The Sigma Menace Collection

by Marie Johnston

  A soft rap on the door had him bringing his aim up to above the door handle. When the door swung open, E recognized X’s gun enter just before her she poked her head in.

  “Dude, it’s creepy in here,” she said.

  She gently nudged Julio in. E wanted to drop to his knees and wrap up his son into a bear hug.

  Instead the boy’s face lit up. “Dad!” He clutched E around the waist, who awkwardly rubbed his son’s back, still holding Ana with one arm and his gun in the other.

  X stepped all the way in, softly closing the door behind her. He had the urge to tell her he could take over from there, but he wasn’t a raging moron. He had a kid and an unconscious adult, with weapons that weren’t his tucked in random places all over his body. The compound was under attack, and all Agents and recruits would be defending the first level.

  X jutted her chin toward Ana being hauled back up to his shoulder to advance up the stairs. Her gesture silently asked if Ana was okay.

  “Dunno,” he muttered so Julio couldn’t hear.

  “Why? What’s wrong with Mom?” Julio caught the unspoken question and inaudible answer regardless. E finally had a good look at his boy.

  Where his son had been a tall kid before, he looked like he’d grown an inch or two and put on five to ten pounds of muscle since E’d last seen him. The innocence was still there, but dulled, becoming overwritten with a worldly knowledge that things weren’t all as they seemed. A sharp inhale confirmed E’s suspicion. They’d altered his son; made him more like his daddy than ever before, and that made E feel like he failed his child.

  Clapping E on the back, urging him to go ahead of her, all X said was, “Maybe it’s for the best.”

  He passed her an incredulous look before making his way up the next two levels. Transforming his son to become their personal monster was for the best?

  “Don’t look at me like that, Biggie. It’s not like you’re leaving here and going to the ’burbs to drive a minivan and coach little league.” X kept Julio between them while she covered them from behind. “Now the playing field’s been leveled, and Julio can be ready for the game of life as you now know it.”

  Terribly true. E hadn’t given much thought to where they would run to if they managed to get out of the building and away from Sigma. It sure wouldn’t be to go house hunting and check out local schools. There’d always be a bolo on all three of them from Sigma. The shifter and vampire communities would have avid interests in obtaining them. Not only for their knowledge of Sigma but because they couldn’t allow another supernatural species to roam without govern. If they allowed them to remain alive at all.

  Reaching the first level, the walls shook more with each hit the Guardians lobbed at the compound. E could hear yelling and return gunfire from the rooms facing the trees. Turning back to X, he awaited her instructions.

  Before she could speak, a rapid series of explosions pounded the north wall.

  “That’s our cue. Head toward the noise. Those blasts should have weakened the walls so you can finish blowing your way out from the inside.”

  E gave his partner a calculating look. She knew to begin their escape with the first bomb, but after that, either their timing during the siege was a happy coincidence or she was communicating with them.

  “You know, I forget you don’t need an excellent cell phone carrier.” She had tried several times to see if E could develop telepathy, or be able to communicate mentally with just her, but it always failed. He often didn’t think of how she could talk mentally to any shifter within proximity.

  She shot him a cocky smirk. “Never forget how phenomenal I am.”

  E went to open the door, but waited until two Agents rushed by, fleeing an explosion in the north wing. Taking advantage of the extra time, he checked on Ana. Her color had faded even more and her breathing was growing erratic. He almost swore, but remembered Julio’s acute hearing.

  “Go,” X urged. “I’ll watch your ass until you get out of the walls. Then keep anyone from getting a good shot at you.”

  “Come with us, X. It’s too dangerous for you to stay.” And he couldn’t leave her. They’d been inseparable for nearly a decade, and although he gained the two most important people in his life, he didn’t know what he’d do without the indomitable Agent X. She’d become his only friend, his family.

  “No can do, Biggie. My work here is not done.” When he opened his mouth to argue, she gave her head a curt shake. “I can’t roam this earth knowing that vampire hag is terrorizing innocent people. I can still find a way.”

