Chapter 9

"Jesus fucking Christ." Seth muttered, walking back into the room and saw Kavari standing at the window staring out of it, sighing heavily. "Sorry about Roman. He has a temper on him when provoked. Not that you provoked him, but he's pissed about Bianca and he thinks you and Bianca are basically one in the same." He stood beside her, shoving his hands in the front pockets of his jeans.

Kavari had enough as soon as she heard that, not believing the Ape Man had assumed she was in cahoots with Bianca's running. "Oh fuck the stupid shit." She left the room and walked over to Roman's room since his door was open, not waiting for an invitation. She walked in and saw him lying across his bed with his hand on his ribs. "Does it hurt? I hope so because you gave me a headache with your little hissy fit." She watched as he jumped up from the bed. "Let's get one thing straight: I'm not afraid of you and I never will be. You can stand there and threaten me all you want, but it's not going to scare me. I don't know Bianca and I certainly never agreed to help her escape. That was her decision. Have you had to restrain me for anything yet? No you haven't, if you're still pissed because I kicked you in the balls the night you guys abducted me, well I'm sorry it's called a reflex. If you want to hit me, then fucking do it. You walked in here and I was still fucking here! I didn't go anywhere, I didn't try to run away and I wasn't even calling anyone." Kavari shoved his chest and heard him growl. "Go ahead fucking hit me, I don't care. Whatever you could ever do to me is NOTHING compared to the shit I've already been through in my life. If you're going to use me against my Dad then do it, but STOP jerking me around and shoving me. I have more bruises from the last two days than Ric Flair has world titles. Just stop touching me!" Turning on her heel, Kavari stalked out of Roman's room with tears brimming her eyelids.

Dean stood there in the doorway of his room with Seth just as a precaution when she started berating the big man. She made several valid points and definitely wasn't afraid to stand up to Roman. He watched as she walked back into the room her and Seth were staying in, slamming the door harder behind her. Bianca could hear Kavari yelling and closed her eyes, breathing through her nose that was somewhat stuffed up from crying.

Seth was actually afraid to walk back into the room and looked back at Roman, shaking his head. "You can be a real asshole." He stated, chocolate eyes narrowing. "Leave her alone. She hasn't tried running like she said. She actually enjoys being with us if you'd stop treating her like an animal. Bianca is different, she doesn't want to be here and she'll try to run again. So why don't you focus on her and leave Kavari to me?"

He didn't wait for Roman's response and walked into the room, slamming the door shut with authority behind him. If Kavari didn't hate him before, she probably did now. He heard the shower and knew Kavari was in there, laying down on the bed closing his eyes, not believing Roman hadn't ripped her head off her shoulders when she started berating him. Honestly, he deserved it and Seth would've come to her rescue had he laid another hand on Kavari.

Kavari had a good cry and then finished up her shower. Once out, she dried off and pulled on black cotton shorts and a black cotton tank top, combing the knots from her hair. She knew there was really no point in sleeping. Insomnia was kicking her ass tonight, but Kavari would lay in the bed like always with Seth. If she was home, she'd be reading books on her kindle. She already knew Extreme Rules was a little over 3 weeks away and this would be the longest 3 weeks of her life. Kavari walked out of the bathroom and climbed into the bed facing the wall just trying to keep her mind focused.

Seth thought they had a connection and felt helpless, not sure what he was supposed to do at this point. She hated him, he could feel it deep down in his bone marrow. He cleared his throat and reached out to touch her, only for Kavari to shrug him off. They were completely alone with Roman in his room and Dean in his with Bianca. They could kill each other for all he cared, especially after what that bitch said earlier because he didn't want Kavari to run away.

"Look, I shouldn't do this, but…" He handed over his cell phone, watching as she slowly turned until deep saddened blue eyes met his. Seth sucked in a sharp breath. "Don't tell the guys. Call your Dad and let him know you're alright. Don't tell him where you're at. He won't be able to trace the call. If you're patient, this will all be over at Extreme Rules. But only if you're patient and you deal with me until then."

