Chapter 11 – The Past Shows Up

  The following week, Hunter had been badly beaten by Undertaker, with a steel chair. Undertaker interrupted Hunter's match with Test, distracting Hunter and allowing Test to get the pin. Undertaker then proceeded to clobber Hunter with a steel chair. Several referees had come out from the back to try and get Undertaker to stop, but to no avail. Hunter ended up on the floor by the announcer's table after taking several shots to the abdomen and back from the chair. Undertaker finally had enough and headed to the backstage area.

Evie had been watching the scene on the monitor and as soon as she saw Taker leaving the ring, she walked out to the hallway. As she rounded a corner, a hand grabbed her upper arm. Looking over, she saw Jericho.

"Goin' somewhere?" he asked quietly.

"I'm going to check on Hunter. What's it to you?"

He pulled her closer. "You're not going anywhere."

She tried to jerk her arm from his grasp, but he had a firm hold on her. "Let go of me," she said in a deadly tone.

"I don't think so." He pushed her back against a wall, plastering his body against hers to hold her there.

"What do you think you're doing?" She glared at him.

He leaned down so that his face was inches from hers. "I didn't appreciate your comment the other week. You better watch yourself Evie."

"You better watch yourself Jericho or I will do more than just bloody your nose." She looked him straight in the eye. "I suggest you get away from me."

He released her but kept eye contact with her. "Like I said, watch your ass, because I certainly will be." He walked away.

Once he was out of sight, she headed for the triage area. Hunter was already on one of the tables and the medics were checking him. One of the EMTs glanced up at her.

"How is he?" she indicated Hunter with her hand.

The young man shrugged his shoulders. "He's lucky he's alive. That guy was beating the crap outta him."

"I know." She watched as the medics poked and prodded Hunter; asking him questions, shining a light in his eyes, checking to make sure he didn't have a concussion. Evie leaned against the wall and waited for them to finish.

As soon as they cleared him to leave, two of the referees tried to help him to his locker room. He shook them off as he muttered something about not needing help. Evie followed him to the room, knowing better than to offer him any help. As soon as they were both in, she started packing up her things as he headed for the shower.

  After a few minutes, she heard the water running and then him coughing.  "You okay?" she called.

"Yeah. Fine, just fine."

She sat down on a folding chair to wait for him. Things had become a bit strained between them this past week. Ever since the night she had thrown him out of her room, she hadn't gone out of her way to make conversation. She didn't bother to ask him to explain his behaviour. She knew he wouldn't tell her anything. A sigh escaped her. Why do things have to be so damn complicated with him?

Her thoughts were interrupted by a shout. "Evie?!"

"What?"

"Bring me some clothes will ya?"

She rolled her eyes as she scooped up his bag. Walking over to the bathroom doorway, she tossed it in. "There." She didn't bother looking. She didn't want to.

"I can't reach from here."

Silently cursing him and whatever fates existed, she walked in, picked up the bag and carried it to the shower area. She glanced in and saw him. He had his back to her and was drying himself off with a meager towel. Quietly, she stood and watched him. The way his skin stretched over his body as he wiped the towel back and forth, his muscles contracting and releasing under the skin. Her eyes swept down to his backside and she dropped the bag to the floor.

The noise caused him to turn his head. He saw her looking at him and he quickly hid a smile. She didn't even notice he was looking at her until she raised her eyes.

"I… uh, here's… your bag," she stammered as she averted her eyes.

"Thanks."

He watched as she walked away. He found it amusing that even though she might be angry with him, she would still look at him that way. The desire in her eyes was apparent. He wondered why she didn't say anything to him about it. But then again, he hadn't told her anything either.

Maybe I should just tell her, he thought as he pulled on some clothes. He had been tossing that thought around for days now, but had done nothing about it.

Face it, you're afraid aren't you? Afraid she'll reject you. Afraid that she'll end up being like Stephanie.

