Chapter six

The darkness was gone and he could see a person standing above him. The body belonged to a woman. The first thing he had noticed were the fully black eyes looking into his face. The shape was so familiar to him like he had seen those creepy dark eyes somewhere before. A hand was reaching to him and there was nothing he could do. Moving was the most difficult task to do. Cold, slender fingers brushed around his neck and squeezed it hard. It all felt so real. He could feel the digits on his neck, holding it tightly. The woman wanted to choke him to death. Bucky couldn’t breathe. This wasn’t a dream, he thought. What was happening?

Bucky?

His blue eyes had opened after hearing his name and he quickly sat up, gasping for air. He took a deep breath and his metal arm was suddenly around his neck, scanning if there were someone else’s fingers. “Bucky!” This time a feminine voice said his name loudly, trying to get his attention. His head turned to the voice, capturing Izzy’s figure. She was standing above him, holding a cold piece of clothing in her hand. She was wearing some casual clothes and they weren’t black at all. “Welcome back,” she continued when she had his full attention.

The brunet didn’t understand what she meant by that sentence. What happened? Where was he now? When he looked around, he found himself lying on the couch back in the apartment. “Fuck,” he mumbled and rolled his eyes. “Fucking shit fuck. What have I done?” he whispered.

The girl bit her lower lip, tossed the clothing on the floor and crossed her hands over the breasts. She was wearing a very loose white shirt that was pretty much transparent. She had a black bra under it. Bucky once again saw her naked legs. He wasn’t sure if she was wearing any shorts under the shirt or only underwear. She knew how to distract him. “Well, you almost choked me to death but somehow we managed to put you down,” she said it softly like it wasn’t a big deal. “You were out of control, Bucky. What is the last thing you remember?”

He sighed, eyes instantly focusing on a window in front of him. It was already dark outside. How long was he unconscious? “Two men came to the bar and we fought them, but then that son of a bitch started to chant those goddamn words. Then I lost it,” he dryly gulped and hid his face into his giant palms.

“What words and who were those men?”

“It is an organization called Hydra,” he slowly started to talk about his past. “They kept me, trained me to become the Winter Soldier. I was their greatest weapon. They somehow programmed my brain to switch into the killer mood when they said those fucking words,” Bucky grunted. “I don’t know much, but I know they will do anything to capture me. I- I,” and then he quickly changed the subject. “How long was I out? Did you even buy the guns?”

“Hum,” she hummed. “You’ve been unconscious for the rest of the day. It’s ten in the evening. And fuck the guns. We postponed the meeting for tomorrow. We had to take care of you…”

“I should leave,” he said without proper thinking, interrupting her speech. Izzy almost choked on her own saliva. “You are not safe with me. Even your friends are not safe with m e. I almost killed you. I can kill you anytime.”

“Almost,” she said the word markedly. “Almost, Bucky, but you didn’t.”

“It doesn’t matter,” he harshly stood up. “I am an uncontrollable killer.”

Izzy stepped in front of him and hardly punched him above his left pectoral. “So am I,” she growled and looked into his eyes. “You think you are some kind of a special soldier? You think you are the only one in the world, the only killer? Well, you are wrong.” She gritted her teeth and cocked her head. “Just because someone threatened you, you are going to leave now?”

He was looking at her with squinted eyes. Bucky was taller than Izzy. “Don’t you get it?!” he started to yell at her and grabbed the girl by her shoulders. “I am different than you! You can pretend that you are a tough girl who can fight and kill anyone, but that is nothing from the things that I-had-done!” He was looking directly into her dark brown eyes; his face had a shade of red and the grip was pretty strong. “You have no idea who I am. You don’t know what I did.”

