there?”
“Still Mike, I thought we were friends or something.”
“Or something. now that sounds promising.”
“Idiot!” she chuckled, “I could still reconsider.”
Mike flashed her one of his patented Sexy Boy smiles and Lissy cuffed him in the shoulder.
“All right,” she finally said, “let's get this over with.”
Within an hour, Debbie, Lissy and the boys of DeGeneration X were the proud owners of Rets. Debbie and Mike had made plans to meet the rest of the buyers at a restaurant for a celebration bash but didn't tell Lissy anything about it. She just thought she was going to grab a nice meal with a couple of friends. When they got to the restaurant, the maître d' led them to a private dining room where Sean, Brian, Kip, Paul and some of the girls' friends were still waiting for them.
Lissy stopped at the dining room's entrance, frozen by the sight of Paul, Barry sitting down close to him, nursing a beer at the end of the table, looking at sullen as ever. He looked up at her and her heart started to beat so hard and so fast in her chest that she lost her words. She turned on Mike and Debbie, her eyes shining with tears.
“You should have told me he'd be there,” she spat out before running out. “You should have told me.”
Her words trailed after her as she ran to the restaurant exit and to her car. As she turned the key in the ignition, she looked up at the restaurant's entrance and saw Paul standing there. She was so confused, so torn. But she loved him so much. She stopped the car in front of him, opening the passenger door.
“Join me?” she asked. Paul got into the car quickly, Barry keeping an eye on them both. Once Paul was safely in her SUV, Barry turned on his heels and went back to the celebration.
Lissy drove quickly, making her way to her Brooklyn home. Paul didn't say anything but she felt his eyes on him. Her body felt alive after being away from Paul for so long. It was strange, it made her feel good, it made her feel wanted. She stole a few glances at him and was somewhat pleased to see she hadn't been the only one destroyed by their separation. There were bags under his eyes too and he looked like he hadn't shaved in days.
The hour-long drive was made in silence. Lissy didn't even have the courage to pop in one of her Tina Turner tapes. Yet, she was filled with excitement. It had been so long since she'd been with Paul, since that afternoon before the ball in fact. Now, after all this time, almost two weeks, she was desperate for a taste of him. She pulled the car into her garage and waited for the big automatic door to close behind them to say anything. She turned to him.
“Let's go inside.”
Paul nodded his agreement and made his way around the car and followed her in, his eyes focusing on the delicate sway of her hips. She'd lost weight, he thought to himself. He didn't like that. It was unhealthy and he didn't like to think of his Lissy as not being in top shape. In front of him, she started to walk into the kitchen but he grabbed her arm, shaking his head and led her up the stairs to the bedroom where he'd dreamt of her when she'd slept a few doors down.
Lissy stood at the end of the bed, shivering in the warm room as he shut the door on the world. The young woman stood still as Paul came to stand over her. With a calm that he'd ever thought to possess, Paul proceeded to undress Lissy, stripping her of her black leather ankle-length jacket, of the black pantsuit she'd borrowed from Debbie, and the dark green shirt she'd worn with it. He rolled the pantyhose down her legs, calves and feet, leaving her to curl her toes in the inch-deep carpet. When Lissy stood in front of him with scraps of satin covering her breasts and the nest of curls between her legs, Paul stood away from her.
Lissy looked up at him, her knees shaking as her heart threatened to beat its way out of her chest. There was something so touching about the way he'd just touched her, something very intimate. The feel of his fingers and hands on her skin had been incredibly sensual and yet, not intentionally sexual. She stood in front of him, her fingers and nails playing with the edge of her panties.
Paul looked at Lissy, wanting to lose himself in a frenzy of touching her. But he restrained himself. He proceeded to undress himself as slowly as he'd undressed her, enjoying her heated looks and her gasps as he unbuttoned his shirt, letting it drift to the floor. He was so aware of her widened eyes as he allowed his pants to fall to his ankles, revealing the erection that threatened to tear apart his tight boxers.
The man stepped to the woman, reaching around her back, unhooking her bra and setting free her throbbing breasts, heavy with need, need for him. He slid his fingers into the lacy edge of her panties, pulling them down her long legs, kneeling to ease her feet out of the leg holes. Dropping the tiny bit of satin to the ground next to him, the man kissed the woman's stomach, making her cry out. He then proceeded to press his face into her stomach.
“Do you know how much I missed you?” asked Paul, his breath warming Lissy's belly.
“I missed you too,” she whispered, pressing his head close to her body.
“Then why did.”
“I was so confused. and I still am Paul. All I know for sure right now is that I want you more now more than I ever wanted you before. Take me Paul. Take me!”
Needing no more encouragement, the degenerate lifted Lissy high up in his arms and slid into her as her legs curled around his hips. She welcomed him into her body, moving up and down his body, using her strong legs to increase the friction. He pushed in and out of her in a frenzy until he fell to his knees on the carpet, her body spent, yet still throbbing all around him.

