Angel and the Assassin

do we have to stand here talking?”
    With the gun still aiming directly at his heart, Kael kept him waiting another
    thirty seconds, looking directly into his eyes. Conran could not take his eyes off the
    gun.
    Kael took a step backward. “Go ahead, into the living room.”
    Still nervous, Conran sidled past him. “I see the place is spotless as usual.”
    Kael returned the gun to the top shelf and closed the cupboard door before
    following Conran into the living room. “You came to check on my housekeeping?” He
    pointed at the couch. “Sit down.”

    92
    Fyn Alexander

    Glancing around him, Conran stood in the middle of the living room, obviously
    looking for signs of another person.
    “Sit!” Kael‟s voice split the air. Conran dropped onto the couch at once, his face
    in tight lines of anger and fear. Smiling, Kael sank down into a leather armchair.
    “What are you bothering me for? Do you have an assignment for me?”
    “Where‟s the boy? Angel. Ridiculous name.”
    Kael felt his hackles rise at once. Who the hell did the little prick think he was
    making remarks like that about his boy? “Isn‟t your kid called Rupert? Like Rupert
    the bear?”
    Conran swallowed nervously but did not respond to the question. “Where is
    he?”
    “I told you. I never saw him.” The fucker knew. He was on to him.
    Conran sat back and crossed his legs, looking at Kael. “I‟ve seen the CCTV
    footage of you both boarding the British Airways plane at Logan International
    Airport and disembarking at Heathrow. The e-mail he sent to the maid came from
    the Starbucks on Palmer Street, half an hour at most from here.”
    It was just a matter of time before Conran found out. Kael‟s expression gave
    nothing away. He had been expecting this; he‟d just hoped it wouldn‟t be so soon.
    “All right, so I brought him home with me.”
    Conran leaned forward. “Why? If he saw you hit the target, he was collateral
    damage. Why is he still alive?”
    “He saw nothing,” Kael said. “I found him outside the house on the beach after
    I killed Andresen. I wanted to fuck him, so I did, and I enjoyed it so much I brought
    him home for a few days to amuse me.”
    “You know, Saunders, I have no trouble at all believing that.”
    “He was willing. I never fuck them unless they‟re willing.” He grinned. “Well,
    there was that one time, but you deserved it.”
    “You think the whole world is your trampoline, don‟t you, Saunders?”
    “And so it is. Are we finished?”
    “Not quite. Where is he? He can‟t stay here.”
    “He‟s not here. I killed him,” Kael said. His expression and tone remained
    completely neutral. “I had what I wanted from him, and then I got rid of him. Don‟t
    worry; his body is not going to show up anywhere. I took care of it.”
    Conran‟s eyes flickered about the room momentarily before alighting on Kael
    again. “I have no trouble believing that either.”
    “Is his mother looking for him?” Kael asked.
    “The mother doesn‟t give a damn about him. The maid found Andresen and
    called the police; they contacted Samantha Andresen in France. She admitted the
    boy was not with her and said he‟ll have to look after himself. He could have been
    alive or dead at that point. She doesn‟t want him back. She won‟t make any
    trouble.”

    Angel and the Assassin
    93

    Anger at the woman‟s callousness gripped at Kael‟s belly, making him want to
    snatch Angel to his chest and protect him. What kind of mother would not look for
    her missing son? “Are you sure?”
    Conran entwined his fingers and stretched his palms as if getting ready to deal
    cards. “Yes. She dumped the boy in foster care for six years or so. She married
    Andresen when the boy was ten, yet she didn‟t take him back to live with her until
    he was twelve and the authorities tried to put him up for adoption.”
    “Charming.” Kael suppressed the urge to go and find Samantha Andresen and
    put a scalpel in her neck.
    “However, you were in the supermarket buying food you would never eat, and
    then you bought an anime magazine. Something a teenager would read. I think he‟s
    still here.”
    “You went into the fucking supermarket and asked what I bought?” Kael
    asked.
    “Of course I did,” Conran said.
    Anger rushed through Kael, tightening the muscles in his belly. In a split
    second he was leaning over Conran with a fistful of his jacket in one hand and the
    strong fingers of his other hand pinching the