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"Oh, AJ... I am so sorry!"
Tears streaked Karen's distraught face as she peered into the countenance of the battered young man. They were in the locker room, and he had cleaned himself up as best he could.
"AJ, can you ever forgive me?" she begged, her hands clasped before her in an almost praying fashion. She was so desperately fearful of what he might be thinking at that very moment. After all, if not for her, the young man would not have been brutalized - at least not quite to the same extent.
AJ eyed her as he moved the towel away from his face. He'd somehow managed to dry up the last of the blood from the gash high up on his forehead.
"Karen, what are you talking about?" he asked. "This was not your fault... None of it was."
The brunette gave him a look of surprise and cocked her head.
"Are you serious? But I was the one who brought Kurt out there."
With the expectation that he would help me," the dark-haired man said. "Karen... sweetie, I know what was goin' on in your head. Please stop blaming yourself."
"But-"
"No buts," AJ insisted. He tossed the towel aside and gently grabbed hold of both her wrists. He loosely grasped them as he gazed directly into her lovely brown eyes, which were so concern-filled. He thought he'd fallen even more deeply in love with her just by that worry alone - not that it was difficult to fall even more where Karen Angle was concerned.
"You did what you thought was right, end of story. You had no way of knowing he was gonna snap like that." He released her hands to gently wrap his arms around her slender waist, loving the way she felt against him. They hadn't ever done anything more than kiss three or four times max, yet he had never in his life felt so much passion for a woman as he did her. "I appreciate you... and I love you, Karen."
The tall brunette felt her heart melting, swelling with emotion. She was certain his heart would be hardened to her after the horrible mess out there by the ring. She certainly hadn't been thinking straight after Booker, Tomko and Team 3D had gotten their hands on the man she loved. She winced at the raw wound on his brow, but was relieved the blood was no longer free-flowing. She'd suspected he would need stitches, but apparently - thankfully - it was just a small cut.
"Oh, AJ," she breathed, "I love you, too!" With that, she cupped his face in her palms, gently but firmly bringing his head to hers for a breathtaking kiss. She nearly died at the sensation of his warm, moist tongue as it dipped into her willing mouth.
Before it was properly over, she suddenly stiffened, pulling away.
AJ was concerned as he searched her face. She suddenly appeared... angry. He frowned, his right hand coming up to gently touch her chin, tilting it so that her eyes met his again.
"What? What is it?" he implored.
Karen pursed her lips together, shaking her head.
"I almost forgot," she replied. "Christy Hemme... That bitch!"
"What about her?"
"She's the one who's been spreading rumors about us," the brunette explained. "She and her boy toy Jimmy Rave paid me a little visit earlier. I think she's been an informant for Kurt."
The young man stared at her, his face showing some initial surprise. Then, his expression transformed, giving way for anger.
"Oh, is that so?"
Karen nodded.
"Well, maybe we'll just have to teach those two a lesson... one they'll never, ever forget."
The brunette slowly came to the realization of what AJ was not-so-subtly getting at.
"You mean... us versus them?"
"Bingo!" AJ replied. "They'll learn that you don't mess with Karen, and you don't mess with Styles."
The tall brunette thought over what he'd just suggested. While it was a very attractive idea to get her hands on Hemme and slap the taste out of her mouth, Karen knew she was no wrestler. Surely, Christy, although so much smaller than her, could easily defeat her in a fight. After mulling it through her mind for a moment, she faced AJ again, her eyes meeting his blue.
"I don't know," she said, uncertainty prevalent in her voice. "I mean, I'm not even a wrestler."
"No problem," he replied confidently. "We'll just have to get you some serious training, that's all. I'll teach you. And we'll get one of the Knockouts to help, too... How about ODB?"
"Really?" she asked, her expression brightening. She knew ODB was a great competitor and certainly knew how to hold her own in the ring. "Do you think she would mind?"
AJ shook his head.
"Nah, she's cool. We'll go and have a talk with her."
"But what about Kurt?" Karen worried.
The young man's expression darkened at the name of her soon-to-be ex-husband.
"You let me worry about him... because after all the hell he's put you through, I'll destroy him."