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Torrie continued to wrestle with the steering wheel, somehow managing to keep her eyes on the road.  She was terrified of losing control of the rental car as she occasionally eyed the pair in the backseat, listening with shock as they talked.

Stephanie was near hysteria as she clung onto Kurt.

"My God, you...you came just in time!  How did you know-"

"Oh, thank God you're okay, Steph!" the Olympian cried.  "I came back to get you, to see what was taking you so long, and..."  The man caught his breath before continuing.  "...Just when I was outside your office, I heard that bastard's voice - so, I grabbed a chair from the next room..."

Torrie's eyes widened as she eyed them in the rearview mirror.  "Oh, my God...Paul?  He...came after you?" she asked, her voice shaky.

"Yes, Torrie - Paul came after me...he must have been hiding in wait...if it wasn't for Kurt..."  The brunette swallowed hard, unable to finish her thought.  It was unthinkable, what the madman might - would - have done to her.  "Oh, God!"  Stephanie threw her arms around Angle, holding onto him as though for dear life.

"It's all right, Steph," he crooned as he held tightly to the young woman, burying his face in her long, fragrant chestnut hair.  "It's over...it's over..."

Stephanie pulled back a bit to stare into Kurt's blue eyes, her own wide and haunted.  "It's not over, Kurt...Paul...he - he blamed me for his current predicament!"

"Stephanie, listen to me..." the Olympian said, his voice firm.  He gently turned her head so that she was again looking directly into his eyes.  "...that sick bastard won't hurt you.  I won't let him!"

Torrie, her eyes still wide but trained on the road ahead, held her breath as she waited to hear the brunette's response.  Instead of words, Stephanie began to cry.  Angle held her head down to his shoulder, patting her face and hair gently as he tried to soothe her.

*

If such a thing were possible, Paul was feeling even more enraged than he'd been before he'd been clocked from behind.  One minute he'd been choking the rich bitch, feeling her up, and the next, he'd been blindsided and had fallen unconscious.

He didn't know who had hit him.  What he did know was that the object used as a weapon had been a steel chair - he was more than familiar with the sensation, as he'd been hit with hundreds of them over the years working in the WWF.

When Paul had come to, his head had hurt like a son of a bitch, and he had a bump on it.  Someone had obviously been playing savior for Stephanie, and he wondered who - in his mind, it could only have been one of three people - Kurt Angle, Shane McMahon or Torrie Wilson.  Each of them had a special bond with the brunette.  But the blow he'd received had been hard, and had felt like it had come from a man, which eliminated Torrie.  And he had seen Shane leaving - since he had no reason to wait for Stephanie, as he wasn't staying at the hotel, Shane too was deleted from the equation - which left Angle, the brunette's Olympic Hero.

Paul sneered as he thought about the meddlesome Gold Medalist.  He guessed the other man was about as in love with Stephanie as he'd once been.  He recalled how intense things had been between them during the "love triangle" storyline nearly a year earlier.  No wonder it had seemed so real.

Levesque didn't care.  He no longer held any tender feelings toward the brunette.  So let the other man have her.  And now that he thought about it, although Stephanie was, without a doubt, a bitch, she wasn't the cause of all of his problems.  No - that honor belonged to one person, one man, and that man only.

It was entirely Adam Copeland's fault...

...He had to take care of that man, and take care of him once and for all.  And he knew just the way to do it.  No longer would the bastard be able to disappear like smoke in the night.

Paul's countenance spread in a broad grin as he quickly planned his next step in this little game...

*

Adam had his head turned in Amy's direction, gazing at her intensely as they lay side-by-side on their hotel room bed.  He was feeling grateful that the evening had gone by uneventful.  The redhead had been so incredibly tense over the last day and a half, and he'd been worried about her.  She hadn't been quite herself since seeing Torrie Wilson in the hospital.

He was still convinced that his girlfriend was fearful of the burly madman coming after her.  He vowed he would never allow such a thing to happen.  He would sooner kill Paul Levesque himself if he had to.  There was no way in hell he would let the maniac get his hands on his angel.

