Page 62 of Fury

Whatever she had to say—and he was very curious what it was—was important enough for her to step into the meeting. He didn’t want her to back down now. Their eyes met and he nodded. Hoped it transferred some confidence to her. She was stronger than she knew.

Hollyn quickly licked her lips, then continued. “Before they were killed. I—um, need my laptop to get into the lab files so I can see if someone tried to access them during the break-in. Or I could go to the lab and use the computers there.”

“Negative,” Chapel replied. “You stay here. We’ll retrieve your laptop. Tell Davis where it is and he can head over.”

Davis nodded his agreement. Not that he had a choice. When Chapel gave an order, you better already be on your way.

“What’s the project?” Chapel crossed his arms.

“An AI program designed to let salvaging equipment self-navigate a sunken wreck and learn as it goes.”

“Salvage.” Bennion mulled the word over. “You in the treasure-hunting business?”

Hollyn’s chin dipped slightly. Hesitance sparked in her eyes. “Essentially . . . yes. It’s one of my father’s businesses. Well, was.Is?” She shook her head before murmuring, “Not really sure how that works now.”

“All right.” Chapel effectively ended the conversation. Nodded to Davis. “Retrieve the laptop and get back here.”

Davis stood. Tapped his leg. Fury blew out a sharp huff in Bennion’s direction before lifting his tail and walking toward Hollyn.

“Did that mutt just tell me to?—”

Davis ignored the rest of the sentence as he walked with Hollyn back to her room. “So, where in the house is the laptop?”

Hollyn pinched the bridge of her nose with a soft moan.

Concern welled in his gut. “You okay?”

“Yeah,” she said quietly. “I just have a killer headache and feel kind of groggy.”

“You should really sleep, Hol.” Much as he wanted to kiss her again, he wouldn’t. Not yet. She was clearly exhausted.

“I know.” Her yawn told him all he needed to know.

Fury hopped onto her bed and lay down, ears swiveling as he listened to them.

“Okay. The laptop should be in my bedroom dresser. Third drawer, under the T-shirts. The charger is plugged into the wall by my bed. There’s a chance I left the laptop in the office, but I’m pretty sure I put it away.”

“In your dresser, third drawer, under your shirts,” he repeated.

She waved at him. “Don’t with that face. I keep it there so it’s not something people just see right off the bat should they go looking . . . for it.” She winced. “Okay, I see how strange it sounds, but I’ve had my system hacked more than once and had out-of-the-blue offers of millions for my program while getting a latte.” She shrugged. “It’s what I do. Deal with it.”

He bit down on a grin. She was cute when rattled. “Got it.” He pivoted. “Fury, let’s go.”

The landshark hopped off the bed.

“Any chance you could grab me some clothes too?”

Davis tapped a fist against the doorjamb when he paused, feeling weird at the prospect of going through her things, but he nodded. “Sure thing.” He strode outside to the Chevelle, ready to get this assignment over with. The quicker he got her things, the quicker he’d be back here to watch over her.

It’s not the responsibility you want it to be.

Going deeper wasn’t an option at the moment. He’d never said that four-letter word to anyone before—didn’t plan to start now—but she’d never be his until he was man enough to say what was really on his mind.

* * *

DAMOCLES SAFE HOUSE, ABU DHABI, UAE

Sunlight flared across Hollyn’s face. Warmed her. Nudged her from a deep sleep. Blinking, she stretched her legs under the covers. Every muscle in her body ached. At least she felt like she was in the land of the living again.

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