Staring down at the cell phone, Kavari was completely perplexed as she looked back up at Seth, wondering why he was doing this. His chocolate eyes held truth, he really was giving her permission to contact her father to let him know she was alright. Chewing her bottom lip nervously, Kavari reached out and took the phone, waiting for Seth to snatch it back from her any second to tease her with it as some sick joke. He didn't. Unlocking the phone, Kavari dialed her father's number from memory and watched Seth stand from the bed, closing and locking his bedroom door.

"Dad." She said as soon as his deep voice rumbled over the line. "Listen Dad, I've only got a few minutes. I just wanted to let you know I'm really okay. I got a few hours of sleep today and I'll be fine without my sleeping pills, I promise. The insomnia isn't as bad as it could be, I can handle it you know me."

"Are you sure you're really okay, Kavari?" Glen had never been so happy to hear her voice.

She could feel tears slip down her cheeks, nodding. "Yes Dad, I love you so much. I'll see you soon." She hit the end button so she didn't drag out the call because it would've been harder on her. Kavari handed the phone back to Seth, feeling a spark ignite between them as soon as his fingers brushed hers. "Thank you." She backed up against the headboard and buried her face in her knees.

Seth sighed heavily and set the phone to the side, crawling on the bed to sit beside her. He knew it was hard for her to be away from her father and wondered why she needed sleeping pills. Was she a druggie? No, something else was beneath the surface and Seth wasn't sure if he wanted to know at this point.

"You could've talked to him longer." He said quietly, hating to hear her cry because it completely broke his heart, even though she was being completely silent about it. Seth wrapped an arm around her shoulders, pulling her to lay against him and began running his fingers through her hair again. "I'll make sure you get some sleep. You slept fine in the car on the ride here so if you need to use me as your bed, feel free. I'm all yours."

"It wasn't that I slept fine in the car, it was just time for me to sleep. I've had insomnia issues for the last 5 or 6 years. I have my sleep and insomnia pattern down. I'm awake for 2 or 3 days then I sleep for 6 to 8 hours, then it repeats again. The sleeping pills are for when I've stayed up for 5 or more days, they force me to sleep." Kavari explained, wiping her eyes when he handed her a tissue. "I didn't stay on longer because if I prolonged it – it would've killed me to hang up with him."

Seth nodded in understanding and could tell how much Kavari loved her father. Truth be told, he had all the respect in the world for Glen Jacobs, but the man didn't think they were tag team championship material. He actually said that to their face. That's when the Shield had sprung into action to prove to the Big Red Machine that they could hack it in the ring and be champions. Using his own daughter as leverage played such a huge role in all of this and not to mention it mind-fucked the big man.

"Do you mind me asking why you have such bad insomnia?" Maybe that was a little personal to ask, but Seth's curiosity had gotten the better of him.

Kavari frowned, keeping her eyes on her knees before they looked up into his chocolate orbs, wetting her suddenly dry lips. "When I was 16, I was riding home with my Mom after my state regional soccer tournament, my team took 2nd place. I was so excited and happy, I was practically bouncing in my seat. I'd called Dad to let him know, clearly he couldn't make it because of work. Once we hung up, we left to come home. We were about 10 miles away from home when this horse had gotten loose and ran out into the road. Mom slammed on the brake to avoid it and we slid sideways and off onto someone's property. The driver side took the impact when we hit a tree. I had a broken arm and Mom's head hit the side window, shattered it and she bled out. They said even if they had gotten her to the hospital, it wouldn't have mattered because her skull was crushed. Pieces of it were embedded in her brain, she probably would've been in a coma for the rest of her life." Kavari sucked in a sharp breath, remembering that day as if it was yesterday and still missed her mother to this day. "If that wasn't bad enough, a month later I wasn't feeling well and Dad took me to the doctors. I was diagnosed with cervical cancer. I didn't know you could get that kind of cancer when you were a virgin and 16, but apparently you can. It took 3 years of fighting and I was on the edge of death. The chemo stopped working and they couldn't figure out why. When I said I was a silk thread from death, I wasn't lying. I had a chemo port surgically planted in my chest to make it easier to administer treatment. Somehow, a single silk thread got into it, contaminating the chemo and that's why it stopped working. A year later at 20, I was cancer free. Now at 25, I'm still cancer free. The insomnia is just something that came along with all the crap. I was hesitant to use the sleeping pills, but they help when I've been awake for 5 or 6 days. When I said there were worse things in life to be scared of than 3 guys who abducted me, I wasn't kidding. Anytime I get a cold or even just sneeze, I get terrified the cancer is coming back. Once the doctor visit happens, my fears are put at ease, but the insomnia remains."