The black-haired girl wasn’t playing with him. She used her strength and pushed him back on the sofa. He landed there with a loud thud. “Oh my fucking god, stop acting like you are the scariest, toughest and most dangerous man in the world!” she gritted her teeth. “Stop acting like I should be scared of you because I’m not!” Her voice was confident and strong. Like she said, she wasn’t afraid of him. When she made a significant move with her arms, the shirt revealed her black underwear under it. Bucky noticed it with one eye and dryly gulped. No matter they were yelling at each other, she looked hot.

“Be careful, little girl or I‘ll make your nose bleed one more time,” he inhaled the air in the living room.

“Then, come on, hit me with your best shot!” she growled, eyes never leaving his.

Her tone and sentence made him angrily stood up and push his body against hers. Izzy could feel his hot breath on her face. Her head was aiming up, eyes scanning his face. “Are you trying to piss me off, doll?” he hissed. Standing too close to her dangerously beautiful body was arousing. Even when he was mad at her and would even slap her sassy mouth, he wanted to touch her delicious body. She was right in front of him, wearing almost nothing like she was doing it on purpose. His pants felt a little tight. It was such a long time he had sex. His erection was slowly showing off.

“Just look at you. One thing goes into shit and you are freaking out like a little girl,” she kinked an eyebrow and put her hands on her hips.

“What if they find me? What if they find you? They will instantly kill you. You have no idea who they are and what they are capable of.”

“What if I took care of it?”

He looked annoyed. “How could you possibly do it? Please, do tell me what you have done. I’m curious,” he was suddenly full of irony.

“Oh, stop talking to me like I am some kind of a baby, Barnes! The world is not spinning only around you,” she inhaled his scent and did everything not to close her eyes. He smelled good and his intimidating position was only making her sexually aroused. That man was the sexiest man she has ever seen. When he took his shirt off back at the gym, she tried to not look at his sweet body but failed miserably. He was so fucking hot that she immediately had a pool between her legs. This time was no different. “You are not leaving because of this silly thing that happened.”

“This is not a silly thing, Izzy!” he pushed her body from his and tried to reach the door. Ignoring his growing arousal, he focused his mind on leaving the apartment. “I’m leaving and there is nothing you can do about it.”

“So, that’s it? After all, I’ve done for you?” she surprisingly blinked, her mouth almost dropped on the floor. “The Winter Soldier scared of a little attack is going to leave. You are crazy! No, you are a little pussy – afraid of the thought what might happen next. ”

“Hey!” he snapped back, once again turned to her. His flesh index finger was pointing at her. “You were the one who said not to thank you for this. So, I’m not. I’ve made my decision and I’m leaving.” He had to leave. The girl’s body was calling him to touch her and take her even if she’s protesting. Yes, she definitely wasn’t safe.

“Fine,” she crossed her arms over breasts and moved her shoulders. “Go. If that’s what you want, you are free to go.” Her voice and body were telling him to do as he pleased, but deep down, she needed him to stay for many reasons. “Take your stuff and leave my apartment.” Without any other word, she turned on her heel and silently went to her room and closed the door behind her. She left Bucky alone in the living room, not caring what he will do there. However, the girl knew how it would end. Her eyes and ears were everywhere.

After several long minutes and various sounds, Izzy heard the sound of a closing door. Bucky really left her apartment and chose to run away. “Fuck,” she breathed, rolling the dark eyes. Grabbing her phone from the bed, she quickly called the only person who knew about everything.

-Hello?- Rick answered after few seconds. A rustle was heard from the other line. He was in the bar, working. There were a lot of people like any other day.

“He left,” she gave him the information. “I knew he would. Hydra found him and he thinks neither of us is safe while he’s with us. Fuck, he has no idea about anything.”

-Why didn’t you tell him about everything?- he sighed and moved to a calmer part of the bar. -I think it’s the right time, Iz. You can’t wait any longer.-

“He would kill me, that’s why I didn’t tell him yet,” Izzy bit her lower lip and slowly sat on the cold floor of the bedroom. “Believe me, when the time is right he’ll know about everything. He must be the one to remember. His brain wouldn’t process that information.” Taking a deep breath, she continued, “Hum, I wonder how he’s going to react when we will meet again.”

