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Lita was still shaken as she allowed Edge to lead her back down the hallway to his locker room. She glanced over her shoulder, noticing how Tori was following right behind them. The muscular blonde looked angry, but thankfully all right.
"What the hell happened?"
The question came from Christian as the taller blond man ushered the two divas into the room.
For the time being, Edge ignored Christian. Right now, he was a lot more concerned with the redhead.
"Are you sure you're all right?" he asked, concern etched on his sharp features as he gazed down at her.
Lita became acutely aware of the fact that he was still gripping her hand, and she glanced quickly down before returning her gaze to his green eyes. She nodded.
"Thanks to *you*, yes..."
The other man gave up for now trying to get an explanation out of his brother. Instead, he turned toward Tori, the blonde diva's face a mask of concern.
"What just happened?"
"Two words," the young woman began, "Essa Rios."
The young Canadian arched a brow. What exactly was going on here? What had happened? He wasn't sure he even *wanted* to know...
By now, Lita was beginning to cry again, her head bowed as she felt the tears welling up in her eyes. Everything that had happened to her over the last few days, even months, was so overwhelming. Tori had been the only person she'd confided in and who'd been there for her - and now, this tall blond Canadian had saved her from Essa. It was something she never would have expected.
"It's okay now," Edge said softly, his hands going to her shoulders. He peered down at her with sympathy, wishing she would stop crying. He'd never been able to handle things well when a woman cried in front of him, and he felt awful that this woman was in tears. Whatever Essa Rios had done to her - before now, and the things he didn't know about - he wished he could somehow magically erase it all. Lita's anguish, her pain, was so great, he could hardly stand it.
The redhead suddenly threw herself in his arms and sobbed harder, her small hands clutching at him desperately. She pressed her face against his bare chest, her tears wetting the chisled area. All of the pain was rushing back to her, yet at the same time, she was relieved that someone strong had come to rescue her.
Edge held her tightly against him, his heart nearly breaking. As he stroked her long hair, an idea suddenly came to him. Actually, he grew angry again as it shaped in his mind.
"Don't worry, sweetheart... Whatever he did, he'll pay - Rios will *pay*." Lita's sobs began to decrease, and he spoke again. "I'm going to teach him a good lesson. Tomorrow night, on SmackDown, I'm gonna challenge him one-on-one."
The sorrowful diva pulled away just enough to look up into his eyes.
"Wh-what?"
"Whatever he did to hurt you, I'm going to kick his ass tomorrow night." The blond man's jaw set in determination.
"N-no!" Lita cried, her hazel eyes widening in fear and horror. "Edge, please... I don't want him to-"
"Lita, he hurt you," the tall Canadian said, "and I want to avenge that. He couldn't do a damn thing to me."
"N-no!" the redhead repeated, her small right hand clutching at his arm. "You can't... Please, Edge! P-please promise me you won't challenge or attack him!"
The young man eyed the diva with a frown, concerned at the terror he read in her eyes and face. He could only wonder what in hell that bastard had done to her. A quick glance over at Tori told him nothing, although the blonde woman looked concerned as well. Finally, he turned back to Lita and sighed with resignation.
"Okay, you win - I won't do anything to him..."