A/N: Sorry it's taken so long to update! I've been so busy between full time work and college... but I'm here! Spring break is coming so I'll be able to write more then. Also, this book only has a few more chapters left! I have another Bucky story-- one that is completely finished and saved as a draft here on Wattpad-- that I think I'm going to publish after this one is over! I hope everyone who enjoys this story goes and checks that out soon :) I'll let you know when it's posted! 

Lots of love, 

Winnie

Bucky's Turn

I take Sadie out to breakfast the next morning like I promised. We go to a quiet little café about twenty minutes outside of her rural hometown. I watch her ramble on how nervous she is about the wedding above the top of my tea mug. No matter how many times I assure her that the cake is perfect, she won't believe me. So I simply let her rant as she eats—offering me the leftover bacon on her plate after she's full.

Then she drives us home and parks under the big oak tree where her childhood treehouse resides. I take her hand in mine as we walk through the house then to our little getaway in the back. It's when she's standing above the washroom sink, doing her makeup in the mirror, when I feel my phone ringing in my pocket.

Digging out the loud device, I see Steve's name. I glance to the open bathroom door. Sadie's got her hair halfway pulled back while she carefully glides a tube of red gloss over her lips. The "bachelorette party" starts in about an hour.

"I gotta take this, doll." I stand from the bed without looking too hasty about it.

Sadie regards me with those stunning river-water eyes. "Okay. I'm not gonna need a ride for a while now." I've offered to chaperone so that after the night is done she can give me a ring if she's had a bit too much to drink. I'd rather not have to worry about her feeling the need to take the car home.

"Got it. I won't be long." I start to walk out of the room before stopping. Feeling a bit guilty deep down in my gut, I turn to hurry back to her. I kiss the top of her head—not near her makeup, or else I'd be scolded—and squeeze her slender waist. "Love you."

I practically run down the stairs into the garage. Then I'm shuffling back in some dusty-ass corner where I don't think she'd be able to pick up my voice from the guest room upstairs.

"There you are, Buck. How long does it take you to pick up a phone?" Steve questions me tiredly.

"I had to get away from her," I explain in a hushed voice. "Did you find anything?"

"On the dead guy?" It's that damn Sam on the line, too. I must be on speaker. "Nah—not any more than SHIELD got on the first one."

I pinch the bridge of my sore nose. I'd been whacked in the face only the night before. Thankfully, there are no bruises or cuts to have to hide from Sadie.

"Explain what happened again, Bucky. Your text didn't make a lot of sense," Steve prompts me.

I sigh. "Sadie was at the wedding venue all day yesterday in the back kitchen. I left around eight to get some food, and then came back a half hour later. I did a sweep of the property before I left, and right after I got back. I really didn't think anyone would know where to find her. I thought..." I stop myself with tightly closed eyes. "Well, it doesn't matter what I thought, because I was wrong. We heard something. I had her lock herself in the kitchen then I went looking. I found the damn crook hiding out behind a fallen stack of chairs. Took only a minute to take him out. Hardest part was not using my gun and keeping him from firing his. I couldn't risk Sadie hearing. I hid the body in the trunk of our car. I dumped him during the night when she was asleep. SHIELD got back to me and said they'd gathered the remains."

"Sounds like a rookie if you ask me," Sam says. "Did he put up a good fight at least?"

I shake my head—forgetting momentarily that he won't be able to see me. "No. Not at all. He got a good whack in at my face with the side of his rifle but that's it. The weapons were all standard. Not military grade; nothing fancy. I thought you'd be able to track them."

"SHIELD tried. Results came up empty. Must be black market buys," Steve offers.

I curse lowly away from the phone mic. Huffing, I bring it back to my face. "So do you have anything helpful to offer?" I can't help my biting tone.

"Keep her close, keep her alive."

I roll my eyes. "Thanks for that inspirational information, punk."

"We're still looking. But if this tells us anything, it's that whoever is doing this knows Sadie's going to be at that wedding tomorrow. It's not a good idea for her to go."

I glance upwards to where I hear the hairdryer roaring. "I can't take that away from her, Steve. You can't expect me to crush her heart like that."

"Better that than have her killed, Buck." Steve sighs. "I know it's not fair, but..."

"Fuck no it's not fair. She didn't ask for any of this," I grumble. I slump against the wall with a curse. "She doesn't deserve this."

"No, she doesn't."

I stare at the wall of shovels and saws hanging precariously in front of me. My finger traces the jagged metal teeth of the sharpest one. If I know how to do anything outside of love Sadie Mae, it's kill a man. If I have to keep doing that for the rest of my life in order to keep her alive, so be it. "I can keep her safe. I know I can." I swallow stiffly. "I won't let these people take her life away: one way or another. And one way or another, I'll keep her alive."