Lissy lay in bed, curled into Paul's warm body, her eyes focused on the moving hands of her watch as they flashed by. Paul was still awake behind her. The way he slid his hand up and down her hip was too regular for him to not be doing it consciously.
“Why did you leave?” he finally asked.
The question weighed heavily in the air as Lissy tried to come up with a reasonable answer, which was incredibly difficult since she didn't have an answer to give.
“Would you be satisfied with an I don't know?” she asked.
“I don't think so.”
“The stalker's getting too close,” she said. “I think it's better for me to run this investigation from the outside looking in. I have insights into the wrestlers now that I never had before. I'm getting close.”
“Do you know who it is?”
“Let's just say I narrowed the field.”
“Who?”
“I can't tell you that Paul. I can't risk having you act strangely toward any of the suspects. It might set them off and throw things into fast forward, possibly endangering your life.”
“And yours,” said Paul, his hold tightening over Lissy.
“And mine.”
“I hate this job of yours Lissy. I really hate it. I hate the fact that it's so dangerous. I hate that you got hurt trying to protect me. I hate it, I hate it, I hate it.”
Lissy turned around in the small bed and held Paul's face in her hands. “Out there,” she said, “I am in control. I rule what goes on. I am aware of the risks and I shoulder the responsibility. I do not want to die. Do you understand that?”
“Yes, but.”
“Hush. I'm not done. When this is all done and over with, I want to go to you and sit in your lap and allow you to feel me up like a teenager on the third date. I am not going to die. Neither are you.”
“How can you say that? You were shot. If that bullet had been just a few inches to.”
“Paul, don't lose yourself in the what-could-have-beens. I walked away from it all right. And look,” said Lissy, taking his hand and running it over her lightly bandaged shoulder, “see, I was scratched but I'll be fine.”
“I think. I know that if anything happened to you, I would go mad.”
“Don't worry. When it comes to protecting you, me and Barry are in control and we won't let anything happen to you.”
“Do you promise?”
“I swear it.”
Paul laid his lips on top of Lissy's in the gentlest of kisses. It made her feel all warm and tingly inside. As if her stomach was about to turn, but in a pleasant way.
“Now Paul,” she said softly, “when it comes to protecting you, I'm in control. But nothing is stopping you from taking control here.”
“Are you sure you're going to be able to stand it?”
“Quite.”
Paul rolled over her until he gently straddled her hips. He took both of her wrists and crossed them behind her neck.
“Do not move your arms. Just let me thrill you all right?”
“All right,” she agreed, her voice shaky.
Paul's first stop was her mouth. He captured her first moans and gasps in a kiss that made her hunger for more, for so much more. His lips then traveled south to that spot where her neck and chest met, laving it with his tongue, much like the Ralph Fiennes had done to his ladylove in The English Patient. Lissy longed to touch him but his instructions had been precise and she wanted to please him as he pleased her.
But when Paul's mouth took one of her nipples hostage, her hands went to the mattress, digging into it as hoarse cries escaped her lips. He alternated from one breast to the other until she didn't know if she was on earth, in heaven or hell. Her orgasm came and went, powerfully and quickly, leaving her languid and more aroused than ever. His tongue traced a southern path, making a stop at the dimple cavity of her navel, making her giggle nervously and awaking forgotten pleasure nerves, making her grit her teeth as she groaned.
When he reached his final destination, Paul looked up at Lissy, finding her propped up on her elbows, watching him carefully, part of her lower lip trapped between her teeth. His fingers opened up her nether lips and he blew his hot breath over the sensitive regions, making her thighs tense.
“If you're a drug, I'm an addict,” he said softly.
“That is so corny,” she stuttered nervously, watching his every move.
“If I don't please you, sue me.”
Lissy would have made a witty remark but the feel of Paul's mouth on the most sensitive part of her body made her eyes roll back in her head. As his tongue proved to be as skillful as the Rock's promised to be, Lissy's body arched of the bed, she screamed, she groaned, she moaned, she grunted, she dug her fingers into the mattress. until she finally exploded. Her final thought before slumping into the sleep of the blissfully content was that he had written his name all over her body. It was her first good night of sleep in a long time.

Part 34:

Lissy walked into the Marriott where she'd dropped Paul off a few hours earlier with a mile-wide grin on her face. She wasn't quite sure of what she was going to do about her feelings for Paul him but as long as she was in love with him, she was going to live for that love and get as much out of it as she could.
Today, Lissy knew she was going to surprise him, and maybe shock him a little. She'd just gotten her bike out of storage. She'd had it specially outfitted for winter and she had a special license to ride it in the winter. And she was dressed for the part in leather chaps over her black jeans, her bright red turtleneck and her leather jacket lined with polar fleece. Brian and Kip were in the hotel lobby, checking out when Lissy walked in, a pair of matching motorcycle helmets in her hands. They went up to her right away, smiles on their faces.
“Hello partner,” said Kip, wrapping his long arms around her, “how are things?”
“Pretty good,” she smiled.
“Ooh,” crooned Brian, “are you and Paul back on track?”
“It certainly seems that way. And I thought I might give him a ride to the airport.”
“On a motorcycle?” asked Brian, a worried look on his face.
“Yeah. Don't worry about it, it's safe. And I'm a really good driver.”
“Vince isn't going to like it.”
“Good. He's not the one who'll ride out behind me. Now, where am I going to find my baby?”
“He was following us,” said Kip. “He's probably in the next elevator.”
“Cool, I'll go wait for him.”
Lissy headed for the elevator banks and tapped her toes on the thick carpet as she waited for Paul to get there. Finally, an elevator dinged behind her, she spun on her heels and came face to face with Sean and Barry. When they saw her, their mouths stretched in happy smiles.
“Hey darling,” said Sean, wrapping her up in a bear hug.
“Sean,” she giggled, “to what do I owe the honor?”
“You're just one of those great girls,” he chuckled, twirling her around until she was facing away from the elevator.
“Was Paul in there with you?” asked Lissy, smiling at Barry.
“No,” answered Sean very quickly, dragging Lissy away from the elevator, “now tell me, what's new with you?”
“Sean,” said Lissy, trying to pull her arm out of his grasp, “you been smoking again?”
“Sean,” said Barry sternly, “enough.”
Sean finally let go of Lissy and she walked around him to the elevator.
Paul was there. No one could wear a tee shirt the way he did. His arms was wrapped around someone, someone small and delicate, someone who disappeared in his arms, someone he was kissing, someone he was making out with. Lissy put her hand against the wall, staggered by the sight. She took a deep breath and spun around.
Lissy felt like someone was pulling the ground out from under her, like she was trying to walk through a earthquake and a tornado all wrapped up into one. She walked past the check in counter when Brian and Kip called out to her but their voices were lost in background noise. Her ears were filled with screams she could not bear to liberate. The only thing she could bear to focus on was her bike. She had to get to her bike. A hand went around her elbow and spun her around. It was Kip. Through her tears, she saw his lips moving but heard nothing. In the background, she saw Sean gesturing at Paul angrily and pointing to her. When Paul saw Lissy, he started to walk in her direction, Stephanie McMahon following him like an obedient puppy.
Lissy's attention went back to Kip, who was still talking to her, telling her to calm down and to let Paul explain. That was the one thing she couldn't do. She would not let him explain. She still had some pride left.
“Leave me alone,” she screamed at Kip, pushing him so hard that he went careening back into a luggage stand.
Lissy made sure he was all right and went running for where she'd left her bike. She hopped on, securing her helmet on her head and putting the key in the ignition. She was about to go when Paul appeared in front of her bike.
“Lissy, please listen to me,” he said, “let me explain.”
“No!”
Lissy threw the spare helmet at him, making him step out of her way and sped past him. This would serve as a lesson to her. This was what happened to silly women who fell in love. She was paying the price.

