Disclaimer: All publicly recognisable characters are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and the plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

Chapter 45

Wasn't the airport the other way?

Scarlett looked at the driver who seemed to be at ease as he sped along before she shifted and leaned over.

"Excuse me, I think we're going the wro-."

"It's a shortcut," he said cutting across her. He swerved into the lane and Scarlett toppled over.

"I'll take another cab, pull over," Scarlett said as she pulled herself upright. The car was picking up speed and Scarlett stared at the driver as fear began to trickle in.

"I said, pull over!" Scarlett yelled at him.

"Sorry doll, but I've got to deliver you in one piece," he said to her, looking at her in the rear-view mirror. Scarlett reached for her phone to call 911 but he swerved the car again as he cut across the vehicle in the next lane. The move threw her off balance once more and her phone slipped from her grasp, falling between the seats somewhere.

"What the hell? Who are you?" Scarlett yelled, bracing herself as the car weaved in and out of traffic, all the while the speed continued to pick up.

"Just the delivery man," was all he said before he turned the wheel sharply to the right. The wheels of the car screeched as he made the turn and Scarlett had to grasp onto the seat in front of her so as to not get tossed around the car like a rag doll. The car came to a screeching halt and she looked out the window. They were in an abandoned parking lot, two sedans were parked in the middle and the driver climbed out the door. Her door flung open and he grabbed her arm.

"Hey! Let me go!" Scarlett yelped as he pulled her out with ease, regardless of how much she struggled.

"Let me-," searing pain registered in her mind before Scarlett's world went completely dark.

~oOo~

"She should've reached the airport by now, why hasn't she called yet?" Dean asked pacing back and forth backstage. The Kick-Off Show had gone live ten minutes ago but there had been no call from Scarlett.

"Don't worry, she's got more on her mind. I'm sure she's fine," Seth tried reassuring his best friend. But Dean felt restless. Something wasn't feeling right at all. There was this permanent chill that was flowing through him since she left. He had tried to ignore it but he just couldn't seem to shake it off.

"I want you focussed tonight, Ambrose. We're putting you in this match as a last minute change up so don't screw this over," Hunter said as he approached Dean. The older man was decked up in his usual dark suit and was looking at Dean with a determined expression on his face.

"Don't worry, Hunter. Dean's good at what he does, the match will be epic!" Seth spoke up. A sudden urge to just punch something bubbled inside of Dean but he chose to suppress it and instead muttered obscenities under his breath.

"What's up with him?" Roman asked motioning towards Dean.

"It's the first time he's away from his girlfriend," Seth replied, a grin playing on his face. Roman grinned in return but if anyone looked closely, they would see that the Samoan's body was tense and his smile wasn't quite reaching his eyes. The two turned to look at Dean when he let out a groan and crouched on the ground, his head in between his legs.

"Is he dead?" Seth asked. Roman whacked him upside the head before he crouched down next to Dean and placed a comforting arm on his shoulder

"I can't stop worrying," Dean mumbled.

"You're going to have to. Think about what Scarlett would say if she were here and you're head wasn't focussed on the match," Roman suggested. Blue eyes peeked at him and he gave Dean's shoulder a reassuring squeeze.

Roman was trying his best to put up a strong front for his best friend. But even he couldn't shake the disturbing feeling off. He'd warned Hunter not to let Scarlett go, he'd even tried to make Hunter hold her back for an "emergency", but the other man had put his foot down and told him to get his act together. He'd always trusted his gut but for the first time, Roman was praying that his gut feeling was wrong.

~oOo~

Warmth. Incredible warmth.

Scarlett shifted and felt the weight of a blanket over her body. There was a dull throbbing at the back of her head and her body was feeling incredibly lethargic. Lifting her hand (which felt as if it weighed a tonne), Scarlett touched her head and felt the thick gauze that was wrapped around her forehead. Her eyes slowly opened and she had to blink a couple of times to clear her vision. The cream ceiling was low and had small lights splattered across to resemble stars.

Stars?

Scarlett shot up to a seating position and immediately regretted it as the blood rushed to her head and caused the throbbing to increase.

"Good evening, Sleeping Beauty."

Scarlett froze as the voice registered. She'd know that voice anywhere.

"Phil?" She croaked, turning her gaze to the man sitting on the seat across of her. He had his leg crossed over the other and was nursing a glass of what appeared to be champagne. A sly grin was playing at his lips and Scarlett tried to move away from him only to find herself against the wall. Wall?

"What the…where the hell am I?" She asked looking around at her surroundings as panic began to settle in. What she'd initially thought was a room turned out to be the inside of a jet. Turning her head, she found herself looking out the window into complete darkness. Her hand went up to her cheek and when she couldn't feel her scarf, her head whipped around to look at Phil.

