Andreas already had the number pulled up for the resort he was renting the house from so they could order their late breakfast when Alex admitted he hadn’t brought anything to wear for swimming.  The worse part was that the boy was afraid he’d be mad at him for it.  The packing had obviously been interrupted by the vicious attack on the part of Alex’s father, the suitcase toppled and the contents spilled before Andreas arrived to put an end to it.  After that, having fun on the beach was probably the last thing on Alex’s mind.  How could anyone fault him for forgetting an article of clothing?  From his reaction, Alex’s father would’ve, but that was just the kind of asshole the man was.<br/><br/>“Mad at you?” he chuckled, tossing his phone down and jumping up onto his knees.  He yanked the covers away from Alex’s lean body and straddled him, then pressed himself down to encase all that bruised flesh with his own body and kissed the other blond soundly.  “I was the one who didn’t want you going back for your things, remember?  I was prepared to buy you whatever you needed after we left.  I am in no way mad at you.  Now go,” he said, playfully nipping at Alex’s.  “Get ready for breakfast while I order it and something for you to wear to the beach.”<br/><br/>He jumped off and snatched his phone back up so he could put in the call for breakfast.  While he ordered, Andreas found a pair of his own jeans to slip into, along with a pack of cigarettes, and went out by the pool to indulge in that nasty habit.  Alex was going to get his decadent French toast with fruit and whipped cream, but sausage was also added onto that for more protein.  Andreas bypassed the heaviness of bread for himself and just went with some spicy sausage and fruit.  After he was assured it would be prepared and sent out to them immediately, he started shopping for something Alex could wear to the beach.<br/><br/>He was in the middle of that when the hairs on the back of his neck stood up.  Not usually a good sign, but he didn’t overreact.  He could hear the engine of a car and sighed.  It must have pulled up in the driveway of their little sanctuary.  Far too soon for the arrival of breakfast, it must have been another visitor.  He hoped it was the delivery of Alex’s documents, but he still went to fetch a gun to take with him to the door.  Sure enough, there was a knock, and Andreas pressed the muzzle of the gun against the door.<br/><br/>“Who is it?” he asked, seemingly unbothered, even if he was.<br/><br/>“The goddamn postman,” an irritated Italian accent called from the other side.  “Open the door, Andreas.”  There was an audible sigh.  “And put down the gun?”<br/><br/>“Oh…”  Unexpected, but he’d take it.  Andreas grinned and opened the door, shrugging as he relaxed his finger off the trigger.  The man on the other side was a little younger than him, but Andreas still looked several years his junior.  With the classic olive complexion, long black hair, and pale green eyes, his associate was quite a catch.  He was also six and a half feet of solid muscle.  It was a shame he’d never been able to seduce the man into bed.  “Can’t be too careful.”<br/><br/>“Not when it’s you, apparently,” the massive man muttered in Italian, knowing his colleague would be able to keep up.  “I saw the news.  The whole house?  Was that necessary?  I mean, come on… you even killed the wife.  If it was anyone else but you, I’d have wondered if that had been a mistake.”<br/><br/>“Oh, no.  No mistake.  Bitch had to go,” the blond stated, one hand coming up to snatch the large manila envelope from the other’s hand.  “I wasn’t expecting you.  Aedan having you play delivery boy for him?”<br/><br/>“Bad timing.  He couldn’t risk the trip.  Too humid.  I didn’t want him mixed up in any of this, anyway.”<br/><br/>“You looked at this, then?” Andreas asked, wiggling the envelope.<br/><br/>“Yes.  Though I still don’t understand what you’re doing.  He’s just a kid, Andreas.  Does he even know you murdered his parents?”<br/><br/>“The term I believe you were looking for is<i>assassinated</i>.  It was a paid job,” the blond corrected, his voice then dropping.  “And believe me, neither of those things deserve to be called parents.”  In the next moment, he’d brushed off the darker emotions and shrugged.  “Admittedly, the contract was just for the father.  I hadn’t expected for it to get big like that, but some things came up.  Had to make a few changes…  I had to take him with me.”<br/><br/>“What?  A witness you couldn’t bring yourself to kill?  That’s not like you.”<br/><br/>“No…  It’s not that,” he said, frowning slightly.  But it sort of was that, wasn’t it?