Paul stood in the parking lot, watching Lissy's retreating back on her motorcycle. He felt broken, like the worst kind of heel. He hated himself for hurting her, but not as much as he hated the little idiot who came toward him, carrying his jacket.
“Put this on,” she said, “you'll catch a cold.”
“Do not speak to me,” he spat out, snatching his jacket from her grasp.
“I'm sorry. I didn't know your girlfriend was going to be there. I was just trying to find something out.”
“Listen Stephanie, Andrew doesn't love you, all right. Kissing me didn't prove anything, not to you anyway.”
“Do you want me to talk to her, to Lissy? Tell her what really happened?”
“You have a death wish? If you get anywhere near her, I can guarantee you that she will kick your head right off your shoulders and I can't tell you I will mind, or that I will care.”
“Excuse me,” she said, in that whiny high-pitched squeal of hers, “but you agreed to kiss me.”
“God knows I will regret that forever. Although I have to give you props. You are as good a manipulator as your father and brother pretend to be on TV.”
“Why thank you,” she said, her voice dripping with sarcasm.
“You should have heard yourself: Paul, I have a favor to ask you. I'm not sure if Andrew still loves me. And me, the big dumb idiot that I am, I fell for it, I thought I would help you out. You poured your heart out to me, threw in a few tears, made it real, made me feel for you. And then, you said, with big tears in your eyes, Maybe I don't satisfy him sexually. You know, when you said that, I thought Of course you don't satisfy him. Andrew needs a real woman, not a whiny little bitch. But I didn't say that. I was nice, I patted you on the back and told you not to worry.”
“God, as if you didn't eat everything up. Ain't that just like a guy? You hear a woman in distress and you just have to play hero. It's downright sickening.”
“That's exactly what you were expecting. It's exactly what you wanted me to do.”
“Oh, I know that's what I wanted from you all right, but it doesn't make it any less sickening.”
“Why did you ask me to kiss you Stephanie? Did you really want me to tell you if you were a bad kisser or not?”
“God, as if I care! I wanted you to kiss me because you're a big, beautiful hunk of man and I wanted to get my hands on you.”
“You bitch!”
“Hey, you kissed me too. I wasn't going at that kiss alone.”
Paul raised his hand to slap that smirk off her face and if it weren't for Joanie holding his arm back, Stephanie would be lying on the ground right now, probably knocked out.
“Don't bother Paul, don't bother. If you hit her, she's going to run to daddy and make a big mess out of everything. Don't give her the satisfaction.”
Joanie dragged Paul back to the hotel while Stephanie stood in the parking lot, a smile curving her lips. She might have her way with the leader of DX after all.

By the time Lissy pulled her motorcycle in the basement parking lot of the building where her office was, she had a working plan. And all of it should go off without a hitch. If Mrs. Carlson was surprised to see her daughter walk in wearing her leather outfit, it didn't show.
“You've gotten quite a few phone calls,” she said.
“Thanks,” said Lissy, scanning the small pink sheets. “Mom, effective today, we are closing the office. Tape a message for the voice mail. Everyone leaves a message on the voice mail. I'll be checking it.”
“What? Lissy, what happened?”
“I'm getting a new life, that's what happened Mom. I finish this job and I'm closing down the business. I'm tired of this. I'll take on a few odd jobs here and there but I am tired of running after other people's ghosts.”
“What happened honey?” asked Mrs. Carlson, making her way around the desk and facing her daughter, “what broke you down?”
“I got smart Mom. I got smart really fast and it hurt.”
Lissy leaned over and hugged her mother, holding her tight as she finally cried. Slowly, with great sobs, she told her mother everything, everything that had happened between her and Paul, her fears, her reservations, her love and her heartbreak.
“He hurt me Mom,” she wailed, “he hurt me so bad.”

When Jim walked in, Shane in tow, a few hours later, he was shocked to see Lissy's office so bare. The move had happened quickly, with Lissy calling in a few favors. Her mother was directing movers when she looked up, glaring at the two men.
“What do you want?” she spat out.
“Is Lissy in?”
“I don't think you heard me correctly,” said Mrs. Carlson, taking off her horn-rimmed glasses, “what do you want?”
“To see Lissy.”
“What for?”
“It's something of a sensitive issue.”
“Listen, Mr. Sensitive Issues,” said Mrs. Carlson, going right up to Jim and poking her finger in the middle of his chest, “when you first came in here, I thought you were a pretty decent guy. But now I'm forced to realize that you're nothing more than the idiot who started all of this.”
“All of what?”
“All of this. One of your steroid freaks hurt my baby and you might as well warn him, if I get my hands on him, I'll kill him.”
“Mom,” said Lissy, coming out of her office, a sealed envelope in her hand, “this is your pension agreement. Everything should be,” the sentence died in her throat as soon as she saw Jim and Shane.
“Can we talk to you for a second?” asked Shane.
“I suppose so. But you're out of here in five minutes.”
“Not a problem.”
“First of all,” said Shane, “I want to apologize for my sis.”
“Don't say anything else,” said Lissy, her eyes cold, “that part of my life is over. Closed. Dead.”
“Lissy, come on,” said Jim.
“I'm serious. I could hate Paul for what he did to me. But I won't. I'll find his stalker and then I'll move on.”
“So we gather you'll want to run this investigation from afar again.”
“Smart boy. However, I want backstage passes for all of your shows.”
“Done.”
“Complete access.”
“Done.”
“And, the only person who maintains contact with me is Barry.”
“Why?” asked Shane.
“If too many people know my whereabouts, this investigation becomes ineffective.”
“And what if we need to reach you?”
“Barry.”
“You're not making this easy on us.”
“Good. You can go now.”
Lissy went back to putting things in boxes and Shane and Jim stood there for a moment, not quite sure of what to do.
“This is your cue to leave boys,” she said with a tight smile.
As soon as the door closed behind them, Lissy sat on the hardwood floors, sighing. This had gone much better than she'd expected. Now, if she could only make it stick.

