Chapter 25
Jaxine's head whipped around when she heard the knocking, swallowing hard and immediately grabbed the bat that was by the door, holding it. Whoever it was, was about to get their lights knocked out as she took a deep, shaky breath. "Who is it?" She called quickly through the door, loud enough to where the man behind the door, but not Stephanie, could hear her. That's all she needed was the young girl going into hysterics.
"It's me honey." Came Steve's voice, sounding as warm and loving as ever, even though he knew she didn't want that from him. "Look, we need to talk." Now his tone took on urgency. "Jaxine, c'mon, it's important, honey." He stuffed his hands in his jean pockets, looking up and down the hallway as if expecting something to pop out at him.
"Steve?" Jaxine whispered and quickly unlocked the door before opening it, pulling him inside by the arm and immediately locked it back up, the bat still in hand. "Were you followed? Did you see anyone behind you that looked suspicious?" She was firing off questions left and right, keeping her voice down so she didn't wake Stephanie, knowing the poor girl rarely slept these days. "What are you doing here?" She was peeking out of the curtain barely, her heart thundering in her chest, feeling like it was going to fly out and land on the floor before her at any given moment. She was dressed in a pair of black cotton shorts with a black tank top, her hair up in a messy bun.
Steve shook his head, holding up his hand to silence her. "No, I wasn't followed. 'Taker was too busy beatin' the shit out of Kane again to follow me. His entire Ministry was with him an' Paul Bearer too." He reassured her. "That and it'd be obvious if the same vehicle followed me on a two hundred mile drive." He'd covered his bases. "I'm here because 'Taker is startin' to expand his search for you and Steph to this neck of the woods. He's been havin' people lookin' for you both left and right, private investigators, all of it." He'd found this out by hiring the Divas to play P.I. themselves.
"Jesus..." Jaxine whispered and closed her eyes, knowing it was only a matter of time, and raked a hand through her hair. "We have to get out of here then." There was no question about it as she swallowed hard, wondering why 'Taker would look in Chicago. That was simple. Paul Bearer had met her at a bar in this city and probably blabbed that fat mouth of his. "Damn it!" She cursed and rushed down the hallway, dropping the bat and immediately pulled a bag out from under her bed, opening it. She didn't feel Steve come up behind her, too busy trying to figure out a best way to get out of here. "Maybe I should dye my hair..." She mumbled to herself, though it was out loud as she started throwing anything and everything in the bag, trembling.
"Look," Steve said, gently grabbing her by the arms and pulling her towards him to quiet her for a moment. He wanted nothing more then to pull her against him and kiss the breath from her, but refrained. "He's already raked Texas, my place." His eyes narrowed, remembering being asleep in his bed only to wake up in the dead of the night to Mideon snooping. Needless to say, Mideon had reported no Jaxine with a broken nose and a slight concussion. "You'd be safe there."
Jaxine stared into his baby blue eyes, tears filling her own. "Why do you want to help me? Why do you want to torment yourself?" She whispered, her hands resting on his shirt covered chest. She loved him, but only halfway. She couldn't love him completely like he wanted her too. So why did he want to help them escape Undertaker's grasp? Besides the feud and history they had in the past.
"Because whether you love me or not, I've never stopped lovin' you." He said quietly. "I probably won't either." He shook his head when Jaxine went to speak. "Don't. I know ya don't love me, just...I'll deal with my misery on my own, alright? Just let me help you. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if somethin' happened to you."
"Steve, I do love you..." She felt a tear slide down her cheek and had to pull away from him, the pain and agony in his eyes too much for her to take.
Jaxine turned around and started packing again, knowing he would never understand, knowing she would never get the answers that plagued her mind. Part of her wanted to hand Stephanie back over to Undertaker, as sick as that sounded, but a bigger part of her wanted to protect the young girl from his grasp. When she was done packing, Jaxine walked into Stephanie's room and woke her up, telling her they would be making a move tonight. Stephanie didn't waste a second and bolted upright, pulling on a coat Jaxine had bought for her, and followed them toward the door. Jaxine took one last look at her place before exiting the apartment, Steve and Stephanie in front of her, sandwiched between them.
Steve had swapped out his truck for a low profile car, the windows tinted of course, but in the southwest that was the normal. He quickly ushered them into the vehicle, looking around to make sure they weren't being watched and slid in behind the wheel. "We're drivin' the entire trip there. Airports are too damn risky right now." They had cameras and he wouldn't put it past 'Taker to be bribing officials to be on watch.