His head shook at that last thought. Evie was nothing like his estranged soon-to-be ex-wife. As far as he knew, Evie had never been interested in power trips to feed her ego like Stephanie had. She seemed liked him for who he was underneath; all though that could be debatable now. She hadn't talked to him very much this week. He picked up the bag and headed into the other room.

She stood up as he came in. "Ready?"

"Yeah," he said as he put his shoes on. He glanced at her. "You okay?"

"Fine," she replied shortly.

"Let's go."

They arrived at the hotel after an uneventful car ride. She stood outside her room, keycard in hand. Over the past week, she had been taking rooms that were two or three away from his. Except for this time. There was some sort of convention in town too and she hadn't been able to book a room that was farther down the hall from his. Reluctantly, she slid the keycard through the slot to unlock the door and went into her room. She flipped the lights on as she dropped her bags to the floor and glanced around.

At least they aren't adjoining rooms, she thought wryly as she noted the absence of the double doors. A restlessness came over her as she realized that she didn't want to be in the room.

She slid the keycard into her pocket and picked up her purse. Maybe the bar is still open. She had noticed the lounge when she had arrived earlier today. Quietly she slipped out of her room and headed for the elevator.

Once she was at lobby level, she walked across the floor to the lounge. A hostess stood near the door.

"What time do you close?" Evie asked.

The hostess glanced at her watch. "In fifteen minutes. I'm sorry. It's a week night and we don't stay open past midnight."

Evie smiled. "That's okay. Probably better if I don't have a drink tonight anyway." She headed back to the elevator and went up to her floor. As she approached her room, she heard a familiar voice call her name. She turned around and to her surprise there stood her ex-fiancé.

The smile she knew so well appeared. To anyone else it would be charming; to her it was predatory. "Hello Davis."

The man walked closer to her.  "I thought it was you. What are you doing here?" he asked.

She watched him warily. "Working. You?"

"I'm in town for a buyers convention. I thought I saw you earlier, but I wasn't sure." He looked her over appreciatively. "You look like you're doing well."

Her eyes traveled over him; the black hair tousled just so, the blue eyes and tanned skin. Even when he wore casual clothes, as he was now, he looked handsome. He always did and knew it. She didn't bother to return the compliment.

Davis smiled again. "So what are you doing now?"

"I work for the WWF."

"Wrestling? That doesn't seem like you. What are you doing?"

"I'm a personal assistant to one of the wrestlers," she replied quickly, just wanting to get away from him.  It had been several years since she had last seen him and she had wanted to keep it that way.

His eyebrows shot up. "Personal assistant? How 'personal'?"

She hadn't missed the innuendo. "That is none of your business." Outside she remained calm, but inside she seethed with anger. Even though she had changed, apparently he hadn't at all. Still the same arrogant jerk after all this time, she thought wryly.

He came closer. "Well I could make it my business again," he said suggestively. He reached out and ran a finger up her bare arm. "I distinctly remember how much you liked it."

Repulsed, she moved away from his touch. "I'm not that person anymore. Goodbye Davis." She whirled away from him to go to her room, but was restrained by his hand.  She looked down at her wrist, then at him. "Not a good idea. That could earn you some serious hurt."

He laughed. "Whatcha gonna do about it?" His grip tightened.

"I'm giving you to the count of three to let go of me," she said in a deadly quiet tone.

"Oh. I'm so scared," he mocked. "C'mon baby. Cry for me. Just like you used to."

"One…"

"What do you think you're gonna do to me?" he asked disdainfully.

"Two…"

He laughed again, not taking her seriously at all.

"Three. " She twisted her hand around and somehow managed to jab him in a soft spot near his wrist, making him let go of her.

"You little bitch!" He grabbed her upper arms and pushed her against the wall with a thud, causing her to smack her head hard.

She winced. "Davis, let go of me."

His face was turning red. "When did you think you became too good for me, huh?" He slammed her against the wall again, making her see stars. "Cause you're not Evie! You never were and you never will be!"

