Trouble

NINE

NINE

"Lauren!" Wes screamed as I continued to stare at the scene, unable to process it.

"Did you just...?" Emily asked me.

"That wasn't me," I informed her. "That son of a bitch can portal!" I'd had no idea. None of us knew that about Aries.

"No!" Abigail screamed. "This is my fault! I ran off on Jamie and that's the only reason she was here!" She looked absolutely devastated. Jamie was great with kids and I knew Abigail adored her.

"We'll get them back," I promised her. I focused. I could still hear snippets of their thoughts. "They're close. He didn't get far. I don't think he wanted to leave a place he was familiar with. They're in one of the three buildings."

"Let's go," Wes said. I looked at him.

"Let's not," Angle said, slashing Wes in his side with what looked like a silver dagger. Wes howled in agony. I noticed Kenny was cringing and remembered he was also a werecreature, although he was a hyena, not a wolf. He stayed back, trying to be invisible.

"You son of a bitch!" I shouted. I could tell the wound was bad. I needed to get us out of there or Wes might die. Jeff didn't look much better. He was lying on the ground having a very violent seizure from the spell Aries had hit him with. James wasn't in the best of shape even though I'd healed him. Lauren and Jamie were gone. Emily and Abigail were still in danger. Abigail... Shane McMahon's daughter.

I looked at her. "We need to get you out of here," I told her. I could see Stephanie talking to the others, trying to give them some sort of orders. We had very little time.

"No. I can't go, not until we save Carlos... And Jamie and Lauren," Abigail said.

I looked at Carlos. "They will kill her, Carlos. Stephanie will take her and kill her. Do you understand me?" I asked him.

He nodded slowly. "You have to make a choice," I continued. "Which side are you really on? You have about thirty seconds."

"Go, Abby," he told her.

"Not without you. If I leave you here, this was all for nothing," Abigail insisted.

He sighed. "Will you let me come?" He asked.

"Yes," I promised him.

"I don't think so," Stephanie said suddenly. She snapped her fingers and Carlos vanished. Now that was a pretty fucking neat trick right there. "Sorry, Derrick, but Carlos won't be leaving our side anytime soon."

I wasn't surprised Stephanie didn't know my real name. I was vaguely surprised she even remembered my WWE ring name.

"What did you do?" Abigail demanded.

"Relax, sweetheart," Stephanie said in her fake, sugary voice. "He's perfectly fine. I'll bring you to him if you like."

Emily looked at me and then at Stephanie, and I knew she had a plan. I also knew she needed me to be a distraction. "So, Steph, I was thinking, what would it take to get you to bring me back to WWE?" I asked.

Stephanie looked at me with mild amusement. "While I reluctantly admit your talent has begun to show itself at TNA, we don't exactly have room for someone who shacks up with the Carters on our roster," she told me.

"Come on, Stephanie, I could be great! I'm the next WWE World Heavyweight Champion!"

"Hardly."

"You know you love me. I get more of a crowd reaction than Cena!"

"Ah, but Derrick, you can't wrestle," she told me.