Thank you Phenoix for the great review. It means alot knowing someone likes my work. Latisha, I was glad to hear from you. And thank you Kylie for taking the time to review. I love hearing from new people. Happy reading

The following Friday John showed up at the arena with trepidation. He knew he had put Mark off for too long and there was going to be trouble. When he had called his sister from Knoxville on Tuesday she had told him what had happened when he hadn't shown up. John grimaced thinking back on it.

The previous Tuesday.

Nikki answered her phone as it started ringing, knowing it had to be John. Across the table Randy raised his eyes in question.

"Hello" she answered.

"Nikki, its me." John greeted her.

"Well if it isn't my disappearing brother. Where are you at?" She asked.

"Knoxville, I have a signing in an hour. What happened last night?" He questioned.

"Well when you didn't show up Mark became very angry. At one point I though he was going to have a heart attack or stroke out. His face was the reddest I have ever seen. Anyway he yelled a lot, punched a wall, and threatened bodily harm to you in several different ways. It was pretty entertaining." She informed him.

"What did everyone think about me not showing up?" John asked, trying not to think about Mark's anger.

"Some people think that you actually got fired. You didn't did you?" After hearing him agree that he still had a job she continued. "Mark was pretty sure you weren't. He said that you were just running scared."

"I am not running scared. I just have some things to work out and don't really want to tell anyone anything yet." He answered getting angry.

"Hey don't get mad at me. I already know all your secrets." She told him hotly.

"Sorry. And I am sorry for leaving you last night. But I figured you could take care of yourself." John apologized, sighing deeply.

"I can. In fact I have a plane to catch with Randy. We are going back to Connecticut. Will you be there anytime this week?" She asked him.

"No, when I am done here I am going back to Boston to try to finish this. I'll see you on Friday okay?"

"Be careful." She warned.

Present time

Paul leaned against the wall watching John. He had paused inside the door and seemed to be lost in his own thoughts. After about five minutes John shook his head and looked up noticing Paul.

"I figured Mark would be the one to be waiting. So he could beat the ever living shit outa me."

"Marks not going to be here for a couple of weeks." Paul said motioning for John to come with him.

When the young man threw him a questioning look he elaborated. "Mark wrecked his bike and messed up his knee. Not too bad but he's going to be off for a while."

"I'm sorry he's hurt." John replied relieved he would not have to face the big man.

Hearing the relief in John's voice he turned to him. "That does not let you off the hook. We still want explanations. And if Mark has to come to Raw on Monday to beat them out of you he will do it."

Entering the locker room they found Shawn and Dave waiting for them. Randy and Nikki were seated on the couch watching TV. John flopped down on the couch next to his sister.

"Get everything worked out?" She asked him quietly.

"Nope, in fact probably made it worse." He replied having leaned his head back with his eyes closed. When he opened his eyes he found the three older men staring about him expectantly.

Noticing that her brother planned on remaining stubbornly silent Nikki spoke up. "He's being blackmailed."

John sat straight up and growled at his sister. She stared back at him defiantly. "There is no reason why you can't tell them about Monica and Jack." She told him, letting him know with her eyes what she had in mind. Give them a little information and get them off your back. Understanding John silently agreed and settled back down.

"You all know that when I was in high school I got into drugs pretty heavy. And got into a lot of trouble. I hung out with a certain group of people. We were tight." John grinned slightly, thinking of a lost memory. "Anyway after a couple of years I was busted and got out of the business. About five months ago I ran into someone. She wasn't part of the orginal group. More like a hanger on. She was a step sister of the girl I was into. Anyway she's still really heavy into drugs and she recognized me from TV and figured she could make some money off me." John finished shrugging.

"What's she using to blackmail you with? Vince knows about your past." Shawn pointed out.

When John remained silent Nikki spoke up. "Our parents never knew. And its not something they would be able to understand easily."

"Last week I got tired of it and didn't pay her the money she requested. So far it had only been like a thousand a week, enough to keep up her drug habit. But she started getting greedy and demanded more. When I didn't show up she called my parents, at dinner, and told them." John explained, looking like someone who had lost their best friend.

"Is that where you went last week?" Randy asked.

"Yea, my dad was so disappointed."

