The sun had disappeared behind the horizon and the sky was beginning to fade into the deep blackness of night as they stepped out into the parking lot. All around them they could hear the sounds of the nocturnal creatures just beginning their nightly routine.

"Grab your helmet." Mark said absently to her as he threw his big leg over his bigger bike.

"Who said I was riding with you?" Cassie asked, a standoffish air folding over her like a cloak.

"You're still swaying on your feet darlin. You're not driving until you get some food into you." The big man said matter-of-factly. Cassie's skepticism withered at the logic behind his words.

"Point taken." She said simply, slightly embarrassed by her actions and grabbed her helmet from her handlebars. "So where are we going?" She asked tightening the strap under her chin and swinging herself onto the bike behind him.

"There's only one place in town. I was thinking we'd go there." He said as he kicked over the engine and gunned the throttle without putting the bike in gear.

"That would be the place then wouldn't it?" Cassie chuckled and settled herself more firmly behind him, wrapping her arms around his well-muscled waist. Mark's breath caught in his throat when he felt her press herself against his back but shook off the distraction.

"Hold on tight and I'll get us there in half the time." He called over the motor.

"Don't hurry on my account. I love to ride at night." She said leaning up so her mouth was next to his ear.

"…And she loves to ride." Mark chuckled. "Careful darlin, you're halfway to bein my soul mate." Cassie started to say something but Mark threw the bike in gear and tore out into the night before she could finish.


It was nearly dawn by the time Mark pulled back into the little parking lot outside the bar. Both of them were tired but laughing. They'd had a very good night.

"I can't believe it's so late!" Cassie giggled as she hopped off the big man's bike.

"Yeah, it's gonna be hell catching my flight this afternoon." He laughed back.

"You're leaving?" The brunette asked, a slight frown darkening her features.

"Yeah, I've got a show in Washington tomorrow. Then it's off to Portland, then to San Diego."

"Well that's no fun…" She continued frowning and crossed her arms in front of her.

"I'll be back by the end of the week. In San Diego I'm supposed to get 'injured'." He laughed and made little quotes in the air with his fingers. "Then I'm off for a month until the next Pay-Per-View."

"Off for a month? What for?" She asked.

"I'm supposed to take some time and rehab my elbow. It's been bothering me a bit more than usual so they gave me some time to take care of it. Besides, it gives me a chance to make a big entrance in Detroit." He smiled as he thought of it.

"You're going to Detroit?"

"Yup. Big show next month."

"I haven't been home in years." She all but whispered as her eyes lowered to the gravel at her feet.

"So that's the accent I'm hearing." He chuckled and reached a hand out to stroke her cheek. Cassie smiled in spite of herself as she nodded. "Maybe you could make the trip out there with me?"

"Oh no…" She said immediately. "I don't want to go back there. Not ever if I can help it."

Mark's eyebrows shot up at the feeling behind her words. He wanted to ask what happened to make her run away from home, but wasn't sure it was his place to pry.

"Alright, then how about you keep your schedule open next Wednesday so I can take you out to dinner when I get back?" He asked changing the subject. Cassie smirked and nodded again, her dark eyes flitting up to his as he spoke.

"I think I might enjoy that. Then I can tell all my friends that I had dinner with the Undertaker twice." She laughed. Mark rolled his eyes and shook his head.

"One more notch on the belt eh little girl?" He muttered and took a chance, wrapping his massive arm around her waist and pulling her to him. Cassie squeaked when he moved her but didn't protest.

"Yeah, if I had a belt." She grumbled but the smile didn't fade. "I don't make it a point of dating famous people if that's what you mean."

"Are we dating?" Mark jumped on her words as soon as they came out of her mouth. Cassie opened her mouth to speak but nothing happened. She just stared at him smiling, judging the look in his eyes.

"Well you did pay for dinner…" She teased. "That could constitute a date." Mark bent his head and laughed outright.

"After half an hour of arguing with you I finally managed to sneak away and pay. I don't know if that counts darlin."

"But you did buy…" She continued.

"Yeah, I suppose I did." He grinned at the flicker in her eyes.

"So when you get back, dinner's on me." She grinned playfully and slid out of his grasp, walking toward her own bike.

"That doesn't sound much like dating to me." Mark called to her as she started up her bike.

"Well whatever it is, we'll figure it out when you get back." She yelled over the two idling motorcycles. Mark laughed incredulously and shook his head but watched as she threw the bike into gear and tore out into the lightening night.

Mark jammed his own bike into gear and started toward the other direction when a set of headlights flicked on in his peripheral vision. Instinctively, the big man turned his attention toward them. There was an old pick up truck pulling out from between two big rocks on the right side of the road. He sat there in the driveway watching it turn onto the highway and head in the same direction as Cassie.

He tried to shake it off, but a dark foreboding had twisted its way into his gut. Somehow he knew that truck was after her.

"Hell no…" He muttered to himself and shot off in the same direction; following back a ways to keep himself inconspicuous. Down the road he could see Cassie's lone headlight taking a turn. The truck was following, maybe three car lengths behind. As he watched, the truck sped up. The knot in Mark's stomach tightened. He'd never get to her before the truck hit her but he had to try.

