Page 25 of Reset

“O-one,” she managed. “T-two. Three.”

“I’m just going to walk around you.” He placed a hand on her shoulder as he did so, grateful she didn’t turn her head to follow him.

“Eight. Nine.” There was a sob in her voice, but at least she’d stopped stuttering.

Ryan pulled his Swiss Army knife from his pocket and crouched down at her hip. “I’m going to hold your arm to keep it steady. Don’t want to accidentally cut you with my teeny-tiny scissors.”

“Twenty-five. Twenty-six. Twenty-seven.”

“You’re doing great.” He grasped her forearm, noting that her silken blouse was cool to the touch. Phone light at his side, aimed where he needed it, he started cutting the hair. “This will be over in a few seconds. I promise you.”

“Th-thirty,” she said through a sob.

Her hand was trembling badly now, making him afraid he might slip and nip her. Tightening his hold, he quickly, and carefully, cut through the long auburn tresses entangled around her fingers. They were caught in her bracelet and the button at the bottom of her sleeve, clinging to her as though wanting to keep her.

“Forty-four. Forty-five.”

Snip. Snip. Snip. “Nearly there.”

Ryan kept his attention on his task, refusing to look at the leathery remains of the woman lying against the wall. There would be time enough to examine the body later. When Sarah wasn’t there to witness it.

“I’m going to take your bracelet off.” The hair was really tangled in it, and it would take a while to get it all out. Something he could do when she wasn’t wearing it—or watching.

She whimpered, and he took that as permission. “Sixty-two. S-sixty-two.” She hiccupped a sob.

“Sixty-three, Stats. Don’t let the side down. I know you’re a numbers expert.”

“Sixty-three,” she repeated. “Sixty-four.”

The bracelet snapped free, and the remainder of the hair fell from her hand. Ryan quickly brushed the rest off her, ensuring there wasn’t even one stray strand tucked around the button on her blouse. Once he was confident it was all gone, he placed her hand in her lap before sliding his arms under her knees and carrying her out into the corridor.

“Eighty-nine.” She sat stiffly in his hold. A brittle energy emanating from her. As though one wrong word would make her shatter. “Ninety.”

“Nearly there, Stats. You did great.”

Walking a few steps down the corridor, he gently placed her on the ground, propping her against the wall. She drew her knees right up to her chest and held them with one arm. She let the other trail on the ground beside her, as though pretending it wasn’t part of her body anymore.

“I’m gonna clean up this hand. While I do that, how about you keep your eyes on my handsome face?” Ryan crouched in front of her and dug around in her handbag for the antibacterial wipes.

“Ninety-three. Ninety-four.” Sarah did as he asked, all the while raining silent tears.

Gently, he lifted her hand and started to wipe it. Careful to cover every millimeter of skin. “You’re doing great. Let me just get this all cleaned up, and then you can have a sip of water and maybe a bite or two of one of those cereal bars you’ve got stashed in your bag.”

“Ninety-eight.” She swallowed hard. “I can still feel it on me.”

“That’s why I’m decontaminating you.” He winked at her. “You’re gonna be good as new in a minute. Right now, concentrate on feeling me. That’s reality. My skin against yours while I wipe the memory away. Can you feel it disappearing with each sweep of the cloth? I swear I can see it fade as I work. You must be able to feel the sensations disappear, leaving only the warmth of my hand against yours.”

“One hundred,” she whispered, her eyes still glued to his face.

Once again, he made her focus on reality by speaking it aloud to him. “What does my hand feel like? Describe it to me.”

There was a beat of silence, and he hoped she was thinking about her answer instead of what’d upset her.

“Warm,” she said at last. “Strong. Big. Rough. There are calluses.”

“From lifting weights.” He grinned. “Joking. They’re from helping my granddad and granduncle with their carpentry business.”

“I remember. You said they looked like gnomes.”