Page 24 of No Mistakes

Her head snaps toward me, eyes sharp. “You wouldn’t”

I hold her gaze, not letting it falter for a second. “Try me.”

She narrows her eyes like she’s trying to read between my words, to see what I’m not saying.

After a minute, she exhales and slumps back in her chair, accepting defeat. “Not Axel. Not yet”

I nod, trying to keep my smile away as I agree to her terms. “Not yet.”

She throws her hands in the air before smacking them against her knees. “So who?”

I swallow, glancing down at the USB.

“Ant.”

She blinks, “Ant?”

I nod again, except this time a littletoofast. “He’s quiet, observant, and smart as hell. You know he could crack this bad boy open without alerting anyone. He’s done this kind of work before.”

Eva watches me like she knows exactly why I’m suggesting him. “You’re not doing this just because you want to see him again, are you?”

I scoff, flapping a hand in front of my face. “What? No. Absolutely not. This is about the files and finding answers.”

She arches a brow, still not convinced “Right.”

I give her a look. “You want to sit here and pretend like this isn’t serious? Or do we want answers?”

Silence stretches between us for a beat too long beforefinally, she nods. “Fine. Text him. But if this ends with Axel showing up. I swear I’ll kill you both.”

I grin, already searching for his name in my phone. “Deal.”

CHAPTER 12

ANT

The interrogation wenton for hours, switching between Carter and Gunnar doing the questioning.

I stay in the corner, arms folded, leaning against the concrete wall as our guy struggled to get through another round of answers.

We knew it was time to stop with the instruments when he started passing out at the sight of them. We aren’t going to get anywhere with his head swinging like a carousel ride.

It didn’t take long for him to break down when we pulled the photo out of his wallet, and I was able to find the name and address of the woman in the photo. Once we mentioned we found his daughter, it was like his mouth was a loose cannon, firing everything he had inside.

The door at the top of the stairs opens, flooding the corridor behind us with natural light. Axel rounds the corner, his jaw clenched as he takes the scene in, but he doesn’t flinch at the sight of the blood; instead, he owns it, like this is the only life he’s ever known. He moves around the room slowly, stopping to stand behind the chair.

Resting his hands on the back, he leans forward, whispering something in the man's ear, but not loud enough for us to make out what is said.

Axel turns his gaze to us, his eyes lingering on us one by one as he examines the room, his look cold and calculated, like the leader he was born to be.

I look across from me to see Carter standing to attention, his arms linked behind his back, legs slightly apart, with his head held high. Blood streaks his face, with some of it drying into the roots of his blond hair, tinting strands a dull pink.

Gunnar stands next to him, looking less put together as he slouches against the wall, his hands on his knees. His skin’s pale, sweat lining his forehead, breathing heavy. Mr Bonetti’s blood coats his hands and shirt, evidence of the initiation process we’ve all had to pass at some point.

Axel’s silence stretches through the room, making the walls feel as if they’re closing in on us while we wait for his next move. No one speaks until he finally lifts his hand and gestures with two fingers towards Carter.

“Talk.”

Carter nods once, taking a step forward. “Marco arranged the job. He’s the one who instructed Eva’s company to follow me, to see what we were into. Our movements, who we met with…. everything.”