The Sigma Menace Collection

by Marie Johnston

  Signs of X and E?

  Dani only spotted them once, she hasn’t seen them cross her surveillance since, came Mercury’s reply.

  The Guardians had briefed her on Agents X and E after the car chase. Spencer’s parents had taught her about Madame G’s complete domination of her people. The other Sigma chapters didn’t always use a letter system for their Agents, and they weren’t nearly as sadistic to their own people as the madwoman in charge of this chapter. Yet oddly enough, she never ran out of recruits offering themselves up to her.

  Spencer almost jumped out of her skin when the back door opened and Mercury slid in her gun. The handle sailed toward her so she only had to scoot back a short distance to grab it, instantly feeling better once the familiar wood hilt was in her hands.

  Spencer, signal us immediately if you sense anything at all.

  Yes, sir.

  Except for a few spurts of gunfire, everything was quiet. Spencer almost preferred the mayhem of the shoot-out. This was too quiet.

  Trying to think strategically, she had figure out how and where a vampire would get into her house. Her kitchen window was obvious, but Ronnie was hidden in the tree line on that side of the house and would’ve alerted them if he saw anything. Otherwise, the commander and Mercury could both cover that end of the house from where they were stationed.

  The bedroom windows were on the back of the house where Mercury was, so that left the end with the attached garage. The far wall of the garage had no window, that’s why with only three Guardians, they left it undefended. She rigged a bell to the door into her house from the garage. So far, that had remained silent.

  Where would a fast-moving paranormal creature gain entrance unseen into her house? One of the windows, maybe when the Guardians were distracted in a different direction? It would be hard, even in the dark to sneak into a high window—

  Oh, crap! The basement windows. Her dank, rundown basement, that was barely a step above a root cellar, had small rectangular windows. The shoot-out was to distract Commander Fitzsimmons and Mercury, so the vampire could flash next to the foundation and slide through the window.

  Spencer jumped up and spun to bring her shotgun up to aim at the basement door. She had almost forgotten it was there because the rest of the house had demanded so much of her attention.

  A tall, thin figure loomed in front of her and pushed the shotgun barrel out of the way just as she pulled the trigger. The recoil from the new angle of her gun pushed her back, and she bumped up hard against the wall. Chaos erupted from outside. She heard Mercury and the commander simultaneously dive for cover as a barrage of bullets pelleted the house, keeping them from coming to her rescue.

  The male vampire hissed at her, displaying his fangs, probably to scare her. But while she smelled human, he’d forgotten she had a set of her own.

  Letting them drop, she hissed back at him and he snickered at her.

  “You will be fun. I can’t wait to taste you, hybrid.” His greedy, red-glowing eyes bored into her.

  An explosion rocked the house. Both her and the vampire swung their heads toward the back corner.

  Flames flickered through the windows down the hall. They hit the generator and gas stockpile with some kind of explosive. Her house would be toast in a few minutes, and she couldn’t get out yet.

  Flipping her gun around and catching the barrel, she used her superhuman speed to swing it like a baseball bat at the vampire’s head.

  The hilt of the weapon caught the side of his head. Since it had been years since she’d unleashed her strength, the power of the blow caught both of them by surprise.

  The vampire flew into the wall but righted himself immediately, shaking his head.

  Between Spencer’s strength and the vampire’s hard head, the handle of her gun split. Seizing the offering of an impromptu stake, she wrenched it apart to pry a piece free.

  The male lunged for her, fangs bared, aiming for her neck when a loud bang stopped them both short.

  Hunched over her gun, she spared a look around. The gunfire came from inside the house. Had one of the Guardians come to her rescue?

  A red dot bloomed in between the vampire’s eyes, and he toppled over at her feet.

  Mouth open in shock, Spencer glanced up and her heart sank. Standing at the entrance of her basement was not Commander Fitzsimmons, nor Mercury. Nor was the tall, wide male any other Guardian. That meant he was one of the bad guys.

  This male didn’t smell quite human, but he wasn’t a shifter or vampire, that much she could tell over the smoke building inside the house. The fire licked at the walls. Double dang, she had no weapon and nowhere to run. If she ran outside and got shot, she should heal, and although she was willing to test it, it would threaten their plan.

