Sins of the Father (31 page)

The corner of Kael’s mouth tipped up in a smile. His boy would never believe him capable of evil. “I was a machine. You made me into a human being. I even laugh sometimes.”

“Mmmm.” Angel sighed.

“Come on. Let’s get in the shower. It’s a beautiful evening. We’re going for a run, and when we get back, you’re going to take out that Xbox and show me how to work that game.
Assassin’s Creed
.”

“Oh my God! Really?” Angel grinned.

* * * *

The early evening air was warm and fresh. The road running along the river was busy with people going home from offices and the houses of parliament. Kael always shortened his stride when running with Angel. The boy was fast and long-legged, but being shorter than Kael, his stride was not nearly as long. Kael was in the zone, running at a steady pace, looking straight ahead, aware of people and acutely aware of Angel at his side.

A hundred yards ahead he spotted Conran watching, as if waiting for them.

“Daddy?”

“Yes, I see him.” Slowing gradually they came to a stop a few feet from Conran.

Sitting on the nearest bench, Conran waited. Kael sat beside him while Angel jogged on the spot.

“Hi, Mr. Conran.”

“Hello, Angel.” He smiled up at the boy.

“What do you want?” Kael got straight to the point as usual. “I assume you were watching for me?”

“Yes, I phoned but when I couldn’t reach you I thought you might be out running. It’s a beautiful evening.” Conran must have come straight from Vauxhall Cross, because he still wore his smart suit.

“What was so urgent?”

From his trouser pocket Conran pulled a letter in its envelope, but the envelope had been opened. “It was addressed to me.” He showed Kael the address and then pulled out two sheets of paper, handing one to Kael. “Read the letter.”

Angel sat beside him to look at the letter with him. “It’s from Mr. Romodanovsky, Daddy.”

“I hear you saved his life, Angel,” Conran said.

Angel smiled. “That man’s got a target on his chest. Daddy saved him at Dorneywood, and I saved him in Russia.”

Kael read the letter out loud. “‘Please pass this information on to Mr. Kael Saunders. I fear that if I send it to him directly, he will throw it away unopened.’ What information?”

Conran’s soft blue gaze met his. He held a folded sheet of paper. Every muscle in Kael’s body tensed, especially his abdomen, afraid of what information Romodanovsky wished to pass on to him. Sitting back, he crossed his arms over his chest, staring straight ahead at the river. “What does it say?”

“Don’t you want to read it yourself?”

“No. I want you to read it.”

A long sigh escaped Conran. “All right. It seems he was sufficiently intrigued by your physical resemblance to him to secure a DNA sample from you. He had it tested.”

“The vodka glass,” Kael said. “He must have done it when we went into the dacha after the sniper tried to kill him.” He looked at Conran. “Get on with it.”

Conran read out loud. “The DNA of Arkadiy Romodanovsky and Kael Saunders were tested and the resulting paternity index is 99.9 percent.” Conran looked at him. “All the figures are here with more information. You can read it all later. But the final result is that he is indeed your biological father.”

Hardly able to breathe, Kael felt Angel’s hand on his arm and heard his boy whisper, “Daddy? Are you okay?” Angel leaned his head on Kael’s shoulder. Kael put his arm around him, holding his boy tight.

“Where on earth could he possibly have met your mother?” Conran asked.

Kael blew out a hard breath. The shame was neither his nor his mum’s. “She worked in a hotel in Liverpool. He was staying there. He raped her just like he raped that maid at Dorneywood.”

Sitting upright, Angel said, “What? That’s what happened at Dorneywood? That’s why we left and the maid looked so roughed up?”

“You weren’t supposed to repeat that,” Conran said to Kael. He looked at Angel. “You cannot tell anyone what happened there. Mr. Romodanovsky is going to be the president of the Russian Federation in the next few years. He will make a good, strong leader despite his lack of personal morals. Nothing must prevent his election. Can I trust you, Angel?”

“But he raped Sharon. She’s like a mom to me. I love her.”

“Angel, please,” Conran pleaded. “If you’re going to work for MI6, there’ll be a lot more than this you will be expected to keep quiet about.”

The boy’s innocent eyes opened wide as he looked at Kael for direction. “Daddy, what about Sharon?”

“She made peace with it long ago. You’ll keep quiet about her and the maid.”

“Yes, Sir. But does Sharon know who he is?”

“No. She never knew his name. And she hardly caught a glimpse of his face, so she wouldn’t recognize him, unless she saw him standing beside me, I suppose. And that’s never going to happen. She need never know his name. I wish I didn’t know it either.”

His life would never be the same again now he knew.

Conran placed a hand on his arm and squeezed gently. “You’d a right to know. I couldn’t keep the information from you. The physical resemblance you share is striking. He’s going to be very prominently in the public eye in the next few years. Others will notice too.”

The blue sky overhead seemed to be mocking the darkness in Kael’s heart at that moment. “It’s the other resemblance that concerns me. The essence of the man. The attitudes, the morality—or lack of it—the cruelty. I’ve got his genes. It explains a lot.”

Looking nervous, Conran glanced at Angel. “Saunders, we’ve talked about this. Don’t start questioning yourself. You know exactly who you are.”

Angel kissed Kael’s cheek. “I know who Daddy is too. He’s the best man in the world. My Daddy. My hero.”

Kael took the papers from Conran’s hands, folded them carefully, and put them into the pocket of his shorts. “But let’s not dwell on it. We have another couple of miles to run. Care to join us?”

With a little self-deprecating laugh, Conran said, “I could never keep up with you, Saunders, not in any area of life. I wouldn’t even try.”

“Are you sure? When we get home, Angel’s going to show me how to play games on his Xbox. We’re going to play
Assassin’s Creed
.”

“How appropriate,” Conran said quietly as Kael rose and Angel followed suit.

Side by side, Kael ran along the river with his boy. Their steps were perfectly in unison, their breathing the same.

All I can do is try to be as good as my boy thinks I am.

Loose Id Titles by Fyn Alexander

Knightly Love

Precious Jade

* * * *

The ANGEL AND THE ASSASSIN Series

Angel and the Assassin

Be Brave

Sins of the Father

Fyn Alexander

I grew up in Liverpool, England, with a great love of books and the English language. As an adult I moved to Canada, but I return to England to visit every few years to remind myself of my roots. I love writing and I love romance, so bringing the two together is a perfect fit.
Precious Jade,
my first published book, was inspired by a visit to the Royal Pavilion, Brighton, in early 2009. I have always had a fascination with assassins and could not resist writing about one in my series,
Angel and the Assassin
.