Angel and the Assassin 3: Sins of the Father

dentist’s office.”
    “It still is.”
    Tossing his floss in the bin, Angel opened the drawer and laughed. “You’re not a
    psycho, Daddy. You just like good dental hygiene. But it was how you always wiped
    the sink after you used it. And you’re still always looking under furniture and stuff.”
    “I’m checking for listening devices and cameras.” Kael had never told Angel that
    before.
    “You are? Who would put them there?”
    “MI6. They keep men like me under surveillance. I should show you how to do a
    sweep. But not now. It’s bedtime.”
    In bed Kael waited with his arm stretched out for Angel. Flipping off the
    bathroom light, the boy stood looking at the bed. “Do not do it,” Kael said firmly,
    wagging a threatening finger.
    “Yes, Sir,” Angel said soberly, dropping the smile from his face. Then without
    pause, he took two long strides and leaped onto the bed.
    “What did I tell you?” Kael burst out, seeing the victorious grin on Angel’s face.
    Fyn Alexander | Sins of the Father
    67

    On his hands and knees, Angel leaned over him and kissed him a big slurping one
    on the mouth. “Yer gotta have some fun, Dad-dad!” he said in a funny accent that made
    Kael laugh despite himself.
    “Don’t you have enough fun?” It was a rhetorical question as far as Kael was
    concerned. Angel had a good life with him. He definitely wasn’t short of love and
    attention.
    “Between school, the gym, hours of running, hours at the firing range, the school
    chess club, and language practice with you every week? Yup, I have a ton of fun.”
    Taken aback by Angel’s inventory of his life, Kael fell momentarily silent until
    anger began to niggle at him. “We have weekends away. I admit we avoid Paris.” He
    expected Angel to chuckle at the joke, but he didn’t. “I take you to the pictures and the
    occasional opera.” For weeks Angel had gone on about wanting to see Billy Elliot in the
    West End and Kael had bought tickets for when they got back from his mum’s. It had
    been a great night. “You liked Billy Elliot .”
    “Yeah, it was great, except when you kept saying, ‘I hope these people don’t think
    all queers are ballet dancers.’”
    “That would be when you said, ‘No, some of us are assassins.’”
    “Daddy, if anyone heard, they thought it was a joke.”
    Feeling resentful, Kael said, “You make your life sound like pure drudgery. I only
    want the best for you. Put the light out.”
    Reaching across him, Angel pressed the button on the bedside console, sinking the
    room into darkness, before snuggling in beside him while Kael drew him close. “I know
    that, Daddy. But sometimes a weekend away means walking on the beach at Brighton
    holding hands and eating ice cream till you throw up. Our last weekend away, you took
    me to Edinburgh. We had a historic tour of the castle and a visit to the Scottish National
    Gallery of Modern Art. In Rome we spent hours examining churches in Vatican City. I
    wanted to wade in the Trevi Fountain and drink Fanta till my tongue turned orange.”
    Fyn Alexander | Sins of the Father
    68

    “Maybe you need some young idiot like yourself to play with instead of a boring
    old fart like me.”
    “Oh, I didn’t know I was an idiot,” Angel said quietly, his head on Kael’s shoulder
    while his hand strayed over Kael’s nipples.
    “Angel, I’m sorry. You’re not an idiot. I just want to make up for all you missed
    out on with your education. That’s what a daddy does, remember? I remember you
    telling me that when you first got here. A daddy teaches his boy things, and that’s why
    you wanted a daddy.”
    “Yes, Sir. But maybe a boy needs to teach his daddy to chill once in a while.”
    “Yes, all right.” Tenderly Kael kissed Angel’s forehead, running his fingers
    through the boy’s soft, long hair. “So where did you put your blanket?”
    “It’s in the closet.” There was a pause before Angel said, “But don’t throw it away,
    Daddy.”
    “I’ll never do that again, sweetheart.”
    Angel nudged closer to Kael’s nipples, playing with the right between his fingers
    and thumb. The left he took in his mouth, sucking gently until he fell asleep in Kael’s
    arms.
    Fyn Alexander | Sins of the Father
    69

    Chapter Five
    At ten minutes to five, Kael met Angel inside the entrance of Redmond
    Independent College and was instantly provoked. Instead of his smart school uniform
    with his blazer and tie, he was wearing the German