-Is it me, or are you falling for the puppy?- Rick laughed. -You don’t want to give up on him, do you?-

“I’m not falling for him and I don’t have a crush on him. What the fuck man?” she started to laugh. “You know why I’m doing it. Stop mocking me, you piece of shit. I must admit he was looking at me very hungrily while we had a fight. I bet he had an erection.”

-So what now, princess, what is your plan? Are you coming here?-

“No,” Izzy yawned, stretching her legs while sitting. “I’m going to take a shower, eat something and go to bed. I need to make a new plan for the mission in Orlando. I’ll see you tomorrow afternoon?” she smiled and closed her eyes.

-Of course, Izzy. And don’t forget to breathe. See you tomorrow.-

…

The sun was already down and the night was slowly coming. A lot of people were standing in front of the Raven. Some of them looked like polite people, not exactly fitting into this place. The black-haired woman was shocked by the people. Was something special happening down there? There were men who gave her sweet smiles and tried to be flirty. After few seconds, she finally solved the mystery – Happy Hour, everything for a lower price. Rolling her eyes, she approached the door. Izzy looked like she just came from a fancy party. A black tight dress, high heels, and her hair were brushed in a perfect high, massive bun with many braided pieces in it – yes, she definitely looked like she just came from a party. A leather jacket was hanging over her shoulders.

“What is a lady like you doing in a place like this?” a young handsome man asked her. He was holding a glass of something, probably rum or another type of alcohol in the right hand. He had blonde hair and a friend of his was standing on the right from him.

“Why doesn’t a guy like you mind his own business?” he winked at him and licked her lower lip.

His friend started to laugh and quickly said, “Nice bike.” He was pointing at her black motorcycle, she used for transport.

“Thanks,” she replied politely, heading down to the bar and ignoring the men. Walking down the stairs, she met many familiar faces. They belonged to the regular customers who liked to talk to Rick and Izzy. Most of them were wearing badass clothing that made them scary. Many of them greeted her; some of them only wave a hand.

She was once again shocked when the pub was crowded. There was nowhere to sit. Luckily, Edgar and Trent were sitting on their stools, talking to the bartender. Those two men were permanent with Rick in the bar. The sounds of her clicking shoes made all of the men stop drinking and look at her. “Well, look who’s here! The light of my life,” Edgar smiled at Izzy, raising his glass of scotch. “Come here, sweetheart. You can even sit on my lap.”

Before she could approach them, a random guy suddenly slapped her ass and laughed. “Or you can even sit on my lap, Cupcake.”

Making an annoyed face and taking a deep breath, Izzy turned to the man and looked into his hazel eyes. He was still smiling like an idiot, waiting for her response. “Oh, baby, you are new here, am I right?” she asked calmly, her right hand gently touching his perfectly combed hair. He wasn’t allowed to reply. She grabbed his bottle of beer and smashed it against his head. The glass shattered and he had a big bloody wound on the top of his head. Some of the pieces of glass were stuck in there.

“Holy shit!” somebody screamed.

“Did you see that?!” another person said.

Rick started to laugh-out-loud, banging his fist against the wooden counter. The new people in the bar were confused, looking at the bartender with their jaws on the floor. The wounded sassy man looked up at the woman and gritted his teeth in pain. He was holding the wound and his hand was covered with blood. A single drop of it was running down his face. “That is just the first warning, boy. Don’t ever do that again or I’ll make you scream and it’s not going to be of pleasure.”

“Now that’s hot,” another male voice said near her. Izzy turned around to see a very good looking man, sitting next to the bar, drinking a beer alone. He looked like he belonged to a rock-metal band. He had short black, messy hair, wearing only black clothes and he had a wicked smile on his face. He had his eyebrow pierced and there was a massive black ring on his left pinky.

