INTERLUDE: No Turning Back

Virginia Beach || August 14, 2017

The pot of chili was simmering away on the stove, filling the kitchen with that spicy aroma. Stacks of unread mail spilled out of the kindling box, yellowed and water-damaged fliers along with them – he didn't plan to read anything addressed to him. All his bills came in online. Things forwarded from the old address were finally starting to trickle in and he tossed another few on the pile, almost covering up the blue cover of that passport. He stared at it for a good ten seconds, trying to convince himself he didn't need it.

He was a wrestler. He worked for an actual company – he wasn't doing that illegal shit in Russian warehouses that stank of rotten fish and desperation. He was well on his way to being a big name.

"Goddamnit," he growled, knowing that dread crawling down his spine wasn't going to let up. He grabbed it, slipping it into the back pocket of his jeans. He opened the fridge, taking out a bottle of water, draining it slowly. A few seconds later he crushed it, tossing it in the trash. When she'd called that she was going to run to the store and pick up a few things to go with dinner, he'd been finishing up going at the heavy bag. He could barely make a fist now – they were too swollen. The match had been advertised as non-title but that voice in his head kept telling him that it wasn't over. It would change. They'd find a way to screw him again. Something else was going to get tossed into the mix, he was certain of it.

Chop wood. Carry water. The simple things. Just focus on what you can control.

He grabbed the axe from behind the door, stepping out onto the back porch only to freeze in his tracks. There was a puddle in the middle of the concrete, one he knew hadn't been there earlier. One that was too dark to be water from the El Camino's ancient air conditioner. The axe clattered from his hand, bouncing off the steps, almost nicking his leg as he sprinted over, kneeling long enough to dip a finger in, rubbing it against his thumb. Felt oily – he tasted it, knowing immediately that it wasn't motor oil. Looked like brake fluid.

He was astride his bike a few seconds later, not bothering with the helmet or his back protector or anything else. He tapped the Bluetooth even as he shoved it into his ear, enunciating so that the damned phone understood him when he said, "call Jana. Mobile."

It rang. And rang. And rang.

No. Please, no.

He kick-started the bike, speeding out of the driveway, hoping he'd guessed the right way to go, wishing he'd just stopped obsessing and had gone with her.

"Pick up," he muttered, feeling the ache in his hand as he gripped the throttle, urging the Honda to go faster, wishing he'd taken the time to grab the Ninja instead.

Finally, the ringing stopped, replaced with an odd silence.

"Jana?"

"Hey!" The cheerful voice of Jana Rikar finally came through, the slight delay and crackle making it clear she had him on speakerphone. "This is so cool! She rides like a dream. You need something from the store?"

"Is," he had to catch himself, wondering if she'd even hear him over the rush of wind, "is she runnin' okay? Which store are you headed to... mean, where are you right now?"

"Um, I'm on 60 heading south to the Save Mart. Got maybe 5 minutes 'til I'm there; I've caught every light green so far-" silence overtook her cheery tone and he swerved around a slow-moving car, turning onto 60 from the shoulder.

"Jana?"

"Sorry, I had the window down. The air flowing through felt good." She laughed, "you okay? You sound... funny."

He held his breath, swerving around another car. "I'm on the bike," he finally said. "If you find a spot, should pull over. Lemme catch up." It took everything in him not to blurt out what he thought might be wrong with the car. The last thing he wanted to do was freak her out completely.

Silence again then, "okay, no problem. You're on the Bike? I just passed Sakura before 36th but there's a bank on the right at 35th I can.... SHIT!!!" Her expletive was drowned out by a blaring horn.

Oh fuck.

"L-L-L-Lex?!"

That fear in her voice cut through him, making him try to coax more speed from the bike. "Talk to me... just keep..."

"I... just ran the red light at 35th 'cause," her voice was eerily calm now, "I... have no brakes-"

"Baby-"

"I... turned my flashers on but I'm still going about 45. I'm off the gas... popped into neutral." A slight pause then her voice started to shake just a little, "...damnit! Red light. I dunno if I can..."

"Then don't," Lex's voice was deliberately calm even though his heart was pounding so hard he felt dizzy, "saw the puddle in the driveway. That's why I'm comin'..." his jaw ached from clenching his teeth, the needle almost redlining on the bike. "Maybe five... six minutes behind ya. Give or take."

