The Deadly (Part 3 of the Syndicate Series)

Chapter 16- Upstairs

Allegra:

This was problematic. I knew the feelings, I felt them before what felt like years ago. The wrenching feeling in my gut made it hard to keep my eyes away from the man who was now sitting next to me quietly, focused on the road. He shouldn't draw my gaze, my mind shouldn't even be going in that direction, not when we had a real target to deal with tonight.

"Hey, if all goes well, do you want to swing by the diner afterwards?" Aldrich's voice cut through the silence as he glanced over at me. "I could use a donut, and if it's late, coffee."

I hesitated before I spoke, second guessing myself for the first time in a long time. "If tonight goes according to the original plan, I suppose so."

"O ye of little faith," Aldrich faked an offended look. There was another momentary pause again, but it seemed to make him seriously consider the possibility that things might not go perfectly according to plan. "We have a backup plan, though. If we get separated or can't find each other without a way to communicate, we get back to that hotel."

I nodded in confirmation. Before we headed out for the mission, the team helped us find the nearest hotel and booked a room, just as a rendezvous point for us in case we got separated or even if we were just too tired to drive all of the way back to the base that night.

I didn't doubt that Aldrich was taking this seriously, and I knew that he was a good fighter so I could trust him to have my back, but I knew that he wasn't used to working the field like I was, at least not often. He had admitted to me that going undercover at the bar was a rare thing, and they only intended to do it for surveillance.

"Are you ready for what we're walking into?" I asked him slowly, not wanting to insult him, but not sure if he understood what type of event this was going to be. "You know why we have to go disguised as a couple? What kind of party this is?"

Aldrich gave me a playful glare mixed with a look of exasperation, "Chris may tease me mercilessly about being a virgin, Allegra, but I'm not completely ignorant. I understand that it's basically a human trafficing ring dusguised as a sex party."

I tried not to show my surprise as his casual confession, but I hadn't expected him to expose something so personal about himself, especially because we didn't talk as much about personal things.

Aldrich seemed to notice that he caught me off guard by my silence, chuckling, "What, are you surprised?"

Since he brought the matter up, I decided to take it into stride, "Honestly, yes, I am."

"Because of my age?" He lifted an eyebrow and glanced sideways at me, a genuine curiosity on his face.

"No, more so your station. Most men in your position wouldn't be, if I were to base my suspicions on the ones that I've already met. Too busy to date at work?"

"Something like that. Dated a bit but never found anyone I wanted in that way. Not much for one night stands, either."

"I understand that. Casual wasn't my thing either, makes me cringe whenever I have to use those tactics at work."

"Have you ever slept with a mark?" The way he asked it was completely empirical, a professional curiosity.

"They thought I was going to. There's a sweet spot in there, you've got the most power right when they've convinced themselves that they're going to get what they want, and before they get their pants off and the adrenaline gets going. Somehow they always ended up dead before it went all of the way." I directed my gaze away from the road and back towards the file in my hands. With a shrug, being blunt and honest in return as I flipped through the file of information, I elaborated. "My boyfriend understood that it was part of the job, but I still couldn't make myself take it that far. So no, I've never really slept with a mark. He's the only one I ever loved enough to even... I would have married him if he'd asked."