Page 96 of No Mistakes
CHAPTER 40
ANT
By the timewe roll into Vegas, the girls are already ahead of us. Safer that way. Less chance of drawing eyes if we don’t all move as one pack. They checked in first, having the chance to settle before everything unfolds.
It’s pushing seven when Flynn walks us through the back entrance of the Bellagio. He handled check-in under the fake names, so no one at the desk clocks us. I hang back, hood up, scanning the marble halls and glittering lights. Tourists gawk at the chandeliers, snapping pictures like this place is heaven, completely unaware of what’s crawling underneath.
Flynn hands out the keys as the elevator doors slide shut. “Alright, everyone’s on the same floor,” he says, lowering his voice. “If anything happens, we’re close to move fast. We’ve got a few hours before it’s go time, so shower, eat, sleep-whatever you need.”
Carter twirls the keycard between his fingers. “What time are we regrouping?”
Axel doesn’t miss a beat. “Mandy needs to be in the room by ten. That means we move just before. She’ll be there alone, but the mic will keep her tethered to us. One wrong sound, one wrong move, and we pull her out.”
The words hang heavy in the cramped area. Nobody argues, but the thought digs inside me like a blade.
Mandy. Alone. In that room. With men who’d pay fortunes just to put their hands on what doesn’t belong to them.
The metal walls feel tighter, the air too thin. My jaw clenches until I hear the quiet pop of bone. The thought of her being surrounded, their eyes crawling over her, makes my blood run hot. If they so much as look at her the wrong way, I’ll burn the whole place down.
Axel’s still talking, steady and cold, but all I hear is the rush of my own pulse. I know what’s expected of me tonight. Calm. Sharp. Calculated. But right now, every instinct in me screams to drag her out of this plan, lock her in my room, and make damn sure none of them ever touch her.
I stay silent, keeping my thoughts to myself, because this isn’t about her, no matter how much I hate it. No, tonight is bigger, and it always has been.
The doors open and my brothers step out, but Axel hangs back, watching me. “You need to get out of that head of yours, brother,” he says, holding the doors open with one hand. His voice is steady, but his eyes pin me like he already knows where my mind went.
My jaw works, but I don’t answer. What the fuck am I supposed to say? That every scenario running through my head ends with Mandy’s blood on the floor if I’m not fast enough? That I’d rather slit every throat in that room than let her walk into it alone?
Axel leans in slightly, lowering his voice. “You let fear run you, you’re dead before you even walk in. Mandy’s tougher than you give her credit for. You focus on your job, let her do hers. That’s how we win tonight.”
His words land sharp, not comforting but cutting through the war in my head. He gives me one last look, the kind only abrother can, before stepping out, and I follow him, letting the doors slide shut after us.
The hallway is hushed, the kind of quiet only expensive hotels manage, the carpet silencing every footstep. My brothers move ahead, voices low as they split off towards their rooms. I hang back, keycard tight in my hand, each door I pass reminding me that in a few hours, all of this calm will be gone.
My room sits at the end of the hall. I swipe the card, pushing the door open, and step inside. I drop my bag on a chair, shutting the door behind me, and let the silence swallow me whole.
The weight of it hits immediately, no Mandy, no Axel barking orders. Just me and the four walls. My chest tightens like the quiet itself is pressing in, demanding I think about everything I’ve been avoiding.
I unzip the garment bag, pulling my suit free and hanging it on the closet door. I stand back, admiring the suit. Black. Formal. Smart. My chest tightens like the quiet itself is pressing in, demanding everything I hold inside to break free.
For a second, I see the flames of my house, the night everything burned. My mother’s voice, playing in my head as she urged me to go out with my brothers, to take a break, to live. I never saw her again, and guilt coils in my gut, same as it always does.
I drag in a breath, forcing it down. I grab my phone from my pocket, thumb hovering over Mandy’s name. My chest feels too tight, thoughts too loud, but maybe if I see her words, I’ll breathe easier. Maybe not. Doesn’t matter. I just need her.
I type before I can talk myself out of it.
Me: You in your room?
Three dots pop up almost immediately, and my pulse jumps.
Mandy: Yeah. Eva’s hogging the bathroom like she’s auditioning for a shampoo commercial. Why?
The corner of my mouth twitches. Even when she’s serious, she still manages to pull me out of the darkness. I lean against the headboard on my bed, phone tight in my grip as I type again.
Me: Just checking.
Mandy: Liar You’re pacing holes in your floor, aren’t you?
I glance at the suit hanging on the door, the ghost of my mother’s voice still lingering in my head. She’s not wrong.
