Chapter 14

Stephanie had gone into full-blown 'mother' mode when she had tried calling Rajani and it had gone directly to voice mail. Then, 'mother' mode had been pushed into 'seriously panic' when she went to Rajani's hotel room the next morning to take her friend out for breakfast, knowing how stressful things were on her intern right now. Panic mode had been initiated when she was informed that Rajani had checked out the night before and that the hotel staff had no idea where she had gone. So...she spent the better part of her morning blowing Rajani's cell phone up and leaving at least a solid dozen voicemails.

"You call me as soon as you get this! Why did you check into a different hotel? Why aren't you answering the phone? Raja, are you alright? Call me!"

Rajani woke up around noon, but didn't check her voicemail until after a shower. Her throat was heavily bruised, a mix of purple and black. She wasn't sure if she could cover it up with makeup, opting to wear a turtleneck shirt for the next few days. When she heard Stephanie's panicked voice, Rajani sighed as she dialed Stephanie's number, waiting for the woman to answer.

"I'm fine..."

"WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN? DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW WORRIED I'VE BEEN? WHY DID YOU LEAVE YOUR HOTEL ROOM?"

Rajani cleared her throat, her attire a sleeveless black turtleneck shirt along with a cream skirt that went to her knees, black pumps on her feet. Her hair was pulled back by two black clips with cream roses on each. Luckily, the only bruised area of her body was the neck and that was easily covered up, but Rajani hadn't realized she'd sound somewhat hoarse.

"I'm fine, Stephanie, calm down. Everything is fine. I met up with a friend that lives around here last night and fell asleep at their place." Rajani lied smoothly, hoping Stephanie believed her and looked in the mirror one final time. "I'm on my way to the arena right now and, fair warning, I think I'm coming down with a small cold. That's why I sound a little hoarse, my throat hurts a bit."

Stephanie was quiet for a long moment, considering all that and when she replied, she sounded just a little bit suspicious. "I'm going to send Mark for you. He's not supposed to be driving today because of his concussion, but he's been ignoring it. He might let you drive instead and has a truck. Or at least, you can keep an eye on him." That was partially true. "I'm going to call him right now, give him your number and have him call you. Don't ignore his call." Stephanie ordered, hanging up.

5 minutes later, her cell rang again.

Knowing who that was, Rajani contemplated not answering it and ignoring Stephanie's order, but knew that wouldn't bode well with her boss/friend. "Hello Taker." She greeted in a soft voice, fixing the collar of her shirt a little, nodding when he asked where she was.

Rajani gave him the directions and ended the call, noting how gruff Taker sounded. Why would Stephanie send him of all people to retrieve her? Shaking her head, Rajani waited outside in her rental car, having already checked out of the room. Suddenly, her thoughts reverted back to last night with John and what he said, a frown marring her face. Was she reading too much into that or did John actually mean it? When a huge Chevy Silverado black truck pulled up, Rajani stepped out of her rental car with bags and purse in hand. Busy looking down at a text message she received from her brother, Rajani didn't realize who else was in the truck.

Taker found it just a little bit amusing that Stephanie had told him that Rajani had told her she was staying with a friend, but Rajani had given him the address of a different hotel then what most of the superstars and WWE folks were staying at. Apparently, Rajani had lied and he was sure she had her reasons, not that Taker would say anything to either woman. He just found it amusing was all. He opened the door and peered down at her through black shades.

"Climb on up, you're drivin', my head is killing me." Taker scooted across the seat, watching as she set her bag in first before climbing into the cab. Once she had settled herself in the seat, he took her bag and deposited in the seat behind them, extended cab, ignoring the soft growl. "Shut the fuck up and go back to sleep."

"What the hell is this?"

"What's it look like?"

"You're such a damn comedian..." Kane's voice was low, husky from sleep and a soft drawl had seeped into it.

