Page 26 of Reset

“That’s them.” He tossed the wipe out of sight before rolling her sleeve up twice and entwining his fingers with hers.

“All better. See?” Holding their joined hands up in front of them, he watched as relief made her shoulders slump. But she didn’t let go of him. And that was okay with Ryan.

“I didn’t mean to freak out,” she confessed in a rush. “I didn’t think I was the type of person who’d lose it like that. I just, I just wasn’t prepared for…for… I know it could have been worse, I was overreacting, I—”

“You,” he interrupted, “didn’t do anything wrong. Hell, we all freak out at some point. Honestly, I thought you’d have done it a lot sooner. I mean, you’ve been kidnapped and abandoned underground with a guy you thought was an arsehole—that’d make most people lose the plot.”

Her lips twitched slightly at the corners, as though they were trying to smile. “Have you ever done it?”

“Freaked out, you mean?” He sat beside her knees, facing her, still clutching her hand. “Sure.” Opening her bag, he took out the water and handed it to her. “You have to let go of me if we’re going to open this bottle.”

Sarah shook her head, twisting off the cap while he held it, before taking it from him.

Ryan faked a sigh. “I can see I’m going to be down a hand for the rest of this trip.” His thumb brushed hers in a caress.

“What made you freak?” She passed the water to him after she’d taken a few small sips.

Ryan was impressed she’d remembered to limit her intake. He took a swallow before answering, gesturing for her to put the lid back on. “It’s sad to say, but there have been many things that’ve made me freak. The one that sticks out, because of where we are, was the time I had to go underground to find a couple who were missing. I was young, cocky, and full of myself after a run of successful missions.”

“This was in the army?” Strength was returning to her voice, along with color to her cheeks.

Ryan nodded and passed her a cereal bar, challenging her to open it without her other hand. Her eyes danced as she ripped it with her teeth. He rolled his eyes.

“The whole mission was a favor for some diplomat who’d heard my unit had a great tracking team, so he sent us in after his daughter and her boyfriend. Of course, knowing my reputation had proceeded me meant I was even more cocky than usual. I practically swaggered into those underground caverns, pretty confident I knew exactly what kind of conditions we would face down there. Only thing was, the locals had neglected to tell me about a colony of bats that called the place home. Since I wasn’t expecting them, I did nothing to soften our approach to ensure we wouldn’t disturb them. Damn things came at me like a—”

“Bat out of hell?” Sarah’s smile was weak, but welcome.

“Smart-arse. But yeah. They bit. They flapped in my face. They crapped all over me while screeching so much I couldn’t hear myself think. One of them attached itself to my nose.”

“I wondered about that little scar.” She passed him the cereal bar.

For once, he didn’t wolf the food down; instead, he took a tiny nibble before storing it back in her bag.

Self-control sucked.

“So what happened?” she said, sounding more like herself.

“I lost it. And it wasn’t pretty. I turned and ran, waving my arms around my head like an idiot, trying to keep the flying rodents off me while shrieking like a toddler who’d encountered a bee. Ran right past my team and straight into a giant boulder. Knocked myself out and had to be carried out of the cave for medical treatment—mainly bat bites. Had to have a rabies shot.” He grimaced. “Couldn’t sit down for days after that. On top of everything, we pissed off the VIP who’d roped us in. He was furious we’d lost time getting to the people we were searching for. And I lost my rep as a badass.” He grimaced. “I hate bats. They’re just rats with wings.”

Sarah’s smile was genuine now, lighting up her eyes. “Did you get the people out of there?”

“Yep. Everyone safe and sound. Except me. I had bat bite marks everywhere. Biggest insult though? Found out months later that they didn’t have to give me the shot in the backside; they chose to put it there as payback for me screwing up.”

Chuckling, she rested her gaze on their joined hands. After a couple of breaths, she said, “It was a woman, wasn’t it? T-the hair. From a w-woman?”

He squeezed her hand. “Yeah.”

They sat in silence for a minute or two. Ryan content to stroke the back of her hand as he waited for her to process things. There was no sound in the tunnels to indicate that anyone else was there, which meant they could spare a little time to help her get past this—at least until they were out of the mine.

“We should find out what happened to her,” Sarah surprised him by saying.

“You don’t need to do that.” Although, he was impressed she offered. “You can stay here, and I’ll check it on my own. There’s really no reason we both have to do it.”

Bronze eyes met his through thick, dark lashes. “No, I have to do it too. My imagination will paint a picture of what she was like anyway. It’s better if I know the truth. I’ll be okay. I’m prepared now. Before…”

“Before—the shock overwhelmed you.”

“Yes.” She seemed a little lost as she studied their joined hands. “I’m not good with things I haven’t prepared to deal with. Usually, I have time to think everything through and work out all the possible things that could happen. This, being here, it’s unexpected.”