As I lay with my head in Eden's lap during the movie, all I could think about was the monster that was out there right now hunting her like she was prey. The monster had no idea what he was in for….I was a predator too and soon he would know what it was like to be the victim for once. I kept glancing at my phone sitting on the coffee table….waiting, growing more anxious by the minute.

The movie is almost over…it's nearly 11:30. Clint must not have been able to find anything. SHIT!

My phone suddenly beeped then and I snatched it up to read the message.

Barton: Target located. Call me ASAP

I sat up from her lap and said, "I need to make a phone call…don't bother pausing it" I knew she would want to know who it was texting me so late and as I walked to the bedroom, I wracked my brain for some kind of excuse to give her. Not finding one, I simply pushed the thought from my head and focused entirely on the phone call….he picked up after the first ring.

"What did you find Barton?"

"I picked up his trail easily enough. I followed it and found him at an abandoned warehouse about 4 blocks away. I climbed the roof and got in through one of the windows to watch him. You were right Barnes…this guy is a monster"

Shit!

"What do you mean?"

"I watched him for a while before calling you. He's definitely a rapist...not just your average run of the mill rapist either. He plans it out carefully…brings them back to the warehouse and films the attacks. I saw him watching the videos of himself with at least 4 different women. Fucking sicko! I'm also assuming he murders them afterward. I checked into it and found 6 different women have gone missing in the last 6 months within a 10 block radius of his place. No rapes have been reported though...no bodies found either"

"Son of a bitch! I'll kill him. Where are you?"

"We can't just eliminate a civilian Barnes, even if he is a sorry piece of shit that deserves it. We have to talk to Director Fury first…get clearance."

"Barton, we don't have time to run this by Fury. We need to do this now!"

"No! I'll keep him under surveillance until the Director is notified and gives his orders. I can't just take out someone without some kind of proof…and neither can you"

"You said so yourself…the guy is a fucking serial rapist and murderer. Steve told you what happened, right? What would you do in my place?"

"Yeah, the Captain told me what happened and I understand this is personal for you. If the tables were turned and it was Natasha then you better believe I would feel the same way. But you also have to realize that SHIELD doesn't hunt down murderers and rapists…we aren't vigilantes and this isn't our jurisdiction"

"I realize this isn't really SHIELD's jurisdiction but it's still the right thing to do Clint"

"The Winter Soldier was the assassin Bucky, not you….unless you want to be considered a murderer then you need to get authorization to do this. You've worked too hard these last couple of months to just revert back to being a ruthless killer"

"Fine, call Fury tomorrow and let him know about the situation, but you have to take me out there tonight…right now! I need to see for myself."

"Bucky, I don't think…."

"What's the address?"

"Corner of Haxton and Southfield"

Fuck, that's only a few blocks from here!

"That's not far from where I live…Jesus, he is too close. I'll meet you there in 15 minutes"

I pushed the end button before he could argue with me and threw the phone down.

"Fucking piece of shit" I cursed out before walking to the closet and digging into my black duffel bag. I had tucked the 9 millimeter in one of the pockets on the inside when Eden and I had gone to pack up my stuff from Steve's. I didn't know how she felt about guns but I knew I felt better having it there…just In case. I threw in on the bed before reaching for a pair of black jeans and a black shirt.

I was slipping them on when she opened the door. She looked at me with wide eyes and then noticed the gun still sitting on the bed.

Fuck. What do I say? She'll be terrified if I tell her there is a God damn murdering rapist only a few blocks away. Some monster that has his sights set on her.

"You heard" I said, cursing myself for not closing and locking the damn door. In a way though, I was glad she had heard. It kept me from having to make up some lie to tell her….I never wanted to lie to her.

"Damn right! What is going on? Where are you going? What the hell are you doing with that gun" she said as she pointed to my 9 millimeter.

I knew seeing the gun laying there in our bed is what really pushed her over the edge…I may have gotten away with leaving if she hadn't seen that I was taking it. I shook my head and grabbed for my boots I had no idea of what to say to her so I said nothing.

"Because from what I could gather from your conversation, it sounded like you were going to hunt down a serial rapist and murderer. Care to explain that one to me?" she yelled.

I looked down at the gun in its holster and then back at her. I was absolutely willing to use that gun to protect her…to keep her safe. I had said I would fight to the death for her and I meant it every word. That monster wasn't going to touch her…I'd rather have her angry with me then have her dead, or worse.

I picked up the gun and placed it behind my back, attaching it to my jeans. I could see she was shaking, unsure if it was from anger or fear.

Don't let it get to you Bucky. You have to do this. Keep it together!

I wiped all the emotion off of my face and said, "Eden, I don't have time to explain right now"

Good start, stick with that.