"Davis…" Her head was throbbing and she had to blink hard to clear her vision.

The door next to them opened and Hunter's head popped out. When he saw Evie being manhandled, he stepped out of his room. "What the hell is going on?"

Davis looked at the other man. "None of your business friend."

Hunter pointed at Evie. "She is my business and I'm not your friend." He moved closer to Davis in a menacing way. "If you don't let go of her, you'll be my business and you'll wish you weren't."

"Just who the hell do you think you are?" Davis spat out.

Evie spoke up. "He's my boss."

Davis rounded on her again. "You shut up! I wasn't asking you!"

Hunter stood so close he was almost touching him. Davis surrendered a good six inches to him in height. Hunter thrust a finger in his face. "As I was saying, let go of her or I'll make you wish you never touched her."

A sneer crossed his face, but as he realized the sheer size and bulk of Hunter, he slowly relinquished his hold on Evie. He backed away slowly; his eyes fastened on her. "Just remember, no one walks away from me and gets away with it."

Evie slumped against the wall for support, but raised her head to look at him. "I already did that a long time ago," she stated defiantly.

"Bitch," he hissed as he walked away from her.

Hunter turned his attention to Evie as soon as the other man was out of sight. She was gently examining the back of her head.

"C'mon. I'll get you something to put on that," he said gently.

She allowed him to put an arm around her and steer her into his room. He sat her on the bed and disappeared into the bathroom. Gingerly, she felt the bump that was forming. It stung to the slightest touch. She grimaced and closed her eyes. She heard Hunter leave the room, come back and a towel was being pressed into her hand.

"Here, put that on it for a while."

Carefully she pressed the makeshift ice pack against the back of her head and opened her eyes to look at him.  "Thanks," she whispered.

He pulled a chair in front of her and sat down. "Who the hell was that guy anyway?"

"My ex-fiancé."

"Your ex?" he exclaimed.

A half smile appeared on her lips.  "Yeah. If you couldn't tell, he took my walking out on him pretty badly."

"Sore loser huh?" Hunter half joked

Evie chuckled. "Something like that." She repositioned the towel full of ice on her head.

"If you don't mind my asking, what happened?"  He looked at her closely.  "But if you don't want to talk about it I understand."

She hesitated for a minute, not wanting to talk about it. But he had asked and after intervening, the least she could do was tell him. "I don't really want to go into too much detail because I hate that point in my life. It was a horrible relationship. I was young and pretty naive. When we dated, he was charming, attentive, told me he loved me. After we got engaged and I moved in with him, he became verbally abusive and sometimes physically. I reached a point where I couldn't take it anymore, got physical with him and left him laying on the floor." She looked at Hunter. "I took the next bus home to Chicago."

"Did he give you problems after that?"

She nodded.  "Sort of.  He called my parents several times, but they never told him I was there. He just assumed I was. They finally got an unlisted number and added the privacy manager, so that helped."

"How long ago was this?" he asked.

"About six years ago. It took me a while to get over everything."  She lowered her eyes. "I felt so ashamed and used that I couldn't even look at myself in the mirror. He's the reason I took those self-defense classes. I didn't want to ever be that person again."

Hunter grinned. "I thought you learned how to punch in college."

"Yeah well…" she smiled tentatively as her gaze lifted to his eyes. "I've improved my aim since college."

"Is this the first time you've seen him since you left?"

She nodded as she set the ice pack on the bed. "I was hoping to get through the rest of my life without ever seeing him again."

He reached over and took her hand in his. "I know you can take care of yourself, but if he ever bothers you again, let me know. I'll make sure he never does for the rest of his life."

A watery smile appeared on her lips. "Wow, my own knight in shining armor." Then she abruptly broke into tears. Soft sobs escaped her lips as she covered her face with her free hand.

