Page 3 of No Mistakes (No Mercy #2)

EVA

My feet move, to a destination of God knows where, but I don’t stop. I just need to go anywhere that isn’t near him.

My vision blurs as my breathing comes fast and uneven, like I’m on the verge of a panic attack. The weight of everything, the pain, the sheer agony of the past two weeks bares down on me. It’s all too much.

A hand grabs my wrist, and I go to shake whoever it is off. “Eva-” I try ripping my hand free before Mandy manages to get a grip on me, but she’s faster than I am right now.

I feel my body betraying me, breaking down under all the emotions as I run away from everything.

“Eva, stop !” Mandy shouts, but I don’t listen, the need to be as far away as possible pushing me forward.

She runs in front of me, gripping my shoulders, forcing me still.

I suck in a sharp breath, trying to blink back the tears that are forming in my eyes, cursing at myself for being vulnerable. “Let go of me, Mandy. Please .”

“No.” Her voice is firm, but a touch of softness lies behind it. “Not until you tell me where the hell you’re running to.”

A cold breeze brushes against my skin, causing me to shiver. I realise we're no longer in the house but outside near the tree line, and I look around, watching as the trees rustle against the wind.

I press my lips together, my throat closing up as I listen to the wind, remembering the day Axel picked me up from this very spot, whisking me away to the forest.

“Eva,” Mandy says again, softer this time, and that’s when my damn walls collapse.

A choked sob escapes me, and before I can stop it, my shoulders shake just as my legs threaten to give out beneath me.

Mandy reaches out, catching me before I hit the ground.

“Hey,” She murmurs whilst pulling me close to her. “Breathe, okay? Just breathe.”

I do my best, but every time I try, it’s like every breath is getting caught in my throat, unable to get out.

He was dead. And I mourned him, I broke because of him, and now he’s here, just standing inside like he didn’t just shatter my whole world.

A fresh wave of anger pushes through the lump in my throat, and I shove myself out of Mandy’s arms, wiping the tears away from my eyes.

“He let me think he was dead; he lied to both of us,” I spit.

“He let me-” Fuck . I can’t even believe this is really happening right now.

This is something that you see in movies; it’s not meant to happen in real life.

I glance towards Mandy to see a flicker of something on her face.

The concern was gone, and now it was replaced with something else.

She opens her mouth to say something, but I watch as she tries to bury whatever she’s feeling.

Nausea grows inside of me at the thought of her hiding something.

No. She wouldn’t. Would she?

“Mandy….” I start, trying to press her into telling me, but she looks away. “Eva,” she mutters, rubbing a hand over her face. “You need to tell me what you need, because I’m not letting you spiral alone,” she says, avoiding my questioning completely.

A part of me wants to press her on it, to demand to know why she didn’t answer me in the living room when I asked her if she knew. But my emotions are unravelling the longer I stay here, and I don’t have the strength to hold on to them and fight her at the same time.

I shake my head, deciding to let it go, but only for now. “I just- I can’t be here right now, Mandy. Not with him here.”

Her lips press together, like she wants to argue to stay, but instead, she sighs. “Fine,” She says after a few seconds. “Let’s go then.” She grabs my hand, pulling me towards an SUV sitting on the driveway. “Go where exactly?” I ask.

She throws me a glance before shrugging her shoulders, “Wherever you want.”

I hesitate slightly, still unsure of how to take her earlier reaction, my mind screaming at me not to trust her, but my heart tells me otherwise.

Where do I want to go? My mind is a mess, and my emotions are sky high, making it hard to think straight. But one thing is certain: I can’t be anywhere near Axel right now. I need to be far away from him.

“Okay,” I sigh, accepting defeat. She wraps an arm around me, securing me next to her as she guides me away from the house and into the car.

I climb into the warmth of the SUV, and a part of me wants to ask who it belongs to, but I don’t think I’m ready for that answer.

Mandy climbs into the driver's seat next to me. The SUV hums to life, and hot air flows through the vents directly onto my face, causing my body to shiver. I didn’t realise how cold I was until now.

I press my forehead against the cool window, watching the trees blur into one while Mandy drives us to an unknown destination.

Mandy doesn’t speak at first. She just drives, one hand loose on the wheel, the other tapping restlessly against her thigh as if she’s in a deep thought.

I should be grateful for the silence, but it only makes my thoughts louder.

I squeeze my eyes shut, hoping it will silence them, but nothing happens. My chest still aches, the same unbearable pressure that’s been there since I saw Axel standing there, alive. And that the brothers weren’t the only ones who knew.

The possible betrayal claws inside of me, and I try to swallow it down, but it’s impossible. There is only one way to find out if she truly knew if he was alive before today.

I force a breath through my nose, gathering the courage. “How long have you known? I ask bluntly. The tapping suddenly stops as she grips the steering wheel. “Eva-”

I turn my head, just enough to look at her. “How. Long?”

