_____________________________________________

"Let's go out for a drive," Amy suggested to Adam, peering up into his face with a brilliant smile.  They were still sitting in the hotel's restaurant with Jay and Nora, and she was dying to go out and do something fun.

"Okay," the tall blond replied with a grin, "but you drive again."  He turned to the two people sitting across from him and Amy.  "Do you guys want to come?"

Jay and Nora exchanged glances quickly, and the Canadian was able to read the woman's expression, not missing the uncertain flicker in her blue eyes.  "Nah...you two go on without us," he said.  "We'll figure out something to do."

The small blonde briefly glanced down at the table, then back up at them.  "Th-thank you for offering, though."

Amy smiled at her and reached across the table to gently squeeze her hand.  She understood that, after everything Nora had been through,  it was going to take awhile for her to fully trust them.

Adam reached over to glance at the check, which had been sitting before them for the last half-hour while they'd been talking.  He reached for his wallet and dropped some bills on the table.  "Any idea what you want to do?" he asked the redhead beside him.

"Not really," she replied.  "I just want to get out for awhile.  It's such a beautiful day.  I just love summer."

The tall blond smiled at her, then stood up and faced Jay.  "That should cover us," he said, gesturing toward the money he'd laid out.  He reached his hand out to Amy, who took it and stood up with him.

"Cool...see you two later," Jay said.

*

Kurt Angle had just returned from his lunch with Stephanie when he spotted the man in the hotel lobby.  Trying to keep out of his sight, he ducked into a corridor.  He noticed the man somewhat near the hotel's restaurant, by a wall.  He seemed to be peering into the cafe.  After a few minutes, he turned and stalked away.

Kurt waited a good couple of minutes before he moved from his spot.  Evidently, the man had gone upstairs to his room.  Curiously, he stepped over to the doorway of the restaurant and glanced inside.  He suddenly understood why the man had been spying...

...His girlfriend was sitting alone at a table with Jay Reso.

*

A few minutes later, Adam and Amy were in Adam's rental car heading for the highway.  The redhead was behind the wheel, steering with ease with her left hand, her right fiddling with the radio.

"Let me do that," the blond man said with a slight smirk.  He pressed the tuner button until he found a hard rock station.

"Poor Nora," Amy said after a couple of miles.  She shook her head.  "She's so much better than that...so much better than him."

"I couldn't agree more.  She sure seems to trust Jay, though."

The diva smiled, gently biting her lip.  "You know what?"

"What?"

"I know this is a longshot," Amy began, glancing quickly over at him before facing the road again, "but I'm hoping that when this whole thing is all said and done, she ends up with Jay...He's such a good guy.  I guess she should probably be by herself for awhile if she decides to break up with that asshole, but...I think Jay would be good for her."

Adam smiled as he turned his head toward her, lifting his sunglasses up to gaze her over.  "Why, Amy Dumas - you're nothing but a romantic, aren't you?"

"Of course I am."

The tall Canadian man faced forward to glance out the windshield for a moment as he considered what his girlfriend had said.  "I agree with you, Ames...Jay would be good for Nora.  And he obviously cares a great deal about her."

"Yeah."  After a beat, Amy felt Adam's hand on her thigh, and she smiled.

"I care a great deal about you, too, angel."

They drove for several more miles, and Amy noted how very little traffic there was on the highway.  Granted, it was a small road, but she'd only noticed four cars other than their own in the twenty minutes they'd been driving.

She thought nothing of the silver Nissan Maxima that had been traveling behind them all along.

*

Jay and Nora were outside in the hotel's pool area, sitting at a table with an umbrella over them.  They were sipping glasses of lemonade and talking, the petite blonde actually at ease for the first time in two days.

She glanced over at Jay, marveling at how comfortable she felt in the man's presence.  He also made her feel good about herself, something she hadn't experienced in a long time - for about seven months now.  Not since she'd started dating him.

After several moments of a comfortable silence between them, Nora spoke, her eyes straight ahead and focused on the horizon beyond.  "It's been seven months..."

Jay gazed at her, realizing she was talking about her relationship.  He honestly didn't know how she had managed to stay with the bastard so long.  He knew that if he had been with someone who had abused him in any way, he would have dropped that person the moment they did so.  On the other hand, Nora was a woman - not that he believed women were weak, but damn it, they could be so loyal - even to assholes the caliber of Nora's boyfriend, who didn't deserve such loyalty.  He had to hand it to her, and to all women - they sure tended to stick with and by their significant others, even when the going got tough.

"...sometimes, I really hate myself," the blonde woman continued, glancing down at the glass she held in her hand.  "Do you know how long I've been wanting to leave him?"

"How long?"