Sam's smile is palpable through his words, "That's my boy!"

I grunt, "Shut up, Wilson."

"Do you think it could be her dad setting this up?" Steve asks.

"No. It's too organized to be him; Sadie doesn't think he's smart enough for anything except the harassing calls."

"Maybe she's underestimating him."

I hear the hairdryer click off upstairs. "I don't know. All I know is that I'm not gonna be the jackass who tells her she can't go to the party tonight or the wedding tomorrow. I'm going to have to just keep an eye on her."

"You mean you're going to go to the bachelorette party with her?" Sam asks. "Dude, I know you're old, so let me explain. The idea of it is that it's women only. No guys, especially not boyfriends. Believe me, I've tried to get in on a few but no luck."

"I think I can manage to sneak my way around a group of wine-drunk women. Besides, Wanda should be flying in this afternoon and she'll have my back, too. Has someone filled her in already?"

"She's caught up," Steve replies.

"Good, good..." my thoughts fade as I hear the garage door opening from the outside. "Gotta go." I don't give much else than that before hanging up on Sam and Steve. My body stiffens into defensive mode before I see the shadow of frail woman pop into view.

"Bucky? What are you doing down here with the plywood?" Sadie's mother chuckles when she finds me lurking in the corner.

"Just taking a call. Her hairdryer was a bit too loud to hear around," I answer by saying.

"Well feel free to step into the house next time. Bekah won't bite, you know. She may have quite a big mouth but it's harmless," she jokes on behalf of her other daughter. "Anyway, would you tell Sadie that someone called the house phone for her?"

"Who was it?" Immediately I'm on edge, because anyone that would need to get ahold of Sadie would know to text her cell. I play it cool though by sticking my hands into my pockets and keeping my eye contact lighthearted.

"One of the other bridesmaids, I think. She didn't say her name but she called to double-check the name of the bar they're meeting at tonight."

"Did you tell her?" I scratch the back of my neck where I feel like a nervous rash is growing.

"I didn't know it," Ms. Schatz replies. Wiping her hands on her pants, as if wet from washing, she shrugs. "Would you let her know for me?" She's already turning to leave the garage again. "I've got pasta on the stove I need to check on."

I nod. "Of course." After flashing a toothy grin she seems satisfied. Sadie's mother leaves me there alone by the planks of old wood again.

I make my way towards the stairs again. My mind runs in circles about what I'm supposed to do tonight to keep Sadie safe. It's all I can think of until I break the threshold into our guest apartment. That's when I spot Sadie there, in the center of the room, smoothing down the ends of her little black dress. Her head turns back when she hears the creaky door announce my return.

"There you are," she breathes out in relief. She hurriedly steps away from where she'd been adjusting her thin dress straps in the mirror. Her purse is on the bed. She grabs it and chucks me the keys. I somehow manage to catch it without looking away from her pretty figure. "We're running late."

"What?" I snap out of the trance to see that those gorgeous red lips are pursed with annoyance with me. "Sorry, you just..." I shake my head and smile genuinely for the first time all day. "Damn, sunshine. You look gorgeous."

She shakes her head with a scoff. "Oh please."

"Seriously." I laugh lightly as she continues to mess with her hair in the mirror. "You're stunning."

Sadie glances back at me, almost as if checking for sincerity. "Well, thank you. That's sweet." She finishes clasping on her second earring and turns back to me fully. "We're really running late though." She chuckles lovingly and comes to press a kiss to my cheek. It surely leaves a patch of lipstick in its path, but I don't bother wiping it away. She's much taller in these strappy black heels and I find it surprisingly alluring to watch her strutting out the door in them. "Hurry up!"

And just like that, I've lost all ambition to tell her not to go. The look on her face—how excited and anxious she is—is too pure to squash. I want to keep her safe, but it's going to have to be a bit more complicated than Steve and Sam think it should be.

"Just one sec! I gotta pee," I shout down the stairs at her.

Sadie's head pops back into view. She's more than annoyed. "Seriously!?" She lets out a jagged sigh. "Fine, fine. Just hurry, babe."

"Stay there. I'll be right down." I wink at her and dash back into the suite. Checking over my shoulder, I pull out my second suitcase from under the bed. I grab three guns and four knives to quickly place all over my body. A couple other novelty torture things find places in my back pockets before I'm jogging down to meet Sadie.

