Annie Nicholas - Sigma

He sighed. “No…maybe.” Chuckling, he shook his head. He wouldn’t put it past Daedalus to have arranged this pick-up for that reason. “He never actually asked me to do it.”

Leaving the wheelchair with the guard, Sam jumped into the driver’s seat and prayed his car would start. Maybe he should have borrowed someone else’s vehicle. Cranking the key, he listened to the whine and pumped the gas pedal three times. Four would flood the engine and two was never enough to turn it. The motor roared to life as black smoke spewed from the tail pipe.

“Why don’t you buy another car?”

“Babe, this is a classic.”

“You can afford something better. I know the pack has you watching over me during the day for Daedalus.”

He twisted in his seat. “You do?” So much for being sneaky.

“You’re my Sigma. Spice explained it to me.” She touched his cheek with her fingertips. “You’re always so sad and angry around me lately.”

He blinked, then geared the car into drive. Pulling out of the parking lot, he remained silent.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you.” She fiddled with the edge of her sweater.

Shoulders sagging, Sam sighed. “I’m the one who should be sorry, Sug. I’m saving my money.” Without having to look, he could sense her perking interest by her scent.

“For what?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know. A rainy day?” A house of his own would be nice. Maybe he’d meet the right female and want to buy her a ring. Glancing at Sugar, his heart ached, but it didn’t last long. He’d once thought he’d met that special someone, but now he had moved on.

“Does this rainy day have a name?” Teasing humor laced her question.

“Not yet. I’m still hunting.” He grinned. It would be nice having Sugar home again. She was the heart of their family. The place had echoed with emptiness in her absence.

“Oh Sam, women aren’t prey. One-night-stands are not the way to find love. That’s like taste testing at the supermarket. You need to slow down and enjoy the meal.”

His stomach grumbled at the mention of food. There would be a ton at home. “If I recall right, you and Daedalus didn’t wait. Right into the cooking pot.”

She gazed out her window. “And look where I am.”

Sam’s gut clenched. “He would have been here. I’m sure of it.” He swallowed around a lump in his throat. The vampire had better have a good reason for hurting her. She’d suffered enough and shouldn’t be made to feel like a burden. “Something really big must have come up, end of the world proportions, for him to have missed tonight.”

“Something bad…”

He took the on-ramp for the interstate, reaching for her hand, but a car shot past him and cut him off. He swerved into the next lane to avoid a collision, barely missing the vehicle. “Asshole!”

Sugar clung to the chicken bar above her head, but didn’t utter a word.

With both hands on the wheel, he sped and maneuvered next to the car.

A woman with short brown curls spoke into a cellphone, oblivious to them, as she clutched her steering wheel with a white knuckled grip. She kept glancing at her review mirror, her eyes wide and frantic.

Sam’s boiling blood cooled to a simmer. He didn’t need to smell her to sense her fear. He checked his own mirror.

A black sedan tailed her. The back window on the driver’s side lowered and a man leaned out.

“What is he doing?” He glanced over his shoulder to make sure he’d seen right. The guy held a rifle. “Duck!” He shoved Sugar down, bending her in half, and then slammed on his brakes to let the gunman pass.

Sugar struggled under his hand. “Get off me.”

The gunshot split the night air. The rear window of the car driven by the woman shattered into shards, scattering on the highway.

Using her good arm, Sugar swatted Sam’s grip on her neck and pulled herself upright. “Are they shooting at her?”

“Yeah.” He fumbled his cell out of his jean pocket. “Can you call nine-one-one?”

“Why are you slowing down?” She pointed at the car chase ahead of them on the almost empty interstate. “You’re Sigma, you’re supposed to protect. Go help her.”

“No.” Sam tossed the cell on her lap. “I’m your Sigma.”

“Then you’re fired.” She slapped her hand against the dash. “Go.” Her voice cut like sharp glass. “Can you really turn your back on someone in need?” She pointed to her chest. “I can’t. Move this rust bucket.”

“Fuck, fuck, fuck.” He shoved the gas pedal to the floor. “Daedalus is going to tan my hide and use me as a throw rug.”

“Never mind him.” She waved her hand in the air, as if dismissing the thought of her lover.

Clementine’s car wouldn’t go any faster. She’d bought the piece-of-shit from a second-hand dealer for cash so she wouldn’t leave a paper trail for Pal Robi to follow. She glanced at her review mirror again.

Unlike the ancient vampires’ unbeating hearts, her young undead pulse galloped. How had they found her? “I can’t shake ’em.” Her cellphone lay on the passenger seat now with her master on speaker.

“Take the next exit. I’m not far and on an intercept course. Evade them at all cost until we meet. I’ll take care of them then.”

The back window shattered with a loud shot. “Jesus!” She swerved the car toward the shoulder, keeping her head low, and regained control before hitting the cement wall. “I’m not trained for this.” Being a vampire didn’t mean being immortal as most humans thought. The older the vampire, the better they healed, but at her mere one hundred and twelve years, a big hole in her head could kill her. Or worse, leave her in a zombie-like state.

“Drive, Clementine,” her master yelled over the phone before it slid off the seat.

She was doing her best. They didn’t teach car chase driving to accountants at Pal Robi. She left that yahoo crap to the ones who wanted risks.

The screech of tires grabbed her attention. She glanced back. Another car chased her. Great. Let’s have a parade .

It squeezed between her and the gunman’s car. What the hell? She squinted at the mirror. Had she seen that hunk of junk before? It was the same one she’d almost collided with upon merging on the interstate.

“Master? There are two cars now.”

“I need that thumb drive.” He sounded furious.

Cold sweat beaded over her skin. It slicked her palms where she gripped the steering wheel. “I know. I know.”

She’d been so careful following her master’s directions. She had still let him down. No one was supposed to know she’d stolen the data. She jerked in her seat as one of the cars bumped hers.

Struggling to maintain control, she passed a sign announcing the next exit in one mile. She chewed her bottom lip, almost puncturing it with a fang. “I’m at the exit. What now?”

“There’s a wooded park to the north. Ditch the car and run. Take the phone. I’ll be there within minutes.”

“North? Which way is north?” She crunched numbers for a living. She didn’t have an internal compass.

“Make a right at the lights. And don’t wait for it to turn green. Blow through it.”

She could add racing a car through Chicago, being shot at, and corporate espionage to her resume after this week.

She’d offered her master loyalty in exchange for safety all those decades ago.

This was not safe.

The vehicle carrying the gunman went around Sam’s car and passed them.

Sam glanced from them, back to Sugar. “I don’t know what you’re expecting me to do. I’m not exactly driving a racing car.” He followed the vehicles down the off-ramp. “Have you dialed nine-one-one yet?” His heart skipped a beat as he glimpsed the excitement on Sugar’s face.