The unmistakable horn of the El Camino blared, then a high-pitched scream. "OH MY GOD!! I just went... through the light! ....Bread truck... barely missed." Her voice broke, a sob coming to his ears along with a screech of tires. "I'm still going about 40, passing through 35th. Save Mart's on 32nd, but... Lex... it's busy. I don't think I can make the left into the parking lot. Lex... I'm sorry. I didn't mean to..."

"You didn't, you hear? You didn't do a damn thing wrong." His voice broke, "you're gonna be alright," he swerved to avoid a slow driver, weaving in and out of traffic as though he was riding in New York during rush hour. Common sense was out the window – all he could think about was getting there before something catastrophic happened.

"It's clear. I'm gonna turn." He heard the rev of the engine as she popped the car back into gear then the squeal of tires on asphalt as she took it too fast. "Okay. Left on 33rd, heading towards Atlantic and the beach." Her nerves were shot. He could hear it in her voice, "I think I can coast it into somewhere."

"Just passed 34th." He lifted his hand to flip off a driver who honked, the motion automatic even as he leaned forward over the handlebars, grateful that he at least had sunglasses on to keep bugs from getting in his eyes. "Worst case, aim for the sand. Should slow you down... not sure those tires'll be any good for off-roading." He let out a dark chuckle, shaking his head, "how fast're you going now?" He was asking random things now, trying to keep her from freaking out.

"Um, I'm down to 35 but I'm off the gas. I think......well I got the green, but I can't turn." The sounds from the El Camino's horn blared again, then silence.

"JANA!" He screamed her name, his voice breaking, thrown back to him on a delay over the headset. He heard nothing, about to bellow her name again before a soft groan came through.

"I stopped." Soft sobbing was heard from Jana before the gibberish babble of other voices.

"Jana? Baby?" Lex's voice echoed over the silence and he gunned the engine again, almost there. It helped that he was going triple her speed. "What happened?"

"I'm okay. Just... a little sore. Seat belt."

"Tell me where you are."

"End of 33rd. Between the hotels."

"You're okay... good." He took the turn hard onto 33rd, his knee skimming against the pavement. He didn't even feel it past the adrenaline buzzing in his veins. "Comin'... almost there." A thought occurred to him then, that paranoid part of his brain screaming to life. "Get outta the car if you can. I don't... I'm not sure it's safe."

How far would they go? What the hell is even happening right now? Who are these people?

There was a crackle of static, another groan before Jana said, "what? Lex? I didn't hear-"

"Get out of the car," he shouted, seeing the crowd of onlookers gathered around where she'd crashed into the sand dune at the end of the road.

He saw the hazard lights blinking, feeling like his heart was beating in time with them. He leapt off the bike without even shutting it off, letting it crash and spin out through the crowd, not caring as he hit the ground running. Someone was helping her out of the car and he shoved them aside, pulling her into his arms. "I gotchu," he whispered, feeling her sag against him, sobbing brokenly into his chest. "You're okay," he kissed the top of her head, tears filling his eyes. "You're okay. Nothin' happened."


Virginia Beach || August 15, 2017




"Tense, baby?"

He bit back the sharp retort that was on the tip of his tongue, turning to look at her standing in the doorway. With effort, he closed the laptop's screen, setting it on the bedside table. "Mayyyybe," he dragged it out, getting up to stretch, "just a little. Y'know how it is. Antsy. Wanna get down to the shipyard, get it over with."

Find out who sabotaged the car. Find out why. Find out what kind of shit I've unknowingly dragged us into and how much we're going to lose trying to get loose from it.

She probably saw something in his eyes, in the set of his jaw as he rolled his shoulders, trying to get rid of the stiffness.

Jana pocketed her phone, stepping into the room as she put her hands up in a fighter's stance. "Okay then. I'm ready to fight ya!" She giggled, trying to keep a straight face.

He felt a smile tugging at his lips despite all the dark thoughts swirling. "Yeah?" He stepped into her space, head cocked, measuring her reach before he threw a mock-punch. When she sidestepped with ease, he rushed in, grabbed her, spun her around and planted her on the bed with a much gentler version of his Mind Killer slam. He kept hold of her, almost pinning her, "gotcha. Now what're you gonna do?"

She didn't think twice, pressing her lips against his, kissing him deeply. A rough chuckle came out as he returned the kiss. "Dangerous games..."

