Page 17 of Reset

“I insured a caving expert once. He wasn’t bothered that his hobby had a twenty percent chance of death attached to it. If I’d been him, I’d have found another hobby. Like knitting. If done in moderation, there’s only a very small risk of developing RSI. Of course, you couldn’t run while holding needles because that’d up your chances of injury.”

Yeah, there was no holding it in. Ryan threw back his head and laughed hard.

“What’s so funny?” Sarah demanded, looking like she might hit him again.

“Nothing, Stats, nothing.”

She feigned a groan. “You can’t remember me, but you can come up with that same stupid nickname all over again. Fabulous.”

Suddenly, she stilled, her eyes wide as she stared into the darkness behind him.

“What is it?” Ryan immediately sobered.

“I saw something move,” Sarah whispered.

CHAPTER FIVE

In an instant, Ryan morphed from the relaxed guy who was trying to keep her spirits up into a serious, combat-ready warrior. That was when it struck her—he really wasn’t afraid. Ryan actually believed there was nothing in the tunnels he couldn’t handle. All the stories he’d told her during that month they’d talked almost daily, sometimes for hours at a time, came rushing back. Tales of bravery and hilarity that’d stunned her—as well as entertained her. No, he wasn’t someone who’d be scared in the dark.

And she was very glad he was with her.

“Describe it,” he ordered, his voice barely a thread between them.

“On the ground. A black shape disappearing into the shadows. Could be a foot?” Was someone standing there, watching them? Listening to them? Waiting to strike.

He leaned in to whisper against her ear. “Take my phone, and as soon as I start running, direct the flashlight at me. Not before, okay?”

Sarah nodded as she took his phone in her shaking hand.

“Right,” he said in a normal, relaxed tone. “Guess we should keep on going and find that exit.”

He squeezed her arm in reassurance, stepped back, nodded once, and then suddenly turned and sprinted into the darkness. Sarah fumbled with the phone before switching on the flashlight. It felt like an eon had passed, but it had to have been barely a second before the tunnel was bathed in light.

Heart racing so fast it felt like it was trying to escape her body, Sarah focused on Ryan. He toed the bottom of the wall where the small black shadow sat—and something ran out.

“Rat! It’s a rat!” He jumped back, banging into the other side of the tunnel as the rat scurried into the darkness. For a second, nobody spoke, then Ryan turned his head to face her. “I really don’t like rats,” he said with disgust.

No kidding.

She’d just watched the most macho man she knew almost jump out of his pants. “You know,” Sarah couldn’t resist prodding the bear, “that could have been dinner. Lots of cultures eat rat meat, and I don’t see any other options down here.”

He paled. “Tell you what, I’ll eat it if you catch it and cook it.”

And that would happen…never. “Typical. You almost pee yourself at the sight of a rat but have no problems eating one. You really will eat anything, won’t you?”

“I’m a growing boy.” Already he was back to his confident self. “And it won’t be moving if we cook it. Bloody squirmy, scratchy, sneaky, disease-infected wastes of space.”

She arched her brows at him. “That was some seriously impressive alliteration. Don’t worry, you’ll get your dinner. Where there’s one rat, there’s always another.”

Ryan warily examined the space around them. “That’s just evil. Come on, Stats, let’s see where this tunnel leads.”

“You sure you’re up for this?” she couldn’t resist asking. “I mean, that’s the way the rat went.”

“You keep on enjoying yourself at my expense,” he said. “I’m keeping a tally and there will be payback.”

As Sarah passed Ryan, in order to lead the way, she was overwhelmed by the urge to climb him and cling on tight, like one of those clip-on animal toys people brought back from holiday. Although she had no doubt that having her wrapped around him would barely slow him down, she thought it best to resist the urge.

Instead, she forced herself to look down into the darkness of this new tunnel. It was exactly like the last. “It would be so easy to get lost down here.”