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