"Just trying to cheer you up."

"Oh," well fuck, he thought. "Guess I'm not as clever as I thought?"

"You're upset about the El Camino?"

Lex snorted, "fuck no. Why would I be? It's not your fault. I'm just... took everything in me not to rant and rave – not about the car. I paid that asshole who was recordin' shit on his phone so he wouldn't post it. I just... I'm... I'm not gonna put anything in public about it. That's what they want."

She missed that word, fixated on understanding his anger, "you just got it fixed though. I mean I know it was an accident but that still doesn't-"

"I can fix it again," he cut her off, shaking his head. "It could have been worse. If I hadn't seen the puddle. If I hadn't gone outside when I did. I..."

"It was an accident, Lex. It happens."

He kept talking like she hadn't spoken, "I'm glad you're okay. That's more important than anything."

"Just a little sore around my waist but otherwise," she nodded, "yeah. I'm okay." She cuddled up close to him, "still a little scared to death... but I'm okay."

"I know." He held her close, "it's my fault. All if it."

She buried her face in his chest, sighing. "No. It wasn't your fault. It was an accident. Nobody purposely cut the brake lines. It's just one of those things that happened. But I'm okay... still just a little shook. It's not often that I get to go careening along Highway 60 at 45 miles an hour and end up driving an El Camino into a sand dune." She added a soft giggle, trying to soften the words.

"That's just it..." His voice came out strained, no traces of laughter. "That's what I'm tryna tell you. I think someone did. I was under there. I checked everythin' over a million times. They even inspected it at the shop for me, made sure it was legal to change over the plates an' all that. It... I think someone did cut them. I think it was meant for me."

The silence spun out between them, the only sound her soft breathing. Her hands trembled as she held onto him, the grip growing tighter and tighter. Her lip quivered and she swallowed slowly as tears filled her eyes and then spilled down her cheeks to soak into his shirt. "What?" She blinked, "wh-wh-why would anyone wanna..." she sighed deeply, keeping herself from saying what she truly meant, "hurt you?"

"I don't know." He let the frustration spill over, feeling the spark of anger ignite again at her tears. "I'm a fuckin' wrestler. An athlete. Barely a blip on any sorta celebrity radar an' I don't... I haven't... all this junk, I thought they were playin' games with me. The shit with the matches. The trashed room. The stuff with Wolfe – that was just juvenile pranks. Initiation shit. It wasn't... didn't seem sinister, y'know? Even the shit with the money, dickin' around with my bank account. It was petty nonsense, annoyin' at best an' I wasn't takin' it serious." I am now. He bit his lip, dragging in a deep breath and holding it. "This though? Forget about the car. That's just material stuff. You," his voice cracked, "you coulda been killed."

Jana pulled away, sitting up as she wiped her cheeks. She rested one hand on his chest, as if she needed that contact. "You're the goddamn champion though!" Her demeanor switched from fright to anger like the flip of a switch. "This would be like me putting Aidan through pure hell just because I can! That doesn't even make any sense!"

"I know."

Her anger continued to build, "they've tried more than once to hurt you... nearly hurt me." She stared at him, furious as tears filled her eyes again. "Let me at these people! They're not gonna mess with my man!"

"Jana... hey... it's not Wolfe or Mayfield pullin' these stunts – least as far as I know. Both of 'em acted clueless, acted like I was talkin' outta my ass about all that other crap. Last thing I wanna do is let you loose, put you in the cross-hairs again. Not 'til I know for sure. Not 'til I got a name to put at the top of my hit list. Understand?" His voice came out firm and calm even though his eyes were pitch black with anger. He wondered how much of the subtext she was picking up, if she understood what ends he would go to if it meant she was safe.

"Well then," she swiped at her eyes again, "let's find out who's pulling this... and then," she met his gaze, showing understanding with a side that he'd never seen, "you're gonna have some fun with them." She slowly nodded, trying to convince herself of it as well.

He met her gaze levelly, unsmiling. "They'll pay, Jana. That's for damned sure." He lifted his hand, wiping the wetness from her cheek tenderly. "I won't let anything happen to you. I promise, I'll fix this. I'm gonna have to see it through to the end, no turnin' back. Trust me, okay?"

She said nothing, eyes locked on his as she leaned in, kissing him softly. That was all the answer he needed.