Part 35:

Paul sat in the locker room he shared with the rest of DX, waiting for his cue. He wasn't really in the mood to go out there and defend his title against Test but a man had to do what a man had to do, even if that man was heartbroken. His friends sat around him, talking quietly. And this time, he didn't try to go for bravery, he didn't say anything stupid, he didn't pretend that he could survive life without Lissy. He'd never cared so much about a person, he'd never been so dependent on one person's feelings and now that she'd completely cut herself off from him, he felt completely lost.
“Paul,” said Shane, peeking in, “it's your cue.”
“Thanks.”
Paul brushed past Shane without another word and stalked off to the stage.
Shane looked at Brian, Kip and Sean and they just shook their heads as Shane joined them.
“It's been two weeks,” he sighed, “nothing's changed?”
“Nope,” said Sean, “he works out, does the shows, appearances and then. well, mostly, he just stares out the windows. It's really freaky.”
“Did he tell you guys anything?”
“Nope. He doesn't talk much.”
On the small monitor, DX and Shane watched as Paul appeared. To the average WWF fan, there was nothing different to him. He showed beneath the Titantron, a bottle of Aquafina in one hand and his championship belt in the other. He raised the belt, chugged some water which he sprayed out on the ramp. His eyes bore into Test as the challenger watched him from the ring, leaning forward on the top rope.
“Right now,” said Shane, watching Paul, “I just hope he performs up to par.”
“He will,” said Kip, “he's a professional, but I don't know how long it'll last. He's heartbroken, he's tired, and sooner or later, he's bound to break.”
In the ring, as Test was about to use the pump handle slam on him, Paul thought about breaking, about letting Andrew take the win, and the belt, and walk away from everything. He'd been thinking about doing that ever since that day when Lissy rolled away from him on the motorcycle.
“What's wrong with you man?” asked Andrew nervously as he realized that he was fighting the ghost of HHH, not the real deal.
“Nothing, sorry,” he hissed as he wriggled out of Test's signature move and countered it.
Andrew's whispered question got in back into the moment and within a few seconds, the match was won, according to plan, if not a bit early on the schedule. As Paul strode up the ramp, he saw her.
Lissy watched the match with more interest than she would have liked to admit. She still loved him, she realized as Paul used the pedigree to take the win on Andrew. But he'd broken her heart and that was unforgivable.
She looked at him as he passed by her, him elevated on the ramp, and her doing security duty on the floor. She saw the shock in his brown eyes and she wanted to go to him, run into his arms and never let go, but her stubborn pride got in the way. She eyed him coolly, calmly as he made his way backstage.
In her heart of hearts, Lissy knew that Paul was going to come after her as soon as he could so she started to make her way out of the packed arena. She used the mike Jim had given her before the show and told him about her plans to leave. He confirmed her departure and she started to make her way to the parking area.
Paul erupted into the DX dressing room without saying a word. He slid on his black Adidas track pants and pulled on DX jersey and made his way out the door before any of his friends could say a word.
Lissy was elbowing her way through the excessive backstage crowd of wrestlers, crew and arena officials when she came face to face with Stephanie McMahon. The smaller, more delicate woman eyed her with a satisfied smirk on her face.
“Well, well, well,” said Stephanie, “I didn't think I'd ever see you back here.”
“This is way too much of a cliché,” sighed Lissy, pushing Steph out of her way.
“Come on, let's talk. We can compare. For example do you like it when he uses his tongue to stroke.”
Lissy turned on a Stephanie quickly, grabbing her by the shoulders and pushing her up against a wall, jamming her forearm under the younger woman's throat.
“Do not, under any circumstances, ever speak to me again, is that clear? I want to forget you, okay? If I know you exist I might have to hurt you and I don't want to do that.”
“L-l-l-let m-m-me g-g-go.”
“And be warned, he might no longer be mine, but keep your hands off Paul.”
Lissy released Stephanie just as Joanie and Mike came up to her. Both of them looked down at the boss's daughter who was doing her best to catch her breath and back up at Lissy.
“Let's get you out of here,” said Mike, putting his arm around Lissy's shoulder.
“I think that would be for the best,” said Joanie. “Just let me grab my bag from my dressing room and I'll catch up with you in the parking lot.”
As soon as they were walking down a relatively private corridor, Mike asked the question, “How are you?”
“Truth?”
“I can handle it!”
“I haven't slept more than 2 hours a night in the past two weeks, I've lost fifteen pounds and I am now officially a caffeine addict.”
“Oh, and to think, I was about to congratulate you on having the vampire look down pat.”
“That would probably be funny if I remembered how to laugh.”
“Here's a question for you: do you think you'll survive this?”
Lissy's brittle laugh was the answer Mike got to his question. She smiled tightly and rolled her shoulders, making bones in her neck crack. Mike shuddered uncomfortably, as he was suddenly reminded of his back injury.
“I don't know Mike. If living the way I am right now, doing so many things at the same time to keep my mind of Paul, if doing that is called surviving, then I guess I am surviving. As for living, I guess that's what happens when I stop keeping busy. That's why I'm afraid of.”
“I just saw Shane,” said Joanie, her huge bag swung over her shoulder, “Paul left his dressing room, as if he was looking for someone. I'm thinking he probably saw you.”
“Shit! I don't want to deal with him right now.”
“He's probably waiting for you in the parking lot,” said Mike. “Listen, I'll go in first and run interference while you and Joanie leave, all right?”
“Joanie?” asked Lissy, “I'm driving you to the hotel?”
“Yeah. I told Chris already.”

