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Christian remained mostly silent as he sat in the passenger's seat of the rental car.
Inside, he was seething. He couldn't rid his mind of the conversation between himself and Edge from earlier that night, at the arena. What in hell was going on? He'd noticed the look in his brother's eyes, the suspicion written within. Edge suspected something awry going on between himself and Lita... And the shorter blond man did not like that one bit.
As Edge was behind the wheel, immersed in his driving, Christian took the chance to glance into the passenger's side window. Lita - his gaze fixed on her, the redhead initially seeming completely unaware of his stare. And then, she repositioned herself in the backseat slightly, her hazel eyes shifting so that they met his blue in the passenger's side window. He glared at her murderously, and her eyes widened in fright for a split second as she became aware and alert before she snapped them shut, turning her head away and toward the left back window.
He couldn't help the tiny smirk that came to his face. Good... He had to keep the bitch in line. And he'd be damned if he allowed his brother the opportunity to do something to stop him.
As it was, the entire exchanged went unnoticed by Edge, the tall blond man humming along with the car radio as they entered the hotel parking lot. After locating a spot, he put the car into park and undid his seatbelt. Christian didn't give a single thought to anything other than getting out of this vehicle and getting his girlfriend up to his hotel room... Until...
"You okay back there, Lita?"
The question seemed to throw the redhead off, and her head snapped up as she met the tall Canadian's green eyes. Edge was glancing at her from over his shoulder, his eyebrow arched as he awaited her response.
"Y-yes," she said shakily, hating the inflection in her voice. "I'm fine."
Christian felt the fine hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. What was going on here? Why would Edge ask such a thing? He could swear the other man had been completely unaware of their little silent communication. Or *had* he?
He left the car via the passenger's side, his left hand flexing into a tight fist. All he could think of at this point was getting the redhead up into their hotel room and interrogating her. There *had* to be a reason for the way Edge was acting tonight. It was damn strange. His brother had never given a damn about Lita, yet tonight he seemed almost like a different person. Maybe something was going on between the two of them...
"Going out tonight, Edge?" he asked as he snatched up his and Lita's bags. The tall blond man usually did go out to bars or clubs after shows - something he too enjoyed, but had refrained from doing lately, thanks to his bitch.
The taller man shook his head as he hefted his suitcase out of the trunk, then slammed it shut. They started the walk to the hotel.
"Nah... Too tired tonight, I'm afraid," he replied. "The bed beckons to me."
"Yeah," Christian chuckled. "Same here." He cast his sharp gaze to his girlfriend, and the redhead seemed to shrink slightly into herself in fear from behind Edge. Fortunately for her, the taller man didn't notice.
Just then, they were entering the hotel, and Lita swallowed hard, sensing what her fate would be in the next few minutes if she didn't act. She glanced around, somehow preventing the shaking she feared would overtake her body.
"I wouldn't mind a... a drink," she spoke, and when the two blond men glanced her way, she was pointing and gesturing to the hotel bar nearby.
"No way," Christian said firmly, his blue eyes fixing to her face cruelly, though, from where he stood, he knew his brother couldn't see. "I'm tired and not in the mood for a drink."
"Please?" she begged, her gaze going from him to Edge. She seemed to focus more on the taller blond than on her boyfriend.
"You know what?" Edge said after a moment. His eyes narrowed slightly as he eyed Lita, wondering not for the first time what the hell was going on. The diva definitely seemed to be acting strangely tonight. "I think I *could* use a drink or two before hitting the hay." He turned his focus to his brother. "Christian?"
Christian's blue gaze, still hard as he fixed it on the redhead, relaxed as he turned back to face his brother. A smile crossed his lips, and he nodded.
"What the hell... Sounds good."
Edge nodded, then turned back and started for the bar. The shorter man, however, turned back to his girlfriend, glaring at her with malicious intent.
Lita recoiled instinctively, terror coursing through her as she wondered if she'd
just made a huge mistake.