𝘚𝘵𝘦𝘷𝘦
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Aurora. I needed to get to Aurora.
Timothy didn't catch me off guard, it was only a matter of time before he tried to come take her since he figured he owned her. Which is disgusting, so when I landed a bullet in his skull, I didn't feel any remorse. I was killing to keep Aurora safe, and I would never feel bad for that. But now that dead bodies littered my living room floor, I was panicking. I didn't see Aurora, and I had given her a pain pill she would've been knocked out. "Steve?" Bucky's voice yanked me out of my stupor, and I jumped over my now bloody couch, climbing the stairs so fast I was surprised they didn't break under my steps. Bucky was rushing behind me, trying to keep up with me when I threw the door open, hearing the drywall crack when the knob hit it. The bed was empty, the gun was missing from the bedside table, and my heart was thundering.
I ran over to the bed, my hand pressing on the mattress where she had been laying just hours ago. It was cold, and that made my throat close up. Did Timothy's men get to her? Is she trapped in a house she doesn't want to be in? I must have swayed because Bucky threw his arms under mine, holding me up. The room was spinning, "I can't lose her," I whispered, pushing myself away from Bucky and sitting on the edge of the bed. "I can't, not when I just got her back."
"Nat's gone too, Steve."
Sam ran up to the door, panting as he gripped the door frame, we all had blood splattered up us, but I knew they were both as nervous as I was. Natasha and Aurora being taken was a nightmare situation. Because if they had no problem offering up Aurora for marriage, what would stop them from doing the same to Nat? "Boss," Sam gasped and I blinked a few times to try and focus on the man. "The Bently, it's gone."
"Turn on the tracking," I told Bucky, glancing over to the closet, if she found that walkway, maybe they were out of here safe, and that's what I was hoping for when I finally got the nerve to walk into my closet, reaching for the shoe I knew I kept the flashlight in, I wasn't sure what to expect, but the relief that hit me when I found the boot empty of the illuminating device, was mind-numbing, because it gave hope that she was safe. I needed her to be safe. "Any update on the tracking?"
"Yes," Bucky walked into the closet, handing me the phone, "It's heading into the city, and from the off-ramp the car just took, it's heading towards the office."
"Grab Nelly," I told Sam, who reached across the mattress and gripped the purple elephant, careful to not smear blood on it. Ridiculous truly, that I shared so much love with that fucking plushie, but that same plushie got me through the nights she wasn't waking up, and I'll be damned if it's not a good luck charm, "Let's go, we're going to the office."
No one fought with me as we all filed out of the house, leaving the clean-up teams to discard the bodies and clean up the blood. I was trying not to show it, but I was shaking, anxiety was clawing at my chest, and if Aurora wasn't at my office, I would absolutely walk into the Coppola house and kill every single man. I was tempted to anyway because Angelo had the gal to order the attack on my home, the one place of sanctuary I have. Not once have I ever spilled blood on his family property, I've kept it clean, even when I took Aurora, I never spilled a drop of blood. But he came in to try and kill me, to get his hands on my girl, my future wife, and now it was game over for him, he would be destroyed.
We took the SUV, Bucky was in the passenger seat, Sam sitting in the back as I started the engine, tossing that plush elephant into Bucky's lap If I didn't know how much that goddamn plush meant to her, I would've left it at the house. But I knew Aurora, and she would act strong until she was utterly alone and then she would break, needing me and the plush that Dante had bought her as a little girl.
Cars moved out from in front of me, giving me a clear path into the city. With each mile we crossed, the fear in my chest grew, because what if this was a trap, someone who left the house knowing that I would go to Aurora, or where I assumed she was. But it was a risk worth taking, because if she was there, then I needed to be there too so I could hold her, for my own sanity.
I threw the car in park as soon as I got into the lot, pulling the key from the ignition and rushing inside. My loafers pounded against the marble floor as my employees stilled seeing me covered in blood. This building was where I did more of my legitimate business, sure, they knew who I was, and what I did. But I kept most of my illegal dealings out of this building, away from these people. They were mothers, fathers, sisters, and brothers just trying to make ends meet. I paid well, and in turn, I kept them safe. But right now, I couldn't care less about the questions being hurled at me as I stepped into the elevator, I'd deal with it later. Sam had barely crossed the threshold of the elevator when I pressed the top floor, making the doors shut after to carry us up.
The ride felt like it took ages when we finally reached my office floor, and I sprinted down the hallway, throwing the doors open, and nearly falling to my knees.
Because sitting on my couch, uninjured, was Aurora, and she shot up, sprinting over to me. "Oh my god," I whispered into her hair, my hands shaking as I gripped the back of her head, the other wrapped around my waist, "I'm so happy to see you bambina," I whispered, kissing her head before burying my face in the scent of strawberry that she got from her shampoo.
"You're not hurt are you?"
