On the Ropes 2: Insidious Obsession (3 page)

A smile tipped her lips as she thought about Lexi. A friendship seemed to be blooming with the superstar and was growing deeper with every passing day. She had to give Mark credit. He’d certainly hooked her up with the right people. Already, Lexi acted like the big sister she’d never had, guiding her, watching over her, laughing with her.

Then there was Cole, Logan, and Jason. The men carried a presence about them that easily made most of the roster nervous, yet each man had a tender side she doubted anyone ever really got to see.

Earlier in the week Jason had cracked jokes with her when she was feeling in over her head and ready to quit. He’d propped up her courage and reminded her of why she was here.

Logan seemed to have extended his protective shield around her, keeping undesirables like Sean at bay, giving her the chance to focus on what mattered most. Maybe that was due to Lexi’s influence, but no matter what the reason, she’d happily accept his brotherly concern.

Finally, her thoughts turned to Cole, and she smiled. The man carried a sweetness she’d never encountered, until now. From her first night in the hotel, he’d made sure to check in on her every night before bed, just to make sure she was okay.

Together, they’d made her feel welcome and wanted. For the first time since she began wrestling, she finally felt as if she belonged. Even though she’d made friends in the progressive ranks, she never quite experienced the closeness or trust that seemed to be building between her and the tight-knit group. To have something like that when she never had it before created a new and strange feeling of happiness that made her smile.

Amber turned the corner and collided with another person. Confusion reigned for a moment before she recognized the other person. Remembering what Lexi had said about the man, she took a quick step back and reached for the wall in an attempt to keep her balance.

“Oh, Amber.” Sean reached for her. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t see you there.”

She took another step back, staying just out of his reach. “It’s okay. I wasn’t looking where I was going.”

“No.” He shook his head. “It’s my fault. I should have paid closer attention to where
I
was going.” He stepped toward her, his hand extended. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

She took yet another small step back and shot him a tiny smile. “I’m sure. Thank you for being concerned, but I really need to get going.” She quickly picked up her bag and started past him.

“What’s the hurry?” Sean snagged her by the wrist. Almost immediately an uncomfortable sensation slithered through her as his grip tightened to the point of pain. He smiled, and this time it seemed sinister. “I didn’t get a chance to properly introduce myself the other day.”

Fear filled her as long-dormant memories slowly surfaced and threatened to pull her back under with them. She glanced around, hoping someone would see them and step in. Hope disappeared with the realization that no one seemed to be around. It appeared she’d have no such luck this time.

* * * *

Lexi glanced at her watch. “I don’t know what’s taking Amber so long. She said she’d only be a few minutes.”

“I have to say,” Jason began, “what a cute, smart, sweet girl she is. I wasn’t sure about her to begin with, but she’s really starting to grow on me.”

“She better not grow on you too much,” Cole warned. Jason might be one of his best friends, but he wasn’t above reminding his pal how he felt about Amber. For reasons that made absolutely no sense to him, just hearing Jason joke about liking Amber set Cole on edge.

Jason grinned. “I’d love to say she was, just to fuck with you, but sadly, no, she’s not growing on me in that way.”

“No, Jason’s attention is focused elsewhere,” Logan added. “But I know what you mean about Amber. She’s kinda like having a little sister around.”

“Exactly,” Jason agreed. “If we can get her to come out of her shell a little, she might just fit with us after all.”

“Speaking of getting her.” Cole pushed off the bench where he’d been sitting. “I’m just going to go check on her.”

“She said she’d only be a few minutes,” Lexi repeated.

“That’s okay. I’ll just make sure she doesn’t need any help,” Cole replied. For reasons he couldn’t quite explain, he had a sudden uneasy feeling.

“Right, help.” Jason laughed. “If you two aren’t back in ten minutes, we’ll know she’s getting all the help she needs, and we’ll head on back to the hotel without you.”

Ignoring Jason’s not so subtle implication, Cole walked out of catering and down the hall. The guys could think what they wanted. They would anyway. Right now the only thing that mattered was getting rid of this nagging sensation that something was wrong.

