Page 38 of Reset

They what?

They needed a new plan.

“Climb on my back,” he ordered. “I can carry you while I run.” He’d carried heavier packs in the army, he was sure of it. “No bloody rat is going to outrun me.”

“Uh, unless you won an Olympic medal for the hundred meters, the rat is going to win.”

“Now isn’t the time for rat facts. We’re being hunted.”

“No, we’re not. Will you please stop and listen to me for one second?”

He didn’t even grace that lunacy with an answer.

Behind them, a million tiny nails scraped against rock. It was a sound that would give him nightmares for years to come. No way in hell was he looking back to see all their beady little eyes on him, or their whiskers twitch as they scented their next meal—him! Oh, man, what he’d give for a gun. No—a flamethrower! Then he could toast their little arses.

“We need to stop.” Sarah yanked at his hand.

“Are you hurt?” Are you mad?

“The rats are more afraid of us than we are of them,” she said, answering the question of whether or not she was mad.

“Not when they outnumber us, they’re not.”

“Ryan.” She jerked his arm back toward her. It was like being manhandled by a kitten. “We need to stop, right now. I know how to get them off our trail, and I need your help.”

“Yeah, I don’t think so.” He kept running.

“Stop being a big sissy and listen to me,” she shouted.

Okay, that brought him up short.

The pause was clearly all she’d needed. Sarah snatched her hand from his and quickly took off his jacket.

“Take off your shirt,” she demanded.

“What?” Movement caught his eyes further down the tunnel. “Run, Sarah, run!” He reached for her, but she deftly stepped aside.

Suddenly Sarah’s hands were on either side of his face, forcing him to look down at her. “Take off your shirt. Now. Everything will be fine if you do what I tell you.”

She wasn’t making any sense. “This isn’t the time to get me naked, Stats.”

She kicked him in the shin. Hard. “Take off your damn shirt and copy me. Right now! And stop making me hit you. I hate how it makes me feel.”

She hated how it made her feel?

Ryan resisted the urge to rub his sore shin. It was clear she wasn’t going to take another step unless he did as she asked. He couldn’t leave her alone with the rats, which meant he had to help her. Damn it, being an honorable guy could really suck sometimes.

Dumping the bag on the floor beside them, he pulled his T-shirt over his head. “This had better work, Stats, because if I get bitten and turn rabid, I’m coming for you first.”

She sighed. “I know you’re scared. I’m scared too. That doesn’t mean we can’t think logically about this.”

“I’m not scared,” he protested. “I’m…disgusted. Rats carry disease.” Yeah, that sounded much better. Or at least, a whole lot less pansy-arsed.

“Whatever you say.” He couldn’t see her face because she was rummaging around in her bag, but he was pretty sure she was rolling her eyes. When she stood up, she had her phone in her hand. “Aim the light at the rats—”

“Are you nuts?” He didn’t want to see their black stares of death.

She glared at him. “No. But I’m losing my patience. Aim the bloody light, wave your bloody shirt, and make a lot of bloody noise. Okay? I can get us out of this. All I need is for you to follow orders, soldier!”