Bucky Barnes Soldier Novels & Stories

Everest Quentin, my commander husband, has fallen in love with his dead comrade's widow, Selene Brooks. When I find out about it, I don't bother kicking up a ruckus. Instead, I just turn in my resignation letter at my workplace and trick Everest into signing a divorce agreement. After Everest drops his signature, he falls silent for a very long time. Finally, he speaks up in an extraordinarily warm tone. "If you truly intend to quit your job, can you write a recommendation letter for Selene to work at your school instead? "You know that Selene's husband has sacrificed his life in the war. Life will be very difficult for her if she doesn't secure a job to make ends meet." I nod without turning Everest's request down. Previously, I've donated my own heart to him, only to find out that he has it transplanted into Selene's chest instead. I only have three days to live, so I have nothing else in this life. That's why I've tricked Everest into signing the divorce agreement on the first day. On the second day, my resignation letter officially goes into effect. My position is now Selene's. On the third day, I die right in front of my parents' graves. Unfortunately, that also means I never get to attend the banquet Everest has thrown for Selene. The banquet is so boisterous that one would think it's a wedding instead. Everest scans his surroundings, only to realize that I'm absent. He frowns immediately before admonishing me for throwing a tantrum on Selene's big day. The next thing he knows, a soldier rushes over and announces my death right in front of the guests. For once, Everest, who has always prided himself on being cool-headed all the time, actually drops the wine glass he's holding in his hand.

Mom and I board a flight to Fangoria to visit Alicia Carter, my wife. She's a special forces soldier who's here on a peacekeeping mission in this foreign country. But the moment we walk out of the airport, we're ambushed by a group of kidnappers. One of them holds a gun to Mom's head and says, "If you don't give us the ransom in three days, we'll blow her head off!" In a panic, I make a video call to Alicia, my hands shaking as I beg her to help me. "Calm down, honey. I'll put in a request to lead a rescue mission. We'll save her within 24 hours!" But the next day, I keep failing to get in touch with Alicia. After I blow up her phone with multiple calls, one finally connects. Amid her rushed panting, she tells me, "Sorry, honey. I just got assigned to an urgent escort mission. You guys just hang in there. I've arranged for the local authorities to—" Her voice is abruptly cut off by a familiar male voice. "Alicia! Thank goodness you came over just to pick me up. I didn't have to spend 100 dollars on a cab after all! That cab driver didn't even have a license, and I can't believe he tried to ask for more money…" The three-day deadline passes, and the kidnappers keep their word, letting me hear the gunshot myself. As I clutch Mom's cold, dead body, Alicia calls me out of nowhere. "Hey, honey. I just completed the escort mission. How are things on your end? Have the kidnappers released her?" I look down at Mom. Her eyes will never open again. I gently wipe the blood off her face as I reply to Alicia in an eerily calm voice, "Yeah. They have."

My husband was working over the holidays, again. He’d been sent out of town to oversee one of the Family’s dock operations and a string of gambling houses.. I decided to buy a ticket and surprise him. Only business class was left. Staring at the five-figure price, I gritted my teeth and spent a year’s worth of savings. Then I couldn’t even figure out how to pull down the damn tray table. The socialite seated next to me let out a cold laugh. “Never flown business class before?” I forced an awkward smile. “My apologies. You must be… important. You have that aura.” “Oh, me? No. The man who keeps me is important. He’d charter a private jet if I asked. Business class is practically slumming it.” I blinked. “A… keeper? That’s rare.” “Not really. I’m his secretary. I mess up a lot. Cost him a fortune. He yells at me until I cry. And then, well… crying leads to other things.” She winked. “You know how it is.” “Funny,” I said, my voice tight. “My husband has an assistant who helps him manage accounts for the docks. She’s always messing things up too.” “You’re married?” She looked me over, head to toe. “My man has a wife about your age. Says he’s sick of her. That touching her is boring. Says I’m more exciting just brushing my hair out of my face.” She leaned closer. “I told him I wanted to see him for New Year’s. So he told the wife he had to work.” The diamond on her finger caught the light. It was identical to the wedding band I’d lost. My body went cold. No. Matteo was just a low-level enforcer. A foot soldier the Family occasionally trusted with small operations—dock shipments, backroom gambling, nothing more. When did he become a Don?