"Wha-What's going on? Where the hell am I?" Scarlett repeated frantically searching for her scarf. Last thing she remembered was…the cab driver taking her to an abandoned parking lot instead of the airport.

"You're on the jet. My friend, Rico, over there decided to knock you out to make it less of a hassle of getting you on board," Phil said nodding towards the left. She followed his gaze and was met with the sight of her cab driver sitting at the far end of the jet with his head leaning back against the seat. There was a smirk on his lips and he watched her like a hawk through hooded eyes.

"I…I don't…let me go," she said pathetically, holding the blanket up to her chest.

"No can do, sweetheart. We're currently flying over Ohio and it's not safe to open the door at this altitude," he replied nonchalantly. He stood up and made his way over to her, Scarlett scooted away from him when he took a seat at the edge of the 'couch' that she had been sleeping on. She shoved his hand away when he lifted it to touch her face and Phil only let out a soft chuckle.

"Rico, get the needle. She's a little trouble maker," Phil said, gripping her arm and pulling her towards him. Scarlett gasped when he grabbed the back of her neck with his free hand and pressed their foreheads together. Dean's face flashed across her mind and Scarlett pulled her other hand back and swung forwards.

He caught her wrist easily and chuckled again before pressed his lips against her palm. A disgusted sound escaped her and Scarlett tried her best to break free of his grasp. There had to be something she could do.

"Don't think about running, baby. We're all the way up in the sky and really, you don't have anywhere you can go," he cooed. He pushed her back so she was laying back and covered her smaller body with his much larger one.

"You know, I think I see what Dean saw in you. Your face may have all these scars, but your body is anything but," Phil said. Scarlett felt her blood run cold. Even though she was fully clothed, Scarlett had no idea what he'd done while she was out cold.

"He called you his girlfriend but you're nothing more than his fuck toy, aren't you?" Phil asked. Scarlett cringed at the crass words and tried to find the courage that she had built up. But she'd had Dean with her all those times and right now, he wasn't here. She didn't have his strength, how could she fight Phil?

"Tell me, how many times did he fuck you? Hmm? It's not fair you know. I saw you first so naturally I should have the right to take you. Dean's just cutting the line," Phil said as he leaned his head down. Scarlett let out a shocked scream when she felt the warm wet tongue slide up the column of her throat. She tried to knee him between his legs but his body was firm against hers and he had her pinned harshly. She was very weak compared to him but Scarlett tried her hardest to find a way to get away.

"I spent way too long with that twig of a woman I call my wife, God, the woman's a pain in my ass. But when I saw you…you have no idea how badly I wanted you," Phil almost groaned in her ear.

"That woman never got me hard the way you do…one look at you and I felt myself come alive," Phil whispered.

"Stop!" Scarlett yelled shoving against his chest to get him away from her when his hand slid under her shirt.

"Don't get too far ahead of yourself, Punk. Boss wants her first, then she's yours," Rice said. At that moment, even though he had played an active part in kidnapping her, Scarlett felt a rush of gratitude towards the bored looking man that was standing over them. But that gratitude was wiped clean when he handed Phil a syringe.

"Wh-No! Get away from me! No!" Scarlett screamed when Phil reached for her arm.

"Rico, hold her down would you?" Phil asked in a bored voice. Scarlett felt fingers go about her neck and push against her windpipe, effectively blocking her oxygen intake. She coughed and gagged trying to get the much needed oxygen but to no avail. There was a small pinch on her arm and Scarlett began to see spots in her vision. There was a shadow that was creeping up on her slowly. She heard Phil's voice murmur something in the background and the fingers around her neck loosened, but her body couldn't find the energy to swallow the oxygen that rushed to her lungs. For the second time that day, Scarlett's world faded to black.

~oOo~

"What do you mean she overdosed?" Hunter's voice boomed across the hallway backstage. Seth and Dean were the ones that stopped in their tracks and turned to see what was causing the commotion. SummerSlam had just wrapped up and they were both exhausted from their match.

There was a group of paramedics that were hanging outside of one of the rooms and Hunter was yelling inside while one of the paramedics seemed to signalling the others to keep moving.

"What's going on?" Seth asked one of the crew members.

"It's AJ, apparently she OD'd," he replied with a shake of his head.

"WHAT?" Dean roared and before Seth could stop him he was rushing forth, shoving the paramedics to the side. Sure enough, AJ was being hooked up onto the gurney while Hunter and Stephanie were standing farther away staring at something Hunter was holding.