"That was fast," she comments lightly. We begin our trek down the pebble-stone path towards the car park. On the treacherous high heels she wobbles a bit with each step. Chuckling, I grab her by the arm. Her pretty river-water eyes dart to me questioningly before a squeal leaves her lips. I've hoisted her up into my arms to cradle all the way to the car. "You are absolutely ridiculous, James."

I grin down at her. "I gotta keep an eye on you, sunshine."

"Or what? I'd trip and fall? I think I could handle walking down the driveway." She shakes her head at me.

We get to the car and I let her onto her feet. "I told you I'd take care of you." I open up the passenger door and gesture with a wide, metal arm for her to step in. "I fully intend to keep that promise, sugar."

"Alright, alright," Sadie laughs lightly. Awkwardly, because the black dress is so tight, she shimmies into her seat. I wait until she's comfortable before closing the door and jogging to my own side.

The bar in which the women are supposed to meet is about twenty minutes out of town. I drive her there, kiss her goodbye, and then wave as she walks into the joint. I pretend to drive away in case anyone's looking out through the window. I park a few blocks down and leave the car only then.

I check my phone. One text from Wanda says she's here already and is going to keep a good eye on Sadie. She seems to know that I'll be secretly tagging along to the party tonight and offers to keep Sadie distracted if I happen to be too close in the room.

I have to remind the Scarlet Witch that quietly stalking people has been my specialty for the past seventy years. Keeping my generally oblivious girlfriend in the dark tonight shouldn't be much trouble at al... as long as trouble doesn't find her first, which in recent weeks has been the trend.

The inside of the bar is complete chaos. Sensory overload leaves me blinking rapidly the first step I take inside. Then my senses start to separate and clear out as the smell of vapor reaches my nose. It's more of a club, actually, when taking in account of the crowd and dark blue color of the lights. It takes no time at all to spot Sadie in the farthest corner with a group of women all in dark shades of black and maroon—a popular color, apparently. The room swims with life in all forms of dancing, smoking, drinking, and grinding. Sadie's already seated at a table with a tall-stemmed glass of something pink in her hand and a quiet smile playing on her lips. She doesn't look the most comfortable, but this isn't exactly her ideal setting. I can imagine she'd much rather be at home or at a trendy little restaurant.

But her smile grows into something much more genuine as Wanda comes to take a seat beside her. The witch is wearing orange, much brighter than any of the other dresses, and has her hair down in a similar way to Sadie's. They talk casually and I feel safe enough to look away. I don't want to seem like I'm stalking her, even if that's almost exactly what I'm doing.

I settle down at the bar with my back to the rest of the room. The noises are picked apart in my mind until the busyness dilutes into something closer related to a picked-apart abstract puzzle. The pieces are everywhere—the sights, smells, sounds—waiting to be examined.

"Drink?"

My eyes move up to the twenty-something year old bartender. He's looking tired beyond years and I feel bad enough for him to order something just to leave a tip. He nods after taking my order and then disappears under the counter to grab the stout, chilled whiskey glass.

The music of the club is the damn most obnoxious mismatch of sounds I've ever heard. I feel about a hundred years old watching these damn kids dance and sing to the stupid songs that sound like nails on chalkboard to me.

The bartender passes me my drink. I slide him a couple of bills, assuming this will be my only drink, and he nods gratefully. I then subtly glance back behind me towards where I last saw Sadie. Her best friend Laurie is trying to yank her onto the dancefloor. Sadie, laughing and turning pink, eventually succumbs to her best friend's wishes and follows her towards the center of the room. Wanda stays back at their table and lets her eyes stray around the room questioningly—as if looking for me. I'm relieved when she can't spot me. It means Sadie will have a hard time finding me, too.

For the first time in my life I've got a sick, guilty feeling in the pit of my gut for following someone. Sadie looks so happy out there, and I know I shouldn't be here. If it wasn't for this damn mystery threat hanging over her head I'd be letting her have all the space she wants—there'd be no way I'd be watching her like this for no reason at all.

I promised her I'd keep her safe. If this is what it takes: so be it.

A text makes my pocket ring. I pick it up, reading Steve's message.

S.G.R: SHIELD got a hit on the body you left us. Hired hitman from Peru.

I text back a quick reply and wait. It takes about a minute for Steve to say:

S.G.R.: Still can't say if it's Hydra or her father. I'll let you know what else they find.

Sighing, I realize that these Shield idiots are taking ten times longer on solving this mystery than I'd be able to do myself. I text Steve back real fast one last time, thanking him for updating me, and then go back to my drink.

I'm just putting my cell back into my pocket when I hear the blood-curdling scream from the dancefloor.