Paul was pacing behind what he hoped was Lissy's SUV. He had to talk to her, explain that kissing Stephanie had meant nothing, that it was all a mistake. Barry stood off to the side, watching him carefully and two of Jim's guys were there too, keeping their eyes out on the parking lot. Paul heard the door open and saw Mike come out.
“Have you seen Lissy?” Paul asked, going up to his best friend.
“Listen, Paul, you have to leave her alone for now.”
“You saw her, you spoke to her?”
“Paul, please, come on, you have to leave her alone. She's not ready to talk to you yet. Let's go.”
Mike was dragging Paul away from Lissy's SUV when the doors to the parking garage opened again and Joanie and Lissy appeared there. Paul ran around Mike to Lissy. Joanie quickly stepped in the way and held Paul off.
“Paul, no, not right now, not yet, she's not ready.”
Lissy wouldn't look at Paul and she was careful to stay out of the way of his arms as he tried to touch her around Joanie's body.
“Lissy, please,” he cried, “let me explain. I didn't mean it… it was… let me explain, it didn't mean anything. I love you Lissy.”
Lissy almost believed him when he said he loved her, but how could he love her and kiss another woman? Mike and Barry made their way to Paul and held him up against a wall as Joanie and Lissy ran to Lissy's SUV. Paul's cries of I love you filled the parking garage and broke Lissy's heart all over again.
“Come on, let's go,” said Joanie, pushing her to the SUV. “Give me the keys, I'll drive.”
Joanie tossed her bag in the backseat and hoped into the driver's seat as Lissy got into the car. She kept her eye on Paul as Barry and Mike held him off, watching as he professed his love for her at the top of her lungs. Joanie pulled out of the parking lot at full speed, knowing it was imperative to put room between the two lovers before things got out of hand.

Part 36:

“Are you okay?” asked Joanie as she drove away.
“I really don't think so.”
“I wish I could offer words of advice but I've got nothing. Paul and I, we broke up. It wasn't a big drama, not like this.”
“I know. He told me.”
“You do realize that the kiss.”
“He shouldn't have kissed her,” said Lissy, staring out the windshield.
“It wasn't his idea, you.”
“He shouldn't have kissed her. We were in what I thought was a committed relationship. Unless his story line dictated it, he shouldn't have kissed her.”
“I can't say I disagree.”
Lissy released the breath she'd been holding and tears poured out of her eyes. Her heart was still beating wildly in her ribcage. She hadn't had this kind of release since she'd seen Paul and Stephanie in that elevator.
The image flashed before her eyes again. His strong arms wrapped around her tiny little body, his head bent over hers, and his lips pressed up against hers in a kiss, which evidently involved heavy tongue action. It sickened her.
“You do realize that she's a little whore, right?” said Joanie.
“Who? Steph?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, she'd have to be. I mean, no one can be that perfect all the time. With her sensible shoes and those cute little sweaters, who dresses like that every day?”
“She does. But trust me, somewhere inside of her, a slut lives.”
“Slut-anie,” exclaimed Lissy.
“Oh, that's a perfect name for her,” said Joanie as she drove into the hotel's parking lot.
“Slut-anie, oh yeah… Slut-anie McWhore.”
Joanie laughed and unloaded her bag. She looked at Lissy, saw the dried tears on her cheeks and shook her head. This girl couldn't go to wherever she was going alone.
“Want a grab a drink in the hotel bar?” she asked.
“With you?”
“No, I thought you might want to share a beer with Paul. Yeah, of course with me.”

An hour later, Joanie and Lissy were plastered. They'd been doing shots ever since they got there and it had caught up to them. Everyone in the bar gave them a wide berth as they bitched about men and sluts, getting down and vulgar. Finally, as if on cue, the current object of their hatred came into the bar. Joanie and Lissy saw her right away as she followed Andrew in.
“Ladies and gentlemen,” screamed Lissy at the top of her lungs, “Slut-anie McWhore!”
In a bar filled to the gills with the WWF roster, a few snide comments were heard, as well as some sparse laughter. Stephanie blushed down to her roots, her eyes narrowing into slits as she spotted Joanie and Lissy by the bar. The two women laughed at the little girl making her way to them.
“The two of you are drunk,” she hissed.
“And it feels great,” yelled Joanie, throwing another tequila down her throat.
“Say, Slut-anie,” asked Lissy, enjoying the name, “how many of these boys have you banged? Without getting them drunk, that is?”
“None,” answered Joanie.
“Figures.”
“You're disgusting!”
“No, God damn it! We're fuckin' drunk!”
Joanie and Lissy started laughing again and Stephanie stalked off angrily, probably to find Andrew, who'd made his escape during the small confrontation. Andrew did come back later and sat next to Lissy. Through her blurry eyes, she only saw how he looked like Paul. Had she been sober, she would have noticed that Andrew's nose was way too small to look anything like Paul's, and that he had an overbite. Right now, she wanted to cling to a big blond and Andrew fit the bill.
Within fifteen minutes, with Joanie, Adam and Jason cheering her on, Lissy was doing a blowjob shot the way it was meant to be done. The shot glass was wedged between Andrew's thighs, complete with whipped cream and Lissy stood in front of him, her hands tied behind her back. She leaned forward and started licking away at the whipped cream, showing Andrew exactly what she was doing. She saw the erection bulging in his pants but she laughed it off. Finally, she tightened her lips around the rim of the glass and threw her head back, throwing the alcohol down her throat, enjoying the numbing burn. When she stood, Lissy threw her arms around Andrew's neck and pecked his cheek.
Shane and Mike stood in the bar entrance, watching Lissy as she hugged Andrew. From the way she wobbled to her stool it was clear to them that the young woman wasn't sober anymore. Nor was Joanie for that matter who seemed to be ordering more drinks.
“Do we let them go on getting sloshed or what?” asked Mike.
“What do you think?”
The two men made their way to the bar and tapped Joanie and Lissy on the shoulder.
“Mike! Shane!” screamed Lissy, “you guys want to have a drink with us?”
“You two look like you've had enough.”
“What can we say,” said Joanie, “that's what happens when men break our hearts. We get drunk.”
“How about you call it a night?”
“Why? We're fine,” said Joanie before collapsing in Shane's arms.
“Joanie!”
Lissy slid off her stool down to her knees in what seemed to be an effort to help down her fallen comrade. Mike picked her up, flung her over his shoulder and walked out of the bar, Shane following him, trying to get Joanie to walk on her own power. They ended up dropping both girls off on Mike's bed, leaving them to snore off their hangover.