"AJ? What the hell is going on?" Dean asked as his heart began to hammer away in his chest. Overdosed? AJ would never! She was always so hyper and so active, how could she?

"Sir please, get out of the way! We have to get her to the hospital immediately," the paramedic said shoving him to the side. As they wheeled her out quickly, Dean felt his mind go blank.

"I don't…I don't understand," he whispered hoarsely.

"I do!"

Dean turned to see who had spoken up and his eyes widened in surprise as his gaze landed on an infuriated Randy Orton that was shaking from either anger or worry, he couldn't tell. But the man who had been dubbed as the Apex Predator looked anything but. His eyes were puffy and he'd clearly broken down. He stalked over to Hunter and snatched the piece of paper out of his grasp.

"Randy, wait!" Hunter started but Randy paid him no heed as he shoved the paper in Dean's face.

"Look familiar doesn't it?" Randy spat at him. Dean took the paper in his hand and upon closer inspection realised it was a note. As he read over it, his blood went cold and body became numb.

"You said you wanted to protect her and this is how you did it?" Randy continued. "If anything happens to AJ, it's no one's fault but yours, Dean!"

"Randy, that's enough!" Hunter said sharply. "We don't know if it's true."

Dean stared at the writing, reading over it again to make sure he'd read right. Was this a joke? Where were the cameras? This had to be some elaborate joke. But the note was clear, there was no mistaking that it was a suicide note. His hands were shaking and he didn't know who it was that had pushed him down to lean against the table behind him and take the note from his grasp.

"Dean," Roman's deep voice came in his ear, but it sounded so far away. Dean couldn't focus on anything right now. It was happening all over again.

Roman knew the position his friend was in and the worst part was that he didn't know what he could do to help him. He looked to Seth who had taken the paper from Dean's hands.

"What does it say?" He asked. Seth glanced at Randy then returned his gaze back to the paper in his hand.

"I can't do this anymore. I married Phil because I loved him but I've only suffered heartbreak. I can't do it. He told me last night that he was deeply in love with someone else and would be leaving with her. I'm done. I quit." Seth read before he looked up at them in shock.

"Suicide? AJ's not that weak, she can't be!" Seth said, refusing to believe what he had just read. But even then, the words on the note were clear and all the occupants in the room were silent as they processed what had just been read out.

"Who…Who's the other woman?" Stephanie asked quietly. Roman caught Hunter's gaze and a silent conversation passed between the two men. Although he was hoping he was wrong, Roman knew who the 'other woman' in question was. The only problem was making sure that Dean didn't get the wrong idea.

"Dean?" Seth asked, inching towards his best friend who was still silent and staring at his hands. Nobody knew where Dean's mind was at and Roman could see the alarm that was settling in on Seth's face.

"We should…we should call Scarlett back. He'll need her," Seth suggested as he placed a hand on Dean's shoulder.

"I'll try her phone," Roman offered pulling out his phone; grateful for the change of topic. But the face Seth made had him pausing and looking at the other man.

"She hasn't called since she left," Seth said quietly so the other occupants in the room wouldn't hear. That tidbit of information sent warning bells off in Roman's head and he nodded before he caught Hunter's eye and headed out the door. There were some staff members that were huddling around the door, no doubt trying to peek inside and see what happened, but one look from Roman and they scattered immediately. Hunter came out shortly afterwards and Roman looked at him sharply.

"I told you something was up with him! You didn't believe me!" Roman hissed at him.

"We have to treat this matter carefully, Roman. AJ just tried to take her own li-."

"I'm willing to bet anything that there's more to AJ's case than meets the eye," Roman snapped at him.

"Don't go making assumptions when you don't know the full story. For all we know, there could be another woman in his life who may or may not be Scarlett," Hunter pressed on firmly. But Roman waved him off.

"She hasn't called since she left and Scarlett doesn't do that. Dean's been on edge since and right now, if I know him as well as I do, then it won't take a lot to make that man in there snap," Roman said. Hunter sighed and reached up to loosen the tie at his neck.

"What are we going to do?" Roman asked.

"There's nothing we can do until AJ wakes up," Hunter replied. Roman stared at him dumbly before he grit his teeth and took a step forward. The sharp ringtone from Hunter's phone stopped him in his tracks and Hunter reached into his pocket to fish out his phone and answer the call.

"Hello?"

Roman took a step back as Hunter attended to his call and ran a hand through his hair in frustration. The situation was a mess at the moment and Roman didn't know whom to trust and whom to blame. His distrust for Punk had kept increasing as he spent more time with Scarlett over the time she'd been working for WWE and his interactions with the tattooed superstar had always left him with a bad taste in his mouth.

