The Deadly (Part 3 of the Syndicate Series)

Chapter 12- Morning Sparring

Allegra:

Aldrich was right, Jackson Otis was easy to follow on paper. In the couple of days that followed, we put all of our focus on him, and there was little of this man's life that we hadn't overturned or looked at. He definitely had ties to Niklov, now it was a matter of figuring out what to do with him.

Staying there was an odd experience- I wasn't used to so many people in one place, but I was glad they gave us rooms further away from everyone else, somewhere I felt more solitude. Phoenix would disappear into her room most nights with a stack of books, and during breaks I would see her on the back steps or the garden, somewhere that was outdoor. Nova must have liked her after their original introduction, because one afternoon I saw the young girl run out the back door and tug Phoenix through the garden, pointing at her favorite flowers. Daitan and Nyoka seemed to fit in well here, they had made some good acquaintances and spent their free time with Aldrich's men even after we finished work for the day. As for me, I mostly wandered around or retreated to my room, not sure of exactly where I would end up.

I didn't really like sleeping in places that weren't my own bed, but I knew the real issue was how far away Forte felt. He was gone, yes, but even though I could never bring myself to go into his room after he died, I felt closer to him when his things were next door to me. Without my normal reminders of him there, I didn't sleep well, and I was starting to feel it. Borrowing books from the library or staying up late to do extra research was mostly how I passed the time, but every morning I would glance in the mirror to see that the circles under my eyes were a little darker, my cheeks somehow a little more gaunt. Even after just a couple of days, the difference was noticeable.

I knew I wasn't the only night owl in the house, because sometimes I would leave my room for a glass of water, and I could see the slightest of a flickering candle underneath Phoenix's door. Aldrich too, seemed to never sleep, because I had noticed on my way to the kitchen that you could see the light from his study bleed out onto the hallway floors. It was only a couple nights in, but if I kept this up, I was going to actually drive myself crazy. I only fell into fitful sleep after hours of thinking and walking.

After a couple of nights, I emerged the next morning at the same time as Phoenix, who looked me up and down, then raised her eyebrows. I stared at her in return, "What?"

She had been talking more when directly spoken to, but she shrugged and at first I thought she might not answer at all when she finally said, "You're not sleeping well."

I paused for a second, then started down the hallway as she followed by my side. We were both headed towards the kitchen, knowing there would already be other people milling around, when I responded, "It looks like you haven't been, either."

"That's the books," She muttered. "I found their entire collection of Poe."

"Understandable," I smirked.

We were almost in the room when she said, "Tha a cho-là-breith a 'tighinn a dh' aithghearr." (His birthday is coming soon.)

We stepped into the kitchen together as I switched into french, "Je connais." (I know.)

I would be lying to myself if I said I hadn't been thinking about it lately. Forte had died not long after his birthday, and this would be the first one now that he was gone. Was it part of what kept me up at night? Admittedly, yes. Was the rest of it the guilt and overthinking things? Also, yes. I couldn't seem to turn it all off lately, and I wanted nothing more.

Nyoka and Daitan were already sitting at one of the small tables with a couple of the men, I was pretty sure that their names were Alex and Charlie. I must have looked worse off than I realized, because Nyoka got up from her chair and wandered over to me, trying to look casual but failing completely.