He moved from the chair and sat next to her on the bed. With his other hand he gently rubbed her back. She leaned towards him and he put his arms around her. Her head rested on his chest as she cried. He held her as the spasms racked her body, her tears wetting his shirt.

Gradually her weeping stopped. "I'm sorry," she whispered.

"What's there to be sorry for?"

Evie wiped the back of her hand across her eyes.  "I'm not like this normally."

He squeezed her gently. "It's a natural reaction Evie. There's no reason to be sorry. I think you handled it fine."

She sniffled. "I suppose. Just seeing him again…" She shuddered at the memories.

"Man, the way you throw a punch, I'm glad I'm not him," he joked softly.

Evie sat there in the circle of his arms, letting him hold her. She felt safe and protected. Inwardly she sighed because she knew that if she didn't leave the room soon, she wouldn't leave at all. But all she wanted was to stay right where she was.

He didn't let go of her. It felt right to have her in his arms. It had felt right kissing her too, but that got him into hot water more than anything else had. When he saw that guy abusing her it took all his self-control not to rip the man in half. He felt her move and looked down. She was pushing herself away from his embrace. His arms fell to his sides. "You okay now?"

"Yeah," she replied as she swiped at the tear tracks that had lingered. She looked up at him. "Thanks Hunter."

A smile appeared. "You're welcome."

She took another deep breath then blew it out as she ran a hand through her long red hair. "I must look like a mess."

"You look fine. In fact, you look beautiful," he said softly.

A quizzical look crossed her features. "I'm sorry. I thought I heard you say that I looked beautiful."

"I did and you are."   

Evie blinked in surprise. "You think I'm… beautiful?"

Why would she be so surprised at that?  "Yes."

"Are you sure you didn't take a blow to the head?" she asked in mock seriousness.

"Pretty sure."

Her hand touched his forehead then his cheek. "No fever," she joked.

He smiled gently. "No fever, not sustaining any blows to the head. I just happen to think you're an attractive woman. Is there something wrong with that?"

A blush slowly slid up her face. "No. I guess not." She shifted uncomfortably on the bed. This was starting to get weird. "It's just that I haven't heard that in a long time. I mean, I don't see myself that way, so I guess I find it kinda strange that you do."

"Why is it strange?"  He found it interesting that she was even asking him if he was sure about what he just told her.

"I don't know," she stammered. "It just is."

His hands came up to cradle her face and he pulled her towards him. His lips came down gently on hers. Brief kisses fell on her mouth as he pulled her a little closer. She started to respond, but then thought the better of it and pulled away.

"No Hunter," she said as she pushed him away. "No more of this. It's got to stop."

His eyes met hers. She could see the longing in them, but he still had not explained himself to her and until he did, this was not going to happen. "I'm not going to let you do this to me again."

"Evie, I..." he hesitated. Ever since the last disaster, he had tried to keep as much distance as possible from her physically. He did want her and from the way she had responded to him last time, the feeling was mutual. But his fears started to surface again and he was hesitant to take things any further. He looked away. "Never mind," he said as he pulled away and stood up.

Evie sat there wondering what had changed his mind. Her eyes followed him as he put the chair back against the wall. She was sure he had been on the verge of telling her but again, he had backed off. She couldn't figure him out and it was starting to make her mad. Either the man wanted her or he didn't, but he wasn't going to tell her that. Not if he could help it. Months of frustration and anger were rapidly building up inside her. This sidestepping had been going on too long and she had had enough. She was tired of this whole thing and was going to end it right now.

It isn't worth it. It's not worth my sanity. In a fury, she stood up and tucked her shirt back in, then grabbed her purse and walked to the door.

He heard the latch click as she opened the door and turned around. "You're leaving?"

Evie stopped and turned to look at him. "Yeah I'm leaving. I QUIT!"

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A/N: I know you have all been patiently waiting for them to get together and for that I thank you. Please keep reading and reviewing. It's helped me more than you can imagine.