Page 91 of Heart’s Prisoner

Lana turned back to the darkness as the men fell silent.

"Did you hear that? Did that thing just hiss?" one of them said.

"Fucker gives me the creeps, man. How can these assholes sleep with that thing so close," another murmured.

Lana waited for a long moment until they focused on something else. Then, as quietly as she could, she took out the detonator. Her hands trembled slightly as she held it close to her. She tried to brace herself, knowing it was going to be loud. As her finger slipped to the trigger, she prayed it wouldn't collapse the entire base.

"Three," she whispered, licking her lips. "two..." she began to press down. "One."

The trigger clicked as she pressed it down fully. Nothing happened and Lana stood there in a stone-faced panic thinking it was broken. Then the wave hit. The booms from below made the ground tremble then turn into violent shaking. The blasts roared upward, bellowing up like a giant out of hell. Lana fell forward on to the ground just as shouts erupted from the men in the room. Lana fumbled back to her feet then another tremor shook the base making her catch herself on the wall. Without thinking, she lurched forward and stumbled to the doorway. Men were rushing everywhere, most going for their guns and others trying to brace themselves. Galger shouted to them, his gun in hand, face red, commanding them to not panic, telling them to focus on the outer doors and take positions. Those of his original team listened, others who were initiated recently were not so compliant. They argued and ducked by the crates as debris fell and the ground continued to shake. As the men turned toward the doors opposite her and went out into the dark halls to investigate, Lana flew into the room, heading straight for Xerus. She went for his tail first, hiding behind him so she could work at the binds.

Xerus said nothing as she worked the chains or maybe she just couldn't hear him over the blasts. Frantically she sawed at the metal, knowing she had little time. Her hands were sweating, slowing her progress, but she dared not pause to look around her, only to focus on freeing Xerus.

When the chain finally broke, she yanked them away, but Xerus' tail didn't unwrap from his abdomen right away as it was dug so deep into his skin. She didn't dare try to pull at it in fear she might injure him more. Instead, she went around to his front and started to work at the chains at his feet. Xerus squirmed to get her attention and Lana rose to pull the cloth from his face.

His face was twisted so much that she thought for a second Galger had damaged it more. In reality, he was furious with her.

"Are you trying to get yourself killed?" he nearly roared. " Damnable human woman! Get out of here before–"

Lana took hold of his face and kissed him. It was rough and hard, freezing him on the spot. Then without a word she released him and went for the chains at his feet, completely ignoring his curses and threats to her both in her language and in his.

She sawed at the bind when Xerus' shout caught her by surprise. She glanced up and was yanked back as someone grabbed a fist of her hair and pulled. The metal cutter dropped from her hand as she was flung to her back. When she started up, she saw the black eyes of Officer Torrence.

"You little bitch, I should have known," he said with a sneer. Lana crawled back and went for the gun at her side but Torrence was quicker. He took his gun out and aimed toward her. The bullet just missed her as Galger came up beside him and tugged back his arm as he fired.

"Step back, Officer Torrence," Galger shouted. "That's an order." Lana went for her gun again but was pulled up by one of the soldiers, her arms wrenched back, bending them till they hurt. Lana cried out as she arched her back and another hand tugged her gun from its holster. The blasts from each bomb started to subside and sirens cried out in response. The men argued as she stood, bent forward, waiting to feel a gun press against her or for a hand to make the final blow. She turned her head over to look at Xerus, to mouth she was sorry, when she caught him unraveling his tail from around him. In one swift movement, he stretched his tail outward and reached for the metal cutter.

A hand slipped to Lana's jaw and forced her head upward. Galger glared down at her. "Mrs. Hart, you really are full of surprises. What the hell did you just do?"

Lana tried to shake away his hand. "I did what I had to," she said through clenched teeth. "To stop you."

Galger frowned, for once not amused by her. "By destroying the whole base?" He shook his head. "You are one crazy bitch, aren't you?" He almost laughed. "Damn if Torrence hadn't been right. How did you even make it this far, eh?"

Lana struggled in his grip, betraying herself by once again looking to Xerus who had wrapped his tail back around him, his one eye on them both, burning bright with fury. Galger caught her gaze and cursed.

"You really were with that thing? Fuck me, you are one dirty girl. I didn't have a chance if I had to compete with that." He gestured toward Xerus.

"Enough of this, Galger," Torrence spat. "Let me take care of her."

Galger stared down at her, his eyes cold. He seemed to hesitate before releasing her, nodding his head. "Do it then. And make it quick. The rest of you get shit packed and head for the stairs. We're moving to level one," he shouted. The men complied and rushed to carry as much as they could. Torrence took Lana's arm in a painful grip, pulling her away.

"Hold on." Galger stopped him one last time. He brushed his fingers over Lana's cheek. "No hard feelings, eh?" He bent his head down and a violent roar escaped Xerus just before Galger's lips could make contact with Lana's.

"Sipha ness vi," don't touch her, Xerus hissed sharply, baring his black fangs at them with deadly intent.

"Looks like your boyfriend has a jealous side." Galger laughed, but his smile didn't reach his eyes as usual. "You would have been a good lay. Too bad." He stepped back and didn't so much as glance at her again, moving away to help his men. "Oh, and I'll make sure to kill your boyfriend after you go, to save you from the heartache," he yelled back to her as Torrence tugged her away. Lana cried out, struggling in Torrence's tight grip, trying to look back at Xerus, to reach for him. Torrence backhanded her across the face, cutting her lip open, making her fall to the ground. In her blurred vision, she caught one last glance at Xerus' roaring face before being dragged from the room.

Chapter Thirty-One

Lana continued to struggle in Torrence's grip, fighting him at every turn. She clawed and beat at his arms until Torrence lost his patience and smashed his fist in her face once more. Lana saw stars, her cheek throbbing, her lip already beginning to swell. He dragged her into a nearby room with empty crates and unused medical equipment, the doors open on either end, tempting her to run. If only she could.

Torrence flung her to the ground and stood over her, watching her try to sit up and crawl away from him. His black eyes shined bright, his mouth turned up ever so slightly as if he had been waiting for this moment for a long time.

"It's over, Ms. Hart," he said, taking out his gun and aiming to her head.

Lana turned her head up to look at him, raising her hand in front of her like it would somehow defend her. "They'll know what you did," she said. "Everyone will know you killed innocent people."

He lowered his gun only slightly, his smirk widening. "I doubt that, Ms. Hart."

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