Afghan War army veteran Bucky Barnes has spent the last nine years working as a private investigator, the only job he could get after being found responsible for the deaths of two young boys in Afghanistan. After a year in military prison and a dis...
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Within minutes of leaving Bruce's practice Bucky went on the highway for a while then pulled off and used the country roads. It was winding and took forever but as he explained to Natalie it would be harder for anyone to follow them out there. They finally pulled up to an isolated cabin. He opened Natalie's door and helped her out of the car, then up the steps to the door. Running his hand over the sill at the top he found what he was looking for, a key. Unlocking the door, he let her in first then guided her to the couch and helped her sit down. Returning to the car he brought their luggage in, taking them to the bedrooms. Down in the living room he kneeled before Natalie, holding her hands.
"This is my parent's cabin," he said quietly. "I spent my summers here growing up but I haven't been here since my court martial. They rarely come here in the fall so we should be safe. I've ordered groceries but I can't pick them up until tomorrow morning. There should be coffee and tea here so we have that at least. Come with me so you can see what he did to you."
Gently he led her to the bathroom. Without any words he let her go in and look at herself in the bathroom mirror. When she broke down crying he held her firmly in his arms and kissed her head, murmuring softly to her.
"He'll pay for that, I promise," he said solemnly to her. "I'll make your bed up and you can rest while I get the furnace and hot water heater going and a fire in the fireplace."
"I don't want to sleep alone," she whispered. "I'm afraid."
"Okay," he replied. "We'll share a bed but that's as far as it goes. You're still my client."
She nodded and he helped her up the stairs to the master bedroom, pulled plastic storage containers out of the linen closet, chose some sheets and made the bed. Then he looked for the containers containing the quilts that his grandmother made and pulled them out, laying them on top of the clean sheets. Inside the closet were storage bags that had the air sucked out of them. After releasing the valve on them so they inflated the bags revealed a couple of pillows. Putting pillowcases on them he put them on the bed. Leaving her to change he went to the utility room and started up the power, furnace, water supply, and finally the hot water heater Then he went outside to the wood pile and began bringing wood in for the fireplace. When he finished that he checked on her and was satisfied when he saw her curled up in the bed, fast asleep. He checked the kitchen cupboards but only found some crackers, cookies, and tea in a plastic bin. No coffee. He ran the tap for a while to blow out all the air then filled up the kettle and made some tea, sipping it as he ate a couple of crackers and cookies at the kitchen table. They were stale but it was what was available. After an hour or so he could hear noises upstairs and poured Natalie her own mug of tea. She came down the stairs and took the mug in her hands, sipping it gratefully for the warmth. Bucky pushed over the crackers and cookies, apologizing for the quality. She smiled and took a cookie, dunking it in the tea, eating it carefully as it hurt to chew.
"He hit me outside the police station," she explained quietly. "Then again when he dragged me out of the car at the warehouse. After he tied me in the chair he slapped me around demanding to know where we had been and where we heading. Since I only knew we were headed to Pittsburgh that's all I could tell him but he didn't believe me and that made him angry. I think he would have beaten me worse if Trent didn't intervene."
