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Lita ran alongside Edge as the tall blond man raced to the backstage area. Although she found it difficult, somehow she managed to keep up with him. A myriad of voices issued forth, though she didn't pay much attention to most of them. But two stopped her boyfriend in his tracks.
"What the hell is going on here?" Matt demanded. The Hardyz, Eddy Guerrero, Christian and Rhyno had all followed them to the back. The dark-haired man's face was a combination of confusion and annoyance as he eyed her, then shifted his gaze - which was still full of suspicion - to Edge.
"Not now, man," the Canadian hissed. He was burning with an anger more fierce than Lita could ever remember, even when they'd been enemies. He seemed about five seconds from completely snapping.
"Wait a minute..." This time, it was Christian who spoke, the blond man's voice completely even as he regarded them. "... I'm lost." He glanced from his tag team partner, then to the redhead, and shrugged. "How long has this been going on?"
"Since October," Edge answered truthfully.
"October...?" The shorter blond Canadian's expression changed to one of shock. "*That* long? How could you have not told me, man?" And then, before his friend could respond, he plodded on. "Wait a minute - I bet *she* was responsible for these guys-" He gestured toward Matt and Jeff Hardy, his face a mask of anger. "-knowing about the whole Conquistadors thing!"
Edge reached one hand up to his face, pinching the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger as he tried his best to contain his temper. He was totally not in the mood for this. In seconds, Lita was directly at his side, her soft, gentle hands touching him, caressing him as she tried to calm him down.
"That's not true," the redheaded diva stated flatly. "I had absolutely nothing to do with that."
"Oh, suuuuure!" Christian snapped angrily as he turned toward the redhead. He had another off the cuff remark to make, but Edge turned toward him, his green eyes blazing with anger so intense, the shorter man actually feared him.
"Shut up, Christian." The tall Canadian's hands clenched into fists. "You don't know shit about Lita, so just shut up."
Something in the taller blond man's eyes, and in his facial expression, kept his mouth shut. And then, all of a sudden, Christian was startled by the appearance of Stephanie, who ran right up to him in front of everyone. She never did that.
"Christian," she said seriously, looking directly into his blue eyes for a beat before turning back toward Edge and Lita, giving them a knowing look. "Come out to the ring with me."
"Huh?" he uttered. What the heck was going on tonight? He felt as though he were trapped in the Twilight Zone.
"Just... come with me," the brunette said, a gleam of determination in her blue eyes. With that, she turned and led the way past gorilla and through the curtain. Christian stared after her for a few seconds before exhaling the breath he'd been holding, then followed the woman out.
The Hardyz, Guerrero and Rhyno all stared in the direction in which the two had departed, wonder coursing through each one of them. Edge couldn't care less at the moment what was going on with Stephanie and his tag partner, but Lita knew exactly what was going on. The way she figured it, after what had happened moments earlier with the world finding out about the relationship between Edge and herself, the youngest McMahon probably wanted to announce *their* relationship. Lord knew, if the redhead had had her way, she certainly would *not* have wanted to go public in this fashion.
"Oh, and just so you know," the tall blond man muttered, his green eyes narrowing as he moved slightly closer to Guerrero, "in case you were thinking of making a move on my girlfriend, you can just forget about it."
Eddy made a face and gestured with both hands.
"Homes, you got me figured all wrong!"
"Do I?" Edge asked, his tone full of unabashed anger. "Because I think you're full of shit. And I don't trust you *or* your Radical buddy Malenko as far as I could throw you."
This time, Latino Heat didn't say a word. Instead, he opted to keep silent and merely eye the taller man.
That taken care of, Edge turned and started in a brisk pace down the hallway, his face contorted with rage as he searched for the guilty party. He knew that slimeball had been completely responsible for all this - he'd been bothering Lita for months now. He had it all figured out now - the man had been stalking the redhead even after it was all supposed to be over, and in the process he'd discovered about the relationship. The tall blond wondered when and how the lecherous man had gotten into their hotel room or one of their locker rooms and come across the tape... It burned him up to the point he thought he might explode. That tape was theirs for *their* eyes only, made out of passion out of their love for one another.
He was barely aware of the fact that the guys involved in his match were still following him, but of course was fully aware that Lita was still there. He stopped in his tracks in front of a locker room and turned to face her, stopping her with his large hands to her shoulders.
"Listen, baby - go back to the women's locker room, okay? I don't want you around when I find the son of a bitch."
"But-"
"No buts, Lita... Please," Edge said wearily. "I don't want you getting hurt or..." It was on the tip of his tongue to say, 'Or watching me tear his head off,' but he kept that part to himself.
The redhead, concern clearly written all over her beautiful face, nodded in silence, then turned and reluctantly started back down the hall. She cast one long glance over her shoulder back at him as the blond man raced down the opposite direction to another locker room.
"I wanna know what the hell is going on here!" Matt shouted from behind Edge.
The blond man ignored him for the moment as he gave up and turned to another locker room. Forcing the door open, his green eyes widened with rage.
"*There* you are, you miserable son of a bitch!" He charged into the room like a bull being taunted by a red flag, hauling himself upon the man in an instant.
The Hardyz and Rhyno - by now, Eddy Guerrero had slunk away unnoticed - stood back and watched in confusion.
Jeff and Matt exchanged glances as it all suddenly came together. *This* was the man Edge thought was responsible for the G-TV segment? Hell, yeah, it all made perfect sense! Everyone knew he'd been making Lita's life miserable for months on end! And so, as though reading one another's minds, the Hardyz jumped in to give the tall blond man an assist.
Rhyno stood back, watching, the wheels in his own head having been turning slowly. He now realized why his tall blond friend had questioned him as to why he'd gored Lita a couple of months back. If he'd only known she was Edge's girlfriend...
"Hey, Rhyno!"
The burly, dark-haired man looked up as the Canadian called him, his eyes wide and wild. Edge was holding up a now bleeding and battered Dean Malenko, an almost maniacal gleam in his green eyes, his large white teeth bared. Rhyno knew exactly what his friend wanted of him, and he sure as hell wasn't going to disappoint.
Quick as a flash, Rhyno rushed forward, goring the living hell out of the former Radical.
Afterward, Edge stood over the man, his breathing still heavy and ragged, and he had to fight against the urge to spit on Dean. Instead, he knelt down to the other man's level.
"If you ever try a stunt like this again, or if you ever come near her again... I'll make what happened tonight look like a fucking tea party. You got that?"
The letch didn't utter a syllable.
The tall blond man reached out and smacked him in the head.
"You *got* that?!" he repeated, louder.
"Y-yeah... I got it."
Edge stood back up and glared down at Malenko for a beat before a grin-smirk came to his lips.
"Good."