Chapter Six
Mack bit back the bile that was rising in her throat. There wasn't a drop of blood on the ground, but those eyes still stared at her. She scrambled out of the hiding place, heart pounding. What could have twisted a fully grown man's head all the way around? Oliver? He had the strength but was so gentle. How could he unleash this type of violence?
She dropped the trapdoor lid, backing away from the body towards the exit of the atrium. Cell phones didn't work out here, and the only landline was in Oliver's office. If she could get there and phone Meyer–would the marshal get here in time?
At the sound of something huge rushing at her from the bushes ahead of her, Mack scrambled backward. Branches bowed out of the way as a huge, black figure appeared. It moved quickly on four legs. Deep-set eyes and a wide, flat nose were set in a domed head. Huge canines flashed in a gaping mouth as it hooted and roared.
What was a gorilla doing in Florida?
Mack screamed, tripping in her haste to get away as it charged. She fell heavily. The gorilla thundered past her. The crack of a gun rang in her ears.
Mack flipped onto her stomach and saw the gorilla plow into a man. A gun fell from his hand and a strangled cry ripped from his throat. The gorilla's grasping hands closed over the man's head as he reached for a knife on his bed. An awful crunching noise rang through the atrium as the gorilla's palms crushed together. The man jerked, kicked, and lay still.
The gorilla dropped the body, turning towards Mack. She froze in fear, staring into the gorilla's eyes. Canines flashed and her experience at the zoo had her reacting on instinct. She dropped her gaze and rolled herself into a ball, keeping her head between her legs. Maybe if it didn't see her as a threat it wouldn't attack.
She heard the massive forearms of the gorilla pound the ground as it approached her. It made soft hooting noises, like the noises the old silverback would make to his mates. She felt the gorilla get closer, and then a spade-size hand touched the back of her head. Fingers combed through her hair, oh so gentle and familiar.
The soft hooting noises stopped, and Oliver spoke. "I'm so sorry. I never wanted you to see that side of me."
Mack's head jerked up. The gorilla was gone. In its place was Oliver, kneeling beside her. Deep eyes full of regret stared at her, and she stared back, her mind whirling. What was going on? Where did the gorilla go?
"Oliver?" she choked out.
He withdrew from her, shoulders hunching. His hands brushed the ground and he crouched, backing away on his hands and feet just like a gorilla would.
No…. it couldn't be! Humans didn't turn into gorillas, and gorillas didn't turn into humans! Mack shook her head.
"Mack," Oliver said again. He bumped into the corpse behind him and stopped. "Please don't tell anyone."
"Tell anyone… what?"
"What I am." His voice rasped.
Mack trembled from head to foot. "What are you?"
Oliver moved forward, then back, then forward again. He closed his eyes. His skin took on a strange texture, more leathery, and his hair grew thick on his arms. Soon, it covered his arms, chest and legs. His head became more elongated, his face rounded forward. Mack's jaw dropped, eyes widening as Oliver changed into a gorilla before her eyes.
I'm either dreaming or high.
Oliver's deep eyes stared out at her from the gorilla's face. Mack stretched a trembling hand towards him, needing to touch to believe, but before her fingers could reach him, the gorilla had faded back into Oliver.
"That's what I am," Oliver said.
Mack swallowed heavily. Was this a dream? How could Oliver have just transformed into a gorilla before her eyes? This was impossible. And yet, here he was, staring back at her, his expression just as frightened as she should be.
Odd that her heart wasn't pounding in her chest. Though her mind was reeling, her body seemed to take it in its stride.
"Please, Mack." His eyes were pleading. "Please don't tell anyone."
***
Oliver wouldn't let her out of his sight until he was certain that there weren't any other killers in the house, then he told her to lock herself into the theater while he took care of the bodies.
She shivered in the cool room, sitting on the sofa, trying to wrap her mind around what had just happened. Oliver could turn into a gorilla. She'd heard of werewolves, even werebears and weretigers, but weregorillas? Even during her brief stints reading paranormal romances, she hadn't come across that one before.
There was still the chance that she was dreaming, but Mack couldn't remember a time when she thought she was dreaming while she was actually dreaming. That left being high, but the only way that could have happened was if Oliver had slipped her something, and there was no way he would do that.
Mack almost laughed as she realized it was more believable that he could turn into a gorilla than that he would drug her.
I'm in over my head. I should be running and screaming, not wishing he was with me right now.
The door opened and Oliver hesitantly stepped in. "I told you to lock the door."
"I guess I forgot." She pulled herself up so that she was sitting, giving him room. Suddenly she remembered the gunshots and jumped to her feet, running to him. He stopped, eyes widening. Mack grasped his shoulders, looking him over.
"Did they shoot you?"
"No."
The relief was more powerful than her confusion and Mack threw her arms around him. His skin was hot against hers, his muscles tense, but she couldn't bring herself to let him go. "It was Gedge. He knows where I am. We have to call the marshals and have them move us."
"I can't go anywhere."
"Why?" Mack swallowed hard as Oliver tensed. "Because… you turn into a gorilla?"
Oliver's eyes closed and he nodded.
"So… you don't have control over it? But if it's not until now that I'm seeing your… other side…"
"Usually, I control it just fine. But when I feel threatened, I change without meaning to. And I told you, I'm bad with social aspects. I sometimes feel threatened when no threat is intended. When I'm… that, I can't control myself. I am in attack mode. If anything is vaguely threatening, I go for the kill."
Mack nodded, trying to wrap her mind around this. She took Oliver's hand in hers, squeezing gently. He needed the physical contact right now, she was certain of that. "When did it start?"
"When I hit puberty. Up until then, I was a normal, albeit socially awkward kid. And then all of a sudden I was stronger than anybody else. I hurt people, accidently, because I didn't know how strong I was. And then I changed. I hid it from my parents. They never found out. But that's why I wanted to know about my birth parents so badly. I thought that maybe they were like me… but I have never found any hint of where I come from or what I am."
His chin hit his chest. Mack's heart went out to him and she moved closer, putting a hand on his face. "You've never told anyone?"
A shake of his head answered her.
"Oh, Oliver…" She wanted to say something, anything, to make him feel better. But what was she supposed to say? "I'm sorry that you went through that."
He took a deep breath and glanced up, his eyes searching hers. "You're not going to run away from me?"
She shook her head silently. Some part of her brain said she really ought to–he was a shapeshifting gorilla, after all! But now that she knew, there was so much that made sense. The constant vegetarian grazing. His outburst on the anniversary of his parents' death. Even his build was gorilla-like.
"I'm not going to leave," she promised.
"But I'm a… a freak," Oliver whispered.
"You are the most wonderful man I have ever known. As for this… gorilla shifting stuff, it doesn't change who you are. You'd be the same man whether I knew about it or not." Even as she spoke, she wondered if she could believe her own words–and then realized that yes, she could. A smile broke across her face. Her feelings weren't going to change.
"You're smiling. Does that mean you're going to stay?"
"Yes," Mack replied. "I'm staying. As long as you want me, I'm here."
Oliver wrapped his hands around her head, leaning forward. Mack closed her eyes and raised her face to his, pulling him closer when he hesitated. Their lips met, and sparks exploded under Mack's skin.