“Thanks,” she replied without any interest and quickly scanned his face. Boy, he looked good. That man would be perfect for a wild one-night stand. Unfortunately, she wasn’t in the mood. Roughly poking the wounded man’s shoulder, Izzy went to her favorite men at the bar. A new barstool was already prepared for her. She sat down on it, crossed her legs like a lady and smiled at them. “Hello, my dearest boys.”

“How I love it when you hurt someone,” Rick was smiling like a devil, handing her a glass of vodka. “You always look so sexy and intimidating and, oh, did I mention sexy?” he grinned.

“What’s with the Happy Hour, Rick?” she cocked her head. “You must be truly desperate for new customers, am I right? Or you just wanted to be generous and make everything cheaper.”

The grey-haired man pulled his sleeves up to show his tattoos. “Darling, my special delivery has arrived today. I have gallons of illegal alcohol from Russia, Czech Republic or Italy. Even my good friends from Romania and Slovakia sent me bottles of homemade plum brandy.”

“Sounds delicious and dangerous at the same time,” she laughed a little. “Please leave me a bottle of that homemade plum brandy. I’d like to try it. I’ve heard they are very strong.”

“You heard correctly,” he winked at her and grabbed a new bottle of vodka from under the counter.

“Where’s our new friend. Is he staying at home alone, having a little mastur-vacation?” Edgar asked her, holding his glass between the old fingers, occasionally smelling the liquid.

“He’s gone.”

“He died?” Trent almost choked.

She laughed. “No, he just decided to leave because he was way too dangerous for us,” Izzy changed her voice to make it funny, playfully rolled her eyes and drank the vodka. “But don’t worry, he’ll be back. It’s only a matter of time – well until I’ll receive information where he is or until I find him myself.”

Her eyes met with the rocker. He really looked like one and that was a nickname she was going to stick with. The Rocker was holding a beer in a hand, slightly smiling at her. She never saw him in the bar. Why now? A corner of her lip curled into a light smile. Yes, he was sexy as hell and he tried to flirt with her – how daring. “And what if you’ll never see him again?” Rick talked to her and she turned her gaze to him. “What will you do then?”

Making a move with shoulders, she replied, “I have no idea. Actually, I wouldn’t care. The past – my past – will be finally closed.”

“And yet you like to open it every time you have the opportunity,” Rick said it loudly on purpose. “Okay, darling, I’m going to give you another shot of vodka if you promise me to think about it once again and this time, try to think calmly without saying I know what I’m doing.”

“I know what I’m doing,” she mocked him on purpose, brightly smiling at him. “Of course I will.” That answer was all he needed to hear. Raven turned to the customers and started to talk to them, taking orders.

Edgar looked at Izzy. “Now, tell me, I know it’s not my business, but what’s with you and that Bucky? You are mentioning your past and – I’m not an idiot – he’s clearly someone from it. I suspect he’s an important person, am I right?” he took a deep breath through his nose. “Probably, I’m no one special to you, but I just want to tell you to be careful. Okay? You are like the granddaughter I’ve never had.”

Giving him a little smile was all he needed. That was very sweet of him. “Rick, I’m going to need your assistance in two days,” she called for him.

“You want me to go on a mission with you?” the man turned to her and leaned closer. The people didn’t need to know what they were talking about. “Girl, I have a business to do here. I’m the fucking bartender,” he grinned, taking a clean glass from the sink.

“I’ll only need you for technological purposes. You’ll be here with my laptop and the only work you’ll have to do is looking at a map and giving me directions. How hard can that be?” her eyes sweetly blinked at him. “Come on, I need some kind of a backup here…” She couldn’t continue, because her eyes once again met with the Rocker’s eyes. Damn, he was mesmerizing. How did a guy like him appear in a place like this? She cleared her throat and sighed. “I’ll send you the instructions, Rick.”

The man quietly laughed and slightly turned around to look at Izzy’s new victim. “You are eye-fucking each other,” he giggled like a little boy.