He was doing a rather comfortable if not physically awkward hunch in that back seat, trying to sleep. Rajani's eyes shot open when she heard Kane in the backseat, freezing behind the wheel. Every part of her body filled with fear. Rajani could only stare straight ahead, slowly moving her hand to the collar of her turtleneck again. Buckling up, Rajani put her cell phone in her purse and nodded when Taker asked if she was alright, even managing a smile.

'You can do this. You can't let anyone find out what happened. Now get it together before Taker starts noticing!' She mentally coached herself and took a deep breath, knowing Kane wouldn't do anything to her while Taker was in the truck...she hoped anyway. "Never better."

She put the truck in reverse and pulled out on the road, trying not to think about anything except getting to the next destination. The next destination was going to take awhile because they were in the mid-afternoon rush hour and traffic sucked. Taker settled back as comfortable as possible in his seat, draping one arm along the back of the seat, his fingers right behind Rajani's neck. Kane had given up trying to sleep and sat upright; stretching his arms the best he could and then smoothed down the unruly curls his hair was naturally cursed with. Growing it out had seemed like such a good idea at the time.

"Best call Steph and let her know we're going to get caught in a jam." Kane suggested in a rumble, stifling a yawn.

"Sure, get right on it."

The universe was against her, Rajani simply knew it as she finally came to a dead halt on the highway. What had she done to be caught in a situation like this? Rajani didn't dare look in her rearview mirror because Kane would be staring right back at her. Her throat was really stiff so, while they were at a standstill, Rajani reached into her purse for some ibuprofen, popping three of them. It would get rid of the swelling and that in turn would deteriorate the pain. The silence in the truck was deafening; Rajani needed a distraction and reached over to turn the radio on, keeping it very soft because she knew Taker's head was killing him. She decided on a mix station, thankful that the traffic was slowly starting to move again.

Taker and Kane both recoiled when the alternative rock song went to something that was by Celine Dion. "What the hell?"

Kane leaned forward over the seat, his shoulder brushing against Rajani's as he changed the station. "Classic country?"

"Anything but the other..."

"You cold, Raja?" Kane drawled as he slowly moved back. "You got goose bumps on your arms."

Taker arched an eyebrow. "Steph said you were comin' down with something...so...why are you wearing a sleeveless turtleneck, kinda defeats the purpose don't it?"

"No, I'm fine. I told her I thought I was coming down with something because my throat was a little scratchy this morning." Rajani really hated lying, but thankfully Rajani did it well enough when she needed to. "I have a cardigan I can slip on if I need to."

The way Kane brushed against her made Rajani's skin crawl and she felt sick to her stomach, hoping she could make it through this without losing her nerve. When Jason Aldean came on the radio, she decided to focus on that. Beginning to mouth the words, Rajani tapped her fingers against the steering wheel lightly. Obviously Kane knew the reason behind the turtleneck and the scratchy throat; he had been the one to give her those conditions. Smiling a little, he adjusted himself on the seat. The only way he could really sit without attempting to break his long legs was with his back pressed against the cab wall and his legs stretched out on the rest of the seat. Kane sat behind Rajani, draping his arm on the front seat, forcing Taker to move his own hand. At this point, Taker didn't care; his eyes closed and let his hand drop to the seat between him and Rajani.

"Wake me when we get there." He murmured softly, drifting off.

"Of course."

If Kane touched her again, Rajani was going to pull the truck over and walk the rest of the way to the arena. The hairs on the back of her neck stood up on end and it took all of Rajani's willpower not to freak out. Why had she returned Stephanie's call? Maybe she should report what happened with Kane because he was simply taking pleasure in her discomfort now. If he thought for a second she was talking to him, Kane had more screws loose than she thought. There was no way she was uttering a word to him, not wanting to end up dead in a ditch somewhere. Kane was a bit surprised she hadn't reported him, so far, but that was always subject to change. One simply never knew with women, they capricious beings.

