Angel and the Assassin

visit my mom because she‟s been really
    worried about me. She thought I was dead like my stepfather.”
    “You little moron! Your mother doesn‟t give a damn about you. The maid called
    the police when she found Andresen dead.” Conran was doing the only thing he
    could to get back at Kael. He was hurting Angel. Kael grabbed Angel and began to
    pull him away.
    “The police told your mother you were missing, and she wanted nothing to do
    with you,” Conran continued, louder. “She refused to return to America to help the
    police with their inquiries. She told them you would probably show up somewhere
    eventually, and even if you didn‟t, she was not interested. She hung up the fucking
    phone on them!”
    “You fucker,” Kael said through his teeth. “You fucker!”
    Angel looked from Conran to Kael. “Daddy, that‟s not true. You said my mom
    called the cops because she was worried when she heard Sven was dead.”
    “He lied to you.” Conran began to walk away.
    Angel went very still. “No, no. You‟re lying.”

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    Fyn Alexander

    “Conran!” When he turned, Kael raised his hand, fingers drawn into his palm,
    and with his knuckles struck Conran across the bridge of the nose. The crack was
    sickening as his nose broke. Blood flooded down onto the Aran sweater, and he bent
    at the waist, clutching his face.
    Kael took Angel‟s hand and drew him away, walking quickly across the grass.
    “Daddy, he was lying, wasn‟t he?”
    “Of course he was. He was a little sneak at school, and he‟s still at it. He was
    trying to get back at me, so he hurt you. He was making it up.”
    “Why would he do that? Why would hurting me hurt you?”
    “He‟s jealous that you‟re my boy and he isn‟t.” What he meant was, Conran
    knows I’m in love with you . But he couldn‟t say that. He couldn‟t even think it.
    Three young males walked past. One of them laughed and pointed out that
    Kael was holding Angel‟s hand. The words arse bandits drifted over from ten feet
    away.
    Kael released Angel‟s hand and broke into a run, grabbing the nearest one by
    the front of his jacket and backhanding him so hard he fell over backward, blood
    running from his mouth. With a sideways kick, he felled a second. The third began
    to run, and Kael could not be bothered to run after him. He walked back to Angel as
    if nothing had happened. He wasn‟t even breathing hard. He took Angel‟s hand
    again and carried on walking.
    “Holy karate kid, Daddy, I‟d hate to see you really pissed off. Will you teach me
    to fight like that?”
    If Kael had gone after everyone who had called him a derogatory name over
    the years, he would have spent his whole life fighting, but every now and then he
    decided it was fitting to make an example of someone. Most of the time he didn‟t
    care. “I‟m definitely going to teach you to fight like that. Come on. We‟re going out
    for dinner tonight at Freddie‟s house. He‟s really excited we‟re coming.”
    Angel smiled up at him and squeezed his hand. “Does he know I‟m your
    boyfriend, Daddy? Did you tell him? Or did you say partner like older people say?”
    Older people ? Boyfriend was such a pussy word. Kael had never dated. He did
    not want a relationship. He wanted to keep life simple, and what was simpler than
    a boot in the arse and a “good boy” said with feeling. And here he was, going out to
    dinner with another couple. He didn‟t know whether to take flowers and wine or run
    for his life. “I didn‟t talk about it.”
    “Oh.” A look of disappointment crossed Angel‟s face. “We‟d better pick
    something up to take,” he said, as though they had done this a dozen times before.
    “What? Wine or something?” Kael asked, having no idea why he was deferring
    to Angel.
    “You know what would be better, Daddy?” Angel slid his arm around Kael‟s
    waist, and he pulled the boy into his side as they walked toward the road.
    “I‟ve no idea.”

    Angel and the Assassin
    127

    “Let‟s pick up presents for the little girls. People love you if you‟re nice to their
    kids.”
    If that was the case, Conran must hate Kael with every scrap of his being right
    now. “What do you buy for little girls? What do they like?”
    “Barbies,” Angel said. “Everyone knows that.”

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    Fyn Alexander

    Chapter Fifteen

    Kael dressed in smart black trousers, a black dress shirt, and black shoes and
    socks. He walked into the bathroom where Angel stood spiking up his