Part 37:

Lissy came to with her head hanging off the side of a bed. Her head was pounding, her mouth was dry and she couldn't see straight. Her clothes were tight around her body, probably from all of her twisting and turning. She found her hand under a pillow and she was about to straighten herself up when her hand slid off the satin sheets, effectively making her lose her balance and making her roll off the bed to the rug below, “Bloody everlasting fuckin' hell!”
Lissy's curse woke up the other occupants of the room, Joanie on the other side of the bed, Mike sprawled on the couch and Shane in an armchair, his shoeless feet on the coffee table. They all grunted expletives as decorative as Lissy before acknowledging each other. Joanie rolled her face to the pillow she'd drooled on, moaning about alcohol while Lissy got comfortable on the rug, trying to guess how long it would take for her to get used to the slanted floors.
“WAKEY, WAKEY,” screamed Mike, earning himself a pair of halfhearted death threats.
“Come on ladies, let's go for breakfast,” said Shane, “I think I want eggs, sunny side up, the yellow still running, greasy pork sausages that are so oily they just slide down your throat before you can swallow them and…”
In her mad dash to the bathroom, Lissy shoved Mike out of the way, sending him flying over the couch he'd spent the night on.
“You know Mike,” groaned Joanie, “if I knew my way to the floor, I'd slaughter you right about now.”
Mike laughed his head off as Shane told Lissy to shower and offered her a pairs of track pants, boxers, a tank top and one of his Come Get Some tee shirts. Twenty minutes later when she came back into the bedroom, Joanie was in her room, probably washing up and learning how to feel human again.
“How are you?” asked Mike.
“Surprisingly not as bad as you hope.”
“Here,” he said, handing her a glass of tomato juice, “this should help.”
“There are no raw eggs or crap like that in there, right?”
“I promise.”
Lissy gulped down the juice and settled down on the couch next to Mike.
“How bad was I last night?”
“Kind of hard to tell. I got there toward the end. You were hugging Andrew for some reason.”
“I have a faint memory of that. So my clothes were still on when you got there?”
“Should I have been worried about that?”
“It's been known to happen.”
“You're a nasty drunk, aren't you?”
“No, I like to think of myself as a showoff drunk. At least, that's how Debbie explains it.”
Mike laughed and walked to the bathroom to shower.
Half an hour later, Lissy and Mike joined Joanie and the rest of the Canadian Mafia for breakfast. Joanie was a pretty shade of chartreuse green as Jason waved a piece of toast dipped in yolk in her face.
“Morning,” muttered Lissy before sitting down next to Joanie.
“HELLOOOOOOOO!” screamed the boys.
“Oh, there is a special place in hell for little boys like you,” said Joanie.
“Honey,” said Chris, “you kind of have to expect that kind of crap from us. I mean, you're always telling us not to go out and get drunk.”
“It was a special occasion.”
“Which was?”
“Joanie was nice enough to commiserate with me,” explained Lissy.
“Oh well, if there was a reason,” said Andrew, “WE DON'T CARE!”
Lissy shook her head in disbelief as she started digging into her fruit plate. The rest of the meal was an animated affair during which Adam and Jason competed to see who could make Lissy throw up the fastest, making all sorts of disgusting comments about food. Then, Steph came in with her parents. She made a beeline for Andrew and hugged him from behind. Then, she saw Lissy and Joanie.
“Well, if it isn't Drunk no.1 and Drunk no. 2.”
“Steph, you don't want to mess with us this morning,” warned Joanie.
“Why not? You think you scare me? With my father here, the two of you wouldn't dare do anything.”
“Don't try our patience,” warned Lissy, “you might regret it.”
“Oh yeah right, I'm so scared. You know Lissy, when he was kissing me, I felt him get hard. I was turning him on. Did that ever happen between the two of you? Did you ever make Paul so hard just by kissing him that he had to take you right there?”
“Sure, but question is, did you ever kiss Andrew like this?”
Lissy leaned over the table and grabbed Andrew by the neck, drawing his mouth to hers in the kind of kiss that generated enough electricity to light up New York City. When she was done, Lissy sat back down in her chair, picking up a stray strawberry and chewing on it while Andrew was still leaning over the table, licking his lips, his eyes closed. Stephanie stood there, in shock, her eyes filling up with tears.
“You slut!” she spat out at Lissy.
“What can I say?” asked Lissy, “turnabout is fair play!”
“Whore!”
“Takes one to know one.”
Steph ran out of the dining room so fast that her parents, lost in a conversation with Patterson and Briscoe, didn't ever see her leave. As for Andrew, he was still leaning over the table, his lips puckered, ready for another kiss.
“Down boy,” laughed Lissy, “Slut-anie McWhore is gone.”
The boom of laughter that exploded from the table at Lissy's use of Steph's new nickname filled the dining room. Paul heard it and recognized Lissy's voice. He started to get up from his chair.

Part 38:

Just then, Lissy's cell phone went off and she picked it up from the clip at her belt.
“What's up? Yeah Mom,” she said, getting up from the table. “The cops sent me a report on Chad Johnson? E-mail the file to me on the Hotmail account. Yeah, thanks Mom.”
Lissy nodded to Jim and signaled from him to join her. She saw Paul, standing looking at her. She smiled at him tightly and caught herself. She turned away from him and came face to face with Stephanie McMahon.
“I already had to deal with you twice today. Must we really go at it a third time?”
“Shane's making me apologize,” she sulked.
“Joanie,” said Lissy, “come over here. This is going to be good.” Joanie hurried to Lissy and Steph, a quizzical look on her face. “Steph's going to apologize to us.”
“Wow! Let's hear it.”
“I'm sorry I kissed your boyfriend, I'm sorry I taunted you and I am sorry I made such a big stink about it.”
“Apology accepted,” said Lissy. “And Steph, just so we're clear on something. The next time you cross me, I am going to show you how violent I can get.”
“Fine,” sulked Steph. “What about you Joanie? You want to rub some salt in my wound too?”
“Nope, I was just along for the show. Which, I must admit was quite interesting.”
“Are you ladies quite done?” asked Jim, “I kind of need to borrow Lissy for a moment. Or is it the other way around?”
“Come on Jim, let's go.”
Lissy and Jim went to Jim's room and checked out his computer. As promised, Chad Johnson's file was right there in Lissy's Hotmail account. She opened it and scanned over it quickly. That's when it jumped out at her.
“I've got it,” she said, pointing to a line on the screen. “Two days before we apprehended him, our boy bought himself a high-powered rifle, complete with ammo, which matched the bullets and the shells we got the night I got shot.”
“He got a license?”
“Doesn't mean anything. He probably got it on the black market. They found the case in his apartment.”
“And then he gave it to his partner. Whoever that is. Made any progress on that?”
“I'm still working on a few leads,” she lied.
“Good. So what's next?”
“I head back to New York. I'm going to have a chat with Chad.”
“Should be fun.”
“But it won't be.”
Lissy smiled at Jim and left the room. She grabbed the rest of her stuff from the dining room and caught up with Mike and Joanie in the lobby.
“Well,” she said, “I'm off to the hotel to check myself out and then I'm off.”
“Where to?” asked Joanie.
“Pursuing a few leads. But don't worry, I'll be following in your tracks.”
“You've got our itinerary right?” asked Mike.
“Yup.”
“And you'll join in Texas on Steve and Debra's ranch?”
“I'll see. If I'm needed.”
“We always need our friends,” said Mike, hugging her.
“Last night was a blast,” said Joanie, pecking her cheek. “We've got to do it again.”
“We will, someday.”
When Lissy walked past Paul, he was caught in a conversation with Vince and Linda and there was no way in hell he could blow off his bosses. As he listened to them drone on and on, he saw Lissy get into her SUV and speed away. He'd missed another chance to explain. He had to wonder when he'd get another chance.
Lissy got to Riker's Island at around four o'clock. She checked in and got herself a meeting with Chad Johnson. When he came in and saw her, the scowl on his face was foreboding.
“I don't want to deal with you anymore.”
“I won't take anything but a few minutes of your time Chad,” she said with a smile.
“Why? I told you, I'm not going to give anyone up.”
“Why not? While you're rotting away in here, whoever's helping you living the high life.”
“They got my back. Don't you worry about it.”
“I do worry about it. When was the last time you heard from your friend?”
“As if I'm even going to tell you,” he scoffed.
“Do you know where they're spending the holiday weekend?”
“Valentine's day? Ask me if I care.”
“Steve Austin's ranch in Texas. It's a nice spread. Here, let me show you,” said Lissy, laying out pictures on the table for Chad to see.
Chad's face hardened considerably as he took in the pictures. It was a nice piece of land, plenty of plains and even a natural lake. It was as close as some people came to paradise.
“Everyone's going there?”
“Yep! The whole WWF roster, as of tomorrow morning. Actually, some of the talent is flying out tonight.”
“...”
“Chad, if you give up your partner, we'll take it easy on you. I'll testify to your cooperation in my investigation. I don't know how much it'll help, but it'll help.” “...”
“Listen, all I need you to do is verify something for me. You don't even have to say a word. Just nod if I'm right.”
Lissy pulled a picture from her bag and slid it across the table. Chad saw it and looked up Lissy, his eyes full of tears. He nodded.
“I guess it's coming to an end, right?”
“Screeching halt is more like it,” said Lissy, heaving a sigh of relief. She was going to put a screeching halt to the whole stalker thing and hang the stalker by its nose hair.

Part 39:

When Lissy went back to Chad Johnson's foster home, she didn't use any makeup or any disguises. And she was accompanied by a police officer from the Charleston police. Mrs. Carter was sitting in her kitchen, letting cookies cool for a bake sale as she watched her latest favorite soap Passions. When the doorbell rang, she rushed to answer it, wiping her hands on her apron.
“How can I help you?” she asked the police officer and the tall woman with the brown hair.
“Mrs. Carter, my name is Lissy Carlson and I work for the WWF as a security consultant.”
“The WWF? Oh then, you must know my daughter. She works for them too. Her name is...”
“Stacey Carter. Yes, ma'am, I do know her. As a matter of fact, she's the reason why I'm here.”
Ten minutes later, Mrs. Carter was in her living room, in tears, talking to the police officer while Lissy went through Stacey's things. At first, it looked like the ordinary room of a young girl who'd been very involved in sports. But to someone with Lissy's training, it was easy to see what was under the surface. She slid her hand under the mattress and sure enough, she found a slim book, a journal of sorts. She pulled it out. Strangely enough, it was covered in gold fabric. Lissy opened it and her frown deepened when she realized Stacey had gone as far as to write her private thoughts down in gold ink as well. She started to read at the first page.
I saw a movie that will change my life forever. It was called GoldenGirl. It's about this girl, who's like this wonderful athlete. She's blond and beautifully tanned and her name's Goldine or something and that's why they call her GoldenGirl. The actress who plays her is called Susan Anton. I want to be the real Golden Girl. Not fake like the character in the movie. I want to be a Golden Girl. I want everyone to know me as the Golden Girl. I will be the golden girl.
The diary entailed all of Stacey's efforts to turn herself into a golden girl, including her regular appointments to get her hair bleached and to the tanning salon. It was eerie. But Lissy skimmed through it, hoping to find a clue, something that would confirm Stacey's guilt. She finally put her hands on it. All right, I am the Golden Girl. I am the best female athlete in our school. Hell, I'm even on the boys' wrestling team and I am good at it too. I love that kind of contact sport. But I have another problem. I see bigger than I ever did before. Being the Golden Girl is fun but it's so lonely at the top, without anyone to share in my glory. The boys at school, well, they're unworthy of me. None of them have the delicate sensibilities to be the Golden Boy to my Golden Girl. But one day, one day soon, I will find him. I will find my Golden Boy. And we will be the ultimate Golden Couple. Lissy slammed the diary shut. This confirmed it. When Stacey had become a contender for the WWF's women's championship, it had reactivated her fascination with creating her ideal of the Golden Couple, with Paul as her Golden Boy. But why had she threatened Joanie? The diary in hand, Lissy started to make her way down the stairs. She unhooked her cell from the clip at her belt and asked for the earliest flight to Texas. Paul was sitting on the verandah that circled Steve's ranch, his feet propped up against the railing.
“Hey Paul!”
“Stacey,” said Paul gruffly, barely sparing her a glance.
“You look like you lost your best friend.”
“I did.”
“You talking about that private investigator chick? Come on Paul, a guy like you, I'm sure one day you'll find a woman who's really worthy of you.”
“Trust me, if it comes to being worthy, it was me who wasn't worthy of Lissy.”
“Do you really think so?”
“Oh yeah, I know so.”
“So, how do you like my hair?” she asked after a few moments of silence.
“Your hair?”
“Yeah. It's been such a long time I haven't been seen in my natural color, I'm starting to wonder if it looks good at all.”
Paul blinked up at Stacey, at her cloud of golden hair. It was very nice hair, he thought to himself. But he had developed a strong preference for brunettes, tall brunettes with attitude who looked nothing like Stacey.
“So?” she asked, “my hair?”
“Oh yeah,” he said, shaking the image of Lissy out of his head, “it's nice, it's really nice.”
“All right,” said Stacey, “you're annoying me with all of your moping. Debra told me about this really nice lake about ten miles west of here. We should ride out and check it out. We'll bring a picnic, make it into a fun afternoon.”
“I don't know. I'm not good company right now. Even my best friends say so.”
“You can't be that bad. Come on, I've never met a frown I wasn't able to turn into a smile.”
Paul finally agreed, mostly because he wanted to shut her up. He'd been thinking about asking Vince for a few months off. Maybe the ride would clear his mind.
“I'll go ask Steve to saddle us a couple of horses,” said Paul.
“Cool, I'll go grab us something to eat.”
“We'll meet back here in ten minutes?”
“Not a problem,” said Stacey, watching Paul as he headed for the stables, “not a problem at all my beautiful Golden Boy.”