The big man gunned the throttle and closed the distance between himself and the other two. The truck was crawling directly up Cassie's tailpipe. Mark could see her agitation as she rode. She was swerving closer and closer to the shoulder, obviously hoping the truck would pass but it mimicked her every move.

The knot in his stomach turned to anger as he watched. He sped up a bit more until he could have drafted the truck. Inside, he could see a dark shape look back at him in the rear view mirror.

Out of nowhere, the truck's tired screeched and it veered directly toward Cassie. Mark watched helplessly as her bike spilled over into the dirt and gravel on the shoulder.

"Son of a bitch!" Mark screamed as the truck skidded back onto the road and slammed on its brakes. Mark turned hard to the right to avoid its bumper and dumped his bike as gracefully as possible not five yards from where Cassie had laid hers down.

Before Mark could recover himself, the truck took off down the highway and around a turn. He stood in the middle of the street waiting for it to come back with adrenaline pounding through his veins. All he could hear was the din of blood rushing through his body.

For a brief second, he thought to pick up his bike and follow it but Cassie's bike was still lying on the shoulder. From what Mark could see, she hadn't moved.

The sight of her inert form leeched any anger he had from him. He made his way over to her slowly, his legs like lead as he walked.

Mark breathed a sigh of relief when he saw her begin struggling to get her leg out from under the fallen bike.

"Cassie, are you alright?" He asked and helped her lift the bike back to its kickstand.

"Yeah…I think…" She muttered and tried to put weight on her right leg. It buckled underneath her. If Mark hadn't been standing next to her she would have fallen. "Maybe not." She grunted and bit her lip through the pain.

"Here…" Mark said and lifted her off her feet, walking to a nearby boulder to set her down. "What the hell was that about?"

"I wish I knew." Cassie responded. Her voice was shaking slightly. "What are you doing here anyway?"

"I had a bad feeling." Cassie cocked her head in confusion. "I was pulling out of the parking lot at Denny's place and I saw that asshole pull out from behind a couple of rocks. It was like he was waiting there. I didn't like it so I followed. I'm sorry I didn't get here sooner."

"Go pick up your bike." Cassie said completely ignoring his apology. Now it was Mark's turn to look confused. "The sun's coming up, people are going to start heading down this road to get to work. Go get your bike out of the middle of the lane." There was something distant and harsh in her voice that the big man didn't like. He stood there for a moment watching her roll her pant leg up waiting for her to speak again. She grimaced as the cloth slid over her knee but didn't look up at him. Shaking his head, he did as she'd said.

When he returned walking his bike, she looked slightly happier.

"Everything alright?" He asked cautiously. She nodded.

"Yeah, apparently having one of these stuck in your leg, prevents you from walking on it." She grinned holding up a rock nearly the size of her fist. Mark let out a low whistle and took it from her. There was blood all over it and blood on her hands as well.

"Let me take a look at that." He said dropping the rock and getting to his knees next to her. Cassie stiffened and opened her mouth to protest but finally relented. "This is gonna need stitches little girl. I'll get you to a hospital." He said matter-of-factly. The tone of his voice left no room for argument.

"It's not that bad." Cassie moped as he took an old bandana out of his back pocket and wrapped it around the large triangular tear on the outside of her knee.

"Yes it is. I know entirely too much about injuries so I won't take no for an answer. You're going to get that stitched."

Cassie grunted as Mark knotted the cloth and pulled it tight. She shot him a nasty look and pulled the denim back down her leg.

"Now the test…" She grinned playfully but Mark could see the pain of it riding just behind the easygoing front she was showing him. Before he could help her, Cassie hopped off the rock and tested her weight on it. She limped a bit in a circle and held her arms out teasingly. "Ta da!" She laughed then staggered slightly. Before she had a chance to fall, Mark was under her arm, holding her up and tightly against him.

"C'mon, we'll get someone out here to get your bike." Cassie nodded and let him help her to his bike.

Once she was seated, Mark pulled a cell phone out of his jacket and punched a bunch of numbers.

"Yeah Ray? It's Mark. I got some work I need done as quick as you can." He said when someone at the other end picked up. Cassie couldn't help but notice how his soft drawl got thicker when he spoke to certain people. When he was talking to her, it seemed almost to fade out completely. "Great, can you come get it? I haven't looked too close but it looks pretty bad…Exactly, about two miles south of Denny's place…Alright, thanks Ray. Just call me with a quote and I'll take care of it…yeah, thanks. Bye."

"What was that?" Cassie asked as he jammed the phone back into his jacket.

"I got someone comin to get your bike." He said as he zipped up his leather and slid onto the bike in front of her.

"I caught that part, what about the estimate? You don't have to take care of it Mark, I'm not broke." The tone of her voice was almost hurt.

"Maybe I want to take care of it for you."

"But I don't want you to." Cassie said after a moment.

"Too bad. It's already done." He smiled and started up the bike. The roar of the engine drown out any other protests she could have made. "Hold on tight." She heard as he grabbed her hands and pulled them around his waist. Cassie grumbled and head butted him between the shoulder blades.

"Just…get me fixed." She laughed. The big man nodded and dropped the bike into gear, making a U-turn and heading back toward Denny's place.