Page 13 of Assassin Daddy

Matteo began to walk up the mahogany staircase and Kyan quickly joined him. The old, winding staircase was wide enough for the two of them to walk side by side, and Matteo felt a rush of adrenalin as Kyan’s hand brushed up against his as they rounded the final corner that brought them to the fourth floor.

‘Here,’ Matteo said, opening the door to the large, top floor attic bedroom. ‘It’s not exactly The Four Seasons, but I think it will do for now.’

‘No, it’s nice,’ Kyan said, his words sounding suspiciously like flattery as he walked over toward the bed and placed his backpack down. ‘I mean… it could do with some color, maybe.’

‘Ha. Yeah. Well let’s just say my interior design skills aren’t what they used to be,’ Matteo said, looking around at the whitewashed walls and bare floorboards. ‘But there’s a nice view out of the window at least. On the right night, you get a great view out onto the city.’

‘I’ll bear that in mind,’ Kyan said. ‘Is it okay if I just have a minute?’

‘No problem,’ Matteo answered, his mind running through various options for how on earth he was going to resolve this mess. ‘But please, keep phone contact to a minimum. And absolutely no social media activity. Okay?’

‘Okay,’ Kyan said.

With that, Matteo stepped out of the room and shut the door behind him. This wasn’t going to be an easy fix. In fact, Matteo was already beginning to wonder what he was going to do for his next move.

Alphonso Fendi would want confirmation that the kill had been successful.

And not only that, Matteo knew that he had to think of a way of getting Kyan as far away from the city as possible. It wasn’t just Kyan’s life that was resting on this being a success either. If Alphonso even suspected that Matteo was lying to him about the kill, then both he and Kyan would be dead meat.

‘Damn it. I need to text the guys,’ Matteo muttered as he stood on the upper floor landing. ‘I guess drinks tonight just isn’t going to happen.’

With that, Matteo took his phone out and fired off a quick message.

MATTEO:Faustino, Michael… sorry to disappoint you both but tonight’s not happening. I’m completing a job and it’s going to require a little more work than I’d anticipated to do it right. We’ll talk tomorrow.

Matteo felt pretty certain that his phone activity wasn’t being monitored by one of the senior spies in the family, but didn’t like to leave things to chance wherever possible. By sending a message to Faustino and Michael and implying that all was progressing with the assassination as planned, it would give him an extra layer of defense should any suspicions arise further down the line.

For now though, all Matteo knew was that he had a scared boy in his attic bedroom. And while he might not have actually been Kyan’s Daddy, that didn’t mean that he couldn’t use his Daddy instincts to at least make him feel a little bit safer…

‘Boy, I’m making you a warm milk,’ Matteo called out. ‘I’ll be back upstairs in five minutes. We’ve got some things to talk about.’

It was 2:00AM and both Matteo and Kyan were just about done. It was far from orthodox, and certainly not something that Matteo had ever contemplated before. But desperate times called for desperate measures…

‘Angle your head away. To the left. That’s it,’ Matteo said, watching as Kyan turned and faced the trash can. ‘Jeez. I hope this works.’

‘Don’t worry, I was in theater club at high school,’ Kyan said, once more showing an uncanny ability to find the humor in the strangest of moments. ‘I think my performance as Dead Body #1 is deserving of an Oscar!’

Matteo shook his head but couldn’t resist a little smile.

He watched as Kyan contorted his body, turned his face away from the camera, and lay still. The floor might have been cold and wet, and the rain was starting to fall even harder, but Kyan’s commitment to being the best dead body he could be was pretty damned admirable.

‘Okay, I think we’ve got it,’ Matteo said. ‘Now let’s get our asses back inside and get you all warm and dry. The last thing we needis going to all this effort and a curious passerby wondering what the hell I’m doing. I’ve got a reputation to maintain.’

‘Sure thing,’ Kyan said, a hint of sass in his voice that made Matteo bristle. ‘You must be the most respectable hitman in all of the city…’

‘Enough,’ Matteo growled. ‘Get up and let’s get out of here.’

After the short walk back to Matteo’s house, Matteo shut the double oak door behind him and made sure to bolt it at the top, bottom, and activate the infrared security too. Matteo wasn’t going to leave any stone unturned – which was always his approach to home security even at the best of times, but on this night it felt even more vital.

‘You can use the shower upstairs,’ Matteo said. ‘There will be some spare towels, pajamas, and a robe in the cupboard too. Take your pick. It won’t be your size, but you’re not in a position to be too choosy.’

‘But what about tomorrow?’ Kyan asked, his eyes widening as he watched Matteo remove his jacket and stand there in his damp white shirt.

‘Tomorrow is another day,’ Matteo said. ‘We’ll cross that bridge when we get there. For now, all that matters is that I haveproofof your death. Where we take it next is a question that I’ll think over tonight.’

Kyan nodded. While it wasn’t exactly clear whether or not he was fully on board with Matteo’s admittedly vague plan, he did at least seem to be able to handle the situation – which was far more than Matteo might have expected from someone so young and seemingly innocent.

With that, Matteo ventured down the stairs and made his way into the study. He might have a long night ahead of him. The very idea of trying to get some sleep seemed remote, and there was still the fact that he needed to inform Alphonso that the job was done.

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