Page 23 of No Mistakes

I need to find an excuse to text him, to make the first step, but I have no idea how, not unless we need his he-

Oh.My.God.

I sit straighter in my seat, nearly spilling coffee everywhere. Eva glances at me, her eyes wide, no doubt wondering what on earth just happened.

“Mandy…” Eva starts, slowly moving her chair towards my desk. “Is everything okay?”

My eyes shoot to hers, “Yep, I just thought of something, that’s all.”

Eva scoffs, rolling her eyes, not buying my response for even a second. “Mandy, spill.”

Her voice is low but firm. It’s the way it gets when she’s being serious, when she slips back into detective mode.I glance at her over the top of my coffee, trying to play it cool, but I already know I’m failing miserably by the glare I’m receiving.

I sigh, “Fine, but don’t shout at me anddon’tpanic, okay?”

She narrows her eyes, “No promises.”

I pull the USB out from my pocket, placing it down between us. “I found something while you were out. On the USB that Adam left.”

Her whole body stills, her eyes flicking between the USB and me. “You opened it?”

I nod, reaching for her hands. “I couldn’t wait. I didn’t want to, but you weren't here, and I had this gut feeling.”

Eva leans forward, slipping her hands into mine. “And?”

“There were photos. Of us. Me and you doing surveillance, me and Flynn…” I pause, squeezing her hand. “Andyou. In the hospital.”

Her face pales instantly, she lets go of my hands as her back collides with the chair, like the wind’s been knocked out of her.

“Eva…”

She shakes her head, clearly trying to process what I just said. I watch her features twist as she tries to understand. Her hands slowly find their way to her head, massaging her temples.

“Someone was following us?” She asks, her voice a whisper.

“I don’t know,” I admit. “I only opened one file.”

“Onlyonefile?” She straightens. “There’smoreon there?”

I nod, glancing at my phone. “I didn’t want to open the rest without someone who could help us.”

Her eyes meet mine, and after a few seconds, it’s like something in her mind clicked, and her face hardens. “No, Mandy. We can’t go back to them. Not after whathedid.”

Her voice wavers at the end, and she looks away like the memory still stings fresh. I exhale slowly, preparing for the next stage.

“I’m not saying we should go back to him.”

Her eyes flick back to mine. “Same thing.”

“It’s not,” I say, leaning in. “We need someone who understands this tech stuff. Someone who can open those files safely, maybe trace where they came from without alerting whoever put them on there.”

Eva stays silent, her jaw clenched tight, but I don’t stop.

“Look, I get it,” I add. “You’re still angry. But this isn’t about Axel. It’s about what’s on that USB. Someone’s been watching us, Eva. We don’t knowwhoorwhy. What if it’s connected to Adam disappearing?”

Her expression falters at hearing Adam’s name, and I know I’ve hit the spot I needed.

“I can’t ignore this,” I say softly. “And I don’t want to do it behind your back, but Iwillif I have to.”