Cole turned the corner toward the Vixens’ locker room and stopped at the sight before him. Amber stood with her back against the wall, Sean Sable in front of her, his hands on either side of her head, pinning her in place. His face was dangerously close to hers, his lips moving as if he was speaking to her in low tones.

Instant anger coursed through Cole’s veins, and he stalked toward them. For months the Vixen wrestlers had been complaining about Sean’s perverted comments and leering stares. Unfortunately, without solid proof of harassment, management could do little to curb him. That hadn’t stopped Cole and the others from taking the necessary steps to protect the ladies. They’d warned the jackass to keep his distance. Maybe it was time somebody taught him a real lesson in listening. “Get away from her,” Cole nearly growled.

Sean didn’t move. Instead he turned his attention on Cole and sneered. “Get lost, Collins. This is no concern of yours.”

Cole’s curled his fingers into a fist. Like hell this wasn’t his concern. Amber was his girl. No way in hell was he going to let Sean anywhere near her. “I said get away from her,” Cole repeated.

Sean chuckled. “I don’t see the rest of your goon squad around. Do you honestly think you can beat me on your own?”

Cole narrowed his gaze. “You know what? You’re right.” He turned as if he was leaving, took a few steps, then turned back toward them and took off at a run. Aiming low, he speared Sable in the side, taking him down. Sean hit the floor with a
thud
and let out a howl.

Cole scrambled on top of him and began pounding on Sean. With each impact his fists made against Sean’s flesh, a need to punish, to finally serve the weasel the justice he deserved, flowed through Cole. For months, Sean managed to harass the Vixen wrestlers while avoiding the watchful eye of management. Time after time he’d acted as if he were above reproach. Well no more. It was time someone made Sean pay, especially since he’d put his hands on Amber.

“Cole, no!” Amber yelled, but he was too far gone to listen to her plea. The bastard had put his hands on her, and now he must suffer for that offense. Her footsteps echoed in Cole’s ears, and then they were gone. He’d find her later and make things right. At that moment he had only one goal.

Sean struggled to fight back, but with each retaliatory punch, Cole’s anger grew. Every time he thought about Sean touching Amber and what could have happened if he hadn’t gone looking for her, his anger raged again.

“Cole, stop!” Logan’s voice came from somewhere behind him; then he felt large hands pulling him away.

“Let go of me,” Cole shouted as he kicked out.

Jason moved in to help, and within seconds, Cole stared into the faces of his partners as they held him against the wall. Concern was etched deep into Logan’s face and amusement in Jason’s. “Amber wasn’t kidding when she said you were beating up Sean.”

“That bastard had Amber cornered,” Cole managed to explain as he struggled to catch his breath.

“Understood,” Logan replied, his voice calm. “But that doesn’t mean you can kill him.”

“No matter how much he might deserve it.” Jason smirked.

Cole glanced over to where Lexi knelt next to Sean, who lay on his side, unconscious. She pressed a finger to his neck. “He’s alive, but I’m not sure how badly he’s injured.”

“We’ll stay with Cole,” Logan replied. “Lexi, go find Dr. Martin or the paramedics. Amber, find Mark.” He looked back at Cole. “Let’s hope you haven’t ended your career trying to protect her.”

Chapter Four

Cole waited for the paramedics to wheel Sean away; then he turned to Mark. The legend looked tired and very, very worried. Mark leveled his attention on Cole. “Okay, explain to me what happened again.”

“He had Amber pinned against the wall,” Cole replied. “She looked frightened, and it pissed me off. I told Sean to let go of her, but he wouldn’t listen. He pretty much told me to buzz off. I don’t know what came over me.” He looked to where Amber stood with Lexi. “All I could think about was protecting her, and I lost it.”

She met his stare, appreciation and…was that fear he saw on her face?

Mark turned to Amber. “Did Sean actually harm you, Amber?”

Even as she shook her head, she rubbed her wrist with her other hand. “I don’t think so.”

Apparently Cole hadn’t been the only one to notice. Mark closed the distance between them and touched her arm. “If he didn’t hurt you, then why are you rubbing your wrist?”

“Oh.” She looked down, then back up at Mark. “Well, he did grab hold of me.”

“Let me see,” Mark ordered.