Jaxine nodded as Stephanie sat in the back, their bags in the trunk as Steve took off away from her apartment complex, tears in her eyes. How did she ever end up in this predicament? She looked in the rearview mirror and seen Stephanie. That was why. She was protecting her and now she had Steve's help. It was almost like old times, minus the kissing and holding and touching. Jaxine pressed her forehead against the glass of the window as they hit the highway and open road. She could only hope they reached their destination without any problems.
He ached to reach for her hand, to say something to make her smile, but what would be the point? Jaxine had made up her mind for the both of them. He knew he was a fool for still loving her and still trying to protect her, but God help him, he couldn't stop himself.
"This is beginning to get really scary." Stephanie whispered from her spot.
Jaxine couldn't agree with Stephanie more as she closed her eyes, knowing what she would have to do. She just had to figure out how to do it and shivered at the mere thought. Whipping out her cell phone, Jaxine made a call and waited for them to answer.
"Hello?" An exhausted Shane McMahon answered, rubbing his tired eyes.
"Shane, it's Jaxine. Listen, inform Kane that I will be at next Monday's Raw. Also, come get your sister from Steve's place in Texas." She ignored his startled expression. "When you do that, take her someplace safe, out of the country if that's what it takes. This is going to end."
"Jaxine, what are you planning?"
Smiling sadly, Jaxine closed her eyes. "Don't worry about it." She tried staying strong as her voice cracked. "Just do what I say, alright?"
"I will, see you in a few days Jaxine." Shane hung up.
"Yeah, Jaxine, what're you plannin'?" Steve demanded sharply, not bothering to hide the fact that he had been listening to her conversation.
"I'm going out of the country?"
"Yer NOT handin' yourself over to him, Jaxine! I don't care if you love him or not. You think he loves you? Or that it would be a healthy love if he did?"
"Just drive the car and don't worry about me. The only person I'm concerned about is Stephanie and I can't hide forever. We can't run forever." She looked in the rearview mirror at her and smiled gently. "Everything's going to be fine sweetie." Her pale skin glowed with her black hair and warm amber eyes, reaching back to pat her leg gently. She knew what she had to do and closed her eyes, looking back out the window, swallowing past the lump that formed in her throat. If handing herself over to Undertaker would end all this torment for everyone then she was willing to sacrifice herself.
"Yeah, it's gonna be fine alright." Steve snorted. "Yer gonna give yourself to Satan himself and its gonna be fine."
"You're really going to go to him?" Stephanie whispered, her eyes wide as saucers.
"She has a hero complex."
For the remainder of the drive, which included stopping twice at two different hotels to rest, Jaxine didn't say another word. She would look out the window continuously and pace, the nerves eating away at her stomach. She had to end this and she did love Undertaker. He would never hurt her, he'd already proven that time and time again. She'd destroyed his motorcycle, destroyed his shot at becoming the WWF champion and managed to weaken him. Perhaps she was the only one who could stop him from destroying lives and maybe she could teach him how to love. She doubted it, but Jaxine wasn't going to let Stephanie be hurt over this. They arrived at Steve's place two and a half days later, Jaxine pulling into his driveway, having been driving. She seen a long stretch limo and sighed with relief when Vince hopped out, Stephanie running out of the car and bolting to her father.
Jaxine smiled at the embrace, seeing how much Vince loved his daughter while Shane joined in on the hug. They thanked Jaxine for everything she did and gave her a check with a good sum of money on it, causing her eyebrow to slowly raise. She gave it back, telling them that wasn't necessary, and wished Stephanie well.
"I told Kane." Shane said when his father guided Stephanie into the limo.
Steve rolled his eyes, shaking his head and would have headed inside if he wasn't worried that Jaxine would vanish on him. "You might want to tell Kane to keep watchin' his ass. He can't take too many more beatings." He said dryly, folding his arms over his chest. He looked at Jaxine and inwardly sighed, knowing he shouldn't have said that aloud.
That one statement sent Jaxine to go with the McMahons to the airport, her bag in hand, and they put her on a private jet toward Salt Lake City, where the WWF was currently at.
Steve had let her go, knowing if he tried to fight for her, she'd resist him all the more. The only thing he could do was step back and let her destroy herself.
Jaxine stepped off the plane, wearing a pair of black jeans with a long sleeved black top, black shades over her eyes, her hair framing her face and flowing down her back in shiny waves. After getting her bag, Jaxine headed out into the night, slowly pushing her shades up on top of her head, and headed to her rental car. Once inside, she was on her way to the hotel where Vince instructed her to go, knowing Kane was there, knowing she had to be there for him so he wouldn't get hurt anymore. It was because of her it was happening as she sped down the road.
