Angel and the Assassin: Be Brave

him.”

    Angel and the Assassin: Be Brave

    101

    “Really? Did you ask Thornton about it?”
    Conran‟s voice was quiet when he replied, “You have a loyal follower in
    Thornton. She claims she never saw you touch the man.”
    Kael smiled. “She‟ll go far. She‟s good. Anyway, you said deliver him alive. You
    didn‟t say a thing about being unharmed.”
    “You know perfectly well that‟s what I meant. He‟s supposed to testify
    tomorrow. Instead he‟s in hospital with five broken ribs and a punctured lung. Not
    to mention your trademark broken nose. The hearing will have to be delayed. He‟ll
    be in hospital at least a week.”
    Kael got up and wandered to the kitchen. He was starving, having eaten
    nothing since breakfast the day before. “You‟ve got him. He‟s alive. And he‟s lucky I
    let him live. You said he liked young girls; you didn‟t say little girls. I thought he
    was into fourteen-year-olds, which is bad enough. The child I found him lying on top
    of was nine years old. Did you know he liked them that young?”
    There was a long silence before Conran said quietly, “Yes.”
    “And this fucker is being paid big money by the government to testify. Money
    he can go out and buy more kids with?”
    “You have to look at the big picture,” Conran said. “His testimony is needed.
    Do you know how many lives are lost every year from out-of-dates and untested
    drugs? Anyway, when did you start caring about children? You threatened to kill
    mine.”
    It was true, he had. But he would never have done it. “I had no choice. I
    needed you to protect Angel. I would never have harmed them.”
    “I believed you.” Conran‟s tone was resentful.
    Kael opened the fridge and began to take food out, putting it on the counter.
    “You gave me no choice. But that was then and this is now. We have to get that
    little girl out of there.”
    “There‟s an operation already in progress. This kind of activity is dealt with by
    the international policing agencies. It is not on our agenda. We‟ll have to leave it to
    them.”
    “What‟s their timeline?” He closed the fridge and went back to the bedroom,
    where he took a pair of jeans and a black T-shirt from the wardrobe.
    “I have no idea, but there‟s nothing we can do. Anyway Dudek owns half a
    dozen houses just in France. The child is probably moved around. God knows where
    she is now. Was she blonde?”
    Confused by the question, Kael took an instant to answer. “Yes.”
    “Then she could be shipped to an Arab country at any time. She‟s worth a
    fortune. They like little blonde girls over there. This is none of our affair.”
    Enraged at Conran‟s casual dismissal, Kael said, “What if it was your little
    girl, Annabelle?”

    102
    Fyn Alexander

    “Saunders, put her out of your head. You are an MI6 operative, not some
    bloody vigilante.” Conran hung up.

    * * *
    After several Internet searches and a trip to the shops, Kael had macaroni-

    cheese baking in the oven. He still hadn‟t eaten, but he wanted to wait for Angel.
    Sleep had helped calm him. Conran was right; there was nothing he could do about
    Ekaterina. With Clement suddenly going missing, it was obvious he had been
    picked up and forced back to England. Dudek wouldn‟t know why, nor would he care
    about Clement in particular, but he must be wondering who had seen the child and
    how it would affect his business. She would have been moved.
    Glancing at the clock on the microwave, he knew Angel would be home any
    minute and his heart soared. He wanted his boy and to settle into the life he had
    become accustomed to over the last six months: the domesticity Freddie has spoken
    of last year and that Kael had decried as not for him at the time. Now it was
    definitely for him.
    At the sound of Angel‟s key in the door, he strode into the hall. “Daddy!” Angel
    screamed and climbed him like a tree, wrapping his arms and legs around him.
    Kael hugged him tightly.
    “Mr. Saunders?”
    Penelope Chalmers stepped inside the door. Kael wanted to shove her out and
    lock it. “Hello, Mrs. Chalmers.”
    “Have you been cooking?” She looked surprised.
    “Smells like mac and cheese to me.” Angel looked at him excitedly. “Daddy, did
    you make it or buy it?”
    “I made it.” He felt a bit shy admitting that he had actually cooked a meal.
    “You cooked? Holy Julie and Julia.” Angel grinned, dropping his feet to the
    floor. He took off his blazer and hung it in the