"Does this mean she can't blackmail you anymore?" Paul asked.

John smiled sadly. "Its more complicated than that. Monica is not some white lily fairy girl. She can fight with the best of them. And what fights she cannot win she has her brother intercede. He is the biggest thug in boston. The pair of them have threatened certain people in my life. Nikki for one." He said pointing at the girl in question. "And this week when I was in Boston I spent time with Journey. She moved down there at the beginning of the week and I wanted to welcome her. Monica saw us together. Now she has a new target to play her games with."

"Are you telling me that you left Journey down there after putting her in danger?" Dave exploded, having listened calmly until this point.

John raised his hands in defeat, his eyes pleading. "I tried everything I could to get her to come with me or at least go back to Connecticut. I even threatened her. That just made her mad. She said she could take care of herself, that she was not going to be bullied by anyone."

"Do you think they will seriously hurt her?" Randy asked sitting forward.

"Not as long as I keep paying them." John answered.

"What about going to the police. Surely they can't get away with this." Paul reasoned, sending Dave a warning look to calm down.

"Don't you think I have tried that? I have no proof of the blackmail. She claimed the money was for services rendered and she had the paperwork to prove it. As for the threats, no harm has been done. So the only option would be to get a restraining order but the only thing that would serve is to get them in trouble after the damage was done." John explained.

"Wait a second, who's Journey. I know all your secrets. Who is she?" Nikki suddenly demanded, sitting up and turning to her brother.

Randy answered instead. "She is a childhood friend of mine and until last week my roommate. John's fallen in love with her."

Nikki narrowed her eyes at her brother. He summoned up the energy to grin back up at her. " I think the two of you would get along great."

"Well then I guess I will just have to go back down to Boston and meet her." She told him hauntly, displeased that she had not heard of her before now.

"There is no way in hell that you are going to Boston anytime soon. I have enough people to worry about in that town as it is." He yelled at her.

"You have no right to tell me what to do. You are not my keeper." She yelled right back, standing up and putting her fists on her hips.

"No but I am your older brother and I am bigger than you." John responded towering over her. Unable to continue fighting with her he turned to Randy. "After two weeks ago you owe me. Keep her here and keep her safe." He said before storming out the door.

Nikki screamed in frustration as she turned on Randy. Shawn spoke up before she could vent the rest of her anger. "He's just trying to keep you safe. And he's right he has enough to worry about without adding you to the mix."

Nikki's anger deflated. "I know, its just that I hate when people get dictorial with me."

John arrived at the arena on Manday feeling dejected. He had been avoiding everyone. but it seemed the one person he wanted to talk to was avoiding him. Randy had assured him that she hadn't left, she had barely been off her computer long enough to eat. Knowing this made John feel even worse as he knew his sister's way of dealing when she was upset was to write.

Worried and distracted by not being on good terms with her he headed for the locker room where she was probably curled up in a corner. Poking his head in he was relieved to find it mostly empty. Closing the door he caustiously approached the curled up figure, grinning at the way her reading glasses were perched on her nose. He knew she really didn't use them but she always told him every great writer wore them and they made her feel more confident.

Getting her attention after several tries he quickly stepped back expecting a punch to be thrown at him. He was shocked speechless when she grinned up at him instead. "You know we should get mad at one another more often. This is the best writing I've done in months."

"I'm glad I could accommodate you." John responded dryly. "So is all forgiven. We good?"

"I want to know why you didn't tell me about Journey." She asked instead, closing her laptop and looking hurt.

"There's not much to tell. We just admitted to ourselves and everyone that we were attracted to each other a couple of weeks ago. My plan was to not act on it until I got everything worked out. It's unfair to bring someone into a relationship when I'm not even sure what's going to happen next week."

"So why did you spend so much time with her last week?" Nikki asked confused.

"It seems that once I admitted my feelings they just kept getting bigger and I couldn't help myself." John shrugged, not sure he liked what he had just admitted.

"So if you like her so much have you told her the truth?" She asked seeing her brother in a new light.

"Yea I told her everything." John admitted, rubbing his head in an effort to get the headache to leave.

"Everything? As in every little detail?" Nikki asked astonished.

"Yea." He told her.

"Whoa, you really do like her." She said as she avoided the smack he aimed at her.