Shades Of The Past

"What the hell is this?" Punk asked, walking into their bedroom, holding the bottle of whiskey as AJ was putting her shorts and t-shirt on, turning around and sighing as she saw he had already found what she was hiding, "Why is this in our kitchen?" He asked her as she folded her arms.

"It showed up on the doorstep." AJ said, "I was literally gonna tell you once the kids were in bed." She said. And she was telling the truth. She had no intention of keeping it from him, she had no reason to, in fact, she was desperate for him to know so they could figure something out.

"What do you mean it showed up?" Punk shook his head.

"The other night. You were gone and I was bathing the kids. The door went and I headed down to see who it was… opened up the door and it was sitting on the front step." She said as Punk shook his head, "So then I… I went to your office and I found out that Teresa, who is now in charge of the business, has brought it over to here. She's living here and they're working with a distribution here." She said as Punk groaned to himself.

"And I don't suppose this was just for us to sample, was it?" Punk questioned, "I thought this was behind us."

"So did I." AJ nodded, "I… I was so scared when I saw it. I felt like I couldn't leave the kids." She said, "I mean it's… it's a message, right?" She said as Punk sighed, running his hand through his hair, "What would she want?"

"Well I doubt she wants to invite us to dinner." Punk said, "I killed her husband."

"But why wait all this time?" AJ questioned, "Why not go after us right away?" She asked.

"To give us the luxury of thinking it's all behind us. Just for them to… pop back up." He shook his head, "Was there anything attached to the bottle?" He asked her as she shook her head.

"Just that." AJ said, "And I looked out the window immediately but I couldn't see anything." She said, "They know where we live." She shook her head, "That terrifies me. Things like that never terrified me but… I don't want the girls in any danger." She shook her head. They were her main concern.

"They'll be fine." Punk assured her, "We'll figure this out." He nodded with a sigh, "Are you ok?" He asked her, sitting the bottle down and walking over to her.

"Honestly? No." AJ said, "How I used to… live my life like this before is beyond me." She admitted, "I feel like that life is creeping back in on me and I don't want it… I just want to be safe here." She sighed, "And not worry."

"You are safe." Punk said, "We'll figure it out and we'll come up with a plan. They're not gonna touch you, they're not gonna touch the girls." Punk nodded, "But we gotta know what we're dealing with here."

"Well when I went to your office I printed off some things." She said, lifting up their mattress and digging under it, taking out some pieces of paper along with a gun.

"April." Punk said.

"I know, ok? But you were gone and it made me feel safer. Ok?" She said as he just nodded, "I got their locations, information on the distribution centre they're working with." She nodded, handing him over the paper work, "Their company is doing really well." She nodded.

"Illegally?" Punk asked her.

"How else?" AJ shook her head, "What are we going to do?" She questioned as Punk sighed.

"I don't know." Punk admitted truthfully, "We could try and take them down-"

"I thought that too but… Phil, we don't know what they have on us. Me especially. The truth is… I've not been an angel all my life. I can play the nice girl now, the innocent mom, whatever… but… they could have a lot of dangerous stuff on me." She said as Punk nodded, "Or you." She said, "We don't know what we're walking into."

"Then that's our job." Punk nodded, "Find out what they want." He said.

"And what if what they want is to kill us?" AJ asked as he looked at her.

"Well we just can't think like that." Punk said as AJ sighed, "It's gonna be ok." He nodded, wrapping his arms around her tightly.

AJ had to cut the hug short when she heard her phone vibrating on the night stand. She picked it up and answered once she saw it was Coleen calling. She answered and was immediately struck with a frantic Coleen asking her for help.

"Slow down, I can't hear you. Why-Why are you whispering?" AJ asked, trying to listen closely as Punk looked over with concern, "Where are you just now?" She asked as Punk shook his head, "Ok just stay there, I'm on my way." AJ nodded, hanging up.

"What is it?"

"She thinks someone is in her apartment." AJ shook her worriedly.

"I'll go." Punk said, "You stay here." He nodded.

"Take this." AJ nodded, giving him the gun as he took it, "And call me." She demanded as he nodded, rushing out of the bedroom and out of the house as AJ placed her hand on her forehead with stress.

Punk ran to Coleen's apartment which wasn't far from where they stayed. He burst through the building door and headed upstairs, walking into the already opened apartment, where he could hear pleads and yelps.