“It’s not my problem he’s staring at me,” she replied harshly. “Give me another shot of vodka. I’m thirsty! Oh, boy, you call yourself a bartender?”

The Raven fulfilled her wish and gave the woman her favorite drink. Without waiting, she drank it and put the small glass on the wooden counter. “Thank you, my good men. Now, I have some other things to do,” she stood up and fixed her sexy dress. “My husband is waiting for me,” she said dramatically.

“Are you talking about your vibrator?” Rick started to laugh. “You know, I can give you the real thing, baby. If you want, we can do it in the warehouse on the old sofa,” he winked at her.

“Nah, I’m good,” she sent him a kiss and made her way to the stairs. All of the men were once again looking at her while she was leaving. Many of them have never seen a woman like her. She was fearless, and pretty, and scary. Her ass in that dress was like from a fitness magazine cover.

She took the keys from a pocket of the leather jacket and approached her bike. With fingers, she gently stroked the machine and smiled at it. She loved her baby so much. Every time she was riding it, she felt free. It’s been five years since she finally got to be free, but somehow, deep inside, she wasn’t. The word freedom and its meaning were a lie. How could anyone like her ever be free?

“So, that’s your bike,” a voice interrupted her thoughts. Izzy was already sitting on the bike and her eyes found the Rocker standing near her. He was looking at the black motorcycle, hands hidden in his jacket and smiling like a boy who just found his birthday present. “I’ve seen it many times here, but I’d have never thought it’s yours. You have a style.”

“I know,” the dark-haired woman grinned at him.

“See you next time?” that was the only question he asked her. That man didn’t even come closer to her for a small talk.

“Yeah,” Izzy nodded and a soft smile appeared on her face. That man was definitely that kind of a guy for a passionate one-night stand. It was a pity he didn’t try to make a move. She would have graciously taken him to her place and fuck his brain out. It’s been a while since the last time she got laid. Starting the bike, Izzy left the man standing on the sidewalk…

After several minutes, Izzy was back in her apartment. Closing the door behind her, she only saw an empty couch and her ears registered the quietness. It was different. Bucky was living with her for over two weeks. Now, she was there alone and it was just weird. She took off her leather jacket and threw it on the couch. The high-heels followed the lead. She took the mobile from the jacket and put it on the kitchen table. A knife from under the dress was next. She huffed and stretched her tired neck. Making her way to the bathroom, she stripped off the dress and lingerie, leaving a path of clothes behind her. It took her a few minutes until the bun was gone and she unbraided the long hair. The thought of cutting it made her sick. The long hair represented who she was.

The shower was relaxing and pleasurable. Finally, she smelled like a sweet coconut and she even washed her hair. It was a long process with the shampoo and conditioner. In the end, the result was perfect and she knew her hair would be clean for over a week. Izzy wrapped a towel around her body and another one used for the hair. Her eyes found shower gel for men in the corner of the bathtub. It made her think of the soldier. Why was she suddenly feeling so bad? That never happened before. With a growl, she left the bathroom and went into the bedroom where she put on an old black shirt and dark purple shorts. The last thing she had to do was to put the towels back into the bathroom.

It was less than a second when her feet stepped out the door. A hand grasped her throat so tightly she squealed; her dark eyes started watering. She tried to catch her breath and then she found those baby blue eyes looking into hers.

“Hello, Shadow.”

Notes

After a very long time (I'm so sorry guys!) new chapter is here!
I'd like to inform you that I can't write every day and post this story every week. I have a lot of things to do like studying and working and I like to spend time with my friends (occasionally partying). I'm traveling from the town I study back home and it's exhausting.
I'm trying to write every time I have the time (even during seminars at school - boy, university sux sometimes.)
That's all I wanted to write. Enjoy the chapter.
Oh, and about this chapter - I had to re-write it because it was boring and it didn't fit into the story. I think this version is better. I hope you will like it. :)