Page 44 of No Mistakes (No Mercy #2)

ANT

I find Mandy immediately, my eyes roaming her body from a distance, checking to see if she is harmed. Relief floods my body as she mouths that she’s fine before darting across the room, towards the stage.

The room erupts into screams as people scatter in every direction. Glass shatters as people throw their drinks, trying their best to escape. Chairs topple over, bodies crash into each other as panic floods the space like wildfire.

My brothers split instantly, the way we always do, as we show controlled destruction.

Our masks moving through the room efficiency.

Axel moves first, a blade flashing in his hand, he strikes fast, clean, merciless as he moves around the room.

Gunnar follows with brute force, a human wrecking ball slamming men into walls, tables, whatever is closest. The sound of bones cracking under his fist is drowned only by the roar of the crowd.

Carter is precise, cold. Every movement measured, every strike calculated. A bullet to the knee. A knife to the throat. No wasted motion as he dances between people.

Flynn rushes the crowd as he scans the exits, cutting down anyone who blocks the women’s path out. His voice is steady, barking orders as he twists a knife into a man, already falling to the ground. “Left door clear! Move, go!”

I don’t waste time watching. A man charges at me, suit torn open, eyes wild with desperation.

My knife slides from my sleeve like it belongs in my hand.

I sidestep, the blade punching into his ribs, twisting once before I shove him aside.

He folds instantly, gasping for breath as his knees collide with the floor.

I don’t have time to check to see if he’s dead when another man lunges towards me with a chair. I duck low, slamming the hilt of the knife into his knee, hearing the crack before driving my shoulder into his stomach. He goes down hard, choking on his own breath.

Around me, the chandeliers sway with the chaos, the lights swinging across walls now streaked with blood. The air stinks of sweat, fear, and gunpowder. Screams turn shrill as shots ring out, guards firing blindly into the madness.

But over it all, my eyes find her.

Mandy.

Through the sea of people, I see her and Eva. They’re not hiding, not cowering. They’re shoving women and men towards the exits, shielding them with their own bodies, shouting over the roar. Eva’s voice is sharp, cutting through the panic surrounding us. “MOVE! Don’t stop, just GO!”

Mandy’s face is set, fierce, unnerved. She pushes one girl forward, then turns to snap her elbow into the nose of a man who tries to block them. Blood sprays, but she doesn’t hesitate, just shoves him away, kicking her heel into his stomach, forcing him backwards.

Pride burns in my chest as I watch her protect herself and the women surrounding her.

Another guard lunges at me, gun half-raised, and I slash low, steel tearing across his thigh before I drive my fist into his jaw. His head snaps back, body crumpling before he even hits the floor.

I move again, fighting through the wave, my eyes never leaving the flash of Mandy’s dress, her body dancing between bodies. I go to turn, to check on my brothers, but I see a hand reaching out from the crown, clamping around her arm. She twists, kicks, and snarls, but the man’s grip is iron.

Eva runs towards her, but she’s pushed to the ground by people trying to escape.

The man yanks her backwards towards a side corridor, and I push forward, trying to get through the sea of people. A woman walks after them, but she’s calm. She doesn’t rush. She doesn’t scream. She walks as though she owns the room and the people in it.

I edge closer, trying to reach her, but the door shuts behind them, and my body freezes.

“No.”

The word escapes me, quiet, barely a whisper, but the sound is real.

No one else knows what has happened as my brothers keep fighting, sending people to their early graves.

I push forward, cutting another man down, every muscle in my body coiled tight.

My heart hammers as I clench my fists, punching anyone who gets in my way.

“No,” I say, sending a man towards the floor.

It came out louder this time, and Carter’s head snapped my way mid-swing. His knife stills for a fraction of a second, shock breaking through his calm before instinct drags him back into motion.

Another body lunges for me, and I slam my blade into his chest, ripping it free. My vision tunnels as I zero in on the door.

Rage fills my body as I slam into someone. “No!”

The word tears from me, louder now, cutting through the madness. Axel glances my way, Gunnar too. A beat of disbelief flicks across them as they glance at each other through their masks.

A man jumps on me from behind, and I throw my fist back, the knife slamming straight into his throat as blood splatters across the skin on my neck.

“MANDY!”

The scream shatters out of me, echoing through the blood-soaked hall. For a heartbeat, everything freezes. Heads turn. Even the guards hesitate. My brothers stop fighting, all of their masks snapping towards me, but I don’t care.