She exhales, taking a second to answer, “A few days.”

I blink, unsure if I heard her correctly. “A few days ?” I ask, needing confirmation. Mandy clenches her jaw. “ Yeah … a few days.”

Something inside of me snaps. “And what, you just decided I didn’t deserve to know?” I question in disbelief. She shakes her head, glancing at me quickly before returning her eyes to the road. “It wasn’t like that.”

“Then what was it like?” I demand, “Because from where I’m sat, it sure as hell looks like you stood there and watched me fall apart while you held onto the one thing that could’ve stopped it.”

Mandy groans, slowly rubbing her forehead with her hand. “You think I wanted this? That I wanted to see you like that?”

I throw my hands in the air, “I don’t know Mandy. You tell me, or are we going to keep that a secret too?”

She lets out a sharp breath, gripping the wheel like she’s trying to control herself. “Axel told me for a reason, Eva. And he… he was barely holding it together himself. He asked me not to say anything, and I-” She stops herself, shaking her head. “It just wasn’t my place.”

I scoff in response, “Wasn’t your place ?” I let out a bitter laugh, curling my fingers to the point my nails dig into my palm. “It wasn’t your place to tell your best friend ? Since when do you care about where your place is?”

Mandy presses her lips together, her eyes flickering to me before snapping back to focus in front of her.

I know I should stop, but the ache inside of me fuels my burning rage.

“You’ve never had a problem speaking your mind before.

Never had an issue stepping in when you thought I needed you.

” I swallow, my throat burning while I hold back the tears.

“But you stood there. You let me cry. You let me grieve for him like he was gone, Mandy.”

I watch as her jaw flexes. I can tell she wants to say something, but she holds it back. A tear escapes down my cheek, but I don’t wipe it away. Instead, I let it fall, allowing myself to feel something that is real.

I hear my voice shake as I ask my next question, “Did you even feel bad?”

Mandy’s hand slams against the wheel, taking me by surprise.

“Of course, I felt bad! Jesus , Eva. You’re my best friend.

” She exhales roughly, “You think I enjoyed keeping that from you? Watching you break, knowing I could stop it?” Her knuckles turn white against the steering wheel as if she’s using it to control herself. “It was fucking hell.”

I can’t help but glare at her, “Not the same kind of hell I was in.”

She doesn’t respond, but I see the guilt eating away at her.

I see it in the way she swallows, the way her eyes flick to the side like she doesn’t want me to see.

All the signs are there. A little bit of me feels regret for snapping at her, but the trust has been broken, and I don’t know if that is something we could ever get back.

I shake my head, turning away to look back out of the window. “I don’t believe you.”

“Eva, ple-” but I don’t let her carry on. “I trusted you, Mandy.” My words make her flinch as the silence settles between us, like a weight suffocating us both.

The silence stretches over us as we drive down a deserted road. I look over at her, a feeling of sadness washing over me from seeing my best friend fighting herself.

I don’t know how to let all of this go. The betrayal burns, but beneath it, the exhaustion starts to creep in. I feel like I’ve been fighting for days when in fact it’s only been a few hours.

After a few minutes, I realise I don’t recognise where we are. I look out all of the windows, trying to find something familiar. “Where are we going?”

For the first time in weeks, Mandy turns and smirks slightly, like she’s been waiting for me to ask. “You’ll see shortly.”

She takes the next turn off, pulling into an empty parking lot. I look around, seeing a building that looks almost abandoned, but then I see the sign.

A shooting range?

I glance at her quickly, “Seriously? A range?”

Mandy throws the SUV into park, turning to face me with an arched brow. “You’ve got way too much pent-up anger right now, and I know part of that is due to me. You can either let it eat you alive, or you can put it to use.”

I stare at her, still furious, but I don’t argue.

Mandy was the person who taught me to fire a weapon, and being here with her brings back all of the memories we’ve created over the years.

Just like when she used to hide behind the wall whenever I picked up a weapon, or cheered me on, when my bullets finally started to hit the target.

I push open the door and step outside, breathing in the mixture of fresh air, pine trees and gunpowder, because maybe, just maybe, she’s right.

I don’t wait for her as I walk towards the black door in front of me. The sound of bullets ricocheting from inside fills me with adrenaline, pushing me forward.

The second I open the door, I’m greeted by a gentleman with the name tag ‘Carlos’ who is sitting behind a counter.

He looks up, giving me a small smile before focusing on the screen in front of him.

I quickly glance back to see if Mandy’s following me.

She spots me looking and quickly shoves her phone in her pocket before chasing after me.

But a part of me can’t help but wonder if she was talking to him .

No Eva, no thinking about him. He doesn’t deserve anymore of your time.

Mandy catches up, waiting for me to enter the building. “Are you ready to shoot some bullets?” She asks cheerfully. I smile at her words, excitement filling me at the thought of doing something I love. Something for me.

“Fuck yeah, let’s do this.”