Holidays Are Hell

by Kim Harrison

  Jill let her breath out on a resigned sigh. She’d always known he was intelligent. It was one of the things she’d liked best about him. She shouldn’t be surprised he’d put things together so quickly.

  “You’re like a…What do they call them? Shape-shifter?”

  Despite watching him figure it out right in front of her, she still felt a bit shocked when he said the words. She supposed she’d imagined that he’d need her to give him the explanation for what exactly she was now capable of doing.

  “Don’t look so surprised. I watched Star Trek growing up,” he murmured, continuing to examine her, then added, “I didn’t think shape-shifters were real though.”

  “Neither did I,” Jill muttered under her breath. She really hadn’t thought such things were possible, not even when Kyle had explained their work to her. She hadn’t believed right up until Claire had got zapped and turned into Brad Cruise.

  “Does it hurt? To change like that?”

  “No,” she said warily.

  He didn’t look like he believed her, but merely asked, “Can you do it again?”

  When her expression became surprised, he said apologetically, “I know it’s rude to ask. At least, I think it is, but even though I saw it once, it’s hard to believe…”

  Jill felt her tension return when he suddenly went silent, a frown claiming his mouth. She had a feeling he’d just thought of something, and it was obviously something that didn’t please him. She realized why when he said, “I told you—When you were Noelle, I told you—”

  “I’m sorry,” Jill said at once. “I mean, I’m not sorry you told me. I’m glad you like me. I like you too, but I’m sorry I let you tell me…” She paused and sighed, then finished unhappily, “Of course, now that you know this you might not be interested anymore and I’ll understand if that’s so, but—”

  A noise from the front of the store made her pause. They both peered to the closed door between the two sections of the store, then Nick hurried to it, cracked it open, and peered out. Jill was just moving to join him by the door when he closed it again and turned to hurry back to her.

  “The cop must be gone. That guy who’s following you is trying to pick the lock. We have to go.” Nick grabbed her hand as he moved past, drawing her to the back door. Jill allowed him to drag her out of the store, but reached up to grab a long winter coat off the rack by the door as she went. She wasn’t cold and appeared to be wearing winter gear, but Nick wasn’t. He was now wearing only jeans and a t-shirt. He’d need the coat.

  She waited patiently as he locked the door, then handed him the coat and said, “I have to get to my brother.”

  “Why is this guy after you?” Nick asked as he shrugged into the long coat. “Is it because of what you can do? Does he know you’re a shape-shifter?”

  “Oh, he knows all right. He’s who turned me into one,” she said dryly, turning to lead the way up the alley only to find her hand caught as he whirled her back around.

  Nick’s expression was shocked. “What?”

  Jill was silent for a moment, arguing within herself as to whether she should explain everything or not. This wasn’t just her secret. Her brother, his wife, who happened to be Jill’s best friend, as well their daughter, would be affected by this.

  On the other hand, Nick was risking himself to help her, and the cat was already out of the bag, so to speak. It only seemed fair to explain. But they had to keep moving. If John got the door unlocked and got inside the store, it wouldn’t take him long to realize that they’d slipped out the back and then he’d be out here after them.

  Taking Nick’s hand, Jill turned and started up the alley. She paused only long enough to send out a silent apology to her brother, then quickly explained about her brother and Claire’s courtship, the experiment they’d been working on and then everything that had happened that morning.

  “So your brother and his wife were among the scientists working on a molecular destabilizer, this John creep zapped her, your brother got zapped pulling her out of the beam, and they both suddenly found themselves able to shift shape?”

  Jill nodded.

  “I get why they told their boss, this Dr. Cohen, that the machine didn’t work and convinced him to break it down. It’s obviously dangerous…But then why on earth would he rebuild it in his own basement?” he asked with disbelief.

