Chapter 3
Martina's eyes widened slightly when she heard that, looking over at him, wondering how he knew what she was thinking. "Who are you?" She asked, looking from Randy to Ted and Cody, eyebrows furrowed together. "You don't know the power Roger holds..." She began trembling, remembering the last time she tried running. "He has unlimited resources and he'll hire private investigators to find me; men to bring me back to him, no matter what." Taking a deep breath, Martina tried calming down as a few tears slipped down her bruised face. "You three are being put in danger by trying to help me."
"She really has no idea who we are, does she?"
"It's kinda nice for a change. I never thought wrestling would get as mainstream as it has."
"Can we get back to the point at hand? So what if she doesn't know who we are! Chances are Roger doesn't either. That's an advantage. Martina, if you run, you'll wind up back with him; might as well give us a shot."
Randy had another good point.
No matter how much she hated admitting it; Martina found herself nodding in agreement. "Will you three tell me who you are?" She asked, deciding it couldn't hurt, and watched as the apprehension dawned on them.
"Umm...well..."
"Have you ever heard of professional wrestling?" Ted asked bluntly, ignoring Randy's scowl, light blue eyes on Martina for the time being.
"I used to watch World Championship Wrestling back in the day, is that the same thing?"
"Kinda..." Ted chewed his bottom lip. "When's the last time you watched it?"
"Oh god...at least 1998." She answered, after thinking about it for a few seconds.
"We're wrestlers."
"And you're ten years out of the loop. WCW is dead, to put it mildly. Wrestling has exploded in that time. Wrestlers are considered like B list celebrities." Randy said, arching an eyebrow at Ted. "If Roger even thinks about fucking with us, it'd be press fodder. His money would have a hell of a time buying silence if something was to happen to a woman traveling with us."
"I'm SO glad your ego is in check tonight."
'I'm with celebrities?' She thought, blinking, not really caring about WCW dying or whatever. It didn't matter to her; she wasn't a wrestling fan anymore. "Thank you for helping me." She yawned gently, covering her mouth with her hand, and leaned back against the seat. "I'm going to go back to sleep until the plane lands." Martina murmured, the pain she was in exhausting, and hoped Randy was right. She hoped she would finally be safe and away from Roger's clutches, knowing he wouldn't give her up without a fight. For once in her life, Martina would have to put her life and safety in the hands of three strangers.
Randy moved back to leaning in his seat, trying to sneak in a few more winks of sleep. His mind wasn't letting him though. Just what was it about Martina that made this Roger guy so damn obsessed with her? She looked like she was pretty enough under the bruises and scrapes that disfigured her at the moment, but beauty alone usually wasn't enough to turn someone psychotic. Sighing, he knew they were in for a long, interesting and undoubtedly pain in the ass ride.
The plane landed an hour later as Martina slowly stood up with Ted's help, smiling at him, and let him guide her ahead of them off of the plane. Her hood was up, black shades over her eyes, and moved very slowly due to her injuries. One foot in front of the other would get her to a bed; Martina was sure of it.
That's what Martina needed, more than anything, was rest as she followed closely to them, feeling Ted wrap an arm around her shoulders, leaning against him for support. He was a nice man and she had a feeling he was the reason why she was here to begin with. Once inside the rental, Martina leaned her head against the seat, taking the passenger side while Randy drove, Ted and Cody in the back, heading to wherever.
"I hope it doesn't bother you, Martina, but I'm smoking." Randy announced, glancing over at her, scowling. "Boys, she should have been in the backseat if we're trying to keep her hidden." He said sternly; then, so she wouldn't get the wrong opinion, quickly added, "Don't think I don't like you or anything, but from Michael's...words and how hasty he was in getting you out of there, it was like we were being followed already or something."
"I understand and don't hold anything against you." She assured him quietly as Randy pulled over, her and Cody swapping places; the man didn't seem to like her very much either, but that was the least of her worries.
"Hey, that's fine with me. A gorgeous woman leaning on me, you don't hear me complaining." Ted grinned down at her, seeing Martina was leaning her head back against the window, and pulled her to where she could lean on him.
"Oh god, he's going to try hitting on her." Cody groaned, shaking his head.
"I am not!"
"Are too!"
"Am not!"
"Are too!"
"Please don't argue." She whispered, head pounding.
"Guys, leave her alone; she's tired and probably in a lot of pain." Randy ordered gruffly.
Randy knew he was coming across as a prick and, honestly, what did anyone expect? She had been thrust at them out of the blue and all they had done was find her and take her to a hospital. This entire situation was surreal. Of course, none of it was her fault, so he couldn't be mad at her. She needed help, that much was obvious, and he'd do whatever he could to ensure her safety.
Martina sighed with relief when Ted gave her a pain pill; no doubt Michael's stash and popped one with bottled water. "Thanks." She whispered, handing it back to him and leaned her head on his shoulder, eyes closing.