"So...Rajani," Kane drawled, not touching her, but he was watching her, monitoring her profile for facial changes, knowing she was probably listening to him and really hating him about now. "Why didn't you stay with the rest of the WWE?" That was a bit odd considering he knew for a fact she generally did stay at whatever hotel the majority of the WWE was.

He was not going to make this easy and just leave her alone. "Stayed with a friend of mine I haven't seen in awhile and drove to the hotel to meet up with you guys." Rajani answered in a low voice, not wanting to disturb Taker and kept her eyes straight ahead.

That explained why she was at the hotel, even though it was a complete lie. She didn't know if Taker was fully asleep yet and didn't want to take the chance to say something to Kane that would get her in trouble. She was lying through her teeth and he knew it. Kane just knew when people were lying to him, probably because he relied on body language to provide him with information. Glancing at his friend out of the corner of his eye, he leaned forward.

"Liar." Kane whispered, his face brushing against her hair before sitting back again.

Taker's eyes FLEW open when the truck suddenly did a halt and lurch. "What the HELL?" He roared, glaring at Rajani before noting the stopped car in front of them. "Damn..." He growled, rubbing his head, which was now un-bandaged though the lovely stitches were there for all to see.

"Nice driving, jackass!" Rajani growled angrily, really wanting to just haul off and backhand Kane for doing that, gritting her teeth. "Sorry Taker, that jackass decided to swerve right in front of me thinking he had room. Asshole." She was directing that at Kane, but couldn't exactly look at him in order to say it. When her cell phone went off, Rajani answered it, slipping her Bluetooth in. "What do you want bro?"

"Geez, someone is cranky. Did you wake up on the wrong side of the bed this morning?"

"Something like that. Look, I really can't talk right now. I'm...driving with a few of the guys from the company and..."

"Who?" He demanded, eyes narrowing.

"That is for me to know and you to find out. You don't need to know, stop being overprotective." When he began ranting at her, Rajani rolled her eyes and ripped her Bluetooth out, ending the call.

Now it was both Taker and Kane who were interested opposed to just Kane, both men looking at her with unhidden curiosity. "Brother huh?" Taker drawled, a mischievous glint entering his green eyes. "You should call him back and let me talk to him, sounds like he's a bit...protective of you." He did have a devious streak and laughed softly when her cheeks flushed a light shade of pink.

"Quit it, you're making the poor thing blush."

"Mmmhmm... looks good on her, don't it?"

"I don't think that would be a very good idea."

Actually, that would be catastrophic considering who Rajani was related to. Rajani moved her seat up a little more since the chair didn't feel right, nodding when she was satisfied. She was also trying not to turn into a cherry in front of Taker and...Kane.

"And he can be protective all he wants of me, but I can take care of myself."

Rajani had put up a hell of a fight with Kane and popped John in the face. She wouldn't hesitate to hurt anyone, Taker included, if it meant her well being. She was from Miami and had a brother, who was probably older then her. That assumption was based on the way she had spoken to him. Thoughtfully, Taker looked her over; storing that information with all the rest he was accumulating.

"Why wouldn't it be a good idea, darlin'? Afraid he'd shoot off at the mouth?" Taker teased gently.

"You might."

"Probably."

Shaking his head, Kane bit back a smirk at how arrogant Taker sounded.

"Something like that." Rajani flashed him a quick smile before returning her eyes back to the road.

They could pry all they wanted; Rajani wasn't telling them anything else regarding her brother. What Taker didn't know...Rajani almost found it amusing because her brother would do MORE than just shoot off at the mouth if he found out who she was currently chauffeuring. Her thoughts suddenly went back to the previous night with those lilacs and the note that had 'SOON' written on it in black lettering. What the hell was going on? Who was doing this to her and what was the point? If someone liked her that badly, why not just come forward instead of being a coward? When she finally did find out who it was, Rajani was going to beat the hell out of them and began to bob her head gently as another great song came on.