Danny woke up to a world of pain. He had no idea how long he had been unconscious but wished he was still unconscious. His leg felt like it was in a million pieces. He remembered Chad hitting his leg over and over again with a sledgehammer. As if he needed further proof on who was responsible for all of this.
The door opened and Chad entered the room with no mask on. He sat in the chair next to the bed Danny was tied to.
"How ya feeling Danny boy," Chad asked.
"Go to Hell Chad," Danny said in a raspy voice. His voice was still raspy from the screaming.
"That's where we are," Chad said with a smile, "I've been waiting for over two years to get my revenge. You got me fired Danny and now I'm taking away your career." He reached under the bed and pulled out a sledgehammer. He hit Danny in the knee again.
Danny let out a scream before passing out.
Cassidy clenched her eyes closed as she heard someone screaming again. She wondered who it was. She also wished that she could get free so she could stop whomever it was that was hurting them.
A man in a mask entered the room holding a camera.
"It's time we made a video for your father," he said. He set the camera on a tripod and hit record. "Austin," the man said, "as you can see, your daughter is fine. Don't worry we aren't going to hurt her like we did Daniel. Unlike Daniel, she's innocent," a smile appeared on his face.
Daniel? Cassidy wondered. Was he talking about Danny?
"We'll be in touch again," the man said before turning the camera off.
"What did you do to Danny?"
"He had to pay for putting my friends in jail. We had been hoping to grab Athena but hadn't known that she had left for Europe," he said as he pulled the mask off.
Cassidy knew that face. He was a friend of her stepfather.
"Randy Orton?"
Matt was feeling uneasy as he returned to his hotel room after the show. He looked at his watch. He was supposed to meet Amy for dinner at the hotel restaurant. He had no idea how she would react to the news that Jeff was out of prison. He remembered how she had reacted when he said he was going to visit Jeff in jail.
He found a note next to the phone. It read:
Matt,
I'm downstairs waiting for you.
Love,
Amy.
Matt turned the wheelchair around and opened the door. He was surprised to find Jeff and Shannon standing there.
"Hey man," Shannon said, "we were just about to knock."
"Hi," Matt said, "I'm actually leaving. I'm meeting Amy for dinner."
"That's cool," Jeff, said, "we can catch up later."
"I'll give you a call. Where are you staying?"
"I'm in room 834." Jeff answered.
At this hotel?" Matt asked unable to hide his shock. He and Amy were in room 252.
"Yeah," Jeff said, "Shannon's in the room next to mine."
"That's good," Matt, said, "I really need to go. I'll talk to you guys later," He said before rolling to the bank of elevators.
He only had to wait a minute before he rolled into a mostly empty elevator. The couple that was already in the elevator, moved over to make room for him. He hit the button for the lobby.
When they arrived at the lobby, he let them exit first before rolling out. He rolled to the restaurant.
"May I help you?" The Maitre D asked.
"I'm meeting my wife, Amy Hardy," Matt said.
The Maitre D consulted his computer before saying, "right this way."
Matt followed the Maitre D to a table towards the back. Amy smiled when she saw him. The Maitre D removed a chair from the table. Matt rolled into the empty spot and picked up a menu.
"How was the show," Amy asked.
"It went well. There were no problems."
Amy set her menu down on the table and said, "Matt I don't know how to tell you this so I'll just say it. Jeff's out of prison. I received an email from my mother saying that Jeff has been released from prison."
"Yeah I already know," Matt, said, "I just didn't know how to tell you. He's here."
"Here," Amy asked, "in Germany?"
"Actually, he's staying in the hotel."
"What?" Amy yelled. Everyone turned to look at them.
"He was at the show today."
"At the show," Amy asked, "and Dustin didn't throw him out?"
"They said it was my decision," Matt said with a sigh. "Jeff's sorry for what he did."
"He's never been sorry for putting you in that wheelchair and you know it," she reminded him, "and I will never forgive him for what he did to you."
"Amy," Matt said reaching for her hand but she pulled it away. "Look I'm not thrilled that he's here either, but I couldn't just have him thrown out of the building."
"Well we are changing hotels. I am not staying in the same hotel as Jeff," she said as she stood up.
"Amy we are going to Paris tomorrow. There's no reason to change hotels. We are not on the same floor."
"But he can find out what room we are staying at." She reminded him.
Matt decided not to tell her that Jeff already knew that.
"I don't think Jeff is going to do anything to me. Let's just enjoy the dinner and you can tell me what you did today.
Amy, even though she was still seething, picked up the menu again.
