Page 105 of No Mistakes
Carter stiffens at my side, his gun still trained on her, his jaw locked so tight I hear the grind of his teeth.
“You’re lying.” The words come out in a rasp, but even as I say them, the memory claws up my throat, choking me. The small body, the blood, the screams….oh god, the screams.
Aria steps closer, heels clicking against the floor like the toll of a clock counting down as she presses her body against mine. She ignores Carter completely, her eyes never leaving me. “You didn’t even look at him. Just pulled the trigger and took his life like it was nothing. Do you still remember the way he fell?”
I flinch from her words, because I do. No matter how much I tried to bury it, I always will.
Carter takes a step in front of me, pushing her backwards, blocking her path. “Enough.”
But Aria only laughs. “No, Carter. Not enough. You finished the job, didn’t you? My mother, my father. Both of them were dead before they even had the chance to beg. And you thought you left no witnesses.”
Carter doesn’t move. Doesn’t blink, but his silence is an answer all on its own.
Aria’s smile stretches, sick with victory. “But you missed one.Me.”
The weight of her words slams into me harder than any bullet could. All this time, the gym, the fake smiles, the harmless little shadow who trailed us, none of it was obsession. It was vengeance.
Behind her, Mandy shifts against the men surrounding her while they watch everything unfold. She doesn’t speak, doesn’t dare draw attention to herself as she moves, but her gaze keeps me grounded, stopping me from slipping under the waves Aria is trying to drown me in.
I drag a breath, my voice rough. “Let. Her. Go.”
Aria tilts her head, amused. “Or what? You’ll kill another innocent?” she laughs.
Her words echo in my skull, scraping against the memory of blood and screams. My chest tightens, my throat burns, and for a heartbeat, I can’t breathe as fear takes over me. Sheknows. She knows everything.
She lifts a hand, inspecting her nails while her men still hold their guns levelled in our direction. She glances at Mandy before returning to us. “I should thank her, Antonio. I mean, you didn’treallythink Marco was the one pulling the strings, did you? She gave me the perfect way to watch you burn. To lose her the way I lost them-”
A crack splits the air.
For a second, no one moves. No one breathes. Aria blinks, her smile faltering as her body jerks once, then twice. A red patch grows across her chest, staining the material that clings to her body. Her eyes go wide, stunned, and for the first time, she looks human.
I whip my head to Mandy, seeing her on her feet, one of the guards’ guns gripped steadily in her hands, her arms locked, herstare like ice as she stares at Aria. Her chest rises and falls fast, but her voice… Her voice is calm.
“Don’t youever,” Mandy says, each word dripping with strength, “think you can take me away from him.”
The men around her falter, thrown off by the sudden shift, their guns twitching with hesitation. Aria makes a sound that’s a mixture between a gasp and a laugh, but blood bubbles at her lips before she collapses to the floor, her heels clattering against the tiles.
The silence after is deafening as her men still, frozen in their spot. Carter darts towards them, moving like a shadow while his blade slices through the air once, twice, dropping the two closest to us.
Five more come barrelling through the door, and I spin on my heel, standing in front of Mandy, covering her from any potential damage. I run forward, charging at one of her men, but Flynn storms in, quickly followed by Gunnar and Axel at his back, bullets shred through the air. Blood paints the wall while bodies hit the ground around us, the sound of mayhem swallowing Aria’s last breath.
The moment the last body falls, Carter leans forward, resting his hands on his knees. “Took your fucking sweet time now, lads, didn’t you?”
Flynn walks towards him, clasping a hand on his shoulder, smiling. “Had to give you a little bit of fun before we saved the day,” but the laughter dies quickly as Gunnar’s boot nudges Rachel’s body, revealing her face.
Axel’s there immediately, his face twisted in disbelief. “What the fuck…” His eyes widen as he looks towards the gun in Mandy’s hand, like he’s piecing a puzzle together.
Flynn steps closer, leaning over Axel to get a better look. “Is that… Rachel?”
Gunnar lets out a harsh laugh, “You’ve gotta be fucking kidding me. Rachel? From the gym?”
They exchange looks, confusion thick in the air, until Carter straightens with a grim expression. “She’s not who you thought she was,” he cuts in. His tone filled with disgust. “She’s been running this shit. Marco was just her puppet.”
Carter starts filling them in with everything that happened, but I barely hear him as I look towards my girl.
I turn, finding Mandy’s eyes as she stares at me. She stands rooted to the spot, chest heaving, her fingers trembling around the gun until it slips free, clattering to the ground. Her shoulders shake, but her eyes-God, her eyes-are locked on mine.
I push forward, stepping over bodies, ignoring the reunion happening behind me. My hands find her face, holding her still, needing to feel her, to know she’s here. Alive.
