Angel and the Assassin: Be Brave

takes care of me. He teaches me things. He protects me. That‟s what
    a daddy is supposed to do.”
    “Sorry, dude,” Mattie said quickly.
    “What‟s your father like?” Angel asked more quietly.
    “My father? He‟s not that great. He‟s not a pervert or anything, just a self-
    obsessed fucker. He‟s forty-six, and he dresses like he‟s in a boy band. It‟s really
    embarrassing.” She laughed, but it was sharp and brittle. She stood up straight,
    and Angel followed suit.
    “Take me. I‟m a crack shot. Daddy taught me. I‟m fast on my feet, and no one
    wants to find Daddy as much as I do.”
    Mattie looked out across the river. “I want to find Mr. Saunders as much to
    impress the man himself as to show my worth to Mr. Conran.”
    “Are you in love with my daddy?”
    A little laugh softened the frown she had adopted when she spoke of
    impressing Daddy. “Don‟t worry. I know it will remain unrequited.” She looked into
    Angel‟s eyes again, and he saw that hers were blue like Daddy‟s. “I‟d better go. I‟ll
    keep in touch.”

    138
    Fyn Alexander

    She turned to walk away, and Angel took a moment to look at the notebook he
    had filched from her pocket while she leaned on the railing. “Hey, Mattie, you
    dropped this.”
    She turned round, biting her lip when she saw it. “Shit! Thanks.”

    * * *

    Paris, France

    The only things Angel stopped to do before leaving London were to have his
    boots polished at a shoeshine stand on the street, buy a map of Paris in English,
    and stuff some healthy snacks into his pockets. He alighted now from a bus near the
    Louvre and stood looking about him.
    The city of love.
    This wasn‟t quite how he had envisioned coming to Paris. He was supposed to
    be visiting Paris with Daddy, doing the sights, having fun, and here he was
    searching for him.
    The early-evening sun was playing hide-and-seek behind clouds as it declined.
    He put his Irlens lenses carefully into the case in his pocket and began to follow the
    map to the addresses he had memorized from Mattie‟s list. He‟d always had a great
    memory, which was why he had no trouble in college catching up with kids who had
    spent their whole lives going to school. But together with the memory techniques
    Daddy had taught him, he knew exactly where he was going. The problem was he
    had no idea who lived at the houses or why anyone would hurt Daddy. There had to
    be some MI6 involvement or Daddy would never have gone there.
    Angel stood across the street from the first house on the list, watching for a
    while. He wondered if he was being too obvious or if it even mattered. Nothing
    happened except that a few men wandered in and a few different ones came out. It
    wasn‟t until he was at the third address that he realized there was a pattern. Only
    men entered and they stayed no more than an hour, often less. It suddenly dawned
    on him that the houses were brothels. But why would Daddy be there? Maybe he
    wasn‟t and Mattie was supposed to meet someone who would tell her where Daddy
    was.
    It was close to eleven, and Angel was cold and tired. When a car window rolled
    down and an arm beckoned him, he thought he was being solicited and hurried on.
    The car crawled along the curb beside him, and then the passenger door opened.
    “Get in, you idiot! I should smack you for doing this.”
    He ducked his head through the door and saw Mattie‟s furious face. Relieved
    and ready for a verbal flogging, he jumped in and closed the door. “Go ahead. Give
    me shit, but if you honestly thought I could stay home now I have some idea where
    Daddy is, you don‟t know me.”

    Angel and the Assassin: Be Brave

    139

    “How did you get here?” She was genuinely perplexed. “How did you know
    where to come?”
    He tried to look apologetic. “I stole the list from your pocket.”
    “You stole it? How did you even know I had it?”
    “You kept playing with something in your pocket, which made me suspect it
    was important, so I lifted it.”
    She blew out a breath, shaking her head, but Angel caught the admiration in
    her eyes. “Then you memorized it in the few seconds you held it?”
    “Daddy taught me how.”
    “You are so lucky to have a genius like him teaching you.”
    “Yeah, well that genius has got himself into trouble, and I‟m going to help you
    get him out.” Angel‟s stomach growled, sounding loud in the small car. “Can we get
    some food?”
    “Yeah, come on. There‟s a café on the main