Dangerous Business

XLVIII

          Liz froze in motion, and suddenly her eyes narrowed.  "What the hell are you talking about, Orton?" she snapped.

            Randy ran a hand over his hair.  "Dominique and I—"

            "Dominique has the sense not to deal with you!" Liz snarled, and then paused, her body stiffening.  All emotion suddenly dropped from her voice, she corrected herself, "Had.  She had the sense not to…"

            "You said you'd hear me out," Randy reminded her.  "So please, just listen," his tone was pleading.  "Dominique and I, we were together," he spoke slowly.  "I know it sounds unlikely, but it just…happened," he bowed his head, nibbling on his lip.  "I was the one that suggested we keep it under wraps.  I thought that if Evolution knew, they'd make me turn against her…" he sighed softly, "They made me anyway."

            "How long?" Liz asked finally.  "How long were you together?"  Looking into his eyes and watching the expression on his face, she knew he wasn't lying.

            Randy shrugged half-heartedly.  "I don't know…  A little after she was forced into the deal with Paul, because I remember talking to her about it…" he trailed off and shook his head.  "Look, Liz, I don't know if you'll ever truly believe me, but I loved Dominique."  The brunette looked at him warily, silently assessing the pain evident in his blue eyes.  "It makes me sick to think…" he looked away, his throat tightening.

            "You say you loved her," Liz said, stepping closer.  "But you put her in a coma," she was not going to make the blows softer for him.

            Randy shook his head determinedly.  "I knew Evolution wanted payback on you, and that she was the perfect target…  I tried to warn her, but she said that if it was, for me to just play along," he met her eyes again.  "I think Hunter figured it out," he told her, his voice dry.  "He gave me that pipe and told me to hit Dominique with it…" his face creased with personal agony for a moment, and then he continued, "I did it, for some ungodly reason…  I tried not to hit her too hard…  God, I tried…  We brought her back to the hotel room.  She was unconscious for a long time, or just pretending…  Anyway, when Evolution went to bed, I iced her head and put some bandages on her head.  She woke up a few hours into the night, and we talked.  I decided to leave Evolution," he pursed his lips, his eyes burning.  "We both went to sleep in the same bed.  I woke up, and she wasn't there.  I went into Hunter's room—it was adjoined to mine—and saw him carrying her out," his hand shook.  "She was a mess…Blood everywhere…"

            Liz looked away from Randy, gritting her teeth.  'Don't keep going.  I don't want to relive it again…  Just, stop…' she thought, her fists clenching.

            "Before it happened, Dominique had been awfully quiet," Randy said softly after a few moments.  "I found an EPA in the trash, and it was positive…  I was waiting for her to declare a right moment…" he furiously blinked the tears in his eyes away.  "She never had the time."  There was a long silence between them, Liz trying to digest the information that he had given her.  "I need to know if she was pregnant, Elizabeth," Randy replied, his eyes earnest.  "I need to."

            "The doctor would've told us if he had found something," Liz told him, her voice raw.  She wasn't sure what to make of this, but somehow, she believed it.  "The police department claimed her body to study it.  They're scheduled to return her body this weekend.  We could order an autopsy to find out."  Liz shook her head, and realized that her hands were shaking.  Everything seemed to be taking its toll on her now, her own attack in the supposed safety of her house, Dominique's death, her father's attack, and now this.  The brunette closed her eyes for a brief moment, and then opened them.  "Look, Randy, I just can't deal with all of this right now.  Talk to Jeff about it, he has all of the information.  I have a match coming up and I just…" she trailed off, pushing from the wall.  "I have to get dressed," she said suddenly, cutting off her other incomplete sentence.

            The brunette left Randy standing there, her feet leading her to the women's locker room.  Her head was throbbing, and she wanted nothing more than to retreat to her hotel room and soak in a nice, big bubble bath.  Relaxation was something she hadn't relished in what seemed like forever.

            "Rob!" the word blurted from her mouth as her memory flashed.  'Oh my God!  I totally forgot!'  She raced toward the locker room where Willow had no doubt found out what had happened to him.  Liz nearly threw the door open, and froze when she saw the look on Willow's face.

            Willow looked up at Liz as she burst into the room, and pursed her lips together.  Her face was a mixture of relief mixed with concern.  If the same people were truly to blame for everything that had happened remotely considering Liz, then it spelled out big trouble, not only for Liz but for anyone she came into contact with.  Willow blew out a stream of air.  There was only one thing for certain:

            Liz was not going to like this.

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Author's Note: Hey everybody!  A quick, short update before I leave for a week on vacation!  Please review!