Seth just blinked at her, digesting all of that and couldn't believe everything this poor woman had been through. She was a cancer victim and had survived it. That made her even more beautiful in his eyes if that was possible. His heart went out to her regarding her mother, he couldn't imagine losing his at that tender age.

"I-I'm glad they found the silk thread before it was too late." He said quietly, reaching out to take her hand as their fingers laced together, seeing how well hers fit in his. It was a perfect fit. "If you need your sleeping pills, we can go get them. We have 2 days off now, we were going to take you guys back to Florida with us, but if I can take you back home to grab some things, including your pills. The last thing I want you to do is collapse out of the blue because your body is too exhausted. What we do for a living is very strenuous."

She really liked the way his warmth slid up her arm, starting where their hands were connected. "The sleeping pills are really a necessity, but if you want to see where I live, you are more than welcome to take me back to Tennessee. But only if it's convenient to you. I mean if you've already got plane tickets bought for Florida, then that's fine. I'm not really worried about it." Kavari leaned over and snuggled against his arm as she rested her head on his shoulder. Jesus this man smelled wonderful. "I was just glad that Dad met Jennifer. They met right after I was cancer free and married 6 months later and have been married since. She's really great as a Stepmom and Dad adopted her two daughters." Her icy fingers from her free hand came up and touched his bicep. "My god, you're really warm."

Seth fought the urge to cringe because of how COLD she was. "Jesus girl, you're freezing." He muttered, suddenly pulling her to straddle him and rested her head on his chest, wrapping his strong warm arms around her body. "We do have the plane tickets for Florida already, but I can always change them if you want to get away from the other two behemoths for a few days." He brushed his lips against her forehead, his fingers once again stroking her hair. Damn it, Seth was falling for this woman and if he wasn't careful, she would give him one hell of a bruise. "Sorry about the way I treated you at the arena. I'll try not to be so rough with you." There was no reason to be rough with her since she wasn't the one fighting this tooth and nail. If Roman didn't like it, he could kiss the darkest part of Seth's ass, which was his crack.

Kavari fully enjoyed this man's body heat. She was going to fall hard for him, that much was obvious and didn't know when or where, but could feel it coming. He'd been way too nice to her, even if he had abducted her. Her chest was pressed against his as her arms were folded between them and she could feel the thump from his heart against the palm of her hand. It was very soothing.

"Maybe it's not just me that needs to get away from the other two. Maybe you need a break to just be yourself as well. You don't seem quite as rough around the edges as Roman and Dean. Tennessee is closer and would take less flight time. Either place we go, I'm doing something about this." She reached up and her index finger touched his beard covered jaw, slipping her hand down to his beard and goatee covered chin. "As a cosmetologist, you have to know that's getting on my nerves because it's so overgrown." She couldn't stop giggling when Seth gave her a fake glare.

"I'll have you know I happen to like my overgrown beard." Seth grumbled, watching her eyebrow quirk and knew he'd let her do absolutely anything to him. He was fucked. He was seriously fucked. Her beautiful blue eyes were sucking him in and there was nothing Seth could do to stop it. "Tennessee it is then. I'll talk to the guys and let them know what's going on. I know Roman is going home to Pensacola and Dean is taking Bianca back to Tampa with him for the 2 days off. Lord, I hope they don't kill each other." He kissed her forehead again and held her close.

Eventually, they fell asleep with Kavari on top of him, the insomnia apparently no match for his body heat.