Branded For Ruin

Part 9

Bucky rushed out of his apartment, Alpine following quickly behind him. Before jumping on his bike, Bucky secured Alpine into his jacket. Bucky straddled his bike with incredible force and took off with record speed. His heart was racing, and his mind was playing a hundred different scenarios about what Mark would do once he kidnapped you. Weaving in-between cars and trucks, he realized he had no idea where you lived. For all he knew, he could have already passed your house. Pulling over with a frustrated sigh, he pulled his phone out and dialed your number, hoping you were still okay and would pick up the phone.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Doll, where are you?" Bucky asked frantically.

"Pulling into my driveway now. Why?"

"Get inside quickly and lock all your windows and door." Bucky commanded.

"Okaaay. Bucky, are you okay? You're starting to scare me." Your voice sounded concerned and Bucky sighed.

"That's the last thing I want to do, but Mark is coming, and I want to make sure you're safe. Can you please tell me where you live?"

You told him and he breathed out a thank you before shoving his phone back down his pocket and zoomed down the road again. A few cars honked at him as he pushed past them, but he could care less. All that was on his mind was getting to you before Mark. The tires of his motorcycle screeched as he took a sharp turn, a skid mark left in its wake. Alpine's claws dug in into Bucky's skin at that turned and he winced.

"Sorry, buddy. Almost there."

He practically leapt off his bike as he arrived at your house in record time. Bucky banged on your door, announcing it was him at the door. You opened the door to let him in only for another voice to ring out in the distance.

"Hands in the air! Now!" Mark shouted as Bucky turned around to face him, his hands slowly raising into the air, while you stood behind Bucky.

Mark had a large company of goons surrounding the both of you, guns pointed at you guys. Bucky was glaring at Mark with an intent to kill. Alpine slowly sunk into Bucky's jacket, trying to hide from the situation. Bucky's mind went into overdrive thinking of a way out of this situation without you getting hurt. The chances were slim.

"We can do this the easy way or the hard way." Mark said, his gun still pointed in the direction of Bucky's head. "Give me what I want, and you can be on your merry way. I won't even have to hurt that little cat of yours."

Bucky let out a low growl, but before he could say something. Mark was kicked over, along with a few of his other men. Two beautiful metal wings flapped in the air, and Sam smiled at you and Bucky before fighting some more of the guys.

"Get her out of here! Take her to the safe house!" Sam yelled over the fight; guns went off wildly in the background. "I'll be fine. Just get out of here."

Bucky nodded and fought his way toward his bike. Bucky quickly strapped his mainly unused helmet onto you. He felt your arms wrap around his torso as you guys settled on the bike. He checked Alpine before gripping the handlebars.

"Hang tight. This might get hairy." Bucky said before his bike took off.

A small scream left your lips at the sudden burst of speed, and you gripped Bucky tightly. A few of Mark's goons began to follow you. Bucky tried to speed up and took a few crazy turns trying to lose them. A few bullets whizzed past you and Bucky, and he cursed.

Your eyes were squeezed shut, you were just worried about holding onto Bucky and not flying off to your death. You knew getting out of bed this morning was a bad idea. You opened your eyes for a split second, only to see Bucky twisting around, shooting what looked like a pistol at the enemies. Where did he get a gun? And can he please watch the road?! You groaned as you buried your head against his back, hoping this would all end soon.

You heard Bucky curse again and a painful ringing blasted in your ears as he shot at the men again. You squeezed Bucky for dear life, your fingers clutching the fabric of his jacket tightly. You failed to notice the apologetic look Bucky shot you before he rounded another corner. The road was in chaos, cars were blaring loudly, and a few cars barely missed car accidents.

After what seemed like an eternity, the bike stopped. Bucky helped you off, before guiding you inside the safe house.

"We'll stay here for a bit until things cool down. In the meantime, we can rest up, and in the morning, we can figure out why Mark wants to kidnap you so much. Did I mention you have killer grip?" Bucky said lightly massaging his stomach.

"Sorry. I was scared." You mumbled, avoiding looking him in the eyes.

"It's okay. My driving was pretty reckless. The shower is down the hall. As for clothes, I, uh, spent a lot of time here, so a lot of my extra clothes are here. Sorry, there aren't any in your size." He said sheepishly, his hand lightly scratching the back of his neck.

You just nodded your head, the shock of everything that just happened was a bit too much. You shuffled into one of the rooms, grabbed some clothes, then walked into the bathroom. A nice hot shower could do you some good. It could take your mind off the events of the day and ease your muscles. But most importantly, get your mind off the fact that the safe house had only one bed.

~~~~~

Bucky's phone began to ring, snapping Bucky out of his thoughts that you two were spending the night alone with each other. Birdbrain was buzzing on the screen, and he accepted the call.

"Why am I always saving your sorry butt?" Sam asked as Bucky rolled his eyes. "Did you guys make it to the safe house okay?"

"Yeah, we made it okay. She's taking a shower right now, she seemed a bit frazzled about everything, but she'll be okay. How about you, are you okay?" Bucky asked switching the phone over to his other side.

"Yes, I'm okay. I was able to make it to a different safe house. You guys might want to stay there for a week or so, just until things die down, you're already on the news."

Bucky pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. "I'm sure my therapist is going to love that."

"Hey, don't worry. You'll be fine."

"You don't get it I broke rule number 2." Bucky groaned.

"Rule number 2?"

"Whatever. I'll talk to you tomorrow." Bucky breathed in anger.

"Alright man, take care."

Bucky clutched his phone tightly as Sam ended the call. A whole week here?! Good thing it was restocked recently. Bucky looked around the safe house, before his eyes landed on the single bed in the corner of one of the rooms. Just great.