  Before she could decide, the male spoke, pinning her with his black eyes. “Have you called for them yet?”

  Confusion built at his words. “What?”

  “The Guardians. Have you told them we’ve gotten in the house yet?” he repeated, impatiently. “If you haven’t, do it now.” Then he leaned down and opened up a Zippo to light the vampire’s clothing on fire, intending to destroy the creature for good. The smoke coming off the vampire getting dusted mingled with the encroaching smoke of the generator fire as it burned its way into Spencer’s house.

  Gaping at the Agent, Spencer worked on arranging her scrambled thoughts and realized he was right. They’re in the house!

  “Did you do it?” he asked again.

  “Yes.” She remained still, planning her next move, struggling to breathe through the thickening smoke.

  “Good. For what it’s worth, I’m sorry.” The man shoved past her, heading for the front door, kicked it open, and raised his odd-looking gun, aiming it at Spencer.

  Spencer tensed to dive down the hallway. The bang resounded and a burn ripped through her shoulder. As she dropped to the floor, the smoldering of the highly combustible vampire fully ignited and flared. She used her good hand to cover her mouth and nose with her shirt before lack of oxygen from the thick smoke knocked her out. She pushed herself toward the back door on her butt when she heard the hiss of the body before it exploded.

  Bennett leaned out the window and used his firearm to gun down an Agent standing in the driveway shooting at Commander Fitzsimmons. Intent on his target, not hearing the SUV bearing down on him, the Agent went down and Jace ran him over for good measure. They’d have to burn him later.

  Jace skidded to a halt and both males hopped out, guns blazing, giving Mercury and the commander some relief.

  “We’ve got to get Spencer out!” Bennett shouted.

  Jace shot him a warning look. Yeah, yeah, stick to the plan. But the back of the house was in flames, and it wouldn’t be long before the rest of the old dwelling took on the fire and smoke filled the rooms too much for Spencer to safely escape when it was time.

  Everything in Bennett froze in fear and rage when Agent E kicked open the front door and turned to shoot Spencer. Bennett watched as his mate dropped.

  “Nooo!” Bennett sprinted for cabin.

  He saw Ronnie ease around the tree he was hiding behind, whipping his hands around. You need to stop, Bennett. Don’t go in there!

  She needs help getting out.

  We need to try this. Stop!

  Bennett kept running, regardless of Agent E turning on him with his weapon. The Agent was ready to fire, but he froze. As in quit moving. And so did Bennett. Their immobility was thanks to Ronnie. Bennett strained against his own body, but couldn’t move. In his periphery, he saw the commander stilled in mid-leap toward Agent E. Jace froze behind him.

  Either Ronnie fucked up and spread his power’s net too far or he made the command decision to freeze everybody.

  Ronnie! Let me get her! Bennett roared at the male but was ignored. The male was huffing, shaking from holding that many bodies immobile.

  Bennett remained immobile, mid-stride, helpless as the roof caught fire and more smoke filled the house
. He didn’t see Spencer rise, much less leave. Dread filled him as it dawned on him that not only did Agent E shoot her, but it may have been fatal.

  Spencer! Spencer! Bennett screamed hard, almost blacking himself out with the power.

  His mate was injured and unable escape a burning building, and he realized that the guilt all those years ago had been unfounded. He assumed the blame when everything that happened was on Abigail.

  If she had been a decent human being, how could his wife have stood there and watched him be tortured and humiliated, even using his love for her to coerce him into obeying his captors? While she intended to be a good person, her fear and distrust allowed her to become corrupted. Bennett had gathered the best of himself and laid it all her feet, and it wasn’t enough for her. She wasn’t only willing to hurt him, but the males he called family. He would have never been what she desired.

  Fuck, he’d barely had anything to do with Master Bellamy since his rescue. The male had risked his relationship with Bennett to save him because he knew what Bennett hadn’t—that having to kill his own mate, along with the guilt of her betrayal, would’ve driven him feral.