  Explosions rocked the walls, Agents shouted, and his mate’s health was declining. Even the maybe-spirits of the stairwell seemed agitated at his delay.

  E pulled the door open as quietly as possible. Not sensing any immediate danger, X went out first and waved E and Julio to follow. Together, they hugged the wall with Julio in the middle and made their way down a corridor, heading to where the worst damage to the exterior walls had been done.

  “Behind you!” Julio spun around to tug on his shirt, craning his neck to look behind E.

  E twisted, gun raised. Two recruits darted out of an office the trio had just passed, preparing to attack the small group. E quickly took them down, each with a head shot, before they could aim and fire.

  Julio saw everything, and it killed E inside that his son had to witness the violence, that this was his world now.

  “What’s wrong with Mom?” Julio asked as they continued to rush toward where the explosions had been centered moments before. “She doesn’t smell right.”

  Hell. E knew something was wrong with Ana, but now Julio claimed her scent was off and that was bad. Just bad. No matter the species, dying changed a person, altered their biochemistry, especially if it was prolonged at any rate. Not only did Ana look sickly, she smelled sickly and he had no idea why.

  Talking to Julio, knowing X would get the hint, E reassured him. “Maybe by the time we get out of here, Doc will have been notified to be ready to help your mom.”

  X threw him a sardonic look over her shoulder. “Subtle, Biggie, subtle.”

  “What’s that word mean?” Julio asked her.

  “Look it up in the dictionary,” she threw back at him.

  Julio made a sound of frustration. “You sound like Mom. I’ll just Google it.”

  E’s lips quirked, grateful Julio was distracted from Ana’s dire situation.

  “There’s your exit.” X stepped over the shrapnel left behind from a heavy metal door. No other Agents had come to defend the breach of perimeter and that served E’s escape plans just fine. Climbing out of the shattered concrete walls would be the easy part. Getting himself, the precious package he cradled, and his beloved son across the span of lawn to the protection of the trees would be a harrowing experience. He was fast, his son was probably just as fast now, but several Agents and recruits were shooting out of windows into the very tree line he needed to make it to.

  “Nice.” X cleared the room, stepping carefully over debris, making sure to stay away from the already gaping hole in the wall. E helped Julio over the wreckage of the door and into the room before he gingerly stepped inside.

  Once they were in, X fell back into the hallway. He heard movement down the corridor.

  “Get to the garages,” she commanded whomever must’ve been heading their way “we don’t have enough coverage there.”

  E waited, preparing to jump out and help X if need be, but they listened to her, changing course to head to the garages. She wasn’t lying exactly. Leaving in a car would hinder more than help; the trees would be his best chance at rescuing his family. Several Agents and recruits had cars, and they could easily chase them with wheels, but in the trees, many Sigma personnel were out of their comfort zone and couldn’t congregate in groups as easily as they could on the road. So no, the garages weren’t targeted as much by the Guardians.

  He gave one final nod to his partner, the female who had been his savior. She saved him from hims
elf and then from others on countless missions, eventually allowing him to get back to his family.

  “See you later.” It was all he could say, because telling her good-bye was too hard.

  Her vivid green eyes said she didn’t believe that would happen. She committed her entirety to their final goal. “Go get your creep on, Biggie.” Her reply was what she always said when he was leaving to spy on his family.

  Scanning the yawning hole with daylight pouring through, E realized…it was fucking daylight. He’d been knocked out so long, he’d forgotten the time of day. Of course the Guardians would attack early in the day. Send their message to leave their territory the hell alone and limit the vampires’ retaliation. Daylight secured the vampires to the compound, and boy, would they be pissed.

  Feeling more optimistic than he had all night, or day, he pulled Julio over blasted fragments of concrete to the side of the opening so he could peer out.

  The stretch of lawn was clear. Of people anyway. It was covered with dirt chunks and hunks of sod that had been blown out by bombs that didn’t make it to the compound. Glass and cement debris stretched from the exterior of the wall.

