((Thank you to everyone for being so patient! My shifts at work have changed, so hopefully I'll be able to start updating regularly again! Please continue to let me know what you think! This is quite a long chapter, hopefully that'll make up for the wait!))

ADAMS

He lay in that bed as if he'd always been there. But something she noticed, was he would stray to the left, as if expecting someone to be laying next to him, one hand reached out onto that empty side. It almost bothered her. Who was he missing? Who had once be there for him to hold, but was missing now? In the doorway, she could have been an observer, a carer just checking in on a patient, but in the room, she felt as if she were part of the scene. Like she should have gone and laid down next to him so that he didn't feel so lonely in his sleep. Now in the warm and that she'd forced some soup down his raw throat, he seemed to be far more settled. She'd dressed his wounds as best she could; but his hand? It lay on top of the covers. She stood next to him; arms crossed, and looked down at the fingers. They'd been snapped in all directions; it would take far more than her tapping them together to fix those – he could be crippled for an eternity. She bit her lip, hugged herself a little tighter.

'Why would someone want to hurt you so badly Seth?' the words escaped her lips before she had time to stop them; questions that she just couldn't keep inside her brain. Roman had told her they'd stolen something; had the red monster been after answers as much as she was? What could be so important that Seth would take so much to keep it a secret? To keep it safe? They'd all risked so much...for a moment her mind drifted back to the warehouse. That was where they'd been before Roman had decided to take a road trip...logic dictated that whatever they'd taken would be hiding there.

She was almost tempted to go hunting, but knew, that without knowing what she was looking for, it would be pointless; a sovereign among a mountain of coins. Renee turned and took a mug off the window sill, still hot, her cocoa she'd put down when she'd entered the room. It near burned her hands but after the intense cold of the night, she was grateful of the feeling. Her waitress uniform was hung up in the kitchen, strung from various pegs. A hot shower had found her feeling human again, and she'd slipped into a jumper, trackers and slippers. Winter still lurked at her windows, but at least, there and then, they could both forget about the cold.

Seth had been reluctant to let her touch him at first. But with her insistence and kind words, she'd managed to convince him. She was rather proud of her efforts; the temptation to ring her mother had been overwhelming, but she knew the woman would not be best pleased at her ringing at that time of night, nor the news that her daughter had a fugitive in her bed.

He had such slender hands. Thieving fingers. It almost made her smile. What a strange dream this all was. She was sure at some point she'd wake up and find herself back in Mama's, taking orders and delivering burgers. Her reality had never been so dangerous or exciting.

Renee lifted the mug to her mouth and took a generous gulp of the smooth chocolaty goodness. Fuck the diet. She deserved this.

As she lowered her head, she near jumped when she noticed Seth had opened his eyes. The mug nearly hit the floor, but she managed to secure her grip and put it back on the sill without too much trouble.

'Hey, how're you feeling?'

His good hand went to his head and rubbed it. She'd had to force the covers under the mattress so that he couldn't throw them off. As soon as she was dressed, she'd been straight on the laptop looking up symptoms of hypothermia, and how to treat it. When you didn't have answers – to Google! She'd pulled out the winter blankets from under the bed and near covered him. On the bedside table was another mug of hot chocolate, and a thermometer. She'd very nearly pulled out an old nurse tiara she had in the cupboard from a fancy dress party years before; but thought the better of it. She wanted Seth to feel safe, not be worried she was suddenly going to go all Annie Wilkes on him and start hammering limbs. He had enough things broken.

'Tired...' his voice was stronger than before, but not loud. 'Cold,' He shivered down under the blankets before grunting in pain. 'Fucking ribs...'

Good, swearing was good. In her experience people swore when they were feeling better.

'You're lucky Seth, could be a lot worse. If Roman hadn't somehow pulled me into this mess, he may have come back to a dead body.'

To her surprise, the man shook his head, 'He doesn't want me dead,' eyes flicked to the mug beside him, then despairingly down to his busted hand. Renee understood, hurried over, picked up the mug and very gently allowed him to sip from it. Luckily his bruised face had already started to go down, he had an odd purple yellow tinge, but better than it was. The cut on his forehead had turned out smaller than she'd thought. Seth nodded, and she put the mug back down. 'Love cocoa...used to have it all the time.'

'If that monster didn't want you dead Seth, he was doing a pretty brutal job of keeping you alive.'

'That monster, his name is Kane. We don't get along.'

'I can tell.'

'He was sent by the Game...wanted answers. He can always find me. No matter where I hide.'

A horrible shiver rolled up Renee's spine.

'He can...always find you? You mean he'll come here?'

A grim nod from Seth; she looked around her beloved little house. This was her home. She'd bought it herself; this was her shelter, her sanctuary. The very thought of that Kane finding it...

'Why can he always find you?'

'That's what he does. He's known as the Devil's Favourite Demon, he finds people. He gets what he needs from them...then they die.'

'But not you?'

He shook his head; something she could tell hurt him. 'Didn't give him what he wanted. Didn't give it up; went through too much shit getting hold of it in the first place.'