Jaxine walked inside the hotel with her black shades over her eyes, her bag over her shoulder and immediately went to the hotel receptionist, looking at the woman as she slowly pulled her shades from her eyes. "Kane's room please. I'm Jaxine." Vince had called ahead of time, telling the receptionist what was going on. When she received Kane's room number, Jaxine thanked her before going to the stairs, not trusting the elevator. She went up the three flights of stairs, her heart thundering in her chest, and slowly looked around before rushing down the hallway. She arrived at the room and knocked softly, biting her bottom lip, praying Kane answered and let her in. She was trembling from head to toe, her adrenaline off the charts.
~!~
He sat in a hotel room, not even recalling how he had gotten there. He'd seen a woman in the bar who resembled Jaxine, even more so after several drinks. He snorted, glad he hadn't taken the woman to his bed. Not that he hadn't been tempted.
~!~
Kane hesitantly opened the door, nothing but his eye showing before blinking and opening, jerking her inside. "Why are you here?" He rasped, trying not to move gingerly in front of her. He had been the target of his brother's anger ever since she had left with Stephanie. He knew why too. He was the one closest to Jaxine.
"Oh my god, Kane..." Jaxine whispered tearfully, shaking her head back and forth and grabbed his face in her soft hands, tears streaming down her face. "I'm so sorry..." She dropped her head forward, pressing her hands to his chest, swallowing hard. "This is going to end, all of this is going to end." She promised him, knowing now more than ever she was doing the right thing. "Come on." She guided him over to the bed by his hand. "You need to rest." She sniffled, wiping her tears away.
Kane shook his head frantically, cupping her face in his hands and forcing her to stop and look up at him. "No." He said firmly, knowing already what she was planning. "You cannot go to him. Not for me. Not for anyone." He knew the Undertaker would only destroy her, even if on some very strange level he DID love her.
"I don't have a choice." She whispered as she stared back into his mismatched blue eyes. "Kane, he's hurting everyone because of me, because I won't give myself to him. I don't know what else to do." She started crying harder and dropped to her knees in front of him, burying her face in her hands. "You can't protect me from him, nobody can." She said it softly, knowing Kane stood no chance against the Undertaker or his Ministry of Darkness. "I have to do this. I have to end this and I have to make sure he doesn't hurt you again."
Kane pulled her into his lap, sitting Indian style on the bed. "Jaxine, if you give yourself to him...you know he'll torment you as much as he loves you." He said softly, stroking her hair soothingly. He knew deep down they loved each other. Jaxine with most of her heart and Undertaker with whatever it was he had inside of him. "He can't stop himself from the things he does. You will not be able to change him."
"I have to try." She whispered, not trusting her voice at the moment, and rested her head against his shoulder. "The night I left Steve, before you caught me in the stairwell, I ran into Undertaker at the pop machine. He asked me what if it was him who proposed to me. What if he loved me and wanted to be with me forever. Then he told me I could teach him how to love and to have a heart. Those words have haunted me since that night, Kane. He's doing this because of me, he's hurt you for the last time. If it takes me to stop the torment than so be it. But eventually I will end up with him because of our connection. Eventually he will get me and take me far away. Eventually I won't have nowhere else to run and nowhere else to hide. At least this way I'm surrendering on my terms." She looked into his eyes, hoping he understood where she was coming from, and dropped her head back against his shoulder while he cradled her.
Kane could only stare down at her head, shaking his own. "You have to love him if you're going to go to him." He said finally. "Otherwise you'll be miserable for however long he would keep you." He really didn't know what else to tell her, just tightening his hold on her, wishing she would go back to Steve because Steve was safe. The Undertaker was anything but.
Jaxine inhaled a shaky breath and closed her eyes, knowing what she was about to say would probably cause Kane to hate her, but she couldn't help it. "I do love him." She whispered and let the tears flow, letting every emotion out of her body. Jaxine ended up falling asleep in Kane's arms, completely emotionally and physically exhausted from the past few weeks. All she wanted to do was rest and forget about what she was about to do, hoping her dreams didn't turn into nightmares.
Kane sat there holding her while she slept and couldn't stop himself from shedding a few tears for her. He knew 'Taker would hurt her, whether he meant to or not. But he couldn't condemn her for her feelings or for her decision. She was the sister he never had, but always wanted. It broke his heart to know what she was willingly going to subject herself too. He could only hope 'Taker proved him wrong.