  E looked down. He was still wearing his boots, but Julio was only in a T-shirt and jeans, with bare feet poking out the bottom. “I’m going to jump down with you. It’s not far, but there’s glass so I need to carry you past it.” And block you with my body, but E left that part out.

  Julio’s wide, brown eyes held a solid dose of fear along with a dash of excitement. He looked like he wanted to argue that he could do it himself, then he glanced at where Ana was still cradled over E’s shoulder.

  “We need to get her help. She won’t last much longer.”

  E absolutely agreed. “Let’s go.” Holstering his gun, which meant sliding it back into his waistband, he secured Ana better on his shoulder, worried at the amount of her body that would be targeted. But he needed to lift Julio and shield him as much as possible, too, and that left little room for Ana.

  Picking up his boy, Julio wrapped his arms around E’s shoulder and his mother’s legs to hold on. E ducked and leaped through the opening, barely clearing both his feet and head of becoming snagged in the jagged stone jutting out, and landed solidly. He spun out, increasing his speed as much as he could, as quickly as he could.

  Someone shouted from one of the windows, and E could feel the weapons re-sighting onto his back and Ana’s head. They would be shooting to kill.

  A deafening sound thundered at the edge of the trees, like a pack of lions roared and heading his way. Dust and debris kicked up by a wall of wind right in front of E as he ran. He braced himself, ready to spin and protect his son so he could still breathe through the dirt, but to his astonishment, the wall parted around them to clatter and heave its load into any open windows.

  “Dad, put me down. I can run.” Julio let go of his hold on him and squirmed to wiggle down.

  “Stop. I’m gonna drop you.” With the aid of whichever Guardian had the power to harness the wind, they were nearly to the tree line. Stray shots tossed up bits of dirt and grass at his feet, but no one was able to get a good zero in on them with the earth blowing straight into their faces.

  Julio persisted until E was forced to set him down in front of him, otherwise he’d drop Ana, too. E slowed to cover Julio with his body, but he didn’t slow long. Soon his son was a blur and made it to the trees, while E still had a hundred yards to cover with his mate bouncing on his shoulder.

  “Julio! Get behind a tree and wait for me.” E raced after his son. Did Julio know he could do that?

  Rushing to the cover of the trees, E let his senses flare out. How many Agents and recruits had made it to the woods to hunt down the shifters?

  Movement to his left had him grabbing for his gun and aiming at the shadow. A flash of familiar braided coppery hair stalled him from shooting. Kaitlyn had come to help. She stepped around the tree she’d been using for cover, holding a metal tube perched on her shoulder and wearing an odd-looking bandolier containing nothing but empty holders. The acrid smell of gunpowder clouding her body and her wicked grin suggested she was the main grenade launcher.

  “Let’s head down to the highway. The commander said we need to get Ana to Doc ASAP. He’s waiting for her and Julio.”

  Thank you, X. E would forever be indebted to the female, to all of the Guardians. “Julio, stay with Kaitlyn, no matter how fast you can run now.”

  “Come on, kid. I’ll set the pace. I can’t have you smacking into any trees with your new horsepower.”

  Julio’s face screwed up. “Horsepower?”

  “Yeah, like a car engine.” At Julio’s blank look, she just shook her head. “Later, kid. You’ll thoroughly learn about cars later.”

  E gently brought Ana down to cradle her in front him, knowing she had already endured a good shaking when he jumped out onto the lawn and ran across it. Her chest barely rose.

  “We need to move.”

  Kaitlyn glanced back at E, hearing the contained panic in his voice, then looked at Ana’s face. Her nostrils flared, like she too could smell his mate was nearing her end. Heading deeper into the trees, dodging branches, she continually picked up her pace until she found a swift speed Julio could keep up with and still watch his footing.

  Random gunshots popped through the trees, growing fainter as they ran. The terrain wasn’t as rugged in this part of the woods, across the river from where the Guardians resided. Hills gently rolled, and while the brush was thicker, it wasn’t impossible to get through. Noisy, but doable.