I’m already running, barging past anyone who gets in my way. A guard lunges, and I hit him shoulder-first, driving him into a pillar as the air leaves his lungs.

“On your right!” Carter’s voice cuts clean through the roar.

I spin, and a gun flashes as Carter’s shot cracks a heartbeat before the guard does, and the man drops like a string has been cut. Carter’s already moving, reloading without looking, sliding in beside me to clear a path.

Axel hurls a chair through a knot of suits, and bodies scatter. Gunnar flips a table, using it like a battering ram as he runs forward, laughter breaking out of him like thunder. Carter ghosts through the gaps they make, swinging his arms in precision as two men go down either side of him.

None of it slows me as I run towards my world, behind the closed door.

Someone grabs for my mask, and I slam an elbow back. The man howls, but I keep going. “Mandy!” Her name rips out of me again, raw, breaking. Heads whip towards me. Even over gunfire, even over screams.

We hit the door to the side corridor at the same time, but it doesn’t budge. I put my shoulder to it, forcing my weight as I slam into it over and over.

“Move,” Carter groans, already aiming at the lock, pressing the trigger. Wood splits, and I throw myself at the door, forcing it open as it slams into the wall.

The noise of the auction dies behind us when we step through into the narrow hallway. The smell of fresh paint, bleach, and expensive cologne fills our senses before fading into something sour.

Scuff marks spread along the floor, dark streaks from a heel digging in.

We don’t waste any time as we run towards the screams. Two guards step into our path while they raise their guns, blocking us as we round a corner. Carter fires twice, each bullet connecting with their target with ease.

Screams erupt through the door at the end of the hallway, and I force my body forward, running full speed towards the door as I collide with it. The door breaks, splitting from the hinges.

Men turn, guns lifting, their sights aimed at our heads. Mandy’s in the corner, chest heaving, hair wild, fury bright as a blade. Three of them have her boxed in. One reaches for her wrist, and she snaps at him like a snake, catching his skin with her teeth.

Between us and her stands a figure with her back to me. She doesn’t flinch when we enter the room; she just tips her head slightly, like she heard me breathing.

My mask is hot on my face, and I rip it off, letting it fall to the ground.

“Mandy.” My words come out gentle as I stare at her.

Carter slides in at my shoulder, gun already sweeping the room, even though we’re easily outnumbered.

The woman in the coat turns, slowly. Like she’s been waiting years to make me watch her do it, and the moment I see her face, my breathing stops.

Rachel.

Except her hair is darker now, her face sharper, older, but those eyes… I know those eyes.

“Hello, Antonio. Carter.”

Carter stiffens beside me, “What the fuck…”

Her eyes flicker between us, delight sparking like she’s been waiting for this moment her entire life.

“Rachel,” Carter spits, like her name tastes foul.

Her smile stretches wider. “That’s what I let you call me.

” She takes a step closer, unbothered by the guns around us, by the blood staining on the floor as it drips from our clothes.

“That was the mask. The girl you thought you knew. The one you dismissed, pushed away, sent on a little holiday to get rid of.”

The air thickens, pressing heavy against my chest. My grip on the knife tightens until the leather of the handle bites my palm.

“I studied you,” she says, voice low, dangerous. “Every move, every habit. I learned your patterns, your weaknesses. How to slip through your security like it was nothing. You thought you could get rid of me. But I’ve been inside your world from the start.”

Her gaze cuts to me, sharp as a blade. “Especially you, Antonio.”

She tilts her head, looking between me and Carter, “Did the others not want to join us? I’m sure they would love to hear what I have to say.”

“What the fuck are you talking about?” Carter snaps, making sure to keep the gun aimed at her.

Her lips curve, a cruel look on her face. “The night Antonio earned his place. The night you stood as his witness. You thought no one saw. But I did.”

Blood roars in my ears, my throat closing as panic fills me. My hands clam up, as my breath quickens. No…no, it can’t be.

“Oh, sweet Antonio. You didn’t know I was there,” she purrs. “Hiding. Watching. I saw everything.”

The air leaves my lungs, my vision blurring together as the memory drags me under before I have the chance to stop it.

“Remember, stay calm. We get in, do the task at hand, and leave.” Carter says, slipping me a mask that covers half my face.

I take a deep breath, nodding along with his words. “In. Out. Got it.”