Part 40:

During the flight from Charleston to Texas, Lissy did something she hadn't done in ages. She started biting her nails. By all rights, she should have been exhausted but her eyes wouldn't stay closed long enough for her to sleep. She kept on thinking about Paul being with Stacey out on that ranch. But what worried her the most was the fact that she hadn't been able to reach Barry. She'd tried calling him maybe fifteen times before leaving Charleston but to no avail. She hadn't been able to get her hands on Steve's number out at the ranch and she felt completely cut off. As far as she knew, Stacey might have. Lissy shook the ominous thoughts from her head. Paul could handle Stacey if push came to shove. Right?
The plane didn't land soon enough to Lissy's taste. But she flew out of it like a bat out of hell. She only had an overnight bag with her and she made it to the rental car desk on incredibly fleet feet. Within five minutes, she'd secured the toughest SUV they had and was on her way to Steve's ranch. She made the trip in an hour instead of the usual two hours and a half. She jumped out of the car and ran up to the front door. Debra answered, looking very different from her in-the-ring persona. She was wearing jeans, had barely any makeup on and her hair was pulled back in a ponytail.
“Oh hello Lissy,” she said with a smile, “we weren't expecting you.”
“I know. Listen, Debra, I don't want to be rude or anything but do you know where Paul is?”
“No. I saw him out on the porch with Stacey about an hour ago but I haven't seen either of them since.”
“He was with Stacey?”
“Yeah. They seemed to be having a nice talk. She's such a sweet.”
“Where's her bedroom?”
“Stacey's? Why?”
“Debra, please, I don't have time to explain, just tell me where her room is.”
“It's the third room on the second floor.”
“Right or left?” asked Lissy as she started up the stairs.
“Left.”
As soon as Lissy disappeared on the second floor, Debra rushed outside to find Steve. Lissy was acting like a maniac and she didn't want to be alone in the house with her.
Lissy opened the door to Stacey's bedroom and quickly moved to the mattress, flipping it over. She'd found out that over time, people rarely changed their old habits and Stacey obeyed that rule. There was a slim gold notebook on the box springs. Lissy grabbed it and opened it.
I found him, was written in gold ink on the first page, I finally found my Golden Boy. It'll be Paul Levesque, the new WWF champion. With Jeff's departure, they will have me side with Joanie and from there, it'll be easy for me to work my way to him, especially with their recent breakup. We will be the perfect couple. The perfect Golden Couple. “Damn it!” swore Lissy, throwing the notebook down.
She turned to the door and found Steve barring the way, looking confused and somewhat angry.
“What the hell's going on here?”
“Stacey's the one who's been stalking Paul,” she said quickly.
“What?” said Debra from behind him, “Stacey wouldn't do that.”
“She would and she did,” said Lissy. “Steve, I want you to call the cops and I don't want anyone but them going into Stacey's room, okay?”
“Are you sure?” asked Steve.
“Yeah.”
“Then Paul might in danger,” said Steve. “Stacey and him left to check out a lake on the western side of the property.”
“Shit! How long ago did they leave?”
“About 40 minutes ago.”
“Can you take me there?”
“Yeah.”
“Can we get there by SUV?”
“No. Either by helicopter or with horses. The trails are kind of treacherous for cars.”
“Let's go. Now. Debra, in the meantime, can you find Barry? I've been trying to reach him since I left Charleston but I haven't been able to.”
While Steve saddled a couple of horses, Lissy went to her SUV and grabbed her gun and a knife. She didn't know much about Stacey's mental state but since she'd isolated Paul, it was a good bet to think that she might be a bit unstable. When Steve came to her with her horse, both Brian and Kip were following on fresh horses.
“I told these guys what had happened,” explained Steve. “I figured we might use all the help we could get.”
“No problem,” said Lissy, “as long as all of you understand one thing. Steve's our guide and as soon as we find Paul and Stacey, I'm in control.”
“Cool. Let's just go,” said Kip.
As Lissy mounted, she made a short prayer for Paul's soul. She hoped they would get there in time.

Paul was lying on the blanket Stacey had laid out in front of the lake. She'd been right, it was a beautiful place, a peaceful place. He'd surprised himself by opening up to her about his relationship with Lissy and found her to be a good listener. It felt so good to have someone, anyone, listen.
“Maybe, you need something different,” said Stacey, moving closer to him, “maybe you need a woman who really understands all the pressures of being the WWF champion.”
“That was never our problem,” said Paul, “Lissy and I never had any problem about what I did for a living. That was never a problem. It was the whole thing with my kissing Steph.”
“But don't you think you'd have a better relationship with someone who understands how hard it is to be the Golden Boy of the WWF?”
“What are you talking about?”
“Someone like me.”
“Don't be ridiculous,” he scoffed. “Any ways, I love Lissy. I couldn't be with anyone but her.”
Paul got up from the blanket and went to stand by the river's edge. As he stared out to the water, he didn't see the anger in Stacey's eyes at his words. He didn't see her rage, her frustration. And he certainly didn't see her pick up the big rock she was about to hit him with.

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