Page 106 of No Mistakes
She swallows hard, her lips parting like she’s about to break, but instead she breathes three words that shatter me more than any bullet ever could.
“I love you.”
My chest caves, a small laugh leaves my mouth, and my mind goes silent for the first time in years from hearing her say those three words, wrapped in truth and devotion.
I press my forehead against hers, and my voice cracks when the words escape. “I love you too, trouble.”
CHAPTER 43
MANDY
The gun slipsfrom my hands, crashing to the carpet like it weighs a hundred pounds. My chest heaves as my eyes lock on Rachel, her body twitching, the final breath rattling out of her in shallow gasps, while relief floods me.
I shot her because she threatened to take me from Ant- to rip the only good thing I had left straight out of my hands. I shot her because she would have killed me, just to prove she could. But more than that, I shot her for Adam. For the friend who tried to warn us while carrying the weight of his own nightmare because she forced it upon him.
Now they can both be free.
My whole body trembles, shoulders shaking, but Ant’s hands catch my face before I can fall apart. His skin is warm, forcing the storm away as it battles inside of me.
“I love you,” I whisper, the words spilling out raw, unstoppable. The thought of using those words no longer scares me; if anything, they feel like the only thing holding me together.
His forehead presses to mine, his voice quiet, “I love you too, trouble.” and a sob leaves me as everything around us, the bodies, the blood… all of it disappearing.
Hurried footsteps approach the door, and everyone turns towards it, standing in preparation for another ambush.
Eva stumbles through the doorway, her face pale, eyes wide with panic. “We need to move.Now.”
My eyes widen, breath stuttering as my gaze flicks from her to the empty hallway behind.The survivors. “What about the men and women? What about the ones being sold?”
“We’re not leaving them,” Axel growls, striding forward towards Eva, his red mask dangling from his hand, streaked with someone else’s blood. His voice is hard, commanding, already assigning roles without hesitation. “Carter, Flynn, Gunnar. You go back through. Find them, get them out of here, every single one. Call Vinny. Tell him Axel needs him.”
Flynn doesn’t waste a second, already tugging Gunnar towards the exit, Carter close behind.
Axel’s gaze lands on the three of us left behind, “The rest of us need to prepare. We’ll draw the fire, pull the heat from them until everyone is safe and in the clear.”
Ant’s hand slides down, threading through mine, his grip rough. My legs still tremble, but the steadiness of him anchors me. His thumb drags once across my knuckles, quiet, wordless reassurance.
Axel walks toward the door but pauses, turning just enough to glance over his shoulder at Ant. “All this time, and the first word outta your mouth ishername?” His smirk is razor-thin, all bite. “Figures it’d take a girl to do what the rest of us couldn’t.”
Ant’s glare could cut glass, but Axel only chuckles, shaking his head as he walks through the open door. “Relax. I won’t tell the others…” he tosses a wink back, “unless you die tonight. Then it’sdefinitelygoing on your tombstone.”
The second Axel steps through the door, the voices inside of my head tell me to run, to disappear, and to never look back as we walk past the blood-streaked walls. Ant’s hand stillgrips mine, never letting me go as we follow Axel and Eva. She looks behind her, and her eyes widen, her body jerking to every shadow we pass.
The hall outside reeks of smoke and gunpowder. Distant screams echo as an alarm blares around us, the hotel no doubt issuing an evacuation. Axel raises a hand, signalling for us to stop. He cracks the door open slightly, peering out to see what is waiting for us. “Stay sharp. The others will get them out, but until then, we need to blend in, act like we belong here.”
Ant looks towards me, his voice full of concern. “Are you okay?”
I nod frantically, unable to find the words, no matter how hard I try.
Axel holds up his fingers, counting down from three silently before opening the door wide, pulling Eva through behind him.
We move fast, cutting corners, slipping through service corridors as we race for the exit. We take a left, and shouts erupt at the far end of the hallway. Two men in suits spin on their heels, drawing their guns instantly at the sight of us. Ant pushes me behind him, Axel doing the same with Eva, just as a shot cracks through the air. The bullet collides with the wall inches from Axel’s head, and he laughs, “Close. But not close enough.” He doesn’t hesitate, his own shot dropping the first man on the right. Ant steps forward, firing at the second man, the sudden thump, telling us he hit his target.
I breathe in deeply, the sound ragged as I try to compose myself, but Ant grabs my hand, pulling me as we run.
Sirens blare outside the building. Red and blue lights strobed through the windows in a blue, painting the walls like a warning. The cops are coming, but they aren’t here to save anyone, especially not us.
Axel shoulders the stairwell door open, barking orders as he goes. “Garage. Move.”
