Angel and the Assassin by Fyn Alexander Page B

here.”
    Angel scurried forward on his knees until he was between Kael‟s thighs. Kael hugged him tightly. Angel cuddled in close, resting his head against Kael‟s chest.
    “I‟m really sorry, Daddy. Is my punishment over?”
    “Yes.”
    “Why can‟t you be my daddy?” Angel looked up into his eyes.
    “Why is it so important to you?”
    “I don‟t know, but I always wanted a man to call Daddy. I‟ve never had one.”
    “What does having a daddy mean to you?”
    Without hesitation, Angel said, “A daddy means acceptance and kindness and protection. Stuff like that. Teaching me things. Making me smart.”
    “I‟ll do those things anyway,” Kael said. “It‟s the mushy stuff I can‟t get into. I don‟t do relationships. I like things cut-and-dried. I give the orders; the boy obeys.
    That‟s the sum of my rules.”
    “Yes, Daddy. I want to be a good boy for you.” Angel tilted his delicate chin up bravely and tried to smile. “I deserved that ass whipping, Sir. I know that.”
    Kael tapped the tip of Angel‟s nose. “Yes, you did. Now I want you to go to bed and take a nap.”
    “I‟m not tired, Sir!” he burst out.
    Kael looked long and hard at him. “You still don‟t get it, do you? I‟m the master, and you eat when I tell you, piss when I tell you, sleep when I tell you.”
    “Fart when you tell me,” Angel said gravely.
    Kael took a deep breath to prevent himself from laughing. “Right now, I need a break from you, so you are going to bed for a while. When you wake up, I‟ll order some food, and then when it‟s dark out, we‟ll go for a walk.”
    5“Yes, Sir.”
    “Come on; I‟ll tuck you in.”
    They walked hand in hand to the bedroom, and Angel got into bed. He took his blanket from under his pillow and held it to his chest, rolling onto his side. Kael sat on the side of the bed, rubbing the boy‟s back. Exhausted from the last couple of days and the time change, Angel fell asleep quickly despite his protestations of not being tired. Kael sat watching him for a while. He was beautiful, lying on his side in a slender curl, knees drawn up, his buttocks still red from his punishment. He had caught on quickly. He had known he was getting a beating, and he had known he deserved it.
    “What am I going to do with you?” he whispered. He pulled the duvet up over the boy‟s shoulders and left him to sleep. In the living room Kael poured a whiskey and threw himself down on the soft leather of the couch.
    The way things stood, Conran would assume Angel had left the house with his mother. But if Mrs. Andresen tried and failed to get in touch with Angel, she would call the police, especially when Andresen was found to be missing. But that could take weeks. In the meantime, as long as he was vigilant and never let Angel go out alone, they could have some fun while he decided what to do with him long-term.
    Kael put down his empty whiskey glass and decided to do his sweep of the flat.
    Once a week was usually enough to make sure no listening devices or cameras had been left in his absence. He had found them on more than one occasion, and he never took it personally. Sometimes he would leave a listening device in place on purpose just to let Conran know how mean he could be to a sub and to let Conran know what he was missing out on. Everyone in his line of work was under surveillance at least part of the time, but this would not be the time to have Conran eavesdropping on his business.
    Methodically he began feeling under the couches and tables and along the shelves. He had a strict procedure, and he followed it exactly every time to avoid making mistakes.
    A tiny device, complete with a camera, was attached to the top of the wall-mounted wide-screen TV that he hardly ever watched. Angry, Kael snatched it off, examining it carefully. He cursed himself for an idiot for not doing a sweep as soon as he had arrived home from Cape Cod, but then he had hardly been acting rational from the moment he