Angel and the Assassin 3: Sins of the Father

to take out that Xbox and show me how to work
    that game. Assassin’s Creed .”
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    244

    “Oh my God! Really?” Angel grinned.

    * * * *
    The early evening air was warm and fresh. The road running along the river was

    busy with people going home from offices and the houses of parliament. Kael always
    shortened his stride when running with Angel. The boy was fast and long-legged, but
    being shorter than Kael, his stride was not nearly as long. Kael was in the zone, running
    at a steady pace, looking straight ahead, aware of people and acutely aware of Angel at
    his side.
    A hundred yards ahead he spotted Conran watching, as if waiting for them.
    “Daddy?”
    “Yes, I see him.” Slowing gradually they came to a stop a few feet from Conran.
    Sitting on the nearest bench, Conran waited. Kael sat beside him while Angel
    jogged on the spot.
    “Hi, Mr. Conran.”
    “Hello, Angel.” He smiled up at the boy.
    “What do you want?” Kael got straight to the point as usual. “I assume you were
    watching for me?”
    “Yes, I phoned but when I couldn’t reach you I thought you might be out running.
    It’s a beautiful evening.” Conran must have come straight from Vauxhall Cross, because
    he still wore his smart suit.
    “What was so urgent?”
    From his trouser pocket Conran pulled a letter in its envelope, but the envelope
    had been opened. “It was addressed to me.” He showed Kael the address and then
    pulled out two sheets of paper, handing one to Kael. “Read the letter.”
    Angel sat beside him to look at the letter with him. “It’s from Mr. Romodanovsky,
    Daddy.”
    “I hear you saved his life, Angel,” Conran said.
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    245

    Angel smiled. “That man’s got a target on his chest. Daddy saved him at
    Dorneywood, and I saved him in Russia.”
    Kael read the letter out loud. “‘Please pass this information on to Mr. Kael
    Saunders. I fear that if I send it to him directly, he will throw it away unopened.’ What
    information?”
    Conran’s soft blue gaze met his. He held a folded sheet of paper. Every muscle in
    Kael’s body tensed, especially his abdomen, afraid of what information Romodanovsky
    wished to pass on to him. Sitting back, he crossed his arms over his chest, staring
    straight ahead at the river. “What does it say?”
    “Don’t you want to read it yourself?”
    “No. I want you to read it.”
    A long sigh escaped Conran. “All right. It seems he was sufficiently intrigued by
    your physical resemblance to him to secure a DNA sample from you. He had it tested.”
    “The vodka glass,” Kael said. “He must have done it when we went into the dacha
    after the sniper tried to kill him.” He looked at Conran. “Get on with it.”
    Conran read out loud. “The DNA of Arkadiy Romodanovsky and Kael Saunders
    were tested and the resulting paternity index is 99.9 percent.” Conran looked at him.
    “All the figures are here with more information. You can read it all later. But the final
    result is that he is indeed your biological father.”
    Hardly able to breathe, Kael felt Angel’s hand on his arm and heard his boy
    whisper, “Daddy? Are you okay?” Angel leaned his head on Kael’s shoulder. Kael put
    his arm around him, holding his boy tight.
    “Where on earth could he possibly have met your mother?” Conran asked.
    Kael blew out a hard breath. The shame was neither his nor his mum’s. “She
    worked in a hotel in Liverpool. He was staying there. He raped her just like he raped
    that maid at Dorneywood.”
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    Sitting upright, Angel said, “What? That’s what happened at Dorneywood? That’s
    why we left and the maid looked so roughed up?”
    “You weren’t supposed to repeat that,” Conran said to Kael. He looked at Angel.
    “You cannot tell anyone what happened there. Mr. Romodanovsky is going to be the
    president of the Russian Federation in the next few years. He will make a good, strong
    leader despite his lack of personal morals. Nothing must prevent his election. Can I
    trust you, Angel?”
    “But he raped Sharon. She’s like a mom to me. I love her.”
    “Angel, please,” Conran pleaded. “If you’re going to work for MI6, there’ll be a lot
    more than this you will be expected to keep quiet about.”
    The boy’s innocent eyes opened wide as he looked at Kael for direction. “Daddy,
    what about Sharon?”
    “She made peace with it long ago.