Angel and the Assassin: Be Brave

and Mattie told me the whole story.”
    Conran put his hand on Kael‟s upper arm in a gesture of gentle affection. “I‟m
    very glad you‟re home and well again.”
    “Were you worried about me?” Kael teased.
    “Yes,” Conran said quietly. “I was. And by the way, Clement testified and has
    left the country. I doubt we will see him again.”
    After Conran was gone, Kael sat on the couch waiting for Angel. When the boy
    had finished his work in the kitchen, he joined Kael in the living room, his face
    breaking into a smile as it always did when his gaze met Kael‟s. Despite Angel‟s
    protests about wanting to look after him, Kael had sent him back to school after a
    few days. He had needed time to reflect and sort some things out. While lying on the
    floor in the cellar of the house in Paris, he had realized just how vulnerable Angel

    Angel and the Assassin: Be Brave

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    was, still so young and with no one else who cared about him. He doubted
    Samantha St. Germaine would take care of him if Kael had died. So he had gone to
    see a solicitor that Freddie recommended.
    “Daddy, I‟m turning into such a great cook, don‟t you think? Wasn‟t that the
    best crumble ever?”
    “Yes, it was and you certainly are. Come here.”
    Angel had the habit of leaping up and landing on both knees on the couch
    beside him, just like his habit of leaping into bed. But he had been very solicitous of
    Kael since his captivity and got carefully onto the couch beside him. He slid his
    arms around Kael‟s neck and hugged him tight.
    “Daddy, I was thinking about the weekend in Paris you promised me. Can we
    go to Rome instead?”
    Kael laughed. “Rome it is. I don‟t ever want to see Paris again.”
    “Me neither. I love you, Daddy.”
    “I love you too. And when I was trapped in that cellar, all I could think of was
    what would happen to you if I died.”
    A cloud of fear passed over Angel‟s face. “Daddy, don‟t say that.”
    “Sweetheart, it was a possibility. That crack on the head I took could have
    killed an elephant, and then the beatings. Every time he had a moment off, Denbigh
    would come down to the cellar and give me another kicking. He nearly caught
    Ekaterina there one day after she had given me water.”
    Angel gritted his teeth. “Wish we could kill him all over again.” He climbed
    into Kael‟s lap.
    “I just want you to know I‟ve added you to my will in case anything happens to
    me. It‟s just you and my mum. I‟ve earned a lot of money over the years, and I‟ve
    invested a good deal of it. You‟ll be well taken care of.”
    Angel put his hands on Kael‟s cheeks. “No one ever looked after me like you,
    Daddy.”
    Kael took Angel‟s wrists and kissed his palms. “That‟s what daddies are
    supposed to do. So tell me exactly how you killed Dudek. I‟ve been wanting to ask,
    but I wanted to put a little distance between you and the moment. Are you really
    good with it, or did you just say that to Conran?”
    “Daddy, I shot the other guys too. The guards. They were playing cards. They
    didn‟t even hear me walk in. I did what you taught me. I walked like a ghost.” Kael
    smiled and patted Angel‟s thigh. “I killed one, and only then did the other one see
    me. He couldn‟t even reach for his gun before I shot him.”
    “Shooting someone from across the room or even at close range is different
    than a scalpel kill, because you have to have body contact with your hit. It‟s very
    intimate.”
    “Daddy, if you don‟t want me to follow in your footsteps, how come you‟ve been
    teaching me all this stuff? Do you think I‟m never going to use it?”

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    Fyn Alexander

    “You‟re so good at it, I just can‟t resist.” It was true. Angel was a natural, and
    Kael wanted to pass on his skills to his boy. “I want you to be able to take care of
    yourself. But tell me about the kill.”
    Angel looked thoughtful for a moment. “Dudek liked boys. That was how I got
    him to take me into the house. I acted like a street kid, and he picked me up in
    minutes.” His voice dropped to a whisper. “Daddy, I had to suck his cock. He made
    me do it in his car. It was the only way I could get into that house.”
    “I‟d have sucked his cock to save you,” Kael said, and he meant it.
    Angel sighed with obvious relief at the response, as if he had wanted to
    disclose that for a long time but didn‟t dare. “It was disgusting, but I closed my eyes
    and sent my mind somewhere else