He wasn't alone, it was that realization that woke him from his sleep. He lay on his stomach in the large bed, the pillows and blankets scattered around him. He'd thrown out the blonde immediately after he had finished with her, then he fell into bed alone and slept. Now, though he could feel the eyes on his back and he struggled to keep his breathing even so whoever it was didn't know he was awake.

He lay still and listened, two people were in the room not one. Two sets of feet shifter on the crappy floor. He couldn't lay here forever, his eyes slowly moved to the bedside table where his gun should be but it wasn't.

"He's awake," A familiar voice said.

He sighed heavily, no sense denying it. He rolled over to see Lacy and a tall man he didn't recognize standing at the foot of his bed. The man was pointing a gun at him.

"This the guy that's been following you?" The man asked.

"Yeah, that's him."

"Lacy," Demon moved to get out the bed.

"Don't move, I'll blow your brains out!" The man threatened.

Lacy moved to look out a window, her jacket now baring the symbol for the Aces Wild across the back in place of the Animals. She glanced at Demon only briefly but didn't speak.

"You know why I'm here," The man said.

"I have a pretty good idea."

"You've been following Lacy, making threats. That doesn't sit too good with King, this whole war is getting out of hand quick."

"I'm not making threats, I just want to talk to her." Demon said, looking at Lacy when he spoke.

"The thing is we know about you, you never just talk to anyone."

He glanced at the man then back at Lacy who was still staring out the window, completely detached from the entire interaction.

"She used to be one of us, that used to mean something to her. I wanted to know why she turned on the club."

"She has a better offer on the table now, that's all you need to know."

He looked at Lacy, she'd turned from the window but was doing her best to avoid looking directly at him. Just once she raised her head but he couldn't read her expression.

"Lacy..."He tried to speak to her.

"Don't." She said.

He moved, his intention was to get out of the bed and shake some sense into her. Two things stopped him, the man with the gun and the fact he was naked beneath the sheet. He glanced at the guy with the gun, he seemed to have already decided to kill Demon.

"Lacy, just tell me why."

"It doesn't matter," She said.

"He's going to shoot me anyway, you may as well tell me why."

"She doesn't owe you anything, you don't own her anymore." the man said.

Demon glanced back at Lacy, she was holding his gun in her hand. Her arm dangling loosely at her side, the gun almost slipping from her fingers. She stared at the man she was with then turned back to the window.

"Do you have anything you want to say to him?" the man asked, turning to Lacy.

"Not a damn thing," She said with a sigh.

"Sorry Mate," The guy said with a shrug.

He pointed his gun directly at Demon, but before he could fire a single shot Lacy fired hers. The man dropped in an instant and she stood in place, gun still pointed at where his head would be. She didn't speak or move at first then she let out a heavy sigh and lowered her arm.

"Lacy," He almost reached for her.

"Don't! Don't come near me!" She pointed the gun at him.

"Okay, okay," He put his hands up.

"This doesn't change a damned thing, I can't stop this war and I can't change it."

"I know."

"No, you don't."

"Explain it to me."

"Just stay the hell away from me," She started for the door, tucking his gun in the back of her pants.

"Lacy, wait."

She froze at the door, he body going stiff and at first he thought she was responding to his plea. Then he heard the bikes outside as well. He glanced at the window and she turned, rushing across the floor to look down onto the street.

He dove for his boxers pulling them on and she backed away from the window, almost panicking.

"Shit, shit, shit!" She cried.

"What?"

He moved to look out the window and she backed into his chest, on impulse his hands caught her shoulders. She let out a shriek and pulled away, whirling to point his gun at him again.

"I said not to touch me!"

"Okay!"

"The Animals are out there, Zeke, Ty and Wolf. I have to go."

"Lacy," He wasn't sure why he tried to reason with her.

"Demon!" She finally acknowledged him on a personal level, her eyes meeting his.

"You know what they'll do if they find me here," She said.

He did, Wolf hadn't officially ordered the kill yet but it was only a matter of time. If they found her here not only would they think Demon was hiding her but they'd turn her over to someone they felt was more qualified than him to obtain the information they wanted, if he was lucky they'd let him off with only a few questions but Lacy was a traitor and even luck wouldn't protect her from Raphael.

"Demon....." She was asking him what to do, he saw it now in her eyes.

"They're going to call in Raphael if I don't get results."

She paled considerably and looked out the window at where the other three men were entering the bar below.

"Get out of this town, get out of this state."

"I can't," She said.

"Why?"

"Because I just can't, I belong with the Aces now."

"Are you really there because you want to be?"

"Yes, so please....let me go."

He looked at her, really looked at her for the first time in a long time. When they became partners he somehow had gotten used to her but he didn't really see her anymore. She was just Lacy, his shadow, his partner, his friend. He knew she had blonde hair and blue eyes but until this moment he didn't know how beautiful she was or how much she'd grown up since they met.

"They won't let you go, the club. They can't just let you switch sides, you know that. The risk of you telling our secrets is too high."

"I know but I'm not ready, not now."

He hesitated, he had two options. One was to let her go, let her run and then track her down and so his job. Another was to try and keep her here and end it now, the second would most likely end in a bloodbath, Lacy wasn't about to go down without a fight and he couldn't risk Wolf, Zeke or Ty being hurt.

He moved passed her to the window and glanced at the empty street.

"Go out the window, now."

She rushed to the window throwing it open and took the opportunity to take his gun from her hand. She froze, halfway out the window as if she actually thought he would shoot her in the back.

"I'm not going to shoot you Lacy, you know that's not my style."

His statement was both to assure and a threat at the same time, she might be safe to turn her back now but when he found her she'd wished he'd simply shot her. She knew his job, knew what he did and what his orders were. Catch her, obtain information about the Aces and then make her disappear.

She forced her eyes to meet his and he saw a deep sadness in their blue depth. An ache he couldn't quite pinpoint, a pain deep enough it might have been there for years. She bit her lip and then slipped the rest of the way out the window, dangling from the windowsill for a minute or two before dropping to the ground.

He looked out the window just as she sat up, probably a little stiff but not seriously injured. It was only second floor drop and she'd jumped further in pursuit of people. She sat up, stood and was gone in almost an instant.

A second later the pounding at the door began and then Wolf, Zeke and Ty entered.

"We were out looking for you, the bartender downstairs said he heard gunshots." Wolf said.

"Yeah, one of the Aces broke in and tried to kill me."

"Looks like you got him first," Ty said.

"Yeah I did."

"Hey, we have to go. The bartender is kind of twitchy, he's going to call the cops." Zeke said.

"Alright, let's go." Demon agreed.

The other three men headed for the door and he hurried to put on his clothes. He paused at the door taking one last look around the room making sure there was no trace of him or Lacy left behind.

Satisfied there wasn't he hurried to join his brothers.