"No problem, angel, sleep." Ted whispered, deciding he was calling her that from now on, running his fingers through her hair.
She needed help; Ted didn't feel anything, but friendship toward the poor woman. From the second he laid eyes on her, while sitting on that dumpster, Ted knew she would become apart of their lives in some form or fashion. Now here they were. He looked down, not surprised when he saw her sleeping and nodded at Randy, who was glancing in the rearview mirror.
"This is unreal."
"No doubt." Randy grunted in agreement with Cody, cracking the window to let the smoke drift out, before taking a long inhale off of it, letting the nicotine work its way through his system. "So if this Roger guy does come hunting her up..."
"What do we do? Shouldn't we be calling the cops right about now?"
"Two things. First of all, if we were going to do that, we should have done it at the scene where we found her. Second, sounds like moron Roger already bought them off."
"No doubt about that." Ted nodded, arm wrapped securely around her waist, sighing heavily. "I know you guys think I'm insane for bringing her with us, but we couldn't just leave her."
"We know, Teddy, now shut up." Cody grunted, cracking the window on his side, and stared out of it with a shake of his head. What the hell was going to happen now that they had Martina with them? "Who the hell do we know who can dye her hair?"
"Janet and Tiffany are available. They can do it once she's healed. I'm going to give her some of that salve shit I got for bruises to help them heal faster." Ted was determined to get her healthy again, frowning at how pencil-thin she looked. "That and she needs to eat."
"No kidding?" Randy rolled his eyes. "Nothing a little room service and a lot of makeup won't fix, Ted. Put your hero complex aside. Physically, she's going to be fine. It's the emotional state and her ex-boyfriend that has me worried."
"Why? I mean the emotional, not the psychotic ex, I know why for that, but-" Cody stopped when both his friends groaned. "What?"
"You really are oblivious." Ted snorted, rolling his eyes.
When they arrived at the hotel, Ted carried Martina up to their suite, while Randy and Cody got the bags, feeling protective over her for some reason. He laid her down gently and took her shoes off, covering her up with the blanket and felt pained at the sight of her bruises. He quickly got into his bag, while Randy and Cody spoke quietly, taking the salve out and walked back into her room, before spreading it on her face, knowing she wouldn't wake up.
He bit his bottom lip and slowly removed her sweatshirt; glad she was wearing a bra underneath, removing her pants next. He used nearly a whole jar of salve and, thanks to the painkillers, she wasn't feeling anything. Ted covered her up, after it soaked in a bit, before walking back out, shaking his head and suddenly bolted to the bathroom to throw up.
Randy had ordered them up some food, along with a bowl of soup, having a microwave they could reheat it in if need be. Knowing Martina had been living off of IV's up until they left the hospital, she had to eat something. He had no idea what she liked, but that couldn't be helped. Food was food.
"She's sleeping..." He trailed off, watching Ted rush to go hurl, frowning. "What the hell...?"
Ted would never, as long as he lived, get the image of that poor woman's battered and bruised body out of his mind. Ted couldn't even look at food right now and slowly walked out ten minutes later, paler than usual, and walked over to sit on the bed heavily. "That bastard...You don't even..." Ted couldn't even speak and shook his head when his partners demanded to know what was going on. "Go look. Go take one look at her and try thinking about food or keeping what's in your stomach." Ted shook his head and laid down, stomach gurgling; though he was not hungry, not after tending to her, especially the deep gash in her thigh that was stitched.
"Uh no thanks, I'm good." Cody shook his head, his own stomach growling hungrily. Whatever it was, he did NOT need to see it. Nope, he was quite alright being left in the dark. He groaned when Randy did, however, go look. "I'm not following!"
"Pussy." Randy sneered over his shoulder, sighing as he stepped into the room. He gently lifted the blanket and frowned, staring down at her. His stomach wasn't ready to flip flop, but his blood sure as hell was boiling.
There wasn't an inch of Martina's body that wasn't covered in deep, dark bruises; a few lash marks across her stomach and back, though Randy couldn't see them at the moment. Her thigh was stitched, along with a laceration on her right arm and cheek. Michael had done an exceptional job and she would no doubt have scars from the lash marks. Martina looked helpless and nearly lifeless while lying in that bed, rib bones actually showing because that's how Roger wanted her to be.
He didn't feed her for days at a time and if she was caught eating...she got beaten. This man was a colossal monster. The salve that Ted spread on her body would not only make the deep bruises disappear, but also numb her temporarily; so, right now, she wasn't feeling anything.
This was disgusting.
Randy carefully covered her again, wondering what sort of monster could do this to another human being. What the hell...this man had no right in even calling himself a man. He was too damn low. Snarling, he walked out into the main room, holding up a hand to stop Cody from even opening his mouth, knowing fully well Cody was about to ask something stupid. He went into his own room and slammed the door shut behind him, temper up at dangerous levels. Randy wanted nothing more then to meet this Roger Malcolm and teach him how to treat a woman.
