Title: The Road Less Traveled (23/?)

Author: Esquirella

Rating: R (for violence in some chapters.)

Disclaimer: I own the Rio character and have written other stories with her. I own all non WWE characters. But I do not own the wrestlers. (Unfortunately. They are so cute!)

Synopsis: In this chapter: Matt and Jeff try to work their issues out. Justin and Sven dig up info on Henry. Shannon has Rio right where he wants her.

Distribution: Just in case anyone's interested in it, please ask me first. More than likely, I will agree.

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AUTHOR'S NOTE: I am working on getting the original Rio stories up. Really I am! I'm sorry I have to take a short sabbatical after this chapter, but I will be back some time next week and raring to go! In the mean time, please let me know what you think!

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"Good t' see ya, Jeff," Matt said when he entered Andrew's room.

"Yeah, you, too."

Andrew picked up his carry-on bag, which we threw some clothes into while waiting for Matt to get to the room and headed for the door, holding out his hand for Jeff's room key.

"Ya don' hafta leave, Drew," Matt said.

"It's okay," Andrew answered, trading keys with Jeff then ruffling the younger Hardy's neon green hair. "The leprechaun and I decided to switch tonight. Just imagine the look on Shane's face tomorrow morning when he wakes up with that hangover next to me."

All three laughed at the thought as Andrew walked out the door.

"So, whatcha been up to?" Matt asked in looking uncomfortable.

Jeff watched his brother with a mixture of sadness and amusement. Matt seldom showed this side of himself to his brother, preferring to be the strong one.

"Nuthin'," Jeff said at last. "How ya been?"

"Good," Matt said as he ran his hands over the top of his head.

"This isn' right, ya kno'."

"I kno'."

"We're still brothas," Jeff went on. "I'm mad atcha, but I don' wanna let this cause a rift. Ya kno?"

"I kno'," Matt answered, holding his arms open. Jeff accepted the hug quietly, knowing they still had a ways to go before things were right, but they were on the path.

"Stay ova t'night, Matty," he said, pulling out from the hug to look at his older brother. "We'll watch TV an' talk. Jus' like ol' times."

"Ol' times weren' THAT long ago," Matt chuckled. "Okay, bro, I'll stay. Jus' lemme call Shan in case 'e worries."

Matt pulled out his phone completely missing Jeff's amused look.

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Shannon had one arm wrapped around Rio's small waist and the other tangled in her golden wig. Good thing I have it secured with a tight rubber cap and glue, or he would have accidentally pulled it off by now, she thought. She had tried to pull away from him but found her body unwilling to follow orders. His teeth were gently nibbling at the corner of her ear.

"Shannon," she whispered. "We should not be doing this."

"Why not?" he breathed not stopping. "Ya knew this was comin'."

"I did not," she asserted, pushing unsuccessfully at his shoulders. What is the matter with me, she mused, I have annihilated men twice his size and strength. She knew that she could never hurt him, though. She just wished he didn't know it as well.

"Ya did," he countered, lifting his head to look down into her mirrored glasses. She felt as if he could see right through them. "I neva made a secret o' how I felt."

"Why?"

"Why what?" he asked. "Why do I wan' ya? O' why d'ya wan' me?"

Rio's heart was pounding in her chest. Suddenly Ben's face flashed into her mind and she couldn't hold back the tear that slipped silently down her cheek. Before she could pull away, Shannon tightened his arm around her waist and used his other hand to wipe the tear away. He looked at her searchingly before leaning down to kiss her mouth softly once more.

"I kno', yo' no' ready fo' mo' than this right now," he said quietly. "Bu' I need ta hol' ya fo' a while. I promise tha's all I'll ask o' you."

Before she could respond, his phone rang. "Damn phones," he muttered, using his free hand to answer it. "'Lo?"

Rio watched his face as he spoke to the caller for a moment. He listened to what was being said but never took his attention off of her for a second, as if he feared she would disappear if he let go.

"All night?" he asked finally. "Tha's cool wit' me. Thanks fo' callin' so I didn' sen' out an APB. Bye, Matt."

She squirmed beneath him when she heard who he was talking to.

"Hey now," he said stilling her with a kiss to her forehead. "'E's no' comin' back t' th' room t'night."

"He is going to stay with Jeff and patch things up?" Rio asked hopefully.

"Yeah," he said, still watching her closely. "Wha's up witchew an' 'im anyway?"

She looked up at him in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"Wichew an' Jeff," he asked in a deceptively soft tone that she knew was meant to lull her into a false sense of safety. She was beginning to recognize his moods.

"There is nothing 'up' with me and Jeff," she answered. "Just as there nothing 'up' with me and Andrew. They are my friends."

"An' what am I?" he asked casually, stroking her cheek.

Rio paused, uncertain. "I do not know," she whispered.

He smiled down at her enigmatically. "Tha's an improvement." He took her lips again in another soul-stealing kiss that curled her toes and rocked her to the core. This man is very, very dangerous, she thought losing herself in the moment. She had promised herself she would be careful around him, but she now knew it was too late to escape him. He broke this kiss and locked eyes with her again.