Nora shook her head, placing the glass down on the table.  "I have wanted out of this relationship for the last five months," she admitted.  "The first two months were great - perfect, even...but then, he started to change.  It all started around the time of The Royal Rumble.  He started calling me names, accusing me of stuff...he still does, too."

"What does he accuse you of?" Jay questioned, leaning slightly forward in his chair.

She met his eyes and sighed.  "It's ridiculous," she began.  "He started picking on the way I dress, and my hair - he wanted me to cut it really short...he said that too many other men were checking me out, that I was inviting advances from them.  It got even worse once the storyline with Spike got underway."

"If you really want to leave...why don't you?"

Nora looked down, then met his sky blue eyes again.  "I-I haven't already left him because I was...scared."  After a brief pause, she added, "But I'm going to...now, I have you on my side."

Jay was pleased to see a slow smile take form on the blonde's face, and he reached across the table to grasp her hand.  She squeezed him back firmly, glad he was with her.  She hadn't felt this confident in a long time.

*

Kurt managed to keep his rental car a good distance away from that of the man he was tailing.  He didn't want to alert the guy to the fact that he was being watched.  Keeping his left hand on the steering wheel, he snatched up his cell phone and dialed Stephanie's cell number.

"Hi, Steph, it's me...yeah, I'm following him.  He's just been driving steadily for the last half-hour or so."  As he listened to the woman on the other end, he nodded as though she could see the gesture.  "Uh huh...yeah.  Okay, I'll let you know."  After another quick pause, he said, "I don't know where he might be going.  But I'll find out."

A moment later, Kurt and Stephanie said goodbye, and the Olympic Gold Medalist pressed the button that would end the call.  He would definitely be sure to call the brunette back later on, when he knew something.  And, as it was, now that he was following the guy, he wondered just what it was he was up to.

A few miles later, Angle suddenly cursed aloud as he drove past the Maxima he was following.  The man had pulled over to the side of the road, and he'd not realized it until it was too late.

"Damn it!"  Now he was going to have to get off at the next exit and get back on the highway going the other direction.  He only hoped the detour wouldn't make him too late to get back on track and follow his quarry.

*

Amy stepped out of the ladies' room of the nearly empty rest stop, spotting Adam in front of a soda machine.  Smiling at her, the blond handed her a can of Sprite, then popped the top of his own and took a long swallow.

The redhead watched him as he drank his soda, allowing her eyes to drink in his form.  Damn, but he was gorgeous.  He looked great in his faded blue jeans and gray T-shirt, his long blond hair cascading like silk over his shoulders and halfway down his back.  She bit her lip as some naughty thoughts flitted through her mind as she continued to study him.

"What?" Adam asked, oblivious as he met her hazel gaze.  Her lips were curled in a sort of sly grin, and after a moment, he smiled as he guessed what was going on in that head of hers.  "Ahh...I believe I know what you're thinking, my dear..."  He put his arm around her, drawing her against him and pressing a kiss to her lips.

"You taste like Sprite," he said with a chuckle.

When they finished their refreshments, they tossed the cans into a recycling receptacle, then headed back to the car.  Once inside, Adam leaned across the seat to pull Amy into his arms, kissing her again.

"Mmm..."  She kissed him back, parting her lips to allow his tongue entrance into her mouth, and she gasped a little when she felt his hand suddenly slip between her legs.  And then he let out a soft groan as he placed her hand between his.  He was already hard, but he couldn't help it.

"God, Adam," she said softly when she pulled back a moment later.  She let her eyes scan him all over, staring the longest at his crotch.

"See what you do to me, angel?" he said, his eyes locked on hers.  He grinned as an idea suddenly came to him.  "Why don't drive a little further, and..."

Amy put the key in the ignition, obliging him of the first part of his request.  As she backed out of the parking space and then steered out onto the highway, she asked, "And what?"

"We'll see."  That was all he would offer, the big grin still on his handsome face.

*

The man had stayed in his car while Copeland and the redhead had been at the rest stop.  He'd made sure to get a rental that had tinted windows, as he didn't want anyone to see him.

He'd watched the tall blond man and the diva as they'd drank their sodas, then kissed.  And then, when they'd returned to their rental car, they'd made out.  He'd scowled in disgust at that, although he wouldn't have minded himself in such a predicament with the Dumas bitch.

He hadn't followed them immediately because he didn't want them to be onto him.  After a few more minutes, he started up his car again and drove.

*

"You had this all planned out, didn't you?" Amy asked with a laugh.  She and Adam had traveled several more miles and were now laying side-by-side on the grass in a deserted field off the side of the highway.  The car sat parked within their lines of vision.

Adam turned onto his right side to face her, his grin almost evil.  "You know me so well," he said with a chuckle.  He turned over a little more and lowered his head to hers, kissing her passionately, his hand traveling over the curves of her body.