Amy suddenly released his hand, turning over onto her left side to gaze into his handsome face.  "What?  What are you thinking about?"

The blond man turned over onto his right side to fully face her, his hand on her cheek as he gazed deeply into her hazel eyes.  There was no way he was going to tell her what he'd really been thinking after how worried she'd been the last couple of days.  Thinking fast, he said softly, "Just about you and me...about how happy I am to be lying here with you.  I love you, angel..."

She smiled softly, reaching a hand up to gently touch a lock of his golden hair.  The man was so precious.  "I love you, too..."  The redhead sighed softly as Adam slowly moved his hand down the side of her body, his fingertips just brushing over her hip.

Adam gently turned her over onto her back, laying over her and lowering his head to hers.  Their kiss was deep and intensely passionate, and he felt as though he could lose himself with her.

They stopped kissing abruptly as there was suddenly a knock on their door.  Adam lifted his head from Amy's and groaned.  What bad timing the person in the hallway had.  He started to get up to answer it but the diva grabbed at his shirt.

"Don't answer it..."  She bit her lip and gazed into his eyes, her hazel orbs beckoning to him.

The blond Canadian was going to listen to her request and had lowered himself back to the bed, about to kiss her again, his lips mere inches from hers when the knocking became urgent.

"Come on!  I know you're in there...let us in!"  It was Kurt Angle's voice.

"Oh, hell..."  Adam rose and strode over to the door, deciding that he had to answer it now that he knew who was paying them a visit.  They were a team, and they had to stick together in order to survive this thing.

The redhead sat up in the bed, pushing her hair back into place as her boyfriend unlocked, then opened the door.

"Sorry to bother you, guys, but..."  The Olympic Gold Medalist, Stephanie on his arm strode directly into the room.  Right behind them was Torrie.  The blonde woman followed them in, giving Adam an apologetic glance before sitting down at the table across the room.

Amy eyed the three new occupants with concern, knowing something bad had happened.  And when her gaze shifted over to Stephanie, she realized it had something to do with her.  The brunette looked positively terrified.  She got up from the bed and came over to the woman, kneeling down by her.

"Stephanie...what's wrong?  What happened?"

Before the younger McMahon child could speak, Angle did the honors.

"She was attacked - that's what happened!"

"What?!"  Adam's voice and eyes were both incredulous.  He stepped closer to the others as he stared at his former girlfriend with concern.  "When?  Where?" he asked.

"At the arena...damn it!  I knew I should have gone to her office while she was finishing up...I-"

"Kurt, please..."  The brunette's voice was steady despite the fact that her shoulders were shaking ever so slightly.  She held up a protesting hand.  "...it...it wasn't your fault.  He could have just as easily come after me somewhere else - or at another time."

"Oh, my God!" Amy breathed.  "Paul Levesque attacked you?"

Stephanie nodded quickly.  "He...snuck into my office and...grabbed me.  He tried to choke me, and then he...he started fondling me..."  She shuddered.

Torrie's eyes widened as she listened, for she hadn't known the last part.  The bastard had probably intended to rape Stephanie, too - but thank goodness Kurt had gone to her office when he had.  The blonde reached over the table to her friend and gripped her hand.  The brunette swallowed hard and grasped Torrie's hand firmly, grateful for the contact.

"I smashed the asshole in the head with a chair," Kurt said.  "Knocked him unconscious.  And then we got the hell out of there and into the car - I had gotten a little suspicious after awhile and told Torrie to get behind the wheel and have the engine running...just in case..."  The Olympian shook his head.  "I called 911 as soon as we got out of there.  That fucker is still on the loose!"

"Oh, God..." Adam said.  He was angry, and he felt horribly guilty.  So many other people were being affected by what had started out as his problem.  Levesque had been after him and him alone, but now other people were falling prey to the psychotic bastard.  He vowed to himself one thing - that when all of this was over, said and done, he, not Levesque, was going to win this sick, twisted game.