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It was tempting to lie, in a futile attempt to shield her from the horror. But she’d already told him that gathering information helped her to cope. If that’s what she needed to get through this, then he was happy to supply it for her. Although, she didn’t have to see things to know about them. At least he could protect her from having those images in her mind, haunting her for the rest of her life.

“I found a couple.” He heard Sarah gasp. “Mummified like last time. The woman is manacled.”

“Don’t stay in there, Ryan. Come back out here.”

“I’m in no danger, Stats.”

“You don’t need to dwell on this stuff either.”

Ryan didn’t know whether to be touched or amused at her worry. Most people took one look at him and assumed he’d cope with whatever was thrown at him.

“I’m coming right out. I need to get their IDs first.”

He found both wallets in the handbag beside them. They were German and married to each other. Ryan ran a hand down his face before adding their driver’s licenses to his growing collection. German, Canadian, English? What the hell was going on?

As he skimmed the light over the couple again, his hand jerked and he dropped the phone.

“Ryan?” Sarah called.

“I’m coming.”

Picking the phone up, he looked at the couple. The man had wrapped himself around the woman, as if to protect her. How completely screwed up was that? To be helpless when his woman was trapped and dying. All he could offer was comfort, right to the end. He’d tried to free her. Had he tried to escape too? Could he have left her behind if he’d found a way out?

“This is a mindfuck,” Ryan muttered.

His fist clenched and unclenched with the need to hit something. No, someone. He wanted the bastard behind this, and he wanted to hurt him badly. He wanted to make him suffer, the way he’d made his victims suffer. Only, Ryan wasn’t sure that was possible. To suffer the way this couple had done, you needed to be able to love.

No one who loved could do something like this.

“Get your backside out here.” Sarah was obviously losing patience again.

“Or what? You’ll punch me?”

“I apologized for that.”

“Yeah, it was sweet. I remember.”

He could almost hear her teeth gnashing. “You’ve got five seconds, and then I’m coming in to drag you out.”

He’d almost like to see her try. “I’m coming; hold your horses.” With one last glance at the bodies, he strode toward the doorway.

And stopped.

Something glinted at him up near the ceiling.

Something that didn’t belong there.

CHAPTER NINE

Sarah watched as Ryan suddenly stopped walking a couple of feet from the tunnel entrance. Honestly, he was deliberately trying to drive her mad. She wanted him out of there. Away from all that death. She wanted him safe. With her. And yes, it didn’t make any sense because the bodies couldn’t harm him, and Ryan was definitely safer without her than with her. But logic was irrelevant. She’d only believe he was okay if he was by her side.

Still, she was definitely losing her patience. “What’s stopping you now?”

“Not sure…” Reaching up, he pried something from the wall and it fell into his hand.

He came over to show it to her.

Sarah poked at the tiny piece of tech with her fingertip. “Is that a camera?”