I picked up my jacket and slid it on. I was surprised when she stepped forward and pushed me hard, "Well you better fucking make some time"

I grabbed her wrist to keep her from pushing me again "Stop Eden, I have to go" She stood there shaking her head at me, tears welling up in her eyes.

Leave now, if you see those tears it's over!

"You're not going anywhere until you explain yourself Bucky. You made me a promise, remember? No more missions. No more HYDRA." she shouted before pulling her wrists from my grasp and sticking her hand up to my face to see the ring I had given her. I remembered the look on her face when she pulled it from that satchel…the way her eyes had lit up…the way she had spent the rest of the evening looking at it. "Your promise to me Bucky" she said forcefully.

I backed up away from her feeling guilty as hell….torn between going out to find that bastard that was trying to hurt her or staying there and holding her in my arms. I ran my fingers through my hair and argued with myself on what to do….I was fucking pissed that I had to hurt her this way to keep her safe. I slammed my hand down hard on her dresser and notice her jump out of the corner of my eye.

What the hell are you doing Bucky? You're scaring the shit out of her. No, you're trying to keep her safe.

"I'm not going on a mission Eden…and the reason I'm leaving has nothing to do with HYDRA, I promise you that. Please just don't ask questions. I swear I will explain as soon as I can" I begged her, hoping she would accept my words and not push any further.

My resolve ended when the first tear slid down her cheek and she brushed it away quickly.

"Shit Eden, don't cry…don't do this to me" I pleaded to her. The need to comfort her was too great and I stepped forward to wrap my arms around her. She pulled away and spit out, "Don't touch me"

I ignored her and wrapped my arms tightly around her until she stopped squirming against me. I could almost feel the anger radiating throughout her body. Once she was still I said, "Listen to me Eden. All I can tell you is that I'm going to investigate something with Agent Barton. I won't be gone long…and I promise, just as soon as I can, I will fill you in on what is going on, okay?" I tried to sound as calm as possible, I didn't want her to worry.

I sighed with relief when I felt her relax in my arms and whisper, "Should I be…worried? I mean…you're taking your gun"

Shaking my head I replied, "No, you don't have to worry. Come on Eden, have a little faith in me woman! I'm only taking my gun as a precaution. Did you think I survived HYRDA all those years by not always being prepared?"

I really was only taking the gun as a precaution…that bastard wasn't going to get off that easy. He would feel a lot of pain…not just for all those women he had already hurt either…No, he would feel excruciating pain for what he was planning to do to my Eden.

She laid her head on my chest and it made me feel a little better, "How long until you're back?" she asked.

"2, maybe 3 hours. Go to sleep and I'll wake you up when I get home so you know I'm okay"

She pulled away as she nodded, "Just know right now Bucky, that I'm mad…so mad, that you may find that bedroom door locked when you come home tonight" She angrily pointed at the door and I knew she was still mad.

"Eden…I don't want you to be pissed…"

She cut me off when she threw herself at me, wrapping her arms tightly around my neck. I knew if she was really angry at me she wouldn't be clinging to me this way right now so I happily wrapped my hands around her waist too and leaned down to kiss her deeply.

I got a small smile out of her when I said, "You know I can pick a lock, right?"

"Whatever you're doing, please be careful" she whispered.

"I'll be back, please don't wait up worrying about me. I want you to get some sleep" I said.

She nodded, "I'll try"

I turned to leave the bedroom, needing to get away from her before she changed her mind and got angry again. I don't know how I got so lucky to find someone that was so reasonable. Once I picked up the car keys I turned to her, "Lock the door…as soon as I leave, throw the deadbolt on…you don't answer the door for anyone. Do you understand me?"

She looked up at me with worry in her eyes, "I promise"

I leaned down to kiss her once more and then walked out. I stood outside the door until I heard her turn the deadbolt and then I made my way down the stairs and out into the parking lot. The drive was as short one, only about 5 minutes.

This fucker is way to close.

I parked the SUV on the street and then looked around for Barton. I spotted him on the rooftop of an abandoned building to my left. I made my way over to the building, climbing the fire escape effortlessly until I reached him. He led me to the window he had used to access the inside of the building and I followed him as he made his way inside.

What I saw over the next hour sickened me to my core. He was still watching videos of himself with his victims…tormenting them relentlessly….laughing at their calls for help. Their screams echoed throughout the building and Barton had to hold me back multiple times as we observed. The monster finally turned the videos off and starting walking around talking to himself. We were too far up to make out what he was saying but I could imagine the crazy shit coming from him.

He reached into a bag and pulled out a folder, sorting through it like he was searching for something. He found what he was looking for and threw the folder back down into the bag. They looked like photos but from where we were, I couldn't make them out. I looked over at Barton and he knew exactly what I wanted without me having to ask. He reached into his jacket and pulled out a small pair of binoculars and handed them over to me. The asshole was taping the pictures to a wall. I looked through the binoculars and inhaled sharply when I finally got a look at the pictures he was now running his fingers over, caressing them delicately.