  “Kyle and Claire are worried their cells might now be unstable or there might be other problems they can’t foresee. Kyle wanted to test the effects on animals with faster metabolisms. They have no idea what pitfalls or problems could be in store for them or Beth and he wanted to find out and hopefully find ways to avoid them,” she explained.

  “But then why did he bother to convince the company he worked for that the original didn’t work? He wasted years rebuilding this new one. Wouldn’t it have been faster to just admit that he and his wife had been zapped and were changed?” he reasoned. “He would have been able to experiment right away.”

  Jill frowned. “He didn’t realize it would take so long to rebuild it, and he thought it was too dangerous to let them keep working on the original. He was afraid of what they’d do with such technology. He also feared once they realized he and Claire had been zapped, the two of them might end up the lab animals, being experimented on.”

  Nick nodded in understanding, and then said, “That John fellow probably took your niece downstairs and placed her behind the machine to get you under the beam.”

  Jill glanced at him with a start as they paused at the mouth of the alley. “I hadn’t thought of that. Do you really think so?”

  Nick shrugged. “He tricked your sister-in-law under the beam. And he admitted to you that he wanted to zap you to have someone to experiment on. It probably isn’t just a happy coincidence that you ended up knocked out under the beam.”

  Jill supposed it was too much of a “happy coincidence.” John probably had taken Beth downstairs and used the child to get her under the beam.

  “You’re right. We can’t go to the police,” Nick said suddenly, drawing her gaze again. He was looking grim and determined. “We can’t risk revealing all this to the authorities and having you and your family locked up in cages to be experimented on. We’ll have to deal with this ourselves.”

  “I need to talk to Kyle,” Jill said quietly. “I tried to call him earlier, but there was no answer at the house. He and Claire must have taken Beth and gone to get new locks for the basement door or something. I need to talk to him to figure out what to do.”

  “Yes, we can—” Nick’s hand suddenly tightened on hers. Startled, Jill glanced up to see him looking past her. They were standing at the mouth of the alley and a glance over her shoulder made her suck in a sharp breath as she spotted John weaving his way through the crowd toward them.

  Chapter 3

  “He must not have been able to pick the front lock,” Jill said with alarm.

  “More likely the cop scared him off again, so he’s coming around to try the back,” Nick said dryly.

  “We have to hide,” Jill said anxiously, catching his hand and trying to pull him away, but he stayed still.

  “We don’t have to hide. You already are hiding,” he pointed out, his gaze moving over her face with fascination.

  Jill frowned at his expression. She liked this man and didn’t want him to see her as some weird creature, but it seemed that’s what she now was. Pushing the concern aside for the moment, she said, “Nick, we have to hide. He’s been watching Kyle and I think me too. He may have seen me with you. He might know who you are and then know I’m me despite…” She gestured vaguely to the form she’d taken.

  Nick scowled at this possibility, but then suddenly smiled.

  “What?” she asked with bewilderment, her gaze shifting nervously between his expression and the approaching John. Fortunately, he’d been slowed by a group of teenagers goofing around and taking up most of the sidewalk. He was still two buildings away, trying to weave his way around the kids
.

  “They say the best place to hide is in plain sight.”

  Nick’s words brought her head back around and she opened her mouth to ask what he was thinking, only to gasp in surprise when his lips descended on hers. Jill stood still in his arms for a moment, and then clutched at his upper arms as he suddenly backed her up against the brick wall of the building behind them. She felt the hard, textured brick press into her back and was reminded that while she might appear dressed in winter gear, it was all just her. It was her skin pressing into the cool brick.

  Jill shuddered as his hands slid around her waist to her back before dropping down to cup her bottom. Gasping, she rose up on tiptoe as he cupped her there and drew her tight against his body under the coat. His jeans brushed erotically against the naked flesh of her legs and hips and the cotton of his shirt rubbed softly across her breasts, making her nipples tingle. Moaning under the erotic assault, she clutched at his shirt front as his tongue urged her lips apart and slid between them.

