Page 102 of No Mistakes
Flynn rushes the crowd as he scans the exits, cutting down anyone who blocks the women’s path out. His voice is steady,barking orders as he twists a knife into a man, already falling to the ground. “Left door clear! Move, go!”
I don’t waste time watching. A man charges at me, suit torn open, eyes wild with desperation. My knife slides from my sleeve like it belongs in my hand. I sidestep, the blade punching into his ribs, twisting once before I shove him aside. He folds instantly, gasping for breath as his knees collide with the floor.
I don’t have time to check to see if he’s dead when another man lunges towards me with a chair. I duck low, slamming the hilt of the knife into his knee, hearing the crack before driving my shoulder into his stomach. He goes down hard, choking on his own breath.
Around me, the chandeliers sway with the chaos, the lights swinging across walls now streaked with blood. The air stinks of sweat, fear, and gunpowder. Screams turn shrill as shots ring out, guards firing blindly into the madness.
But over it all, my eyes find her.
Mandy.
Through the sea of people, I see her and Eva. They’re not hiding, not cowering. They’re shoving women and men towards the exits, shielding them with their own bodies, shouting over the roar. Eva’s voice is sharp, cutting through the panic surrounding us. “MOVE! Don’t stop, just GO!”
Mandy’s face is set, fierce, unnerved. She pushes one girl forward, then turns to snap her elbow into the nose of a man who tries to block them. Blood sprays, but she doesn’t hesitate, just shoves him away, kicking her heel into his stomach, forcing him backwards.
Pride burns in my chest as I watch her protect herself and the women surrounding her.
Another guard lunges at me, gun half-raised, and I slash low, steel tearing across his thigh before I drive my fist into his jaw.His head snaps back, body crumpling before he even hits the floor.
I move again, fighting through the wave, my eyes never leaving the flash of Mandy’s dress, her body dancing between bodies. I go to turn, to check on my brothers, but I see a hand reaching out from the crown, clamping around her arm. She twists, kicks, and snarls, but the man’s grip is iron.
Eva runs towards her, but she’s pushed to the ground by people trying to escape.
The man yanks her backwards towards a side corridor, and I push forward, trying to get through the sea of people. A woman walks after them, but she’s calm. She doesn’t rush. She doesn’t scream. She walks as though she owns the room and the people in it.
I edge closer, trying to reach her, but the door shuts behind them, and my body freezes.
“No.”
The word escapes me, quiet, barely a whisper, but the sound is real. No one else knows what has happened as my brothers keep fighting, sending people to their early graves. I push forward, cutting another man down, every muscle in my body coiled tight. My heart hammers as I clench my fists, punching anyone who gets in my way.
“No,” I say, sending a man towards the floor.
It came out louder this time, and Carter’s head snapped my way mid-swing. His knife stills for a fraction of a second, shock breaking through his calm before instinct drags him back into motion.
Another body lunges for me, and I slam my blade into his chest, ripping it free. My vision tunnels as I zero in on the door.
Rage fills my body as I slam into someone. “No!”
The word tears from me, louder now, cutting through the madness. Axel glances my way, Gunnar too. A beat of disbeliefflicks across them as they glance at each other through their masks.
A man jumps on me from behind, and I throw my fist back, the knife slamming straight into his throat as blood splatters across the skin on my neck.
“MANDY!”
The scream shatters out of me, echoing through the blood-soaked hall. For a heartbeat, everything freezes. Heads turn. Even the guards hesitate. My brothers stop fighting, all of their masks snapping towards me, but I don’t care.
I’m already running, barging past anyone who gets in my way. A guard lunges, and I hit him shoulder-first, driving him into a pillar as the air leaves his lungs.
“On your right!” Carter’s voice cuts clean through the roar.
I spin, and a gun flashes as Carter’s shot cracks a heartbeat before the guard does, and the man drops like a string has been cut. Carter’s already moving, reloading without looking, sliding in beside me to clear a path.
Axel hurls a chair through a knot of suits, and bodies scatter. Gunnar flips a table, using it like a battering ram as he runs forward, laughter breaking out of him like thunder. Carter ghosts through the gaps they make, swinging his arms in precision as two men go down either side of him.
None of it slows me as I run towards my world, behind the closed door.
Someone grabs for my mask, and I slam an elbow back. The man howls, but I keep going. “Mandy!” Her name rips out of me again, raw, breaking. Heads whip towards me. Even over gunfire, even over screams.
