Lucy woke up with a start, she made to move and speak, but a hand covered her mouth, keeping her quiet. She looked up with fearful eyes to see Bucky crouching above her. He was in a push-up stance with his arms on either side of her head and his legs covering hers. He kept his weight off of her and wasn't really touching her, except for the hand over her mouth, but he was within a hair's breadth. Every time she took in a breath of air, her breasts brushed against his muscled chest.
Bucky wasn't looking at her; he was scanning the windows of the car, looking for something.
Lucy's heart rate picked up, and she couldn't help the slight whimper of fear that escaped her mouth that was then muffled by Bucky's hand. His eyes flicked down to her face then went back to scanning. He lowered his body another inch until his form was against hers. From chest down to knees. He wasn't heavy because he was still holding his weight, but the comfort of his body over hers helped ease some of her fear.
Lucy's hands crept up from where they lay at her sides, moving slowly so as not to make a sound. She pushed them between Bucky and her own body until she could center them between their chests. She lay one against his heart. She felt the steady, unhurried pound.
If Bucky was this relaxed, she could be too. She closed her eyes and sucked in a long breath through her nose, filling herself with air. She then released it in a slow stream, letting all her tension exit with the exhale.
She needed to trust Bucky.
******
Bucky felt Lucy relax under him. He was impressed by her ability to let go of her tension when there was obvious danger around. She was alert but not in fight or flight like she had been a minute ago. His eyes stayed focused on the man walking through the woods roughly thirty yards away.
He looked like an innocent fisherman, headed towards the creek, but Bucky knew better. He would have been alerted by one of his traps. This man had crept up silent as a mouse. His one mistake was the fishing gear itself. It made him bulkier, which meant he brushed up against a few trees on his way through, causing the bark to fall. Bucky had woken within an instant upon hearing the first tumble of bark. He had rolled instinctively on top of Lucy, shielding her from view. She had been woken up by his movement.
His right hand still covered her mouth in a light grip. It was his only way of signaling to her that she needed to be absolutely quiet. Her hands moving had worried him, but she had done so silently and pulled them, so they were resting against his chest. If he wasn't so focused on keeping them alive, he might have taken a trip down memory lane to remember the last time he had been on top of a dame.
Bucky watched as the "fisherman" made his way closer and closer to the vehicle. To the untrained eye, it looked like he was just meandering, but Bucky could see the purposeful way he put as many trees as possible between himself and the SUV as he moved.
Bucky removed his right hand from around Lucy's mouth and inched it down his side to grab the handgun in his side holster. He pulled it out carefully and lifted his body enough to hand it to Lucy. Lucy took it with shaking fingers. He put his finger to her lips before grabbing another handgun out of his shoulder holster. He flipped the safety off as he moved. Bucky shifted slowly off of her making sure to keep Lucy shielded by his body from the attacker.
There was no way to exit the car without making noise, meaning Bucky would have to be quick. He looked behind him and signaled Lucy to move towards the back of the vehicle and stay low. She shimmied her way back holding the gun like it was a bomb. He would have to teach her how to shoot after this danger was gone.
He moved towards the right-hand side door, the same side the fake fisherman was on. The assailant was only ten yards away.
Bucky got in position, then moved like lightning. He popped the door open and fired. The man ducked behind a tree, but Bucky had been expecting that so he flung himself out of the car and rolled. He pulled himself up into a crouching position again that put him at a different angle to the tree and fired again. The bullet hit; right between that man's eyes. This all took about 5 seconds.
He didn't stop to look at the body; where there was one, there were always more. Bucky slammed the side door shut, leaped over the hood and jumped into the driver's seat. He started the car and took off. He looked in the rearview mirror to see Lucy lying on the floor of the trunk shivering. He didn't have time to comfort her right now. She would have to console herself this time. Bucky's stomach flipped in guilt that he couldn't do more.
He shook off the feeling and focused on keeping them alive, that was more important.
He tore down the back roads, spitting dirt and gravel. He moved the car with precision and skill, keeping the vehicle under control even at 70 miles-per-hour on gravel.
They made it onto asphalt and Bucky pushed his foot down harder on the gas pedal. They roared down the road at close to 110 mph. Bucky swerved past cars, receiving honks, but he didn't care. He wanted to put distance between them and any pursuers first. Then he would blend in.
Within thirty minutes of twists and turns, Bucky got them back on the highway and slowed down a little. He kept moving but didn't drive as recklessly as before.
*****
Lucy slowly sat up once they were on the highway and moved towards the front. With shaking fingers, she carefully set the gun on the front seat.
She had grown up in a redneck community, so she was not unfamiliar with people owning guns, but she had never held a gun before. Her father didn't believe in owning them, not after her grandfather's experience in the Vietnam war. She put up one of the seats in the back and sat in it with a heavy sigh. Her body was still trembling with adrenalin.
Lucy had been terrified that Bucky would be harmed or killed. Surprisingly she hadn't been worried about herself. If Bucky had been injured trying to protect her, she would never forgive herself. Now wasn't that an interesting thought.
She couldn't figure out why she cared so much for his well being, just that she did.
Lucy looked up when she felt the car slow down. She saw that Bucky was pulling off of the highway. He pulled into a gas station and got out. Lucy stayed where she was. Lucy heard the click of the gas and heard the car start to fill up. She wasn't looking though, just staring straight ahead.
She was surprised when the door next to her popped open. Lucy looked up into Bucky's face. He tentatively held his arms out to her, and she took the offered gesture. She got shakily out of the car and allowed him to wrap his arms around her and hold her to him. She buried her nose in his chest, taking in his scent.
A few tears fell from her eyes, but he didn't seem to notice, or, if he did, care that she was getting his shirt wet. He just held on until the pump clicked off. He let go and pulled it out before tucking Lucy in the front seat. She noticed the gun was gone and was very thankful Bucky had moved it.
Bucky got back in the driver's seat, and they were off again. After about half an hour of driving in silence, Lucy couldn't take it anymore and turned on the radio.
She found a pop station; the music wasn't her favorite, but it was useful for distracting her. She listened as Selena Gomez sang the chorus to "Can't Keep My Hands to Myself."
Lucy closed her eyes and started to sing along. It wasn't her favorite song by any means, but it was a good distraction song. It was bouncy and fun, even though it was entirely focused on sex.
Her singing was interrupted when the radio was turned off suddenly. She looked over to see Bucky scowling at the road, his hands clenched around the steering wheel.
"Bucky?" Lucy asked hesitantly.
She watched as his hands tightened even more around the steering wheel, making it groan under his unbelievable strength. Lucy tentatively reached out a hand and placed it on his arm. She had never seen him like this. He glanced over at her, then back to the road.
"I........Just don't like the song," he growled out.
Lucy was startled by that. She hadn't expected a sexy song like that to make him so.....angry.
"Why don't we find a classical station then?" she asked trying to lighten the mood.
Bucky's grip noticeably loosened on the steering wheel and he nodded his head.
Lucy flipped the radio back on and started skimming. They made it through all the radio stations without finding a single classical one. Lucy sighed internally, frustrated. She flipped through the channels again. No luck.