  Shivering as desire rippled through her, Jill slid her arms around his waist under the coat. Then she let her own hands drop down to his bottom and urged him harder against her, unable to stop her hips from undulating against him.

  Nick groaned and ground harder still, then slid one leg between both of hers, forcing a gasp from her lips as his cloth-covered thigh rubbed against her.

  “Get a room.”

  The muttered comment was John Heathcliffe’s as he passed them to enter the alley. Jill recognized his voice and instinctively started to pull away from Nick. Seeming to realize that she was about to end their kiss and unintentionally reveal his face, Nick rubbed his thigh against her more firmly, then slid one hand to her breast and squeezed gently to recapture her attention. It worked. His touch drove all thought of others from her head and drew a moan from her throat as she arched into both caresses.

  Nick smelled and tasted so good and he felt wonderful, his body taunting hers from beneath his clothes. Jill forgot where they were and that they were hiding from anyone and wished they were both naked without barriers between them. She’d waited so long for this kiss…And she’d been wrong, her fantasies hadn’t been better. No fantasy could live up to this molten heat and passion. The man was on fire, burning her up with his kisses and caresses. It made her wish they were alone somewhere, that she was herself and they were both naked without his clothes between them.

  “Mommy, why is that lady naked?”

  “Never mind, Virginia. Don’t look. Come on.”

  Jill heard the exchange, but it didn’t really register until an excited stir erupted around them and Nick suddenly stiffened and drew away to peer down with shock.

  Dread suddenly a stone in the pit of her stomach, Jill tore her gaze from his to glance down at herself. Much to her horror, she’d somehow shifted back to herself and now stood there on the street, naked for all to see. And they were all seeing. Several people were now yelling, others laughing, and still others just gawking at her.

  Nick’s mind was acting more quickly than hers. Jill didn’t notice his releasing her and shrugging out of his coat. She was still staring stupidly down at herself when he suddenly forced her arms into the coat, and drew it closed around her. In the next moment they were weaving their way through and around groups and couples, then Nick suddenly tugged on her hand and they headed down a side street.

  “Where are we going?” Jill gasped, struggling to keep her feet.

  “The parking lot. My car’s there,” he said.

  Jill glanced anxiously behind them. At first she thought they’d given John the slip by veering down this road, but then she heard an alarmed cry and saw a lady stumble into the street and her gaze narrowed on where the woman had come from. Sure enough, John’s head popped briefly into view.

  “He’s still behind us,” she told Nick, wondering why she wasn’t out of breath. Jill wasn’t the most athletic person. Her life revolved around her shop for the most part and she spent a lot of hours there, leaving very little time for other things, including exercise, yet this race wasn’t leaving her breathless as she knew it probably should.

  Another cry drew her gaze over her shoulder and alarm raced through her as she realized John was gaining on them. The problem was that Nick was trying to avoid people, weaving through the crowds to avoid jostling anyone. John, on the other hand, was charging through the crowd like a football player, sending people stumbling and sprawling in his wake. He’d soon catch them at this rate.

  “He’s gaining on us,” she gasped to Nick and he suddenly veered to the left, dragging her through the door of a store.

  “Can I help you?” a clerk asked as they charged past.

  “Just looking,” Nick called out before dragging Jill behind a rack of sunglasses. He stopped so abruptly then, Jill nearly knocked them both over, slamming into him.

  “Do you see him?” she asked as Nick stuck his head around the rack and peered toward the front of the store. “Did we lose him?”

  “I’m not sure, he—There he is,” he interrupted himself and eased back a bit to make himself less conspicuous as he watched the front window of the store.

  “What’s he doing?” Jill asked anxiously.

  “He’s stopped on the sidewalk out front,” Nick said, a frown tightening his lips as he watched. “He’s looking around the street.”

  “He must realize we ducked into a store,” Jill said with a sigh.

  “Yes, but he doesn’t know which one.”

