Page 60 of No Mercy
She stands in front of me, her hand still raised as if she’s ready to strike again. She doesn’t look away as her eyes burn into me.
Fear, betrayal and anger radiates from her body.
“You shouldn’t be here Mandy.” I address to her, making sure my voice is firm and thick.
She scoffs in response to my statement, “What so you can keep staring into another universe while my best friend is somewhere alone, and hurt because ofyou?”
The harshness in her tone takes me back, her words ringing true.
Eva is hurt because of me. I made it a point to come into her life and look where it’s got us.
She pushes my shoulders making me take a step back as I try and steady myself, “What the fuck is wrong with you Axel? You think shutting down is going to help her?”
I open my mouth to reply but no words come out as she takes a step towards me, her finger digging into my chest.
“You don’t get to fall apart,” she continues, “Not when Eva’s out there and I can’t believe I’m about to say this…” She takes a deep breath, “Not when she needs you to find her.”
I take a moment to look around the room, my brothers stand there watching. Waiting for me to say something, but no matter how much I try, I can’t find the words.
“Are you seriously standing here doingnothingwhile she’s out there?” Mandy asks, her voice tainted with disappointment. “She’s alone, Axel! Bleeding, terrified, and it’s because of you!” She starts hitting my chest over and over again, letting out her anger.
“Mandy!” Carter warns, his tone low, but she doesn’t stop.
“No, Carter!” She snaps back, “He needs to hear this, Eva is dying out there. And instead of going after her, he’s standing here like a fucking statue!”
Her words strike something inside of me as I grab her wrists, stopping her movements with my hands.
“You think I don’t care? You think I’m not tearing myself apart right now?”
“You’re not doing enough!” She fires back. “You should’ve already been out that door! But instead, I had to come here andhityou just to get you to move.”
The air between us deepens as emotions wrap around the room.
“She’s not gone yet,” Flynn steps in. His voice breaking through the tension. “But every second we waste here, she gets closer to it.”
Mandy’s jaw tightens, her eyes glistening as she holds her tears back. Ant steps forward, taking Mandy’s hand in his. They share a glance only them two understand as Mandy’s body relaxes into him.
“We’ll find her.” I growl, trying to convince myself.
Flynn picks up my phone, “They sent the photo from what looks to be like a burner phone, but there’s still data that we can pull from the image. Ant should be able to trace some information from it.”
I nod sharply as Ant lets go of Mandy’s hand and walks towards his laptop. His fingers fly across the keyboard, typing at a speed that I’ve never seen.
Walking over I lean over his shoulder. “Ant, I need everything you can get from that photo. Location, surroundings… Anything.”
“A please would be nice.” Mandy says from the back of the room.
I look over at her to see her throwing me daggers before returning my gaze to the laptop.
“PleaseAnt” I say, not wanting to waste any more time.
He glances at me, his expression calm despite the storm brewing around us. He nods once and gestures for Flynn to pass the phone.
Flynn tosses it to him, and Ant plugs it into his system, the image popping up on his screen. My stomach feels uneasyfrom seeing it again, Eva. Lying there on the cold ground, blood smeared across her face and the amount pooling beneath her.
The room is silent apart from the sound of the keyboard clicking, all of us waiting for something.
“Can he get anything?” Gunnar asks, his voice sharp.
