Page 46 of No Mistakes (No Mercy #2)

MANDY

The gun slips from my hands, crashing to the carpet like it weighs a hundred pounds. My chest heaves as my eyes lock on Rachel, her body twitching, the final breath rattling out of her in shallow gasps, while relief floods me.

I shot her because she threatened to take me from Ant- to rip the only good thing I had left straight out of my hands.

I shot her because she would have killed me, just to prove she could.

But more than that, I shot her for Adam.

For the friend who tried to warn us while carrying the weight of his own nightmare because she forced it upon him.

Now they can both be free.

My whole body trembles, shoulders shaking, but Ant’s hands catch my face before I can fall apart. His skin is warm, forcing the storm away as it battles inside of me.

“I love you,” I whisper, the words spilling out raw, unstoppable. The thought of using those words no longer scares me; if anything, they feel like the only thing holding me together.

His forehead presses to mine, his voice quiet, “I love you too, trouble.” and a sob leaves me as everything around us, the bodies, the blood… all of it disappearing.

Hurried footsteps approach the door, and everyone turns towards it, standing in preparation for another ambush.

Eva stumbles through the doorway, her face pale, eyes wide with panic. “We need to move. Now .”

My eyes widen, breath stuttering as my gaze flicks from her to the empty hallway behind. The survivors . “What about the men and women? What about the ones being sold?”

“We’re not leaving them,” Axel growls, striding forward towards Eva, his red mask dangling from his hand, streaked with someone else’s blood.

His voice is hard, commanding, already assigning roles without hesitation.

“Carter, Flynn, Gunnar. You go back through. Find them, get them out of here, every single one. Call Vinny. Tell him Axel needs him.”

Flynn doesn’t waste a second, already tugging Gunnar towards the exit, Carter close behind.

Axel’s gaze lands on the three of us left behind, “The rest of us need to prepare. We’ll draw the fire, pull the heat from them until everyone is safe and in the clear.”

Ant’s hand slides down, threading through mine, his grip rough. My legs still tremble, but the steadiness of him anchors me. His thumb drags once across my knuckles, quiet, wordless reassurance.

Axel walks toward the door but pauses, turning just enough to glance over his shoulder at Ant. “All this time, and the first word outta your mouth is her name?” His smirk is razor-thin, all bite. “Figures it’d take a girl to do what the rest of us couldn’t.”

Ant’s glare could cut glass, but Axel only chuckles, shaking his head as he walks through the open door. “Relax. I won’t tell the others…” he tosses a wink back, “unless you die tonight. Then it’s definitely going on your tombstone.”

The second Axel steps through the door, the voices inside of my head tell me to run, to disappear, and to never look back as we walk past the blood-streaked walls.

Ant’s hand still grips mine, never letting me go as we follow Axel and Eva.

She looks behind her, and her eyes widen, her body jerking to every shadow we pass.

The hall outside reeks of smoke and gunpowder.

Distant screams echo as an alarm blares around us, the hotel no doubt issuing an evacuation.

Axel raises a hand, signalling for us to stop.

He cracks the door open slightly, peering out to see what is waiting for us.

“Stay sharp. The others will get them out, but until then, we need to blend in, act like we belong here.”

Ant looks towards me, his voice full of concern. “Are you okay?”

I nod frantically, unable to find the words, no matter how hard I try.

Axel holds up his fingers, counting down from three silently before opening the door wide, pulling Eva through behind him.

We move fast, cutting corners, slipping through service corridors as we race for the exit.

We take a left, and shouts erupt at the far end of the hallway.

Two men in suits spin on their heels, drawing their guns instantly at the sight of us.

Ant pushes me behind him, Axel doing the same with Eva, just as a shot cracks through the air.

The bullet collides with the wall inches from Axel’s head, and he laughs, “Close. But not close enough.” He doesn’t hesitate, his own shot dropping the first man on the right.

Ant steps forward, firing at the second man, the sudden thump, telling us he hit his target.

I breathe in deeply, the sound ragged as I try to compose myself, but Ant grabs my hand, pulling me as we run.

Sirens blare outside the building. Red and blue lights strobed through the windows in a blue, painting the walls like a warning. The cops are coming, but they aren’t here to save anyone, especially not us.

Axel shoulders the stairwell door open, barking orders as he goes. “Garage. Move.”

Down three flights, my heels slam against the metal, the sound powerful as we speed towards the underground lot.

A black SUV sits waiting, headlights cutting across the cracked concrete, guiding us towards it.

Gunnar sits in the driver’s seat, his eyes scanning the area while Carter paces, his gun still drawn.

Axel’s voice slices through the night, his brothers looking towards him immediately. “Where the fuck is Flynn?”

