Page 32 of No Mistakes
Ant’s already climbing out of the car with the USB in his hand by the time I kill the engine. I don’t waste time as I quickly follow suit, keeping my eyes on the other car as Mandy and Eva pull in beside us. The headlights cut out, and for a second, everything is still. That is until the driver's door opens and Eva steps out like a goddamn storm, completely unaware that walking into this house is going to change everything.
I shove my hands in my pockets to stop myself from doing something stupid, like reaching for her and pulling her in while pressing my forehead to hers, and begging her to forgive me. I watch as she walks right past me towards the house without a word, holding her chin high like the queen she is.
Mandy throws me a look as she walks by, the kind that says, ‘Don’t fuck this up more than you already have’, before following Eva through the front door like her own personal bodyguard.
As I enter, I spot Flynn near the fireplace, running his hand through his hair like he’s been going over the same mental equation for hours. Carter leans against the far wall, arms crossed as he watches Flynn pace and Gunnar, well, he’s currently lounging on the sofa with two glasses of whiskey already poured, with one half empty.
The moment they notice Eva, all three sets of eyes land on her, but no one says a word. They already know what she means to me, and they know not to say a fucking thing unless I let them.
Flynn recovers first. “You made it back fast,” he says, but his eyes stay trained on Eva. “Everything okay?”
“No,” I answer flatly, closing the door behind me. “Not even close.”
Mandy brushes past me, heading straight for Gunnar, probably for the whiskey bottle that is clutched in his hand. Eva stands still, just inside of the arch that connects the living room to the entrance hall. Her eyes dart across the room, taking everything in, no doubt reliving what happened the last time she stood here.
Everything was going so smoothly until her eyes locked on the whiteboard, and fuck me, I forgot about that.
It stands in full view near the kitchen doorway, like a ticking bomb I didn’t bother to defuse. Names, lines, symbols. Marco’s network, which is dissected like a goddamn anatomy class. A map of Chicago, where each territory is broken down by colour, with the three families carved up like a mafia butchers' map. She steps closer, spotting the images hidden in the corner. A printed photo of Mr Bonetti’s body is pinned in the corner, and right next to it, staring at us is the photo that Ant showed me earlier, of Eva looking towards the sky.
She freezes, as if the board has unlocked a whole new level that she never knew existed.
“What the hell is that?” Her voice is low but lethal, like the calm before she burns it all down, including me.
I move without thinking. “Eva-”
“No.” She snaps, backing up a step. “What the hell is that board?”
Gunnar whistles, taking a long sip of his whiskey like he wants no part in what’s about to go down. “She didn’t know?”
“Nope,” I snap, popping the p. “She didn’t.”
Flynn shifts awkwardly beside the sofa. Carter doesn’t even flinch. He’s staring between Eva and the board like he’s waiting for a fuse to blow.
“Will someone please explain why there is a fucking photo of me on a murder board?” She demands.
I let out a small laugh, trying to defuse the situation. “It’s not a murder board,” I say quickly, stepping between her and the board, showing her everything else taped to it. “It’s a case board. From a recent interrogation that just sohappensto have a dead body on it.”
She looks at me in disbelief, like I just spat in her face. Ant moves, circling the glass table in his usual quiet way and places the USB down with a soft clink that somehow cuts through the tension like a gunshot.
“What’s that?” Flynn asks, brows raised.
I glance at it. Then Ant. Then Mandy, unsure of where to start with this new information.
The air in the room shifts once again as everyone now stares at the tiny device. Mandy’s voice is quiet but powerful as she explains. “That’s why we’re here. I contacted Ant because we needed his help. It was left behind by someone at our office. Someone who… disappeared.”
Gunnar leans forward, bracing his arms on his knees. “Disappeared how?”
Mandy sighs, shrugging her shoulders. “I wish I knew. He was already gone by the time we returned to the office a few days ago. He took everything he owned apart from his badge and this.” She points towards the USB, and the room falls silent.
Flynn walks forward, “Do we know what's on it?”
“Kind of,” I say. “We know it has multiple files, but only one file has been opened, which contains photos.”
Ant briefed me on the conversation he had with Mandy while I was busy pleading my case with Eva. I tried to pry more information on their conversation, but my brother’s a fucking vault when he wants to be. Whatever passed between them, he’s keeping parts of it close to his chest.
“Photos?” Gunnar asks, standing up to keep an eye on the USB like it’s rigged to explode.
“There were multiple photos,” I admit, each word tasting like rust. “Some of Eva and Mandy. One of Mandy and Flynn at the restaurant.” I hesitate, my eyes finding Eva, and it nearly fucking rips me open to say the next part.