  A trickle of awareness pricked his brain. He caught pain and fear emanating from his mate, and readied to direct any power he did have to knocking Ronnie out so he could get to Spencer.

  Calm down, Bennett. You totally owe me. Kaitlyn’s determined voice raised that deadly emotion in Bennett’s chest—hope.

  She must’ve been out of range when Ronnie cast out his power and darted into the back door of the house to save Spencer while the others couldn’t move and the Agents were immobilized where they couldn’t view either entrance.

  Bennett watched the tall female lift Spencer’s limp body up onto her shoulders and trot out, both of them getting licked by the flames.

  The building burned, and they were all helpless, mere observers.

  Clear, came Kaitlyn’s breathless voice. He could almost hear her mentally coughing as she struggled to hold in her physical coughing to remain undetected.

  Ronnie went down in a heap as Bennett stumbled, but remained upright. He was free of Ronnie’s hold. So were the rest of them. The creaking of the timbers was the only warning they had before the house tumbled in onto itself.

  Agent E darted off the porch, out of Bennett’s reach, heading for the woods. Commander Fitzsimmons’ tackled Bennett to keep him from running after Spencer. Since that fell in line with their plan, and his mate was no longer in the burning wreckage, Bennett allowed himself to be taken to the ground with the commander pinning him down.

  The wind picked up, but Bennett knew it wasn’t a natural wind. Jace’s voice spoke low on Mercury’s conjured breeze. The words were meant to influence the remaining Agents into thinking Spencer had died in the fire. They didn’t know if it would work, or if it was necessary, but both males’ power had grown significantly since they mated so they could utilize it, especially for something as critical as this.

  As it was, Bennett had to convince himself he saw Kaitlyn rescue Spencer, or his mind would fall for Jace’s words.

  “We need to gather the fallen Agents’ bodies and drop them in the fire. Go check on Ronnie.” The commander jumped off Bennett and jogged to the closest body, which happened to be the one Jace ran over in the driveway.

  Bennett hauled himself up, gave the house one last look. She was safe. Probably unconscious, but safe. And she would heal, she had to.

  He wanted to rush to the lodge, dogging Kaitlyn’s footsteps, and get his hands on his mate for himself, be with her every step of the way, hear what Doc Garreth had to say about her injuries, and never leave her side.

  But if he did that, and any surviving Sigma Agent’s saw, their ruse would be discovered. He had to play the role of Guardian, not concerned mate.

  The wind died down and Bennett reached Ronnie. The young male was holding his head groaning.

  Standing over the writhing form, Bennett visually checked him over. “You okay?”

  “Ahh! No, Bennett. My head fucking hurts. Holding you down gave me the most massive hangover ever. Without the fun of the party!”

  Ronnie was fine.

  “Come on, kid. Let’s get you to the lodge.” It would give Bennett an excuse to get back there and find Spencer.

  The others accounted for most all of the Agents, except the vampire, X and E, and one other. They would be the hardest beings to get to fall for Spencer’s faked death. As far as Bennett could tell, and Mercury vouched for his side of the house, any Agents standing were either down or not looking at the house when Kaitlyn carried Spencer out.

  The commander said the vampire could’ve been in the house, but he firmly denied Agent X had been close by. Bennett chose not to wonder how the commander could be so sure.

  “Stick close, Ronnie. We’ll head back, but there’s still some Sigma garbage roaming these woods.”

  “You’re kinda bossy,” Ronnie huffed. This guy was basically his brother-in-law. If he didn’t know how to clean-up some Halo alien scum, Bennett might’ve just left him behind.

  “I’m protecting your ass.”

  “It’s not my ass you’re worried about.”

  “Nope, so let’s go.”

  “You go. I want to help haul the dead to the fire.”

  Bennett nodded and checked in with the commander before leaving the kid behind. Okay, he wasn’t a kid, but to Bennett he seemed so young, a little off-kilter, and he was Spencer’s little brother. Ronnie was taking more and more interest in Guardian duties. While Bennett didn’t think he’d ever be field material, they sure could use more support at the lodge. Doc Garreth was diligently working on building a research lab and Dani was improving and updating security, but they were quickly becoming a bigger pack with a lot of area to cover. They seemed to have a significantly large Sigma threat to deal with and Ronnie could be a welcome addition.