  E scanned around him as much as possible without knocking himself, or Ana, into any trunks or limbs, worried about the clamor they were making in their haste. With good reason. He sensed two Agents quickly closing in.

  Kaitlyn did, too. “Keep going. They’ll get dealt with.”

  He hugged Ana closer and sped up in accordance with Kaitlyn’s burst of speed.

  From behind him, a shout and gunfire, and a bullet going far to the right of where they ran. Wolf, E sensed. One of Guardians was in their shifter form hunting Agents.

  Three sharp bursts of gunfire were followed by snarling and growling. The second Agent who had been pursuing them was now a non-issue. He’d heal, but E hoped the shifter didn’t get shot for his efforts.

  The highway was coming up quickly. Two dark SUVs parked in the tree line, neatly camouflaged from passing cars. They closed in on them and it wouldn’t be too soon.

  “Kaitlyn, can you take Julio in one vehicle while one of the wolves behind us drives me and Ana?”

  One look at the alarm written on E’s face and she hauled up Julio, opening the backdoor and buckling him in. E beelined for the backseat of the second SUV, not wanting Julio to see what he had to do next. Spreading Ana across the backseat, he wrestled his body in-between the seats. Using those life-saving skills he had learned years ago, but certainly hadn’t used lately, he tilted her head back and leaned down to breathe for her while trying to capture a pulse.

  The door opened and he sensed a Guardian slide into the driver’s seat, the sound of bare skin on vinyl. Mercury. The male had shifted and climbed in without dressing first, aware of the dire situation for Ana. Without a word, the Guardian fired up the engine and pulled onto the road, steadily increasing speed until they were flying down the highway.

  E continued breathing for Ana, her pulse thready, but present. He was her lungs, her life force, to keep her heart trudging along until she was strong enough to stay alive on her own.

  Eternity came and went in the drive to the Guardians’ headquarters. The SUV pulled to a stop and the door opened on E’s side. E finally brought his attention off his wife and looked up to see the tall, lanky doctor with a somber expression.

  “I have everything ready, Agent.” Doc squatted down, tilting Ana’s head back as far as he could on the seat. He gently pried Ana’s mouth open and maneuvered a long, slightly curved tube into her airway. Once it was secured in place, he strapped a mask ov
er Ana’s slack mouth, the clear hosing running to an oxygen tank on the cot he had ready for the unconscious woman.

  E helped lift Ana and hand her out to the doctor. Once he was out of the vehicle, it was a case of anxiously standing around while Doc strapped his mate to various medical sensors anchored to the cot. E was too wound up to even pace. His mate was knocking at death’s door, and he could do nothing about it. He didn’t even know why she was in the condition she was in. Mercury had donned a pair of shorts, waiting patiently alongside E, who was grateful the male wasn’t a chatty fucker, trying to take his mind off his dying mate and the son he’d have to tell.

  “Do you know anything of what they gave her?” the doctor asked, sticking differently colored stickers all over Ana’s bare chest. To each sticker, he hooked a different wire that led to a monitor. Once all the wires were attached, wavy lines appeared on the monitor and E remembered enough from his cop days when he got radioed to assist with medical emergencies, that the lines weren’t nearly spiked enough, nor as rhythmic as they should be.

  “I’ve got no clue,” E said gruffly. He should’ve found someone to torture to get that information before they left. But who and with what extra time? “X said they planned to enhance her, but with what, I don’t know. Then they loaded her with Sigma’s version of a mega-roofie.”

  Doc motioned to Mercury to push the cot as he rushed alongside, checking all of her vitals. “When did she lose consciousness?”

  “I…” guilt poured through him, “I made her pass out because she was in so much pain with the drugs they gave her. I couldn’t rescue her in that condition; she could barely walk.” He said it more to justify it to himself than to the others present.

  To the doctor’s credit, he only bobbed his head in confirmation, but gave E no signs of recrimination for his actions. The group sped to the rooms Doc had setup as his own little treatment center, and Mercury pushed the cot into what resembled a real ER room.