CHERUB: Brigands M.C. - Robert Muchamore Page 0,118

asked. ‘If you break my heart again James, I’ll break you.’

James had watched Kerry batter a man with a baseball bat while they were on work experience, so he knew what she was capable of.

‘I’m sorry,’ James whimpered. ‘For god’s sake. This really hurts.’

‘We might break up or fall out,’ Kerry continued. ‘That’s acceptable, but if you cheat on me again, you’re a dead man. So decide now whether you want to go out with me, but those are my terms.’

‘I’m more mature now,’ James whined. ‘Come on, let me go.’

‘Promise,’ Kerry said. ‘Or get the hell out of my room.’

‘OK, I promise,’ James said, then whooshed with relief as Kerry let his neck go. ‘Jesus, I’d forgotten how fast you are.’

Kerry laughed as she kissed the back of James’ neck and stood up. He rolled over and caught his breath as she stood astride him. James wondered if he was nuts to start going out with Kerry again, but as he looked up at smooth legs and swaying black hair he wanted her more than anything else in the world.

*

It was quarter past eight when Dante dragged a small mattress into his eighth-floor bedroom. His five-year-old sister Holly trailed behind. She had long red hair, wore CHERUB uniform and held a duvet which was bundled up so high that she could barely see over it.

‘How many nights can I stay in your room?’ Holly asked excitably, as Dante dropped the mattress on his floor.

‘You are such a worrier,’ Dante soothed. ‘Why don’t we just see how it goes? I expect you’ll want to go back with your friends in the junior block in a few days.’

‘If I have a bed in your room, and a bed in the junior block I can just sleep in whichever one I like,’ Holly suggested. ‘And you could come and sleep in my room sometimes.’

Dante smiled. ‘We’re going to the summer hostel in a few days, anyway.’

Holly threw her duvet out over the mattress, and grabbed the pyjamas that had been rolled inside as Dante lobbed a pillow at her head.

‘Oi!’ Holly giggled. ‘You hooligan.’

‘Do you need help getting undressed?’ Dante asked.

Holly looked at her brother like he was a Martian. ‘I’m five,’ she said indignantly.

‘Sorry,’ Dante said. ‘I haven’t seen you properly for ages. Last summer you got your giant head stuck every time you tried taking your shirt off.’

To prove her point, Holly deftly pulled off her T-shirt, then dropped her shorts and showed Dante the back of her leg. ‘See my bruises?’ she said proudly. ‘I got them at skiing.’

‘I’ve never been skiing,’ Dante said. ‘I’d probably be useless and crash.’

Holly laughed, making a noise like an explosion. ‘I could teach you,’ she said. ‘I’m the second best skier out of all the girls who hadn’t been before.’

Once Holly had her pyjamas on she went into the bathroom to brush her teeth. Dante had spent all the time since he arrived with Holly, so he used the break to grab his dirty laundry and dump it into his washing basket. Then he unpacked his PSP and some of his other things, until Holly came out and stood in front of him with her mouth open.

‘Clean?’ Holly asked, as she blew toothpasty breath over him.

Dante realised that this must be something the carers in the junior block did to make sure all the little kids were brushing properly. ‘Looks good to me,’ he smiled. ‘Come and sit on the bed for a minute. Let me show you this.’

As Holly jumped on the bed, Dante unrolled the photograph from the Brigands’ barbecue and pointed to the boy standing in the centre of the picture. ‘Do you know who that is?’ he asked.

Holly shook her head, but then put a hand over her mouth. ‘Was that you?’

‘Yep,’ Dante said, before pointing his finger up at Scotty. ‘And that’s your daddy.’

Holly had seen a couple of blurry police surveillance photographs of her father and nodded.

‘That’s your sister Lizzie sulking, your brother Jordan pulling a silly face and that’s our mum,’ Dante said. ‘And what do you think that tiny lump she’s holding is?’

Holly moved her head closer to the picture. ‘Me,’ she said, before smiling and resting her head on Dante’s shoulder. ‘But now it’s you and me and we both live at CHERUB.’

Dante gave his little sister a squeeze and kissed the top of her head.

‘I’m getting in bed,’ Holly yawned, almost headbutting Dante as she shot up and dived excitedly on to