  Even if they took Madame G down, the organization was like Medusa’s hair, another snake to take her place. With the West Creek Guardians growing in size and power, it’d just be a magnet for Sigma, like a gauntlet thrown down. Aside from Sigma, the heavily wooded hilly terrain provided a lot of cover for shifter packs, and Freemont and West Creek attracted a lot of shifters looking to live a modern life.

  No, they wouldn’t be going anywhere soon, especially if they could keep Spencer dead until they found out why Madame G wanted her that way.

  How is she?

  Chapter 13

  Groggy.

  Spencer heard the female’s mental reply as she bounced on the strong back of the Guardian. Her shoulder was on fire and hanging upside down didn’t help. Her lungs probably resembled burnt toast, but each breath she took was a little less labored than the previous one.

  Bennett said he’d meet them at the lodge; she wanted him now. Of course, she understood why they needed to keep their distance. Understood it, but hated it. Just like she hated sending him off to the club to act like his former self. Sure, she knew he wasn’t going to do anything, but she was still one-half paranormal and that half didn’t like their mate getting hit on. That half claimed mates for the world to see and nearly killed any being that interfered. So, no, she didn’t like having to hide their relationship from the world. Her biting him to drink didn’t mark him like a shifter’s mark, and so he remained unscented with her claim. And that irritated her.

  There were surviving Agents, Kaitlyn. I’ll shift and come cover you.

  He didn’t speak into her mind directly, but opened his communication up so Spencer could hear if she was conscious. And she was, barely. When strong hands grabbed her and picked her up, there had been no fight left, the smoke having stolen all the air from her. The burn of the bullet robbed her strength, and Spencer suspected the worst. It was silver.

  “Thanks for saving me, no-fraternizing-Kaitlyn.”

  Kaitlyn chuckled and stopped to set Spencer on her feet. “My reputation precedes me, as usual. Can you walk? I can protect us better with two hands
and your ass out of the way.”

  The tall redhead had her hair in a long braid down her back, was utterly gorgeous, and carried what looked like a sniper rifle on her other shoulder. She had a handgun at the ready in case they ran into trouble.

  “I can walk and I appreciate you not biting my ass like Bennett does when he carries me like that.”

  “If I thought you wouldn’t mind, I would’ve totally nipped you.”

  Spencer wanly smiled at the Guardian’s humor. Kaitlyn looked her over with a keen eye. “That bullet hole probably hurts like hell, but you look worse than you should. Any other injuries?”

  “Silver,” Spencer sighed, glancing around as Kaitlyn swore under her breath. “But I don’t think the bullet is still in me. I think it went all the way through.”

  “Let’s hope the vampire part of you laughs at the metal. Let’s keep moving, stay in front of me; they’re most likely behind us or beside us.”

  That didn’t make Spencer feel better but she obeyed the Guardian. “I think the human part of me isn’t tolerating the bullet wound as well, though.” Spencer tried not to sway on her feet, didn’t want to be even more of a burden than she was.

  “The vampire part of you needs blood. Bennett’s on his way. I’d offer, but he’d get a little bitchy. Why is the human part so dominant? It usually gets shoved aside by the shifter genes.”

  “Maybe there’s too many species in my system,” Spencer said wryly.

  A twig snapped. “Get down!” Spencer had dropped to the ground even before Kaitlyn got her order out.

  A thunk in the tree trunk over Spencer’s head drew her attention, showing a crossbolt vibrating imperceptibly from the impact. Thank the Sweet Mother she had inhuman reflexes. Who the heck used crossbows nowadays? They were quiet, but so were silencers.

  Oh, yeah. A group hunting a part-vampire. Spencer was pretty sure a stake through her heart would be harder to rebound from than the silver bullet.

  Kaitlyn opened fire in the direction of the shooter when gunshots from another direction sent bark flying off a tree behind her. Sigma planted backup Agents in the trees, just in case the first team failed.