"No," I spoke gently, stumbling back into my desk chair with her, pulling her to my chest tightly. "No, I'm okay, how did you get out? Nat?"
I looked up to where Bucky was holding Natasha's face, moving it around to make sure that she wasn't hurt, but she was able to answer me, "No," Natasha whispered, wrapping her arms around Bucky's waist, "She found a tunnel that led out of the house," Bucky pulled Natasha to his chest, and I could see the terror bleed out of his system. It was always Aurora targeted, and now he got a taste of the fear that I felt every single day.
"Take her home, Buck," I told him seeing the silent thanks flash across his face as he took Natasha's hand, "Sam, you're free to stay in the guest room of the penthouse tonight, but we need to have some time to calm ourselves."
Sam nodded, and I took Aurora's hand when I stood up, pulling her out of the office with me.
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Aurora was ethereal when she stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows.
The golden lights from the nearby building filtered into the room, illuminating her silhouette, she was a painting, and mine. All fucking mine. I got out of bed, walked across the cold floor, and wrapped my arms around her waist from behind. We hadn't been in this apartment since the day I took her, and we had managed to live a lifetime since that day. I kissed her temple, her body relaxing into mine as I swayed us, she was watching the lights, and I was watching her, the peaceful look on her face that showed no signs of fear, of pain. "You're gorgeous baby," she tipped her head back so she could see me, "I love you."
A soft smile crossed her lips, and she leaned up kissing me softly, I gripped her hips, turning her slowly and pressing her back against the window, swallowing the noises she let out, my teeth scraped her bottom lip and I chuckled hearing the tiny moan fall past her mouth. Aurora's arms came up to wrap around my neck, holding onto me while I devoured her, forging her soul with mine. I've loved before, but nothing like this. Aurora was all-consuming, her name set fire to my skin, if I bled, you'd see her. She was the earth and the stars, and the blood in my veins. She was everything to me.
She pulled away, shyly dipping her head down so I couldn't chase her lips anymore. "I want to visit my father."
I pulled my head back further to look at her, tipping her chin back with the crook of my finger. "Aurora, I can't let you do that, not with your last name being Coppola."
Her hand came up to cup my face, a thumb pulling my bottom lip down enough for it to snap back into place. "After we get married then, I told him that my face would be the last face he saw before he left this world," I pulled her closer to me again, watching the golden lights dance across her face, I loved her so much it hurt. "I'm so tired of living in fear Steve, I'm tired of those I love being put in danger over something that shouldn't even be sold. He's hurting my family, and it's time to put a stop to it."
People she loves. Her family. Aurora was one of ours. Fully and completely.
I tucked some of her hair behind her ear, a finger trailing down the side of her face after. Aurora was the one precious thing I had in the world, yet, I didn't have it in me to tell her no. She needed to do this, she needed to end it for herself. As much as I wanted to do it, to keep her hands clean, I could see how badly she needed to do it for herself. She needed to see him end in front of her, to finally erase that fear from her life. Her biggest enemy was the person who was supposed to love her fully. My thumb traced her bottom lip, the rosy skin parting for me, and I leaned down to kiss her softly. "I would never tell you no," I spoke against her mouth, "But I want to be with you, I need to be able to protect you, I need you with me Aurora."
Her lips met mine in a slow, soft kiss, fingers sliding through my hair as she arched towards me. I loved her, I loved her more than the stars in the sky, more than the myths, more than my mob. I loved her, I loved her, I loved her so much it hurt. My arms banded around her waist, my mouth slowly moving away from hers to press my forehead against hers. "Promise me," She whispered, the fear in her eyes apparent, "Promise me you won't throw me away when you're bored."
My heart cracked, she was used to being tossed aside, and I couldn't, wouldn't, ever do that to her.
"Oh sweet girl," I kissed her nose softly, "I will never bore of you, ever. I love you so much it hurts, but I'd live with this pain every day because the pain of not having you is so much worse."
Aurora grinned, brushing her nose against mine, "You really love me because you brought Nelly."
I groaned quietly, but I couldn't hide the smile that appeared when I heard her giggle, "I can't believe I have to share your love with a goddamn stuffed animal." I teased, pulling her tighter to my body. "But it got a first-class ride on Bucky's lap into the city, so I guess I need to get used to it."
Aurora wrapped her arms around my neck and laid her head on my chest, and suddenly my world righted itself. I've done a lot of bad things in my life, killed more than I'd like to admit. But it was all worth it for this moment, for this girl. I'd do it a thousand times over for a glimpse of her smile, I'd do it a million times over if it meant I had a guarantee of her in my arms forever. "Tomorrow." She whispered and I furrowed my eyebrows, not moving.
"Hm?"
She pressed back to look at me, "Tomorrow, I want to get married tomorrow."
I smiled at her, kissing her softly once, twice, three times, "Then tomorrow we get married bambina."
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