Page 60 of Reset

“A hiccup where I stopped breathing and my heart didn’t beat?”

“Yeah.”

Her mind was blank. How did you process information like this? Was she supposed to rush up and contemplate the meaning of life? Was she supposed to cry? Mainly, she felt stunned. And sore.

“I don’t know what to think,” she confessed.

“Don’t think anything. It’s over and we move on to the next thing now.”

“Uh…” Nope. There wasn’t a thought in her head. She had no idea how to react or what to say. She swallowed again, her lips feeling dry, her mouth disgusting, and her throat sore. “I guess I’ll put this in a box to deal with later.”

“Or never. Never is good too.”

“Thank you,” she said, aware that the words weren’t anywhere near enough to cover everything he’d done. “Thank you for saving my life.”

His fingertips found her face and stroked her cheek. “I’d say anytime, Stats, but I never want to repeat that. For a second there…” His hand dropped away.

“You thought I was gone,” she said before trying to clear her throat. It was like swallowing sandpaper. “I think I might have been sick too.”

“Oh, there was definite vomit. Don’t move around; it’s still out there, somewhere in the dark.”

“Delightful. Well, that explains the taste in my mouth.” Her cheeks suddenly heated. “My breath—I’m sorry, it must smell awful.”

“Hadn’t noticed.”

She was pretty sure he was lying. “What do we do now? Can you remember which way to go? Can we feel our way out of here?”

“You’re only saying that because you don’t want me to go back in the water, but it’ll be fine. The bag isn’t far up the tunnel and the water is pretty still. It should be around the spot where the strap broke, which isn’t far from here. It won’t take me long to get it.”

“You’re right, I don’t want you to go back in the water.” Especially after everything that’d happened last time.

“I’ll be fine. Anyway, we need that bag. It has the toothpaste in it.”

She smacked his bare chest. “Not funny. I’m not sure there’s any point retrieving it,” she said. “The electronics will be waterlogged by now and completely useless.”

“I don’t know how long we were out; it might only have been a few minutes. And they have some protection from your bag.”

“Now you’re just being optimistic.”

“It’s how I roll,” he said with laughter in his voice.

She inched away from him, still holding his hand. Careful not to go too far in case she landed in vomit, or worse, fell back in the water. “Go then, so we can get out of here.” The pool was giving her the creeps.

“Yes, ma’am.” He moved around some, letting go of her hand and patting her shoulder. “I’d kiss you for luck, but…”

Oh, that was just evil. “If I could see the water, I’d shove you in it,” she told him.

He squeezed her shoulder. “Don’t go anywhere. I’ll be back in a couple of minutes.”

There was a gentle splash followed by the sound of water lapping at him, and then silence. Sarah twisted her hands in her lap as she closed her eyes in an attempt to block out the nothingness of her surroundings. Then she repeated the trick Ryan had taught her and started counting aloud.

“One, two, three, you’d better get back here in one piece, Ryan Granger, four, five…”

She was almost at three hundred when she heard the water splash and Ryan gasp.

“Are you okay?” she rushed to ask.

“All good. Got the bag. Keep talking so I climb out in the right spot.”