Amy sighed with pleasure as she kissed him back, raising a hand to sweep through his soft blond locks.  As he moved his lips to her throat, she turned her head to the side and kept her eyes shut.  She parted her lips slightly, her breathing quickening as he did things she loved.

"Oh, God, that feels so nice..."

Adam lifted his head, gazing down into her eyes with a sweet smile, and she smiled back up at him, reaching up to tenderly stroke his cheek.  She felt him throbbing against her and sighed.

"God, I need you, Ames..."

"I know," the redhead said breezily.  "I can feel that."  She reached down with her right hand and rubbed him through the denim of his jeans.

The Canadian groaned, a slightly glazed look in his emerald eyes, and then he reached down to fumble with the button and zipper of her shorts.

"What are you...here?" she asked, eyes slightly widened as she looked at him with surprise.

"Sure, why not?"

Amy gaped at him, but a broad grin took form on her lips.  She had never done anything so brazen before.  And now that she thought about it, she enjoyed the idea.  Normally, she would never have sex in public - but there was just something about this man that caused her to lose her semblance of control.  Besides, she was turned on and wanted him.

Instead of replying to his obviously rhetorical question, Amy undid the button and zipper of his jeans.  The blond man stripped the shorts and panties off her, and she pulled down his jeans and briefs just enough.  Afterward, Adam situated himself between her legs and slid easily inside of her.

"Oh, God..."  Amy felt herself nearing the brink quickly, and she realized it was happening so fast because of their surroundings.  The idea of this had turned her on more than she'd realized.  She cried out as she came, moaning his name and drawing it out long and breathlessly.  He soon followed her, letting out a moan of his own as he came deep inside her.  He leaned his head down to hers, kissing her deeply, and she kissed him back as she clung to him.

After they dressed and returned to the car, they were back on the road again.  Amy's smile was ear-to-ear as she was still unable to believe what they'd just done.

"I guess you liked that," Adam said with a laugh.

"Oh, yeah," came the reply.  "That was...my God!  I've never done anything like that before."

"Well, there was no one around," the tall blond said.  He smiled and reached for her right hand, gripping it tightly.  He was thinking of how much in love he was with this woman when something unbelievable suddenly happened.

"What the hell is this?" Amy suddenly cried angrily.  She looked into the rearview mirror, noticing a silver car suddenly on their tail.

Adam turned around to glance over his shoulder, seeing what had upset her so.  "Go around us, idiot!" he shouted.

But the driver of the automobile behind them continued to tailgate them for a few miles.  Amy frowned as she lifted her foot slightly off the accelerator.  She knew that the best thing to do when someone tailgated you was to slow down, not speed up as many people mistakenly believed.

She sighed with relief when the car, which she suddenly realized was a Nissan Maxima, began to enter the next lane.  She thought it was actually going to pass, but as it turned out, the driver had other ideas.

"Oh, my God!  What the hell-"  The car was jolted as the Maxima smashed into the driver's side of their car.

"Holy shit!  Crazy son of a bitch!" Adam yelled.

Amy's eyes widened with fright as she attempted to remain calm.  She steered the wheel ferociously, trying her best to stay on the road but now speeding a bit to get away from the other car.

The Maxima managed to keep up with them, and again, it bumped the side of their rental car.  Amy began to scream as they were hit even harder than the first time, her body swinging almost violently to the right, and she was thankful they'd both worn their seatbelts.

"Oh, my God...oh, my God..." she cried in a mantra.  She'd never been so terrified in all her life.

The car was rocked a third time, and this time the tires on the passenger's side actually left the pavement of the road.  She wrestled with the steering wheel, trying to get control, but the car left the road altogether.  She squeezed her eyes shut, screaming, and hearing Adam's shouts as well, as they were suddenly on the grass.  The car slid down the little precipice of a semi-steep hill, and the ride was bumpy, both their heads hitting the roof as it came to a stop at the bottom.

"Oh, my God...oh, my God...oh, my God!"  Amy glanced over at Adam frantically, her eyes wide with terror.  The tall blond seemed to be okay as he looked over at her, his eyes also wide, a matching expression on his face.

"Oh, my God...are - are you okay, Amy?"  He quickly released his seatbelt, then reached out for her with both hands.

"I...yes, I think so," she said breathlessly.  She reached for her own seatbelt, then grabbed his arm.  "Oh, God...let's get out of here!"  She snatched up her purse on the space between them and unlocked her door, practically running out of the car.  Adam quickly exited on his side.

They threw themselves into one another's arms, and Amy burst into tears.  Adam enveloped her in his arms, stroking her long hair as she sobbed against his chest.

"I have never...been so scared in my life!" she cried.

The tall Canadian held tightly to her, kissing her tenderly on the forehead.  He was with her on this one - he too had never been so terrified.