Page 51 of Fury

Keep it together. For Lei and Archie. They need you.

With trembling fingers, Hollyn opened his texts. Found Chapel’s name and sent the location Lei had shared with her. There was no reply. Butcopymeant they were going to help . . . right?

“Shouldn’t we call the cops?” she managed to ask.

“I trust Chapel and his team.”

Meaning he didn’t trust the police?

Clinging to her seatbelt with one hand and her necklace with the other, Hollyn pressed back into her seat, eyes closed. Prayed they’d be in time.

Hold on, you guys. We’re coming.

10

ZAHDA ISLAND, ABU DHABI, UAE

“Almost there,”Davis said into the speaker phone.

“Copy,” Chapel replied on the other end before hanging up.

The city was alive with lights and nightlife now that the sun was fully below the horizon. Eerie calm settled on this side of the Ba Halama Bridge that connected Reem Island to Zahda Island.

From what Davis could see, at least a dozen multistory buildings—maybe intended for offices—stood with scaffolding still around them. The ones illuminated by the streetlights looked abandoned. Unlike the main streets of Abu Dhabi, filled with people heading home from work or getting an early jump on a night of partying, the roads on Zahda Island were all but empty. A few parked cars dotted the roadsides, but he didn’t see any sign of people.

The small island practically begged for trouble.

Streetlamps and city lights that refused to give way to stars overhead lit a particularly dead road Davis turned onto. At least they’d have plenty of light to work by outside. Once they stepped inside, it’d be another story.

A glance at his phone to check the directions Chapel’d sent him ten minutes ago made him bank right behind one of the unfinished structures. The location Leila had shared wasn’t far from here. Maybe a couple buildings over.

Next to him, Hollyn shifted in her seat. Their kiss was still on repeat in his head. But as much as he’d slipped and let himself enjoy the moment, getting involved with Hollyn was just about the last thing he could do right now. Another time, another place.

The Chevelle’s low beams splashed across two low-profile SUVs ten yards ahead. Couldn’t see from this side of a huge construction dumpster, but he knew Chapel and the team were ready on the other side. Thick plastic covering over sections of the concrete buildings flapped in the breeze as Davis shifted down and parked behind the rear vehicle.

Before Davis killed the headlights, Chapel emerged and greeted them with a lifted chin. Damocles operators Cage Macklin and Nixon Hale flanked him. All guys Davis had shared ops with back in the day. Macklin and Hale were lethal on their own, but together they were an unstoppable force.

For the first time since his accident, Davis felt himself come alive with the familiar rush of pre-op adrenaline. It grounded him. He lived for this stuff. It was a rush to get another taste of the one thing he did well.

Another reason he was so irritated the Army had tossed him out like a live grenade.

A dark-haired woman he recognized stepped up to the Chevelle in full tac gear when he exited. An M4 hung loose across her small frame, and she wore a “mess around and find out” expression he could see even in the glow of the full moon.

“Ledger.” Lieutenant Nora Glace greeted him with an extended hand and clasped his in a respectably firm grip. “Chapel said you’ve got a woman with you.” She held a small tac vest and helmet out to Davis. “This should fit her better than the extras the guys have. No NVGs, but we figured that was more important for you.”

He took it. “Thanks.”

Hollyn came around the front of the muscle car.

The two women eyed each other in the dim light. Were like night and day in comparison—one clearly confident and full of grit, the other soft and more than a little out of place.

“Hey,” Hollyn said to Glace. She looked between Davis and the LT, seemingly unsure what to do.

“Hollyn, this is Lieutenant Glace.” Davis introduced them.

Glace lifted a hand in acknowledgement. “You can call me Nora.”

“Hollyn.”

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