Page 55 of Reset

“I didn’t know he could skate,” Megan said, feeling awestruck. “Let alone dance.”

Even Rachel had put down her phone to watch the couple enjoy themselves. It was mesmerizing. As they skated close to the camera, Sarah looped her arms around Ryan’s neck and they spun slowly, staring into each other’s eyes. It was the perfect romantic movie ending.

The video froze on that shot, and for a moment there was silence.

“Do you see it?” Elle said quietly.

A little breathless, Julia said, “He’s the rain for her desert.”

Rachel made gagging sounds, and Megan elbowed her hard. “Have some respect, Cruella. Unlike you, some people have feelings.”

Rachel’s icy glare promised payback. Megan grinned, bring it on.

Joe ignored both of them and spoke to his wife. “We see it, Jules, they were falling in love. Might even have already been there.”

“I really am going to vomit,” Rachel muttered.

Why a sexy, easy-going man like Harvard had married Rachel was anyone’s guess. Personally, Megan thought his kink was pain.

Elle sniffed. “I can’t believe none of us knew about her. What must she have thought when Ryan suddenly disappeared? I should have looked through his email and messages at the time, but I was too upset and figured we’d contacted everyone who was important to him.”

“Stick to what we’re dealing with now,” Callum said gruffly. “We cannae change the past.”

“No, we can’t.” Elle switched off her laptop and the screen went blank. “I honestly don’t think Sarah, or anything in her life, had anything to do with the disappearances, Callum. If there was something hinky, I would have found it.”

“Then we start a deep delve into Ryan. It’s clear from this that we didnae know as much about him as we’d thought.” Callum started to pace. A man of action, he didn’t like being holed up in the office on the best of days. Megan could relate. “For some reason, somebody investigated their relationship over a year ago and waited until now to pick them up.” He folded his arms and frowned at his team. “What are we missing?”

For once, Megan couldn’t think of a smart-arse reply.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Ryan knew the instant Sarah lost consciousness.

Her fingers uncurled from his forearm as all tension slid from her body in one silent wave. Limp and heavy, she began to sink toward the floor of the pool, dragging him along with her. Ryan tightened his grip on her, kicking with all his might to keep their forward momentum. She was a dead weight under his arm, slipping from his grasp with ease.

And he would not lose her.

Curling a fist into the material of her blouse, he twisted in the water to put himself under her. If he could support her body with his while powering through the pool, they’d make it. But he had to get them there in under three minutes.

Any longer, and it’d be too late to save her.

If this had been a normal, water in the lungs drowning, he’d have had more time. Five or six minutes before her oxygen levels were too low to bring her back. But this was a silent drowning. Shallow water blackout, the professionals called it. Meaning the oxygen in her brain had gotten perilously low and she’d blacked out. Like fainting underwater. And now, without her consciously fighting to hold her breath, her body automatically took in air—when there was no air to breathe.

He’d thought this might happen. Sarah had been so dead set that she’d panic and take them both down, yet he’d only seen stubborn determination from the woman since the moment she’d opened her eyes. A person like that didn’t give up easily. A person like that held her breath long past the point where her body could handle it.

So, he’d planned every detail of what he’d do to get them to safety, going over and over it in his head until it felt like second nature.

Fool.

He’d forgotten to factor in his feelings.

Forgotten how paralyzing they could be.

Fear, insidious and malicious, grew inside him. Like vines around a tree, it choked his confidence. Strangled his reason. Made him want to kick, and fight, and struggle to get free from it. When he should have been clearheaded and focused. Sarah needed him.

Get a grip! Callum’s voice barked in his head. Use your training, Soldier, and get the two of you out of there!

Swimming on his side, one arm around Sarah, the other holding the phone out in front of them, Ryan did as he was told. The water was cloudier now. Made thick by the slurry they’d kicked up as they swam. He could barely see a few inches in front of him, but his innate sense of direction was functioning fine.