AJ wasn't someone who went and tried to take her own life over her husband's infidelities. She was the one who'd go on a destructive rampage but even then, with the way AJ had been avoiding Punk lately, he doubted that AJ would've cared much. Scarlett had often voiced her opinion to him about how AJ rarely ever talked about Punk during the times he'd spent "chaperoning" her when Dean or Seth weren't around. Why would she go and try to take her own life?

"Call Scarlett," Hunter snapped at him sharply, tearing him out of his thoughts. Roman looked up at him and was met with a furious expression on Hunter's face.

"What's going on?"

"I said call Scarlett, now!" He yelled. Roman quickly dialled Scarlett's number and waited for the call to be answered.

"Hello! I'm not here right now, so leave a message! Make it short, make it sweet, or I'll have to press delete!" Roman ended the call when he heard her voicemail that Seth had helped her come up with and then looked up at Hunter.

"Call again," he pressed, there was a manic glint that was lighting up in Hunter's eyes and Roman redialled her number. But once again, it went straight to voicemail.

"Hunter, what's going on?" Roman asked.

"Scarlett never made it onto the flight to Portland."

~oOo~

This time when Scarlett came around, she was placed in familiar surroundings. The air was musty in the room but the lumpy mattress and the small closet was all too familiar. Scarlett tried to sit up but got stuck as something tugged on her arms. When she looked up, she saw her arms tied to the bed's head post and Scarlett let out a surprised yelp. She knew exactly where she was but why the hell was she here? The door opened and Phil strolled in with a mug in his hand and a smile on his face.

"Evening! I got you your favorite hot chocolate," he said setting it down on the table next to the bed.

"What am I doing here?" She asked him. Phil looked around then looked at her.

"Here? I thought you'd be happy I brought you back to the place you spent your last five years in. Your beloved B&B," Phil said, feigning surprise.

"I sold this place!" She cried. Phil chuckled and took a seat next to her on the bed. She tried to scoot away from him but her arms were bound above her head and neither the bindings nor the bed gave her space to move.

"To an associate of mine," he said simply.

"Let me go," she said to him.

"Not until you drink your hot chocolate like a good girl," he said, flicking the tip of her nose. Before Scarlett could protest further, Phil picked up the mug and took a sip before he leaned over and pressed his lips against hers. Scarlett jerked in surprise and her scream caught in her throat when he forced the warm liquid into her mouth. She coughed and gagged once he pulled away from her; telling him to stop when he reached for the mug again.

"But isn't this how couples share drinks?" Phil asked thoughtfully. Couples?

"We're not a couple!" She wheezed at him. He chuckled in response before he cradled her head in his arm and lifted it up, pressing the edge of the mug to her lips. She drank the hot cocoa just so he wouldn't repeat his earlier antics. It burned her mouth and her throat but what was the burn of a hot liquid to someone who'd already suffered the burns of a fire itself?

"Good girl," Phil cooed once she drained the mug. He set it back on the table and wiped her mouth clean with his thumb; he made a soft hum of approval when he licked the pad of his thumb clean causing Scarlett to look away in disgust.

"You're not the Phil I knew," she said to him.

"I'm the very same. The only difference is that I was forced to take you away because you made the stupid decision to start dating that jackass," Phil replied.

"You don't even know how much I love you, do you?" Phil asked solemnly. Her head whipped around to look at him in a mixture of shock and revulsion.

"You don't love me!"

"I do. Why else would I go through so much trouble just to make you mine? Did you know it was the first time I was forced to take such drastic measures to get rid of someone?" He asked. The words terrified her and Scarlett was conflicted in whether to ask what he meant or not; having no idea if she could stomach his answer.

"But I can only imagine the look on Dean's face when he realises he's failed yet again," Phil continued. He let out a maniacal laugh that sent a chill up Scarlett's spine and she pulled at her bonds.

"What the hell did you do to him? What have you done?" Scarlett demanded. The thought of Dean being in pain set her mind a buzz and her heart racing.

"Poor Dean Ambrose, couldn't save AJ just how he wasn't able to save Isabelle," Phil said shaking his head.

"You bastard! What the hell did you do to him?" Scarlett yelled, her wrists were straining against her bonds and she could feel the ropes digging into her skin, but it didn't matter. What had Phil done and why was Isabelle being brought up again?

"Hush little baby," Phil said to her gently, his fingers wrapping around her neck and pushing her back down against the bed.

"Time for a story, don't you think?" Phil asked.

"You-."

"Isabelle Ambrose was the treasured sister of Dean Ambrose. He loved her and protected her from anyone or anything that tried to harm her," Phil whispered.