"We're goin' back ta my room," he said simply. He nodded his head 'yes' when she began to struggle and shake her head 'no'. "Yes, we are. I promised ya I would only hol' ya t'night an' I meant it. Ya cain' blame me fo' the kissin' tho'," he laughed.

Rio sighed knowing he would have his way . . . again. But she was determined to let it go no further than that. She would leave him before he woke and she would never let herself be alone with him again, she promised herself. Oh, God, she had to keep that promise.

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The two men worked on their computers in silence, gathering as much information on one Henry Bender, and his various associations, as they could. Information lead to knowledge, and knowledge was power, they believed. And this particular man posed a threat to someone very dear to them. His life would be very thoroughly dissected and examined. There would be no corner left undisturbed.

"Look at this, Justin," the taller blonde man with the Scandinavian accent said to his companion, gesturing at his screen. "I have checked all of them for the last three years."

The man with long dark hair frowned deeply at the information on the screen. "That can't be coincidence," he growled.

Sven looked back at the lengthy list of names on the screen with a darkening expression. "I know."

"He is doing something to get rid of them," Justin muttered. "He has to be. Most of them didn't have any potentially fatal injuries when they left the ring. They can't all have died of natural causes."

"And now she is the champion," Sven stated worriedly. "It cannot happen to her."

"I will kill him first," Justin said with cold eyes. "I don't give a damn what I promised her."

"We will protect her," Sven said soothingly, placing his hand over Justin's.

Justin looked back at his companion and let the chill leave his bones. Sven had the ability to calm him during his most vengeful moments. It was one of the things that drew them together to begin with. He was grateful to have found his soul mate, even if the relationship was still considered unconventional by many people's standards.

He also knew that Sven was right in this case and that they would give Rio the edge the former champions didn't have.

"I guess the first thing we have to do is determine Fury's whereabouts," he said softly. Sven nodded at him approvingly. If they could keep Fury alive, maybe they could figure out what Henry had planned for Rio before he could put it into action.

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Rio snuggled closer to Shannon in her sleep. He watched her lying in his arms in the bed, smiling. He couldn't believe his luck at having her here. He was puzzled about the nightmares that seemed to plague her, though. Such a strong fighter, and yet such a small woman; she was a paradox he intended to solve, no matter how long it took.

He mulled over some of the things he'd learned about her in the last few days and realized he still knew precious little about her past. She'd been through some painful events, he was sure. It bothered him that she didn't feel she could share them with him. Although he'd known her for a very short time, Shannon felt he'd known her soul forever.

She wasn't as tough on the inside as she was on the outside either, he'd decided. She'd taken what she'd had to do earlier very hard, as if she were betraying her ethics. Which sounded ridiculous to Shannon when he thought about it, considering that those with ethics usually didn't last very long in her sport. He'd been horrified at the violence he'd seen at that arena, but he knew she was just as affected by it. She was not like the other Warrior Series fighters and that was something that may be to her detriment eventually now that she was champion. He would have to find a way to induce her into leaving it before it was too late.

"Shannon?" she asked suddenly.

His attention was immediately drawn back to the present. "I thought ya were asleep," he chided her.

"I cannot sleep when I know you are worrying about me."

"How'dja kno' I was thinkin' 'boutcha?"

"I can feel it," she said matter-of-factly. "Just like you can feel what I am thinking. It is quite frightening, actually."

"Why's tha'?"

"I have never known such an experience."

Shannon was afraid to ask his next question, but he knew he couldn't rest until he did. "No' even wit' yo' husband?"

Rio stiffened slightly beneath him but didn't pull away. Shannon felt relief that he hadn't sent her scurrying from the room.

"No," she said slowly, turning over to look at him in the darkness. "Not even with him."

"Are ya eva gonna be able t' tell me wha' happened?"

She shrugged, not saying anything.

"Well, I'll keep on ya till ya trust me, then."

"I do trust you."

"I don' think ya do."

"Am I not allowing you to touch me?"

"Ya 'llowed Drew an' Jeff t' touch ya, too," he pointed out, jealousy gnawing at his insides.

"Yes, but it is your bed I am in right now," she said. "I would not be anywhere near you, promise or not, if I did not trust you completely, Shannon."

His heart warmed immediately, knowing she spoke the truth. This was not a woman who let just anyone into her life and she'd let him barrel in and take over.

"As long as mine is th' only bed ya share," he said half-teasingly.

She grinned widely, her white teeth sparkling. At least he'd finally convinced her to remove the golden tooth covers, pointing out they couldn't be comfortable. He was determined to get to the woman beneath the mask one piece at a time if necessary.

"That is by far the easiest promise you have asked me to make," she replied.

"Tha' a joke?" he asked in astonishment. "From th' eva serious Rio?"

She laughed. "Maybe."

He kissed her again and held her closer. "Wha' am I gonna do witchew, li'l girl?"

He felt her shiver slightly in his arms and knew it wasn't from fear. Good, he said to himself, it's about time she started feeling the same things I'm going though.

"I do not know," she answered him softly, kissing his cheek.

Now he had her kissing him. Things were definitely progressing, he smiled into her hair. Too bad, Jeff!