Broken Cages (MCU)✔️

A Morning On The Town

The club was loud as we walked through the VIP section. Steve's hand did not leave my waist. But while Peter's hand always promised companionship and... more, Steve's was protective and, as everyone else could see it, possessive.

Steve and Peter chatted in hushed voices before we got off the plane, and Natasha reviewed the plan with me again. When I glanced back, she had explained they were talking it out. She smirked as she ran a thumb across my mouth, cleaning up a bit of the lipstick that had heavily smudged. "I like you two together. Hold onto that, Katya." Her advice was appreciated but not necessary. I didn't want to let go of Peter.

There were people here we should be cautious of already; we knew that when we walked in, but we had to look relaxed. But even the soothing circles that Steve's thumb rubbed against my midsection did not calm the heavy beating of my heart.

We followed a bouncer to the back of the room. Steve was larger than the bouncer, which had given him pause before he directed us to the booth where Tony's friends were waiting for us to make the deal. The two men who were waiting were small and fat, but they had crazy looks in their eyes that showed everyone how dangerous they were. Steve greeted them professionally, but instead of pulling me into the booth to trap me beside one of the men, he grabbed the loose chair, spread himself on it, and pulled me onto his lap. I was slight compared to his thick muscles. Both my legs fell between his, and my bottom rested on his left thigh. He had both hands on the table, trapping me with his steel arms.

It was an intimate position, but I felt safer in his arms than I would have next to the small man who began to talk to Steve about the current deal. I tried to keep my head down, making myself small. But all I wanted to do was look around. Were they here?

"Why not take that girl to dance, Dallas? Young things like her can surely move." One of the two men, the smaller one, said to Steve. Dallas was his name. It was legal because it was the man I was married to, but it was also ridiculous. We both knew that dancing was one way we would be more exposed, but it was an excellent way to dangle me.

I wanted to avoid it, but the man continued to push, saying if we could give him a good show, he would sign the deal. We didn't even need the deal, which was the worst part, but we had to act like we were here for a reason. Steve eventually relented, pulling me up towards the dance floor.

I almost chuckled when he stood still in the middle of grinding bodies. Figures that dancing would be the one thing that made him nervous. I smiled up at him and pulled my hands from his, putting them on his biceps, pushing them, getting him moving.

He eventually moved his hips with mine, keeping his hand on my exposed skin. We bumped around many bodies, and I glanced at the men watching us a little too closely. I pressed two fingers on the inside of Steve's elbow, a signal letting him know that it was okay.

There were some signals we had created, by a suggestion of Loki, who said sometimes safe words were important even when you couldn't say the words. A press to the elbow for it's okay, a pinch to the arm for it's not. A scratch palm for danger.

Steve placed his hand on the front of my throat, lifting me slightly to his lips. He didn't move against me, but I could feel the tenderness against my bruised lips. His lips were warm and soft, different from the rest of his imposing stature.

I closed my eyes into it as Steve ground into me, kissing me hard, putting on a show. When he stopped, I glanced at the men. They were no longer watching. Perhaps satiated by the performance or uncomfortable watching. Either way, this gave us an opening to move about the club, with a reason that we were into the dance. Steve really had not looked into the dance before.

His hands were just below my chest as he spun me around the club into many sweaty bodies. I kept my face neutral. I was not disgusted by the club patrons, and I was not happy for Adam, who could very well be watching, wanting me to want him, wanting me to want to be saved.

We weren't sure if we had been marked when we returned to the weapons sale, but we made a show. I looked like every other girl here, but Steve turned heads. He was a remarkable-looking man despite his poor performance in dancing.

We went upstairs to the hotel above the club to maintain the show. It was, luckily, a nicer hotel. It is filled with rich men and women looking for a good time. We weren't sure if the room had been bugged, so we were careful. Steve held me close as we made our way to the room, his hand resting on my backside.

The room was large and modern, sporting a decadent bed and, unfortunately, a glass shower that opened into the bedroom. I lay on the bed, not expecting to get any sleep but at least relishing the opportunity to rest in silence, when Steve launched himself at me, pulling me off the bed.

My ears rang as I lay beside the bed; a gun had gone off and hit the bed where I had been lying. I peered past Steve's shoulder, seeing feathers floating in the air – the result of a destroyed pillow.

"Stay down," Steve commanded as he shuffled off me, his eyes everywhere. I shoved myself as close to under the bed as I could manage.

Glass shattered beside me, and I cringed to my side, and bits cut my arm and the side of my face. I kept my scream at bay as the tiny cuts sliptered my body. Steve was already on the man who had burst through the door and was on the ground beside me before I could feel all the pain of my injuries.

I sat up, moving away from the unconscious or possibly dead man. Another man who had splintered the door and burst through was already rushing towards me. Steve took him down from the waist. The team should already be on their way. Steve was wearing a heart rate tracker, and if his heart rate went up a certain amount, they would be alerted of danger. Plus, I am sure they had other eyes on us.

A gloved hand grasped my ankle, dragging me through the glass. I couldn't stifle my scream this time, but Steve was occupied fighting a third assailant, leaving me momentarily alone. My right leg, luckily still clad in heels, was free.

I jammed my heel as forcefully as possible into the man's hand, clutching my left ankle. He released me with a painful grunt, allowing me to scramble backward and get back on my feet. By the time he managed to rise, I was in a defensive stance, ready for whatever came next. In my peripheral vision, Steve had subdued one man and was dealing with the last attacker.

Rather than waiting for the man to come after me, as Steve had advised, I grabbed the lamp from the table next to me and hurled it with all my strength at the intruder's head. He crumpled to the floor with a groan. My tears flowed freely now, the adrenaline fading as quickly as it had surged.

With all three assailants incapacitated, Steve approached me, rolling one arm as if to put his dislocated bones back in place. Instead of asking if I was okay, he carefully examined the cuts that marred my skin, moving his attention from my arms to my legs and finally settling on my tear-streaked face.

Steve grabbed my hand and pulled me out of the room, down the hallway and the back stairwell to where a car awaited. It was empty. We jumped in, speeding through the picturesque streets of Slovakia. As we reached a safe area, my tears had dried, and I rested my head against the car window, trying to regain my composure.

Steve was focused on driving, and his grip was tight against the wheel. We pulled into a field, and the plane's lights shot into our vision. "I am so sorry, Katya," Steve finally spoke.

I didn't have the energy to respond. We didn't think they would have tried to kill me; we thought they wanted me alive. All I wanted was Peter. But Peter was not there to greet us as we exited the car. It was Tony and Loki, who both had crazed looks in their eyes. Steve rushed to my side of the vehicle after he opened his, and I got out slowly, leaning against the side of the car; my cuts still had little shards of glass burning.

"It wasn't the Croatians."

"Who was it?" Steve asked, standing straight as I stayed down.

"Russians who wanted to mess this up for everyone involved. They wanted to take out Katya to end the deal. The same thing we wanted, just a very different way of getting there," Bruce explained as he stepped out of the plane.

Steve placed a protective hand on the back of my neck, one of the only places that didnt ache, thanks to my long hair protecting me.

Loki didn't have joy in his eyes when he spilled the next part of the plan. "We know how to draw them out."