They were colored photos of a young woman….blonde hair, blue eyes…all familiar to me…all of them were pictures of Eden. He had to have been following her for at least a week…the entire week that I hadn't been around to protect her, when I had left her to keep her safe from HYDRA or whoever the fuck was responsible for her wreck. I could see there were some of her walking down the street…I recognized the diner she was standing in front of. I saw another one of her walking with a brown paper bag in her hand…the muffins from this morning.

Eden is his next target.

"Perfect" I suddenly heard the man shout from below "You are perfect Eden" Her name echoed on the walls and it sent a shiver down my spine.

How the fuck does he know her name?

I reached behind my back for my gun, ready to put this monster out of his misery. He thought he could touch my woman…stalk her…terrify her…treat her like she was just a play thing. There was no way that was going to happen; he would die here…right now. I felt Barton reach for my hand and I glanced up at him, narrowing my eyes. He shook his head vehemently, "No" he mouthed. He stood up and yanked me to my feet, motioning that it was time to leave. I turned around one more time to look down at the man…he was still standing in front of the pictures. He now had his hands in his pants, touching himself as he stared at the pictures of Eden. I clinched my fist and reached for my gun again but Barton grabbed my arm hard and shook his head at me.

I knew Barton wouldn't be able to stop me…if I wanted to, I could kill that man and there was nothing anyone could do to stop me. But Barton's words from earlier ran through my head again and I pulled my hand away from my weapon.

"The Winter Soldier was the assassin Bucky, not you…..You've worked too hard these last couple of months to just revert back to being a ruthless killer"

I thought about Eden then…the promise I had made to her about The Winter Soldier being gone. I also thought about what I had said to Steve earlier tonight.

"Every part of me loves her, even the Winter Soldier inside of me."

I struggled to sort through the screaming in my head, the battle raging inside.

Bucky Barnes knew the right thing to do was leave and go home to Eden...hold her tightly and never let her go…he loved her and couldn't bear the thought of anything happening to her. Bucky would follow orders and wait for word from Director Fury.

The Winter Soldier wanted to go down there and kill that mother fucker in the most painful way possible…drag it out slowly so he could feel the pain those women felt. The Winter Solider loved Eden too…that wild spark in her made him feel stronger, more in control…more powerful than he ever felt when he was a part of HYDRA. He wanted justice…he wanted vengeance.

In the end, Bucky Barnes won the battle that night. I followed Barton out of the building and back down the fire escape.

"I've got someone on the way now to watch the place until morning. There's going to be someone following him 24/7 until a decision is made on what to do" he said.

"You know what decision has to be made Clint" I replied.

Clint shook his head at me, "I know it would be for the best. Hell, I almost did it myself when I first saw him watching the videos…but we're soldiers Bucky and when we kill it's because we are following orders…that's what makes us different from the murderers. Go home to her. I'll talk to Fury tomorrow and get back to you"

I nodded and shook his hand before making my way to the car. It was hard pulling away from that building knowing what kind of monster was inside.

When I finally got back to the apartment and locked the door, I stood nervously outside of the bedroom, praying that Eden hadn't locked the bedroom door. I wasn't lying when I told her I could pick a lock…but I didn't want to have to do that. I knew if it was locked then that meant she was still mad at me and I couldn't handle that right now. I only wanted to lie next to her and hold her close to me, smell the wonderful floral aroma of her hair.

I reached for the doorknob and let out a sigh of relief when it turned easily and the door opened. She had her back to me and I could hear her breathing softly. I smiled when I saw an old wooden baseball bat propped up against the nightstand.

Smart girl!

I quickly took off everything but my boxers and made my way into the bed to crawl in beside her. I lay facing her, admiring the peaceful look on her face as she slept. She opened her eyes slowly when she felt me brush a strand of hair from her face, "Bucky"

"I see you didn't lock the door" I said quietly.

She smiled sleepily, "I seriously considered it"

I laid back and she immediately snuggled closer to me and sighed happily when I wrapped my arm around her.

"I'm glad I didn't have to pick the lock" I said, smiling down at her. She smiled back at me and kissed my chest softly.

"Are you going to tell me what's going on now?" she asked, not looking up at me.

I shook my head and heard her sigh, "Not tonight Eden…right now I just want to hold you, just like this" I said squeezing her tightly.

"Tomorrow?" she asked.

I knew she wasn't going to let it go…I knew I would have to tell her. She was strong…the strongest woman I had ever met….she could handle it.

"Tomorrow" I promised.

That answer seemed to satisfy her and she pulled the covers up over us both and fell quickly back to sleep. I lay there for a long time, listening to her breathe, feeling her soft body against mine.

"I'm never going to let anyone hurt you...ever" I whispered before placing a soft kiss on her forehead.