Angel and the Assassin: Be Brave

the last couple of
    weeks, but especially when you first got home and you were sleeping twenty-four-
    seven, and you weren‟t yourself yet.”
    Kael rolled onto his back, and Angel curled into his side with his head on
    Kael‟s shoulder. “She was my best mate. She taught me so much, just like I teach
    you.” He grinned into the darkness. “The day I met her, she knocked me to the
    ground. I never stood a chance.”
    “If she could knock down a big dude like you, she must have been strong,
    Daddy.”
    “No, she wasn‟t especially strong, but she compensated by being quick and
    learning people‟s weaknesses. She spotted me right off as vain and bullheaded.” He
    chuckled. “She was great. She had everyone pegged, and she‟d give me a head start
    by telling me things about people. She was the only person I knew back then who
    could make me laugh.”
    “Where is she?”
    For a long moment, Kael didn‟t speak. His throat began to hurt. “One day she
    left on an assignment. I didn‟t know where because she couldn‟t tell anyone. It‟s
    part of the job.” He stopped speaking to gather himself, taking long breaths in an
    attempt to steady his emotions.
    “I didn‟t see her or have any communication with her for the next five years,
    and I missed her every day. I missed her so much it hurt, but I got on with my job,
    believing she‟d be back eventually. One day Conran called me into his office and
    told me everything. All that time she‟d been deep undercover in China. Then about
    a year before, a spy from our side tipped off his government contact and she was
    arrested. Misha was a tough little bugger, like I said. Not strong, but determined. I
    bet she gave them a run for their money. Conran said they tortured her for months
    and she gave them nothing, not a fucking thing. A prisoner exchange was arranged,
    and I was to go to Beijing to collect her and bring her home.”
    “You must have been very excited, Daddy,” Angel said quietly.
    “I was. I was sick over her being tortured, but I was going to go and get her
    and keep her safe. I was going to bring her home, and she‟d recover.”
    Angel leaned up on his elbow, looking into Kael‟s face. Kael almost turned
    away, but he felt protected by the darkness and he couldn‟t demand more of Angel
    than of himself. It was time he faced his demon.
    “What happened, Daddy?”
    “The exchange was to be made on the Yangtze River. I arrived with a group
    from the British Embassy who had brought the Chinese man we were exchanging
    Misha for. We were in three cars, and we waited and waited. The Chinese were
    hours late, and I was terrified they wouldn‟t come. A big speedboat went by several
    times, and then it pulled into the dock where the exchange was supposed to happen.
    The Chinese man was brought out of the car and got into position to do the walk

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    along the dock and onto the boat. Then I saw Misha.” He swallowed hard. “She
    never weighed much. Seven and a half stone soaking wet. But she was like a
    skeleton. Her eyes were so sunk in her head. Her hair had grown longer. She always
    had it short, but it was long and thin, like she was ill. She got off the boat and
    started to come toward the shore, but she could hardly walk at all. The Chinese
    man walked toward her. They passed in the middle of the dock, which was about
    twenty feet long. He was in good condition, and he was in the boat quickly. The boat
    began to move back out into the water, and I started running toward Misha.”
    Kael stopped speaking. His chest ached it was so tight. His throat felt as if it
    had been punched.
    “It‟s okay, Daddy.” Angel gently patted his shoulder.
    “They shot her. Someone on the fucking boat shot her. They were gone down
    the river so fast no one could do anything. I couldn‟t believe they‟d done it. She
    stopped and began to waver, and then she fell off the side of the dock into the water.
    I dove right in, but even before I got to her, the water was red around her and her
    hair was floating. I got her out, but she was already dead. The bullet had got her
    through the heart, and she was so weakened from torture that she never stood a
    chance.”
    Again he paused, his throat so tight he could hardly breathe.
    “Did you love her, Daddy?” Angel whispered.
    “Yes.” Kael started shaking, and tears flowed down his face. Angel wrapped
    his arms tightly around him.
    “Let it out, Daddy. Scream if you need to.”
    But he