Slowly, Renee sat on the side of the bed, careful to avoid causing him pain or touching him in anyway. She just needed a minute. Every single time she asked a question, she received answers she didn't like. These were marked men, foolish men it seemed...unable to outrun the demons hunting them down. For a moment, there was silence. But then, slinking around the corner of the bedroom door came a familiar ball of fluff. Lillian purred and played around her mistress' legs. Renee leaned forward and scooped up the cat, placed her in her lap and stroked her absently, eyes out the window at the winds .

'What did you take from the Game Seth?' she looked down to Lillian, whose eyes were on Seth, as they had been since he came into her home. He, and all his troubles, and she was the guilty one, because she'd been the one to drag him there. She'd delivered him to her own door, and only now, finally, after the adrenaline was gone, was she ready to start feeling afraid.

The same look she'd been given by Roman earlier answered her; that testing, knowing look which felt as if her character was being judged. But Seth's eyes were different to Roman's. It felt like he was seeing straight through into her actual brain, because his gaze was on her forehead, not her eyes. As if he was trying to read her thoughts. What could it possibly be that they wanted to keep it such a secret from her? That they were so willing to protect?

'It was never his to begin with,' Seth closed his eyes, head dug back into the pillow. She wanted to throw something at that face, he was mocking her.

'Don't you sleep, don't you dare. I want to know.'

One eye slipped open, just a slither, and for the first time since they'd met, he looked her in the eye.

'No, you don't.'

'Try me.' She leaned forward, frown etched on her face. 'I'm not scared of you. What terrifies me is not knowing; I'm a part of this now Seth. I need you to understand that, because anything I don't know could kill me.'

He laughed at her then. She wanted to push down on those broken ribs. She hated him in that moment. Renee moved from the bed, made to leave, Lillian falling to the carpet. But just as she was about to go through that door, something made her stop, one hand on the frame...waiting. If she was patient, if she didn't allow her emotions to get the better of her...perhaps she'd win. But he said nothing. The laughter had eased, but her anger had not. She left him alone in that dark room. Alone, save for a patch of grey blue fur, which jumped up onto the bed with ease. Who curled herself up next to the slowly warming body there. His fingers reached out, scratched her ears.

'The further away she is the safer...knowing is what'll kill her...think she hates me?' his soft voice asked the cat. Lillian looked up at him, blinked, and mewed. He sighed, 'Thought so.' He closed his eyes. He'd slept better in this bed than he had in his own months before. Perhaps it was the comfort of knowing the only eyes watching him meant no harm. But then...his head rolled to the side and found that empty space once again; occupied by a cat. A small smile cut his lips. So this was safety? He could get used to it.

Renee sat at the kitchen table and scribbled furiously. The black pen scratched against the paper, tearing in places but she didn't care. She just needed to get him the fuck out of her system. After all she did, all she was rewarded with was silence and laughter. She didn't know anything more. She was risking her life for men who didn't seem to care or even notice. She was giving strangers her trust, when they refused to give it back. After what felt like only minutes had passed, she sat back in her chair, and let the pen drop to the floor. It hit the kitchen tiles, rolled under the table but she didn't care. Her elbows were on the wood, head in her hands, long blond hair fell about. She stared absently at the page in front of her, not seeing anything beyond the mass of lines. Where was Mr Cesaro? She felt the need to smash someone with a kettle again. Somehow she didn't think it would go down too well with Roman if she tried that on Seth...

Roman.

She blinked, cocked her head a little to the left. She thought she'd just been tearing at the page, but now that she looked, really looked...it did almost; if you looked at it...it did look like him. How weird. Maybe he was just as much in her bad books as Seth. But it seemed even in her rage he had those same intense eyes and pronounced jaw. Who was this third member of their party? This Dean Ambrose they so worried about? What was he like? Was he anywhere near as infuriating as his brothers? She traced the lines of Roman's hair. Had he angered her? Really? Perhaps...but he'd always somehow made up for it.

Except now he hadn't. He was nowhere to be seen whilst she dealt with his arsehole brother. He was off playing hero. If he'd managed to follow the plan...had he actually made it into the car? She hadn't hung around to find out...she should have stayed, given him some form of get away in case everything hadn't gone according to plan. Guilt suddenly welled up inside, and she pulled her mobile from her pocket. Nothing; from anyone, let alone an unknown number. Maybe he just didn't have access to a phone. Pretty fucking likely considering what he was trying to do. But then, it had been hours now...wouldn't he have tried to find one, just to ease her concerns?

Arsehole.

She sighed and put the phone on the table. Food. She wanted food. Specifically something covered in peanut butter. Fuck the diet.

Just as toast popped and she set to assaulting it with bananas and peanutty goodness, there was a short bleep bleep. She didn't even remember moving, but found herself at the table, phone in hand, checking, waiting. Damn thing was taking too long to open messages! Her fingertips were coated in peanut butter but she didn't care.

Words came up, her eyes widened.

I'm in Kennedy. I have to fight in the underground for a chance to get to Dean. Keep Seth safe.

I'm alright. Don't do anything stupid, stay out of sight. If something happens, remember, some dirty deeds can be forgiven.

Her eyes glance over to the gloves which lay on the work top, where she'd dumped them earlier. They looked harmless, but she could remember the feel of cartilage shifting, of bone crunching, the sound. Renee put down the phone. As soon as she did, it blinked again.

Stay safe Renee, I'll be back soon.

An unsteady smile tugged her lips, and she licked peanut butter from the end of a finger.