Last two chapters! Enjoy!

Chapter 10

"Mel? You in here?" Shane asked as he poked his head into the study, searching for his wife.

From her seat in front of the window, Melanie gazed up from the book she held in her lap, flashing her husband a faint smile as he approached her and took a seat beside of her.

"What are you reading?" he asked, peeking over her shoulder to gaze down at the title.

"Just something I picked up at the store the other day. I saw it sitting on the shelf and I thought it looked interesting." she replied with a small shrug of her shoulders.

"Oh." He shrugged, reaching over to brush a few strands of hair out of her face.

"Well, Dad called and he needed me to run some papers over to him about the upcoming pay-per-view. Feel like going with me? I know he'd love to see you."

"I don't think so." she answered as she glanced back down at her book. "I feel kind of tired. I think I'm going to go upstairs and take a nap while you're gone."

"Oh, okay." Shane replied, unable to hide the look of disappointment that crossed his face. "Well, if you're sure you don't want to go…."

"I'm sure. I'd really prefer just to stay here."

"Okay. You take it easy and I'll come and check on you when I get back, okay?"

Melanie nodded her head, closing her eyes as Shane leaned in to kiss her on the forehead.

"Be back in a little while." he stated as he got up and left the room, leaving her to stare at the empty doorway.

Grabbing his keys, Shane headed for the garage where his car was parked, all of his thoughts on Melanie as he pulled out onto the street and headed to his father's office.

The past few weeks had been tough on the both of them, but with a lot of time and patience things had slowly started to get better. It was still hard at times. Like today. When she just seemed to keep to herself, not really wanting to talk to anybody. Times when she pushing everybody away. That was the hardest thing for him to deal with. He missed the closeness that they had once shared. She had always confided in him for everything, no matter how small or insignificant of a matter it was. But now here they were, his wife had just experienced one of the most frightening ordeals of her entire life, and she either couldn't or wouldn't bring herself to talk to him about it.

The sad truth of it all was that he still didn't know what had happened between her and Kane during the time he had held her captive. She refused to talk about it at all, no matter how much he begged her to. He assumed that the memories were just too painful for her to bring up again, but he wished more than anything that she would finally just open up to him and let everything out. Maybe once she finally got everything out into the open, she would be able let go of the past and they would be free to move forward and work on building a future together.

Lost in his deep thoughts, Shane was surprised when he found himself already pulling into the parking lot of his father's office building. Gathering up his papers, he quickly headed inside, wanting to get his meeting over with as soon as he possibly could. He didn't want to leave his wife at home by herself for any longer than he absolutely had to.

XXXXXXX

Closing her book, Melanie placed it on the table beside of her and stretched. All of that reading had made her very sleepy and a nap sounded very appealing. Standing up, she gathered her things and left the room, moving toward the stairway as she headed toward their bedroom, jumping with a start when the sound of the doorbell echoed throughout the open foyer.

Turning to look at the door, Melanie hesitantly sat her things down on the stairs as she went to answer it. Peeking through the small peep hole, she saw a man dressed in a white uniform standing on the other side. Frowning in confusion, she unfastened the locks and opened the door.

"Good afternoon, ma'am. I have a package here for Melanie McMahon. Would that be you?" the gentleman asked, handing her the small box.

"Yes. I'm her." Melanie replied, cautiously reaching out to take the package from him.

"Good. If you'll just sign right here ma'am, I'll be on my way."

Nodding her head, Melanie signed the paper that he handed her, then watched as the man climbed back into his van and drove away.

Shrugging her shoulders, she closed and locked the door, before turning and heading back toward the stairs. Collecting the remainder of her things, she once again headed toward her bedroom, examining the small box she was holding in her hand along the way.

When she reached her room, she placed the other items on the dresser, fumbling with the small package as she walked toward the bed. Taking note that there was no return address on the outside of the box, she opened the outer carton, surprised to find an even smaller box tucked away inside. Pulling it out, she examined the second box in the same way she had the first, then finally removing the lid, she felt her legs give way and she sunk down onto the bed when she saw what was inside.

Staring at the contents for the longest time, she finally removed them with trembling fingers, letting the empty box fall to the floor. Turning the rings over in her hand, she studied them closely as the tears began to fall. Then slipping them back onto her left hand, she climbed into the bed, violent sobs racking her body as she cried herself to sleep.

XXXXXXX

A few hours later, Shane was back home, his concern immediately peaked when he noticed how quiet everything was. Then he remembered Melanie's remark about taking a nap and he headed up the stairs toward the bedroom, wanting to make sure that she was okay.

Peering into the semi-darkened room, his gaze immediately fell onto the bed where he could see her stretched out underneath the covers, still sound asleep. With a small smile on his face, he quickly shed his shirt and pants, tiptoeing toward the bed as he planned to join her there. Stepping on something hard on the floor, Shane bit back a yelp as he grabbed his foot, bending down to pick up the foreign object as he cursed under his breath. Holding it up to the light, he stared in confusion at the small box, taking note of the remainder of the packaging that was strewn about the floor beside the bed. Examining each piece as best as he could in the poor light, he searched for an address as he wondered where it had come from and how it had gotten there.

Glancing back up at Melanie in concern, he tossed the boxes to the side as he eased in beneath the covers, eyeing her carefully to make sure she appeared to be okay. Bringing his hand up to brush the hair from her face, he was startled to find the wetness that was still drying on her cheeks. Looking down at her again, he studied her sleeping form momentarily before glancing back toward the floor, still confused over what had apparently transpired in this room since he had been gone. Then she shifted in the bed and brought her hand up to rest beside her face on the pillow and the answer to his questions caught his eye. Carefully picking up her hand, the anger flooded his body as he stared at the rings she had replaced on her finger.

"That son of bitch!" he mumbled to himself, immediately feeling the panic set in when he thought about Kane getting so close to her again.

Gazing back down at Melanie's sleeping form, Shane pulled her close to him, wiping the tears from her eyes, as he held her tight.

"Don't worry Mel. I won't let him near you again." he whispered to her, as he gave her a gentle squeeze. "I'll do whatever I have to do to keep you safe."

Laying there with her in the dark, Shane stroked her back soothingly as a plan began to form in his mind. Drastic times called for drastic measures. At least that's what his father had always said.

Well, this was certainly a drastic time if there ever was one and when it came to Kane, drastic measures were the only way to go. Shane knew he had to find a way to get rid of the monster once and for all. He had to find some way to beat Kane at his own game.

"I promise you Mel, I'll make him pay." he murmured as he felt himself drifting off to sleep. "By the time I'm finished with Kane, he won't be able to hurt you or anybody else ever again."