He saw her lips purse slightly. She didn’t like what she was about to say. He held his breath, paying close attention to her answer.
“Because the Hareema are considered an extinction-level threat, protocol dictates that they be destroyed on sight.”
Jeffrey frowned. “You’re telling me that your scientists have never studied one?”
Kat’Chinna stared at the floor, raising one shoulder slightly in a shrug. “We’ve studied their remains, what little was left after our energy blasts.”
“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.”
His harsh tone brought her gaze back to his. “They’re the most dangerous force we’ve ever encountered. It’s considered too dangerous to try and take one prisoner. If it escapes while on Zanthar, we’d have no way of recapturing it. It could lead to our downfall.”
Jeffrey shook his head. He understood the risk. If a Hareema operative could be anyone, it would be very dangerous if it escaped on the home world. Still, for such an advanced race as the Zantharians, it seemed complete folly not to study the enemy in detail.
“You’re telling me that you’ve never had a Hareema captive in your labs? No Hareema has ever set foot on Zanthar.”
The alien female looked away, her face like stone.She’s hiding something.
Jeffrey grabbed her shoulder, pulling her back to face him. “Tell me. The safety of both our worlds hangs in the balance.”
“There have been Hareema infiltrators on Zanthar,” she admitted at last, her icy demeanor cracking, giving way to anger. “Our Minister of Defense was captured by the enemy and impersonated. Because of his position, it took days to discover the truth.”
Jeffrey let her slip from his grip. It was Kat’s turn to pace the room it seemed.
Words tumbled out, freed at last. “It was due to the minister’s infiltration that Dr. Sylvia Cohen’s ship got past our planetary defenses. The Hareema are very clever. They made it seem as if her ship brought down the shields. They turned us against the human race while they attempted to take control of our government.”
Jeffrey almost slapped his own forehead. “Don’t you see?” he nearly shouted. “They’re doing it again, right now! Playing you and me against each other while they plot both our planets’ downfalls!”
He strode to her side, grabbing her again and putting a stop to her pacing. “Goddamn it, Kat, why won’t you trust me? I trust you. I believe you when you say that an alien enemy has left its mark on my ship. I trust that you have your people’s best interest at heart. So trust me.”
His voice was low, urgent. “I don’t want these creatures to take over Earth any more than you want them to have Zanthar. I’ll fight them with every fiber of my being. But I can’t do that if you keep me locked here, asking the same questions over and over again. Questions I have no answer to.”
Her eyes stared up at him. He was struck again by their beauty. She trembled, and he pulled her closer until he embraced her tightly. She felt too good in his arms. It nearly drove him to ignore the danger swirling around them, just to taste her lips again.
“Please,” he whispered, drawing closer. “We have to work together if we are going to have a chance against them. I trust you.”
His mouth was an inch away from hers. “Now you have to trust me.”
