Angel and the Assassin: Be Brave

inside pocket of his leather jacket, he withdrew his SIS identification card. His
    top security clearance had never been removed, meaning the police could not detain
    him even momentarily without the permission of his superiors.
    The young constables looked at it and stepped away. “Thank you, sir. Have a
    good evening.”
    Kael walked quickly into the Underground. All he wanted was to get home to
    his beautiful flat on the Thames—and to Angel.

    20
    Fyn Alexander

    Chapter Three

    The minute Kael opened the front door, he heard two voices. Quietly he closed
    it and listened. Angel‟s distinct American accent rose up, along with the laughter
    that always lifted Kael‟s heart. An English accent responded, a young man whose
    voice had broken no more than a couple of years ago and was still light and pure,
    just like Angel‟s. It must be Jack, Angel‟s new friend.
    In the living room, Angel‟s laptop sat on the coffee table. And thrown on the
    couch where anybody could sit on them were the expensive Irlen lenses Kael had
    bought the boy to protect his sensitive eyes from the light. Angry at his
    carelessness, Kael picked them up, folded in the arms, and placed them safely on
    the coffee table. On silent feet, he followed the voices to the dungeon door. The
    dungeon was a third bedroom Kael had converted five years ago when he had first
    bought the flat.
    Angel was still wearing the smart black trousers, white shirt, and red and
    black striped tie he wore to the expensive sixth form college Kael had sent him to.
    The other boy, as slender and pretty as Angel, in a matching school uniform,
    wandered about admiring the leather sling, the flogging post, the torture table and
    chair. They looked like a couple of yaoi boys. Kael had never heard of yaoi until he‟d
    spotted one of Angel‟s graphic novels on the coffee table one day. It was full of
    stories and pictures of pretty, androgynous boys making out. If they‟d had that stuff
    when he was a kid, he would probably have read it too.
    Following Jack, Angel flicked his chin up to throw his soft, very light blond
    hair away from his eyes. “It‟s really the slave who‟s in charge, you know.”
    “The slave? How?” The other boy, with dark wavy hair falling past his collar,
    stopped to stroke the smooth black leather of the tabletop.
    Angel stuffed his hands into his trouser pockets. “The master has to stop when
    the slave tells him. It has to be consensual. Safe, sane, and consensual. I read that
    on the Internet. But it means the slave is really in charge. The master just thinks
    he is. It‟s all about the slave. You really have to be an attention whore to be a
    slave.”
    “I wouldn‟t mind being a whore of any kind for your man. That picture you
    showed me of him is so fucking gorgeous.”
    Fists clenching involuntarily, Kael just stopped himself from barging in. He
    wasn‟t ready just yet to let them know he was there, but Angel had no business
    talking about their relationship to an outsider and he had been told numerous times

    Angel and the Assassin: Be Brave

    21

    never to show a picture of Kael to anyone. The fact that they were living a civilian
    life now was irrelevant. His training was ingrained. Never create unnecessary
    evidence.
    Angel sighed. “My daddy is so hot.”
    “Don‟t the neighbors complain about you screaming?” The dark-haired boy
    laughed. “I‟d scream my head off if I was getting whipped or even just fucked by a
    man like him.”
    Angel spread his arms. “No. This room is soundproofed.”
    “Where did you meet him, your daddy?” Jack said daddy in a dreamy voice,
    dragging out the vowels. He had that gay voice that Kael hated and had always
    been careful never to pick up. If Angel started talking like that, he‟d make him
    sorry. He listened carefully. If Angel made any reference to how they met, he must
    stop him immediately, but surely his boy would not be so stupid.
    “Long story,” Angel said vaguely.
    Kael released a breath. Sensible boy . But he was still revealing far too much,
    and he had no right to bring some boy from school into Kael‟s dungeon. He wasn‟t
    crazy about his bringing a friend to the flat at all, but Angel lived there now too and
    he had to be allowed the freedom to have friends. Kael wanted him to have friends
    his own age and feel like he belonged in England.
    Jack pointed and asked, “What‟s that? It looks like something from gym class
    in primary school.”
    Angel walked over