Page 87 of Reset

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

Sarah woke to the sound of Ryan’s steady breathing and the dim flicker of candlelight. Angling her head, she studied his profile. Sweet heaven, he was beautiful—inside and out. Well, except for the obsessive eating, and an inability to carry a tune, and a gung-ho attitude that led him into trouble.

If only she was courageous enough to keep him.

But Sarah knew herself well enough to admit it wasn’t possible. It would kill her to have to wait for him to come home after every mission. She wasn’t strong enough to deal with the terror that he might never return—or might come home changed. He deserved a woman who could support him in his career, without damaging herself doing it. Because if there was something she’d learned from this awful underground experience, it was that Ryan was very, very good at what he did, and nothing should get in the way of him doing it.

She traced her fingertips along the edge of his jaw, feeling the thick stubble that any male sex symbol would kill to sport. Even barefoot and with a chunk ripped off the bottom of his shirt, he could have sauntered into a Michelin-starred restaurant and been given a table without objection. Whereas, if she’d turned up with him, they would call the police to deal with a vagrant.

Long dark lashes fluttered on his cheeks before his eyes opened and searched for her. They lit up, turning warm when he found her, and Sarah tucked that memory into a safe box for the days when he was no longer in her life.

His wide hand flexed on the outside of her thigh. “Hey.” His voice was rough morning perfection. “You feeling better?”

“Mm.” With a smile, she nuzzled against him. “Much better.”

“Your feet?”

“A dull throb. I can walk.” Heck, she would hop, skip, and jump through agonizing pain if it meant getting out of there.

His eyes darkened. “Good girl,” he teased.

“Seriously, not a girl,” she chastised because he expected her to.

“Oh, I know.”

She blushed at the intimacy of his tone.

“Okay,” Ryan said loudly as he got to his feet. “Let’s get—” He broke into a stream of creative cursing before looking back at her. “The little shits have gone.”

He stepped to the side so she could see past him, and sure enough, the sleeping bags, paint, bong, and boys were nowhere to be seen.

Sarah was genuinely shocked. “How could they?”

Didn’t the boys see the state they were in? Didn’t they realize how much Ryan and Sarah were relying on them to get out of the catacombs?

“Easily.” Ryan kicked the wall. “I’m more pissed that they managed to get out of here without waking me up.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “Must have been the lingering headache. It probably made me slip into a deeper sleep than I intended. At least I was smart enough to ask them how to get out of here before I fell asleep. I’m going to break their scrawny necks when I catch them though.”

From the fury emanating from him, Sarah had no doubt he meant every word he said. Unfortunately, he was about to get even madder.

“Ryan?” She hesitated as she dug through her handbag. “The iPad is missing. And your phone. Oh!” She looked up at him. “Our wallets are gone too.”

Ryan didn’t speak or even move a muscle. He didn’t need to; his whole body practically pulsed with rage.

“We still have our water,” she hurried on in an attempt to calm him. “And they left us the candles.” Three stubby candles, to be precise. But their ID, credit cards, and most importantly, their light source were gone.

Ryan growled, deep in his chest. It was a menacing sound that made it clear he saw no silver lining in their situation.

And he was right.

Her shoulders slumped as she considered the few items they had left to get out of there. “I have to be the world’s worst judge of character because I thought the boys were nice—well, apart from the whole boob obsession thing.”

Suddenly, Ryan crouched in front of her, cupping her cheek. “I will get you out of here,” he vowed.

“And I’ll get you out too.”

They were a partnership. Sure, most of the skills were in his half of it, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t do her bit to make sure he was safe.

His lips curled in a sweet, gentle smile. “I’m counting on it, Stats.”