CHASING GHOSTS | BUCKY BARNES

15

"Yeah, they're kinda strange,
But I wouldn't trade them for the world."

NADINE

The next day, everyone packed and left for one of the other islands in Madeira. Nadine and Natasha said nothing about what happened, but the others knew they had something to do with it. It wasn't hard to connect the dots, after all.

It's not that they didn't want to tell them, but they figured that until they knew that the authorities weren't looking for them and Taj, it was better to keep it between the three of them, much to everyone else's chagrin.

Steve kept asking Natasha about it. He reassured her that she could trust him, and that whatever happened they could solve it together. Unfortunately for him, Natasha's survived interrogations tougher than a kind friend wanting to help, so she wasn't gonna talk any time soon. As for Nadine, Dante tried to talk to her, but she shut him out the first time and he hasn't attempted since. And Taj? Well, his tactic for avoiding questions was convincing everyone to go the beach, to Praia Escondida. It was a relatively hidden beach and on a Monday it's completely empty, meaning that it's safe for them to enjoy some time away from the chaos of their lives. Or so Nadine wished.

She was now sitting on a beach chair, scrolling through the news on her phone to see if there's any indication that they'd been linked to the crime; her paranoia was high, and she felt like any minute they'd come for her and her friends. After a minute or so of reading an article, Nadine felt a presence next to her and looked up to see a shirtless Bucky, which made her choke on air. A part of her thanked the fact that the beach was empty, and another part was unabashedly staring at the man before her. Then there was the other part that was still laughing at the fact that he was wearing patriotic swim shorts. She didn't know where they came from, but she had a feeling Sam had something to do with it.

"Can I sit?" he asked, motioning towards the empty seat next to her.

She looked away from his muscled figure. His shorts made his thighs look thicker, which made her swallow hard. "Uh, yeah, it's a public beach."

"What're you reading?" he questioned as he made his seat, leaning back against it as he studied her, eyebrow raised and a hand to his temple. He was definitely not amused.

"Just the news," she replied vaguely, locking her phone before tossing it into her bag again. "Gotta keep up somehow."

"You mean like what happened last night?"

Nadine stayed silent. She'd been expecting this, but she didn't think he'd wait so long for his turn. He was one of the last ones who tried talking to her alone. Well, in his defense, she was also avoiding him, considering he was the Triad's target and she traded her life for his.

"I know you had something to do with last night," Bucky said in suspicion, though she didn't miss how his gaze wandered to the scar on her abdomen for a second. Probably wondering where that was from, she assumed. "I mean, you disappear, and five women end up dead. Oh, and you're avoiding me."

"Everything's fine. And as for last night, I found some company." And that company tried to kidnap her, but that was a minor detail, right?

Bucky didn't seem convinced, but he also seemed aggravated by her comment. She could tell by the way his blue eyes raged with silent anger and he bit his lower lip in an attempt to hide his emotions. "Yeah, sure."

"Hey." Leave it to Taj to have perfect (deliberate) timing. He brushed the sand off his arms, the shade of it contrasting significantly with his brown skin. "You know what we should play?"

"What?"

"Conga." The grin on his face widened when he saw the panic in Emilia's eyes. "We haven't played that in a while."