Page 2 of No Mistakes
The words drop like a gunshot, and I don’t flinch. I can’t, not in front of him, butfuck, I feel my pulse kick harder than it ever has before.
“You’ll meet Matteo at the docks,” he says, walking back behind his desk like the conversation is already over. “He’ll give you the details. You follow the orders. You don’t ask questions, and you sure as hell don’tfuckit up.”
He drops into his chair, picking up his glass.
“Do this right, Antonio…” His eyes flick to mine over the rim of his drink. “And you’ll finally stop being a little boy in a suit.”
I nod before backing away from his desk. It takes everything inside of me not to sprint out of the door, but I can’t show him weakness, not when he’s expecting a performance.
The second I exit the room, I steady myself, gripping onto the chair while taking a shuddering breath, doing my best to shake off the feeling of dread.
Tonight is the night I have to prove myself.
I just didn’t know it would also be the night that changed my life forever.
CHAPTER 1
AXEL
I don’t knowwhether to run for my life or to keep standing here like an idiot, waiting to be killed. This must be what a deer feels like when they lock eyes with a predator, because Idefinitelyknow which one I am right now, and it’s not a fun position to be in.
I take a step forward, making sure to keep my movements slow. “Eva… Let me explain.” I don’t even have the chance to finish my sentence before a pillow comes flying towards me, connecting with my shoulder. Pain shoots through my body, and I do everything in my power not to scream or curse at the burning sensation as I grit my teeth. A not-so-gentle reminder of the events that happened two weeks ago, the words Karma screaming inside of my head.
Eva’s eyes blaze with anger while she glares towards me, her chest rising and falling rapidly. She looks around, no doubt trying to find something else to throw at me, and honestly? I don’t blame her. I would have personally taken a page out of the movie Tangled and gotten a frying pan if I were her, but I’m not ready to plant that idea in her head.
“That’s all you have to say?” She spits, her voice sharp enough to cut through steel. I lift my hands, holding my palms up, surrendering. “I swear, if you just let me-”
Another pillow comes flying, but this time I dodge out of the way, leaning to the left. My shoulder protests against the movement, sending another searing pain down my arm, but I ignore it.
Come on, Axel, now is not the time to look weak.
Eva’s expression softens for a split second before she shakes her head, like she’s pushing the concern for me away from her mind. “You don’t get to stand there and act like nothing happened,” Eva spits, her voice trembling. “Two. Weeks, Axel.Two fucking weeksof thinking you were gone. Of… of thinking you were dead, and now you just-” She throws her hands up, shaking her head in disbelief. “What, show up like it’snothing?”
I have to hold the urge to say‘surprise’, knowing that now is not the time to crack out a joke, if I want to make it through the day alive. Which is kinda ironic, seeing as I just pretended to be dead.
“I had to,” I tell her, trying to talk before she shuts me out. “Eva, please. Just listen.”
A bitter laugh fills the room, and I can’t help but look around at everyone else in the room watching this unfold. Concern spreads across Mandy’s face as she glances between us both. All four of my brothers are standing behind me in the archway to the living room, no doubt enjoying themselves. Carter gives me a small thumbs up, encouraging me to carry on like I’m a kid in a school play. I love him, but he really needs to learn how to ‘read a room’.
I turn my attention back to Eva just as she takes a step closer. “Listen? Toyou? Oh,I’m sorry, should I have waited for a letter from the afterlife? I didn’t realise they had ghost pigeons.”
I hear someone snickering behind me, but I don’t have to turn around to find out it’s most likely Carter giggling like a little girl.
Wellfuck, she really isn’t holding back. I rub a hand across my jaw. A part of me proud from seeing her stand up for herself and letting everything out, but at the same time, I wish I weren’t the reason it was happening.
She starts pacing around the room, hands on her hips like she’s fighting with her mind. She won’t dare look at me, and it kills me because I need her to see me, to understand.
“I did it to keep you safe,” I say, forcing the words out before she cuts me off again. She stops pacing, her head snapping up to reveal those beautiful, burning eyes. “Safe?” She asks, taking a slow step forward. “You think I wassafe?” Her voice drops, quieter but somehow more dangerous. “I gothurt, Axel.” She presses a hand to her ribs, where I know the bruises still linger. Flynn kept me up to date on her recovery every second he got, but it wasn’t like he had a choice. The moment he returned to the house, I was there at the front door, waiting like a little kid does for Santa for an update, no matter how badly injured I was.
“I got hurt because ofyou.” Her words hit me harder than I expected as I swallow the guilt threatening to choke me. “I know… And if I could take it back-”
“Oh, but Axel,youcan’t.” She points a finger towards me, “Andyoudidn’t tell me.Youdidn’t let me choose. You just-” Her voice breaks, “Youjust let mebelieveyou were fucking dead.ALLof you did.” She takes a step back, looking at my brothers standing behind me, her eyes narrowing as she addresses them. “Tell me,O’mighty Ashford Brothers.Did you enjoy your little game of 2 truths 1 lie while I cried, day in, day out? Because I fucking didn’t.”
She looks towards Mandy, her shoulders sagging in defeat, her voice dropping to a whisper, “Did you know?”
Mandy looks towards us, her eyes filled with panic. She knew. She knew because we told her, and that’s on me, not her. She begged me to tell Eva. Screamed at us at every possible moment to tell her the truth so she could stop watching her best friend breaking inside.
I step forward, distracting Eva to give Mandy room to breathe. My body screams in protest at every movement, but right now, the pain in her eyes hurts me more than anything. I’ll go through fire and hell to reach her, to try and explain why I did it. “I thought it was the only way.” I plea, “They were coming for me, Eva. They knew about you. If I didn’t disappear, you would’ve been next.”