Carter straightens, rounding the car to jump in the passenger seat, sliding his weapon back into its holster beneath his suit jacket. “With Vinny. They’ve got the survivors. They’re on the way to the safe location.”

My heart stammers at the word survivors. My gaze darts back to the hotel door that we just emerged from, praying that meant every single one.

Axel’s jaw flexes, but he doesn’t argue. Instead, he jerks his chin at us, opening the door to the back seats. “In. Now.”

Ant’s hand is firm on my back, pushing me into the SUV before I can protest. My body trembles as I slide across the seat, watching Axel secure Eva in before rounding to the trunk, climbing inside, and locking himself in.

Within seconds, we’re moving, weaving between cars that have been abandoned. Las Vegas blurs past us as we enter the strip, a storm of neon lights blinding the terrors that live here. Police cruisers cut across intersections, racing towards the hotel, walking into a mass murder.

I hold my breath every time the sirens pass us, praying silently that they leave us alone, and every time, they do. Completely unaware of who we are.

Inside the SUV, the silence presses heavily. Carter stares out the windshield, his body tense, mask dangling from his fist, ready to use it if needed. Axel checks his weapon, and I hear the sound of him reloading as we speed off into the darkness, leaving the city of lights behind us.

Ant’s arm comes around my shoulder, pulling me against him. My head rests against his chest, the steady thud of his heart the only thing keeping mine from spiralling out of control. For the first time since stepping into that ballroom, I let my eyes close. Just for a second.

My eyes snap open as we come to a sudden halt. The SUV’s brakes squeal against the gravel, throwing me forward before Ant’s arm tightens, steadying me against him, panic threatening to take over for a split second until I see the shadow outline of a warehouse ahead.

Axel gets out first, complaining about the space in the trunk before walking around, opening the door for Eva.

Ant turns towards me, his voice steady, “You ready?”

I link my hand into his as he opens his door, the cold air wrapping around us. “As long as I’m with you, I’m always ready.”

We walk towards the metal doors, hand in hand. The sound of them creaking as they open, and what waits inside steals the breath straight from my lungs.

Rows of people-huddled, frightened, but alive-fill the space.

Some sit slumped against the walls, blankets draped over their shoulders, and others cling to water bottles like lifelines.

The smell of damp concrete mixes with food and antiseptic, a jarring kind of comfort in the middle of all this madness.

Ant squeezes my hand, leaning closer. “Over there,” he nods toward a tall man barking orders while guiding people to chairs, “that’s Vinny. One of Axel’s closest allies. He’s the reason half of this is running smoothly tonight.”

My gaze shifts as Ant gestures again. “That’s his mother,” he adds, pointing to a woman passing out bottles of water, her face lined but kind. “She took us in after our parents passed. Treated us like her own. Kept us alive when we didn’t know what to do with ourselves.”

Emotion swells in my throat at the softness of his voice, at the history hidden behind his usually guarded eyes.

Axel and his brothers move ahead of us, their figures breaking apart as Carter and Gunnar cross to Vinny, clasping hands like old friends.

Axel, though, doesn’t follow. Instead, he pulls Eva into him, her forehead pressing to his chest, his hand covering the back of her head like he’ll never let her go again.

Their voices are too quiet to catch, but I don’t need to hear the words.

The look on Eva’s face says it all. They’ve found each other again, and this time, it feels permanent.

The sight makes my chest ache differently. Happiness. Relief. Maybe even hope.

We pass them, weaving through the survivors when my feet come to a sudden stop.

In the corner sits the girl I bidded for, wrapped in a blanket, trembling.

Flynn crouches beside her, his tone low, coaxing her to sip from the bottle in his hand.

The gentleness in his face makes my throat tighten while I watch our hardened family doing everything they can to put the pieces back together.

I glance up at Ant, catching a flicker of pride in his eyes. “I wish I had gotten to meet your mom,” I whisper, noticing the shadow of sadness crossing his expression.

“She would’ve liked you, y’know.” His lips tug faintly into a smile. “She always said she hoped I’d find a woman who could put me in my place.”

A laugh shakes out of me, quiet, broken, but real. My gaze sweeps the room-his brothers working, survivors resting, Axel and Eva clinging to each other-and I can’t stop myself from asking, “Will you ever tell me what your father did?”

His eyes find mine, steady and soft, a weight behind them I can’t quite touch. “Maybe,” he murmurs. Then he glances away, his gaze locking on Flynn, still crouched with the girl. “But I think someone else could tell that story better.”

I lean my head against his chest, taking this moment in, my voice barely a whisper. “We did it… We saved them.”

He lifts my chin with his finger, our eyes locking onto each other as he leans in, “ You saved them,” he murmurs, his voice low and certain. “Just like you saved me .”

The world blurs around us as his lips find mine, sealing the night with the kind of promise that feels unbreakable.

The End.