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 now was 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."