  Jill shifted and drew his coat closer around her as they waited to see what John would do. Oddly enough, she felt more naked now with Nick’s coat on than she had when she’d actually been naked but looked dressed. She thought that was strange.

  “Is there something I can help you find?”

  Jill glanced around sharply. A sales clerk had approached, eyeing them as if they might be shoplifters. Not surprising, she supposed; they were acting oddly after all.

  “I—We were just—Umm.” Her gaze slid to Nick for help. She was at a complete loss as to what to say to explain their behavior.

  “We’re just looking,” Nick assured her and dragged Jill to the next row to get them away from the woman. Jill immediately picked up one of the boxes on the end display to “look,” silently praying the woman would go away. She was so busy trying to look interested in what she held, it took a moment for her to realize it was a box of condoms. Ribbed for her pleasure.

  Flushing, she set the box back and asked, “What’s he doing now?”

  “He’s still in front of the store,” Nick said on a sigh. “It doesn’t look like he’s going to move until he figures out where we’ve gone.”

  Jill glanced nervously toward the store clerk and noted that the woman was staring narrowly at her naked legs and feet. The phrase No shirt, no shoes, no service immediately ran through her head and she felt panic begin to claim her. She was positive the woman was going to throw them out at any moment.

  “We can’t stay here,” she hissed to Nick. “The store clerk is already suspicious. It’s just a matter of time before she throws us out.”

  Nick glanced toward the woman, then picked up a box of condoms and turned it over as if reading instructions. He then leaned out to glance to the front of the store. His unhappy expression told her John was still there. “We can’t leave until he leaves.”

  “And we can’t stay,” Jill said firmly, glancing at the clerk out of the corner of her eye. She was sure the woman was just working up the nerve to handle them.

  “We have to separate,” she decided.

  “What?” Nick peered at her with alarm. “But—”

  “He knows I’m with you now. It doesn’t matter what form I take, he’ll follow you if there’s anyone with you. We need to let him see us and then separate. He isn’t interested in you. He’ll follow me.”

  “But—”

  “Once I’m away from you I can change form and give him the slip,” she pointed out urgently.

  Expres
sion grim, Nick gave a reluctant nod. “How?”

  Jill leaned past him to see that John stood on the sidewalk at the opposite end from the entrance. She pictured the storefronts on this street in her mind and then turned to ask the store clerk, “There’s a bookstore next door, isn’t there?”

  The clerk seemed startled by the question, but nodded.

  “It’s on this side of the store?” She gestured to the right of them.

  The clerk nodded again.

  “Thank you.” Jill turned to Nick. “We’ll go out, pause long enough for him to see us, then I’ll duck into the bookstore next door while you take off up the street. He’ll follow me, I’m sure. I’ll slip into an aisle and quick change to give him the slip.”

  Nick nodded slowly. “I’ll head to the parking lot. My vehicle’s a big red SUV. Meet me there after you give him the slip.”

  Jill smiled. Rather than be relieved to be free of her, he was arranging to meet up with her again. She wanted to grab him and plant a big kiss on his lips. Unfortunately, they didn’t have time. “I’ll head for the parking lot as soon as I can.”

  “How will I know it’s you?” Nick asked with a frown.

  Jill grinned and simply said, “I’ll tell you.”

  “Right.” He glanced to the front of the store before turning back to ask, “Ready?”

  Jill took a deep breath and then nodded. “As ready as I’ll ever be.”

  “Okay.” Squeezing her hand, he drew her back the way they’d come, using the aisles to hide them until they’d reached the door. John was still there but his attention was turned in the other direction as they slipped out of the store. Rather than head off right away, Nick urged her toward the door to the bookstore. They’d nearly reached it when John turned and glanced in their direction.

  There was one moment when all three of them froze, then Nick took off running. Jill immediately rushed into the bookstore. A glance back as the bell above the door jangled showed John hurrying after her, leaving Nick to escape as she’d expected.