"One day, darling Isabelle came home and told her brother dearest that she was in love and wanted to marry this guy that she'd met at the restaurant she was a waitress at. Big Brother Ambrose was skeptical but gave in to her request when he saw how much the guy loved his little sister," he continued. Scarlett's body had frozen as she focussed on the words coming out of Phil's mouth.

"Six months of marital bliss but Isabelle's husband began to show his true colors when he began coming home late and reeked of perfume that wasn't Isabelle's. Baby Isabelle Ambrose couldn't bear the thought of her husband having an affair and went off crying to her big brother. But Dean had become too preoccupied with his wrestling so how could he give her the support she needed?"

"Even Isabelle knew what her brother's career meant to him. So Isabelle went back and tried to confront her husband. Naturally, he did what any man would do. He denied her allegations and then hit her when she became a nuisance. What a shame, such a pretty face didn't look nice with a black eye. Big Brother Ambrose was infuriated and talked to her husband who then promised he would focus his attention on Isabelle."

"If only Isabelle had a brain bigger than the size of a pea. Her husband continued to have an affair and the beatings became more frequent but every time she tried to get her big brother involved, her husband would repent and everything would be fine for a few days. Then it would pick up again."

"Poor Isabelle couldn't handle the pain anymore so she did what any weak willed person did. She gave up. Her brother found her hanging from the ceiling two days later with a note that said "I quit". Oh how the loss of his sister completely shattered Dean. Alcohol and sex became his best friends and that gave the rest of us a chance to shine and excel while he wallowed in self-pity. Pathetic asshole."

"He blames himself for Isabelle's death. Had it not been for the other two fuckers, he'd probably taken a leaf out of his sister's book. But it turned out that he was able to fix himself and repent for his sins because he found Isabelle in AJ. He began treating her like his little sister and when I began to make a move on her, he threatened me he would end me if I hurt her. As if he could touch me."

"The annoying ass kept bugging me and I ended up marrying that half-wit just so I could finally get some time to fuck her. That stopped bothering me when I met you and chose to pursue you. That asshole kept his eye on me the entire time and when he stole you away from me, I knew I would have to take a big step forward. To get to you, I had to hit him where it hurt."

Scarlett was at a loss for words as she processed the information. Anger, sorrow, shock. There was a myriad of emotions pulsing through her as she allowed his words to sink in. How wrong she had been about Isabelle when she'd seen that tattoo inked onto Dean's back. Tears began to roll down her temples as Dean's face swam in front of her mind's eye. He'd suffered so much and she hadn't even known.

The man that had taken her pain away had been in so much more pain than she could've ever imagined. He was suffering in silence just like she'd had. The only difference was that he had been the answer to the end of her suffering while she had been blind to his pain. How could she not see the wall around his heart that she was yet to break down? How could she be so blind to the pain the man she loved was in? Her breath caught in her throat as the word echoed in her mind.

Love.

Was that it? Was that the emotion she felt every time she was with him? Her heart squeezed inside her chest and her blood pounded in her ears as she let it sink in. Joy and sadness muddled inside her and she shut her eyes tightly as she let out a sob. She was in love with Dean Ambrose. Scarlett Rayer was in love with Dean Ambrose. But she wouldn't be able to tell him that with Phil keeping her tied away.

"So I eliminated her," Phil said. The words caused her to freeze and her eyes snapped open to look at him as he wrapped a strand of her hair around his finger lazily.

"El…m…ted," she whispered. Phil's gaze locked with hers and he smiled.

"Don't worry. AJ won't survive. I made sure the dose was high enough when I mixed it into protein shake. You and I can live happily ever after," he said happily. The man she was looking at was a psychopath.

"You're a psychopath," she voiced her opinion in a broken voice. Phil grinned at her and flicked her nose again.

"Silly, I'm just very smart. You see, I made sure to leave a note that I'm sure made Dean take a stroll down memory lane," he told her.

"What?"

"Don't you get it, Scarlett? History repeated itself today. AJ took Isabelle's spot, I took Isabelle's husband's spot, and you're the other woman," Phil whispered into her ear once he leaned close enough. Scarlett's eyes widened and her breath caught in her throat.

"Imagine how he must feel when he finds out that the reason he's going through the same pain again is because his own girlfriend was the other woman this time around," Phil gasped and covered his mouth, feigning surprise.

"You're a sick bastard," Scarlett said to him hoarsely. Her throat constricted and she tried her best to keep her resolve intact. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction of knowing that his words were having the desired effect. Her own state of mind was crumbling but her determination was spurred on by only one thing. Her only glimmer of hope and her one thread to survival.

Her love for Dean.

We just hit a very crucial point. Leave me a review with your thoughts!

- K.