Chapter Three

Paul sat next to the hospital bed listening to the machine's beep. He shouldn't be there. If Evolution found out he would never be able to explain it to them. When Shawn extended his hand in the ring all he wanted to do was take his hand and pull him into his arms and beg his forgiveness. He looked so sad and broken tonight. Then Kane came in giving him his easy out… only like most things that seem easy at first it ended up being not the piece of cake he thought it was going to be. Getting through the rest of the night was probably one of the hardest things he had ever done. To have to keep pretending he didn't care and that he was in fact happy Shawn got hurt when all he wanted to do was run to the hospital and pull him into his arms.

There was a pain inside him. It started the night before in the cell. It wasn't his head or his arm or his leg. It was right in the middle of his chest. It was in his heart. And tonight… tonight it only intensified. He would have shook Shawn's hand if it hadn't been for Kane. He would have gotten on his knees and begged forgiveness. He would have sacrificed everything. If it wasn't for Kane… Kane, that demonic bastard. Paul didn't know how and he didn't know when, but somehow he would find a way to justify getting at him and when he did... Paul felt a hand on his shoulder and turning his head quickly was shocked to see Angel standing there.

As she looked down at him Angel couldn't decide if she was going to hit him or hug him. Seeing the pain in his eyes though she knew she couldn't add to it. Slowly she placed a hand on his cheek smiling softly as Hunter closed his eyes. "I swear I didn't know Kane was going to do that." Angel nodded looking at Shawn. "Tell me Hunter baby. Were you going to shake his hand?" Hunter lifted his head then looking at Shawn nodded slowly. Angel sighed with relief. "Thank God… I thought… Hunter… Pauly…" Paul lifted his head smiling at Angel who smiled back. "Pauly, promise me you'll get even. Promise me you'll find a way to get Kane back." Angel watched the steel form in Paul's eyes and sighed relieved. Paul sat up straight pulling Angel into his lap and she rested her head on his shoulder.

"Pauly, Can I ask you a question?" Paul nodded and Angel turned to look at him. "What are you holding over Dave's head to make him protect you, to make him be a part of Evolution?" Hunter looked at Angel and glared angrily. "Why do you ASSUME that I am the one MAKING him be a part of Evolution?" Angel opened her mouth to respond, but couldn't find the words as Paul continued to glare at her. "Why is it that it is SO EASY for my old 'friends' to believe that I am such a bastard?" Angel closed her mouth glaring at Paul angrily. "Gee Pauly I dunno? Maybe because you have given us so much reason?"

"And what if they weren't my ideas? Did you ever consider that?" Angel listened to Paul's question and bit her lip. Quietly she responded suddenly ashamed of herself. "No, no Pauly I didn't." Hunter nodded and turned cold eyes onto Shawn. "Don't worry about it. Nobody else did either." Angel sighed and hung her head. "Pauly I am sorry. I just… I'm sorry. You did your heel turn on TV and then all of a sudden you were acting it off screen and… Who is it? Who is doing this to you? " Paul shrugged. "I dunno. Ric is the mouthpiece, but he's not the leader. All I know is that Batista and I both were forced and whomever it is is tricking Randy. Batista and I both were forced to make sure he was… 'trained' properly." Angel sighed wondering what was going on. On her first day back one of her best friends ever had been taken out by a monster and the men she THOUGHT were monsters were turning out to be victims or were they? Suddenly knowing who to trust and who to believe had become even harder than before.

Read chapter Four of ?? of Monster in the Shadows