Page 12 of No Mistakes (No Mercy #2)

MANDY

I twirl the USB stick around my fingers while I sit behind my desk on the most uncomfortable chair in history, debating if I should load the contents or keep it hidden from the world forever.

The moment Rob left his office for a meeting, I crept inside, picking the lock to his draw attached to his desk, securing the USB before I could be caught.

I check the time on my laptop, trying to indicate when Eva is due to return. She left for the coffee shop over twenty minutes ago, so if I was going to do it, it needs to be now.

I lean forward, resting my elbows on the desk, inspecting the device, hoping that, just by some magical miracle, it will start talking to me, like something out of Beauty and the Beast and tell me not to do it.

The more I stare at it, the more I feel like something about all of this is off, and I can’t get rid of the feeling like I’m about to open Pandora’s box, and get a fucking avalanche of questions instead of answers.

I glance towards the office door, half-expecting her to walk back in any second, busting me for opening it without her, but the door stays firmly shut.

Blurred silhouettes walk past the frosted glass, and I watch as they disappear, leaving me alone to the distant sound of Boston traffic and the hum of the old ceiling fan that does absolutely fuck all for me.

“Come on, you can do this. Just slide it in, and get it over with.” I say, trying to hype myself up. I take a deep breath before inserting the USB into the port, hoping that it will be empty.

The computer hums to life as folders pop up on the screen, one by one. My stomach twists as I watch the file names appear, and for some reason, I fear that I have indeed just unlocked the box of doom.

OPEN FIRST.

OPEN SECOND.

OPEN THIRD.

OPEN LAST.

“What have you been doing, Adam?” I whisper to myself as I hover over the first file.

My finger clicks the mouse before I have the chance to second-guess myself, and the screen flashes black for a moment before a series of images load.

I stare at them as I open them one by one. The first one is grainy, taken from a distance, but the photo is of me and Eva parked outside the yoga studio.

“What the fuck …”

This was taken the day I met Flynn when he posed as someone else. You can see Eva laughing, no doubt talking nonsense, while we sat and waited in the car for Rachel to appear, completely unaware that we were the ones being watched.

My throat goes dry as I prepare myself for the next image.

It's me and Flynn.

I recognise it instantly, it’s the same photo Flynn showed me weeks ago.

One of us is sitting at the restaurant, enjoying each other's company. This was the image that made them take me when I was sleeping. Something I will never forgive them for. I can’t help but scoff at the memory because the feelings I had towards him then are completely different now.

My heart hammers against my chest when I realise this isn’t just some personal project. This is surveillance. Someone has been following us, watching us. But why ?

I close the image, completely unprepared for the final photo.

I feel my body go cold as I stare at Eva lying in the hospital bed. Her face pale, her eyes closed while she slept. Wires and monitors surrounded her like something out of a goddamn nightmare.

I don’t understand why Adam would have these, and who the hell has been following us?

The door flies open, and I panic, quickly shutting everything down before removing the USB from the laptop, tucking it into my pocket.

“Next time, you’re doing the coffee run. I don’t know why you’re the only one that gets the discount, and I have to pay full price.” Eva mumbles as she dumps the drinks on my desk.

I force a smile, praying she can’t hear the way my heart is doing cartwheels in my chest, while my thoughts scream louder than the damn ceiling fan above us.

“Because I have a pretty face and no shame in flirting with baristas, who probably still live with their mothers,” I mutter, grabbing the coffee like it’s going to save me from this whole situation.

Eva snorts, dropping into the chair across from me, but there’s a heaviness in her that wasn’t there before. The kind of weight people carry when they’re pretending they’re fine, but in reality, they’re barely holding themselves together.

I watch as she stares down into her drink, as if she’s hoping it will give her some answers like the tea leaves in Harry Potter.

“I ran into Riley,” she says softly. “She wants to go over some case note things.”

I nod, not saying anything because what else am I supposed to do? Tell her I just found surveillance photos of us that should not exist. That someone was close enough to take a picture of her unconscious in a hospital bed, and she never even knew?

I can’t fucking do that, she’s already at breaking point. She has been since she found out about Axel. I know what she’s thinking, I know because I see it in her eyes every time she thinks I’m not watching.

She’s wondering if it was all a lie. If Axel ever truly cared about her, or if she was just another pawn in a game, none of us signed up to play.

I warned her this job sometimes has risks, but fuck, I never accounted for something like this happening.

“You know I have your back, no matter what, right?” I ask. She looks at me, giving me a small smile before nodding her head. “I know you do, Mandy. You always have. It’s just… hard.”

Her words hang in the air, and I swallow the lump forming in my throat. I nod, pretending like I don’t feel the weight of my own secrets pressing down on me, or that my thoughts haven’t already slipped back to him.

To Ant.

Fuck, he didn’t even say a god damn word, but the silence between us in that parking lot at the shooting range? It said enough. I felt the attraction to him, but did he feel it towards me?

I can’t help but think about the way he looked at me before I got in the car, like he wanted to stop me, like he had a million things to say, but no voice to say them. I wanted to stay, to just have those few extra moments with him to see what would happen, but nope, I walked away like a coward.

Something about him crawled under my skin and made a home for itself, and the worst part about all of it? It didn’t scare me. Instead, it settled me, which is even fucking worse.

I don’t even know what this is between us. All I know is that I haven’t been able to get him off my mind since, and the urge to see his name on my phone is getting stronger every minute.

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 and don’t panic, 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. “And you . 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.”

“Only one file?” She straightens. “There’s more on 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 what he did.”

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 know who or why . 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 I will if I have to.”

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 little too fast. “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 before finally , 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.”