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Edge chuckled softly to himself as he watched the end of the match on the TV monitor in his locker room. What a good ending they'd concocted. And that worthless Triple H had gotten exactly what he deserved.
He rose from his seat, deciding to go out to gorilla position to meet the redhead. He'd received her text message earlier and sent one back, but he hadn't gotten a response. He supposed she had been indisposed, but he could surely catch her now.
As he stopped just by the curtain, the tall blond man could hear the voices of Chris Jericho and Trish Stratus as they approached. They sounded happy, and he smiled as they appeared. But where was Lita? He would have sworn she'd appear with them.
"Hey, Edge." Trish waved at him, and Jericho grinned as they passed. And not a moment later, he heard the distinctly annoying sound of Triple H's voice.
"You thought you were real cute pulling that little stunt on me, did you? You're gonna pay for that!"
The burly, bullying man didn't seem to notice anyone else as he threatened the diva. That was when the tall Canadian stepped in - directly in his line of vision.
"I'd rethink that little threat if I were you."
Triple H abruptly looked up, a deep scowl on his face as he saw Edge standing directly in front of him. He sneered, eyeling the smaller man up and down for a beat.
"Why don't you mind your own business, hotshot?" he spat. "Last I checked, this didn't concern you."
Lita yanked her arm out of the Evolution leader's grasp, fury in her eyes. But her expression changed, growing into a pleased smile as Edge spoke next.
"Correction - this woman here," he said evenly as he pointed to the redhead, "is a very good friend of mine. And when she's being mistreated, it concerns me in a big way." He glared at The Game, his lips pursing as he did so.
Triple H said nothing as he merely looked into the blond Canadian's green eyes. The staring contest went on for another moment before the World Heavyweight Champion broke the tension with a laugh - one that, in Lita's mind, was definitely full of discomfort.
"Okay, you wanna play white knight to Red here?" Hunter scoffed. He pointed a finger into the taller man's chest. "All right, you go and do that. But do me a favor - don't go crying to Bischoff after Evolution beats your ass."
Edge looked angry at the finger poking him in the chest, then furious at the other man's words. So, now he was threatening him, too? It seemed that Triple H always surrounded himself with a faction for exactly this purpose - when he felt threatened and couldn't defend himself, he would call upon others - lackeys.
With that, the tall blond man swung back and punched The Game right in the jaw. Lita had seen the blow coming and managed to scuttle out of the way. Hunter, on the other hand, was not quite so lucky as he staggered backward, landing on his ass, then on his back, on the floor.
"Come on, Lita." Edge gently put an arm around the slightly shocked diva, ushering her away.
Triple H sat there, his eyes glittering with rage as he watched the two depart.
"You son of a bitch!" they heard him yell. "It's your ass now! That's a promise!"
The Canadian ignored the miserable bastard as he led the redhead back to the locker rooms.
"Are you okay?" he implored. "I saw him manhandling you back there."
She nodded, rubbing at her arm.
"I'm okay. But what about you?" She glanced up at him with concerned hazel orbs.
"What about me?"
Lita gaped at him, shaking her head.
"He just promised to sic Evolution on you!" she cried. "Aren't you worried about that?"
Edge's jaw set stubbornly as he shook his head.
"Nope," he answered. "If that big gorilla decides he wants to play dirty and get his goons to jump me, well, let him. I'll fight back to the best of my abilities."
"But there are four of them and only one of you, Edge," she pointed out sadly.
The Canadian fixed his green eyes on her with his head cocked.
"I do have friends here that aren't divas, you know."
That statement made Lita smile.
At this point, they'd reached Evolution's locker room. As Edge stood outside in wait, the redhead entered and grabbed her belongings.
"Where are you..." Victoria mouthed, as she was the only one in the room even paying her any attention. Batista and Ric Flair were playing cards in one corner, with the bigger, younger man groaning.
Lita shook her head and made a 'shh' gesture.
The raven-haired woman's gaze traveled to the door. She could just see the blond man outside, waiting patiently for her.
'Ahh,' she mouthed, giving her an okay sign with the fingers of her right hand. She smiled and waved as the
redhead left.