Angel and the Assassin: Be Brave

Dudek
    stopped to look at them, and when they passed, he turned to follow their progress.
    As if sensing his intent, the woman, without looking back, put her arm around her
    son, pulling him in to her side. “Did you see that?” Angel asked.
    “That dirty bastard eyeing that kid? Yes.”
    “That‟s how we get in,” Angel said, excitement lighting his eyes. “How I get in.
    I‟m usually taken for a bit younger, and if I act goofy, I could pass for fifteen. That
    should make him happy.” They watched the other man get into the driver‟s seat,
    and Dudek got in beside him.
    “Err, I‟m not sure that‟s a good idea. Even if he picked you up, he might not
    take you to that house. And he could do some horrible things to you, not to mention
    any other fuckers who might be around.”
    “At some point we just have to take a chance, Mattie. We have to get into that
    house.”
    With her eye on the silver Lexus, Mattie pulled out into the street and
    followed. Less than five minutes from the house, Dudek got out of the car alone and
    walked over to a sidewalk café. He sat down at an outside table, clearly waiting for
    someone. Angel grabbed the car door. “Let me out right here.”
    “Not so fast, mate.” Mattie pulled into the first space she saw.
    “I‟m going to make him think I‟m a street kid he can easily pick up and use,”
    Angel said. “He‟ll take me back to that house to do the nasty, and then I‟ll be able to
    search inside.”

    144
    Fyn Alexander

    “Not in that expensive leather jacket. He won‟t take the chance. You don‟t look
    like a street kid,” she pointed out.
    She was right. Angel pulled off the jacket and threw it in the backseat. He
    looked in the mirror and messed his hair, making it look as if he had slept rough.
    “My boots are expensive too, but I‟ve got to wear something.” He shouldn‟t have
    polished them before leaving London.
    “He‟ll probably be so busy looking into your lovely gray eyes he‟ll forget to look
    at your feet.” She grinned. “Your T-shirt and jeans look like you slept in them,
    which you did. That‟s good.”
    Angel grabbed the door handle again, but Mattie‟s hand on his arm restrained
    him. “He‟ll kill me for letting you do this.”
    “Mr. Conran?”
    “No. Sir will kill me. If anything happens to you, I might as well put a bullet in
    my head right now.”
    “Nothing will happen to me. I‟m going to get my daddy out of there. He must
    be hurt or he would have been home days ago.”
    “Do not do anything stupid. I‟ll be watching and following. Try not to get
    separated from your mobile. Phone me if you‟re in trouble, if you get locked in, or if
    you find Mr. Saunders. Do you have your scalpel in your jeans?”
    “Yep. In my pocket.”
    “Angel, be careful.”
    With a grin to make Mattie feel more secure and to prop up his own spirits,
    Angel got out and looked both ways before crossing the street.
    With his hands stuffed into his pockets and his shoulders hunched against the
    cool air, he walked past the café, making brief eye contact with Dudek. His pretty
    face and bright blond hair always drew attention. He stopped to lean against a
    lamppost and held out his hand to the next person who walked by. The woman
    fished some small change from her purse. Angel took it with a nod, keeping his head
    down in a way Daddy would hate because it made him look shy and embarrassed.
    Dudek‟s gaze was already on him.
    “Hey, kid, are you hungry?” The man‟s heavily accented French was very hard
    for Angel to understand. Head still down, Angel shuffled closer. Dudek pointed at
    the chair next to him, and Angel walked around the railing and sat down. This was
    too easy. The man‟s hand immediately found Angel‟s thighs under the table and slid
    between them, squeezing his crotch. The fingers dug painfully into his balls, and he
    winced, releasing a sharp breath. Dudek laughed. “Want some food, kid?”
    Angel nodded, still avoiding eye contact as if he had never done anything like
    this before and was apprehensive.
    “I‟ll take you to my place. You can eat there. Do you want to earn some
    money?”

    Angel and the Assassin: Be Brave

    145

    “Oui, monsieur.” Angel shifted uncomfortably. The man‟s hand on his crotch
    made him feel sick.
    Another man joined them briefly, speaking to Dudek in what Angel assumed
    to be Polish.
    When he left, Dudek put his arm around Angel‟s shoulders and steered him
    very firmly across the