Page 75 of No Mercy
EVA
The highwaynever seems to end as we speed towards a location Ant found. He’s been monitoring every known warehouse of Marco’s and he pinpointed one in Chicago.
We’ve been riding in silence apart from a few moments where the boys have been discussing the plan between them, like me and Mandy don’t even exist.
Mandy sighs dramatically from beside me, who is sandwiched between me and Gunnar in the backseat.
Flynn and Ant are upfront, where Ant can change the location if needed while Flynn drives, and Carter, well… He’s been stuck in the boot since we left.
Mandy sits forward, resting her arms on the back of Flynn and Ant’s chair. “So, let me get this straight. We’re driving to this mystery location, outnumbered, unarmed and you geniuses don’t even have a proper plan? Stellar leadership boys, Axel would be proud.”
“Not helping Mandy,” Carter shouts from the boot.
She looks back, narrowing her eyes to the boy stuffed in the back with all the equipment.
“Oh I’m sorry,” She says, her tone dripping with Sarcasm. “Was I supposed to sit here quietly like a good little girl whileyou play, ‘Let’s wing it’ with Eva and Axel’s life on the line? Because I didn’t get that memo.”
The faint sound of leather rubbing, tells me that Flynn is no doubt gripping the steering wheel. “We have it under control, we don’t need a lecture right now.”
Mandy snorts, “You don’t need a lecture? You’ve got no plan, no backup, and the collective thinking range of a brick.”
“That’s enough,” Flynn snaps, quickly glancing at her before focusing back on the road.
Mandy leans back next to me, holding her hands up in surrender. “Fine, don’t mind me. I’ll just sit here and wait for your brilliant, ‘improvise and hope for the best’ plan to save the day. She leans forward again but towards Ant who’s concentrating on the screen in front of him. “How about you, Ant? Any secret plan you’re not sharing?”
He barely glances at her, tapping the screen and holding it up for her to see.
She looks towards me, raising an eyebrow before responding to Ant, “Oh good! You’re keeping count, that's handy, so let me guess… fifty of them and you’re all going to take them down with your combined good looks and charm?”
I shift in my seat as the tension grows around us. I know she’s only trying to help but right now, it’s not helping at all. I place a hand on her shoulder, trying to get her to sit back, “Mandy, pleas-”
“No Eva,” She interrupts, her tone softening as she looks at me. “I’m not saying this to be difficult. I’m saying it because you deserve better than” She waves her hands to everyone in the car, “You deserve better than this. We’re walking into a fucking war zone for all I know without even a back up plan. You have a broken rib, you’re still healing and this is the plan? To go in all guns blazing? I don’t even know how to shoot!” She shouts.
She has a point, I shouldn’t have even left the hospital but here I am, in the back of a car, drugged up on all kinds of medication, storming into god knows what.
“Enough Mandy.” Flynn says through gritted teeth. “We don’t need your negativity right now.”
Mandy laughs, “What youneedis a brain cell between the four of you. But since that’s clearly too much to ask, I’m going to keep talking until someone here admits, this is insane.”
I turn the five of them out as they bicker between them, thinking about the moment me and Axel shared in the forest. It feels like it was years ago that we shared something special, and now, we may never get that moment again.
Ant claps his hands, gaining everyone’s attention before holding up his screen for us to see.
Focus, we’re almost there.
I swallow, gripping Mandy’s hand into my own as we approach the warehouse. I have no idea what is about to happen, but I won’t be leaving without Axel.
The car falls into silence as I glance towards the others, their faces hard as the SUV slows to a crawl.
Carter throws a bag towards Gunnar, he opens it and throws masks to everyone in the car.
An orange one lands in my lap and I do everything to muffle the cry that tries to break free. It’s the one Axel gave me.
“What is this?” Mandy asks as she holds up a pink one.
Carter sits up from the back, placing his own mask on that’s yellow. “It’s our signature mark. No matter what we do, where we go. We wear these.”
Mandy examines the mask as it glows in her hand, “At least it’s pretty.” She says before sliding it over her face.
