Page 26 of Heart’s Prisoner

Jacob nodded his head and took another swig of his drink, placing the glass on a table next to him. "It's been almost a month now and you haven't run. So that's a really good sign."

Lana smiled. "It was a rocky start for sure. But guess that was to be expected."

Jacob's face moved closer to hers. "And the asset. He hasn't scared you too bad? Given you any trouble?"

Lana looked down at her drink, fingering the edge of the glass. "He did...and sometimes still does scare me when he's in his bad moods. As for trouble," Lana took one sip of her drink. She put her glass next to Jacob's and let slip a little laugh, shaking her head as she thought about Xerus' silly favors and his way of playing with her when he was in a good mood. "Yea...he gives me plenty of trouble."

Jacob's dark eyes assessed her curiously. "You two are getting along?"

Lana shrugged. "He tolerates me much more than he did the others now that's for sure." Lana frowned. "Let's just hope he doesn't become bored with me too quickly."

Jacob nodded. He didn't speak for a long moment as if considering his thoughts. "You should know," he said finally. "I've read the reports and spoken with Dr. Cole Kingsley. He says you've been making clear progress but that your methods are unusual."

Lana's eyes caught his. "Unusual?"

"He's concerned that you are exposing yourself too much to the asset."

"That's absurd," Lana said. She felt the heat of anger simmer in her belly. "He doesn't understand. If I am to get close to Xerus I have to...to show he can trust me."

"Yea I totally get that, Lana. But you have to remember what you are dealing with."

Lana's eyes widened. "This is my job. You brought me here in hopes of gaining Asset X's cooperation and bring his kind into our society. If I am to do that..."

Jacob put up his hands. "Hey, I know. But I'm just saying I wouldn't get too friendly. I mean I hear you have to perform favors for him now? And you've been giving him things?"

Lana opened her mouth then closed it. "I just want him to experience what the human race has to offer."

"Cole said you tried to give him books the other day and they had to stop you."

Lana's face heated. She was still recovering from that fight. Who would've thought books would have been too dangerous to give the alien. She certainly didn't. But Cole seemed to think otherwise. Their argument started off professional enough until Torrence got involved.

"What the hell does it need books for. It can't read them," the security guard had said at his usual seat by the desk, chewing on his gum. "He'd sooner eat them and make a mess in the cell and we sure as shit ain't gonna clean it up."

"I was hoping that I could start having him learn how to read and write English," Lana had countered.

Torrence had laughed. "You think that thing wants to learn anything from us."

Lana put up her hands in defeat. "Then why am I even here?"

"Beats the hell out of me."

"That's enough," Cole had said. He looked to Lana then, his stare grave. "I'm sorry, Dr. Hart, but for security purposes, we can't allow those in his cell. If you want to teach him something that is what the ISpad is for."

"He hates when I use the images," Lana had murmured.

"Well, he will just have to get used to it."

Lana had been speechless then. How could something so innocent as a book be considered a risk? She had sat in her room for some time trying to figure it out and the only conclusion she could come up with is that they didn't want Xerus to know certain things.

They didn't trust him, that was obvious. But they wanted information from him. They needed someone who could find a way to open him up, not necessarily teach him anything.

And Xerus was no fool. He knew this from the start. Hell, even she had to admit some of the ways she tried to gain his trust had also been to find out his secrets. The games had been one clear way. But she suspected it wasn't just any random piece of information they wanted. They were seeking something specific. Something they hoped she would be able to make him reveal.

This thought had put her in a dark mood but she was determined not to let it keep her from her own personal goal.

"Your right, some of those things were careless," Lana said, not meeting Jacob's eyes. "Maybe I am getting too close."

Jacob put his hand on her knee. "We, of course, want his cooperation and that is what you are here for. But trust takes time and we need to know more about him and his kind first. You did well revealing his identity. And this war he spoke of definitely sounds like something to be looked into further."

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