He followed the noise into the bedroom where he saw some guy on top of Coleen as she tried to struggle away. He immediately grabbed him by the neck, digging his nails in and swinging the man back onto the ground, kicking him out of the room angrily as he turned to Coleen.

"Are you ok?" Punk turned to Coleen who nodded and gasped.

Punk turned his attention back to the guy who was trying to scramble away but Punk grabbed him, punching him hard as he toppled over him, laying it onto him as Coleen gulped and watched, moving further up the bed in fear.

"Who sent you?!" Punk yelled, choking the man before letting him go and dragging him up to the couch in the living room, "Are you a Shelby?" He asked, taking his gun out and pointing it at the beaten man who was still struggling for breath, "Do you work for Teresa?" He questioned angrily as Coleen walked out of the bedroom and watched in horror. She hadn't felt fear like that in a long time.

The man sat in silence, of course not saying anything, people like him would rather die than rat out his boss.

"Ok, well you tell her you son of a bitch." Punk spat, putting his gun down and grabbing the man around the collar, looking closely at him, "You tell her that whatever she's after, whatever she wants or she has planned. It's not gonna happen." He said as the man gulped and looked into Punk's eyes, "And if you ever come to this apartment and put your hand on her again." He pointed back to Coleen, "I'll kill you." He nodded, "That goes for anyone else too." He said as the man looked at him.

"Phil, I don't think you should have left April." Coleen said as Punk turned around to her, "He said… he said she was next." She said as Punk looked at her.

"Leave." Punk told the man who quickly got to his feet, stumbling out of the apartment as quick as lightening whilst Punk turned to Coleen and gave her the gun, "You run into anymore trouble, just pull the trigger." He nodded.

"Shouldn't I come with you?" Coleen asked.

"No. Stay put. Stay here and lock your door." Punk told her, running out of the apartment, as fast as he could back to his house, bursting back through the door and running upstairs, opening up his bedroom door where he saw AJ sitting on the floor next to a body.

"April." Punk looked at her as she looked up at him. Her clothes were a little ripped and she was shaking, "April, what happened?" Punk rushed over to her, cradling her into him as she clutched onto him tightly, "What did he do to you?" He questioned painfully.

"Nothing." AJ gulped, "He's dead." She whispered, looking on at the dead body in their bedroom as Punk looked, "He came in as soon as you left."

"Get off of me!" AJ yelled, feeling her wrists being held down onto the bed as the intruder hovered over her.

"This is your first warning." The man smiled and nodded, gripping AJ's wrists tightly above her head as she wriggled around.

AJ spat on him, kicked her feet at him, tried to headbutt him, done anything to try and give herself some time, but for some reason it wasn't working. She hadn't had to defend herself like this in such a long time that it was almost like she forgot how to be that person she used to be. But she knew she had to snap into it or else she was already letting this man, this feud win.

She felt him tear at her clothes, whispering evil things to her as she whimpered a little, and it wasn't until she heard something particular that made her snap.

"Your girls are next. We'd make a lot of money from them-"

AJ bit his face so hard blood began to pour out as the man screamed. He loosened his grip on her wrists which gave her access to use her hands, which she did, sticking her thumbs in his eyes and kneeing him in the stomach hard as he rolled off the bed.

She got up, toppling over him and smacking him so hard, harder than she'd ever hit anyone, cracking his skull over and over again onto the hard floor until she finally paused and realised… he was dead.

"I had to." AJ shrugged, not knowing what else to say as Punk got her to her feet, kissing her head, not caring that there was a dead man in front of them, just glad she was ok, "We can't call the police."

"This was self-defence." Punk told her.

"Look at him." AJ gritted her teeth as Punk looked down at the dead man who was beaten and bruised, "That's not self-defence." AJ said as Punk ran his hand through his hair, "Is Coleen ok?"

"She's fine. Same sort of attack." Punk said, "What the hell is this about?" He said angrily.

"They're trying to warn us… scare us…" She nodded.

"Did he say anything else to you?" Punk asked.

"He said this was my first warning." AJ looked up at him as he ran his hand over his face, "We don't have time to sit and think of a plan anymore. We have to find out what they want… if they want us dead then we have to find a way to take them down." AJ shook her head, looking down at the dead man on the floor, "And we have to get rid of this body." She said, spitting on him as Punk looked at her.

Shades of the AJ he first met in Russia shown through as he watched her glare down at the dead body with no remorse. But he didn't blame her. She'd done what she had to, but it only left them with more questions.

"Grab his arms. I'll get his legs." Punk told her as she nodded.