She moved her hand, and Cole noted the look of anger that crossed Mark’s face. “You’re going to have a bruise there tomorrow.” Mark took a step back and scrubbed a hand over his short hair. “Okay, this is what we’re going to do. You guys are all going to head back to the hotel and wait to hear from me. You are not to talk to anyone about what happened here.”

“That’s it?” Cole asked as his anger slowly began to boil again.

“No. That’s not it,” Mark snapped. “I’m going to head to the hospital and wait for Sean to regain consciousness. At that point I’ll try to convince him not to file charges against you.”

“Against
me
?” Cole couldn’t quite believe what he was hearing. “He’s the one who put a hand on Amber.”

“Don’t you think I know that?” Mark argued. “But you practically beat him to death. This wasn’t part of some script, Cole. It was real life, and he has a right to file charges. If that happens, it will be a media circus, and we’ll have no choice but to terminate your contract.” Mark let out a sigh, then scrubbed his hands over his face. “I’m going to use everything in my power to convince him not to press charges, but you need to keep your distance and your mouth shut.” He leveled a finger at Cole. “Do you understand?”

“Yeah, I get it,” Cole replied. He didn’t like it one bit, but he did understand.

“Are you kidding me?” Lexi protested. “Sean should be fired for what he did.”

“I realize that, Lexi, but there has never been enough evidence to fire him, and with what’s just happened, exactly what do you think he’d do if we fired him now?” Mark challenged. “I’ll tell you what he’d do. He’d run directly to the police and then to the media and then we would have a huge scandal on our hands. We fire Sean, and Cole can not only kiss his wrestling career good-bye but quite possibly his freedom too.”

Lexi opened her mouth to argue, and Mark held up a hand, stopping her. “Save your protests, okay. I’m on your side on this, but two wrongs don’t make a right, and unfortunately, Cole put the power right into Sean’s hands with this little stunt. What I have to do now is to try and keep him from using it.” He sighed a second time. “Now please just do as I say and give me a chance to make this right. Go back to the hotel and keep quiet until you hear from me.”

* * * *

Silence followed the group as they made their way back to the hotel. As soon as she could, Amber broke off from the rest and headed for her room. Once inside she dropped the bag on the floor, then climbed onto the bed, pulled her knees up to her chest, and cried.

In the two weeks since she’d arrived in the EUW, she’d lost her first two matches, nearly been injured, been kissed by a man she was really starting to like, and to top things off, she’d suddenly been targeted by a slimeball. Now she was responsible for said slimeball being injured and a good man possibly losing his career.

She had such high hopes when she’d arrived. With each passing day, those hopes seemed to fade as cold hard reality set in. The big leagues moved so much faster than she’d expected. Could she keep up the mental and physical pace necessary to succeed?

She’d watched the show faithfully every week and envisioned how backstage, away from the cameras, they were all one big happy family, looking out for each other and getting along. Maybe she’d wished it that way so she could deal with the cutthroat backstabbing that took place in the progressive ranks.

Yet, after being here, reality demanded she abandon her dream and face the ugly truth. While the stars were bigger and the money was better, the social and business workings were exactly the same. There were cliques and favorites management would protect and push into the spotlight. Everyone else was just a necessary evil.

Had she really worked all her life for this?

A soft knock on her door had Amber quickly wiping her eyes. She slid off the bed and padded to the door. She opened it to find Cole standing on the other side. “Hi,” she whispered.

He smiled. “Hi. Can I come in?”

She stepped back, allowing him entry, then let the door close behind her, and turned to face him. Silence fell between them while he appeared to study her. “You’ve been crying,” he finally said.

Embarrassed at her moment of weakness, she looked away. “Maybe just a little.”

He closed the distance between them and gently took her hands in his. “Amber, look at me.”

She flicked her gaze up and noted the concern in his eyes when he looked at her. “Please don’t cry,” he whispered.

His words caused her to do exactly the opposite as tears welled yet again. “I can’t help it.” She pulled away and stalked farther into the room. “If it wasn’t for me, you wouldn’t be on the verge of losing your job.”

He followed her. “Sean has deserved a good beat down for some time. The mouthy little punk always likes to prey on the new Vixens.”