Angel and the Assassin: Be Brave

started working for a fucking pimp who kidnaps women and
    kids to be raped. Now get my jacket off.”
    Denbigh removed the jacket and handed it to Kael, who indicated with the gun
    for him to toss it on the floor. “I had to do something, sir. I had no job.”
    “You came back into the cellar and kicked the crap out of me every day when I
    was tied up. You stuck your frigging gun muzzle up my arse and threatened to fire.”
    “I‟m sorry. I‟m sorry. Please let me go,” Denbigh begged.
    “Stop whining.” Kael fired, and Denbigh fell backward with a bullet through
    his forehead, twisting awkwardly in his kneeling position.
    “Where‟s Dudek?” he asked Angel.
    Angel looked up at the ceiling. “I killed him with a scalpel.”
    “Good lad. Let‟s get out of here.”
    “What about the girls?” Angel asked, picking up the jacket.
    Kael called over his shoulder in Russian, “The guards are dead. The door is
    open. You can leave if you want.” He took Angel‟s hand and walked outside. Mattie
    had brought the car to the door and put Ekaterina in the front seat. Moving very
    stiffly, his body screaming with pain, Kael folded himself into the backseat of the
    small car, and Angel got in through the other door. Mattie started the engine,
    moving quickly into traffic.
    “Good to see you, sir.” She grinned at him in the mirror. “Though if I‟m honest,
    you‟ve looked better.”
    “Very funny.” He could hardly speak, his mouth was so swollen.
    Angel put his arms out to hug him but did it very gently.
    “Dyadya.” Ekaterina looked between the seats at him. “Are you all right?”
    “I‟ll be fine.” He tried to smile, but his face hurt.
    “Why is she calling you daddy?” Angel asked. “What did she say?”
    “Dyadya means uncle.” He sighed and closed his eyes. The sense of freedom
    was heady, but the pain made any celebration impossible.
    “You need to go to a hospital, Daddy,” Angel said.

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    Fyn Alexander

    “No. I‟ve got cracked ribs and I‟m beaten up and dehydrated, but that‟s all. I
    need fluids and paracetamol and I‟ll be fine.”
    “Let‟s get out of Paris and we‟ll stop for some Lucozade,” Mattie said. “That
    stuff works wonders for dehydration. It‟s the best energy drink you can get. Can you
    manage till then, sir?”
    “Just keep driving. Get me the hell out of Paris.”
    “Did they give you any food?” Angel asked.
    “No, I haven‟t eaten since I left home. But you know me. I‟m a boa constrictor.
    I can go weeks on one meal.”
    “That‟s not entirely true, Daddy. You‟ve lost a lot of your muscle mass. You‟re
    looking thin.”
    “I‟m free. I feel on top of the world. How the hell did the pair of you pull this
    off?”
    “It‟s a long story, sir, but it began with Angel going to Conran and telling him
    you were missing,” Mattie said.
    “I bet he was pissed.”
    “Daddy, he wasn‟t. He was really worried. He was so kind to me. He asked me
    if I had money, and he said he‟d take care of everything. Then he got hold of
    Mattie.”
    “He told me to come and find you, sir. He even said he‟d pay the expenses
    himself because you weren‟t on official business and he couldn‟t tell anyone you
    were missing.”
    Kael started to laugh, but his ribs hurt too much. Aside from that, it was
    probably a touch of hysteria. “Conran was willing to pay to get me back? There was
    a time he would have gladly paid to put a hit on me.”
    “Does the little girl speak English, sir?” Mattie asked.
    “No, just Russian. That kid kept me alive. She came in every day and gave me
    water. She‟d have been beaten if anyone had caught her. She was too afraid to do
    anything else to help, but she kept me alive. And then my brave boy came to get
    me.” He looked at Angel, whose face was swollen above his left eye. “Who did that to
    you?”
    “Doesn‟t matter, Daddy. The bad guys are dead.”
    “Sir, what are we going to do with the child?” Mattie asked.
    “She‟s not coming to live with us, is she?” Angel looked horrified, then quickly
    apologized. “Daddy, I‟m sorry. I didn‟t mean that. It‟s your choice.”
    Kael slid down in the seat and laid his head in Angel‟s lap. The feel of his boy‟s
    gentle hands stroking his head and shoulder made his eyes brim. “No, she can‟t live
    with us, but I‟ve got an idea. I‟ll sort it when we get back to London.”
    “Guess what happened while you were gone, Daddy? Mrs. Chalmers