CHERUB: Brigands M.C. - Robert Muchamore Page 0,61

think you’re the one who should jolly well bugger orf.’

Ashley stepped between the two lads. ‘For Christ’s sake, he only gave me a lift.’

‘I play rugby you know,’ Julian said, as he poked the pocket of James’ shirt. ‘So I’m warning you to back off.’

The other kids who’d ridden in Julian’s car were all clambering out. They could all see that he was jealous and a couple of them told him to leave it out.

‘This is such a dumb argument,’ James said, before turning his back and heading for the steps leading up to the restaurants. But Julian threw a punch.

‘Stop it!’ Ashley shouted, as the fist glanced the back of James’ head. ‘Stop being an arse.’

The blow was nothing but James couldn’t ignore it without looking like a pussy. He turned fast, grabbed Julian around the neck and thumped him against his little Fiat.

The group might not approve if James did something too physical, but he needed to make a mark and he’d just seen Julian dropping his car keys into his jacket pocket. James pulled out the keys and backed off before athletically tossing them on to the metal roof of the Brigands clubhouse.

‘Come at me again and I’ll flatten you,’ James warned, as the keys juddered down a couple of metres of sloped metal and came to rest nestling against a clump of moss.

Julian didn’t want to look weak, but he’d felt James’ strength when he’d been bundled against the car.

‘Christ,’ Julian shouted. ‘How the hell do I get up there?’

James grinned. ‘Knock on the front door and ask the Brigands if they’ve got a ladder.’

Ashley shook her head contemptuously as she started walking towards the stairs. James was worried that the group would see him as the bad guy, but as he walked up the stairs with Nigel and Ashley, three boys were laughing about Julian’s predicament. Caitlyn summed up the mood by telling James that he’d shown admirable restraint in not punching back.

When they got upstairs they headed into the diner. It was two-thirds full and they got nods and smiles from a bunch of other sixth-form kids who sat eating at the tables next to the open front of the restaurant. Fifties pop belted out of a tacky jukebox as Nigel handed James a tenner.

‘Got business to do,’ Nigel smiled. ‘Get me a cheeseburger, fries and Coke plus whatever you want.’

But when James turned around with the money Ashley was already being served. ‘You gave me a lift, so I’ll get the food,’ she said sweetly.

She paid for Nigel too, and when they headed towards a table to wait for their order Ashley sat next to James and put her hand in his lap. James liked her black nail varnish and the wispy hairs up her arm.

‘You should speak with Julian,’ James said quietly. ‘I’m the new kid in town. I don’t want some major beef blowing up.’

‘Screw him, treating me like his personal possession,’ Ashley said, as she gave the Formica table top the finger. ‘I play rugby,’ she mocked. ‘You bent him over that car like he was a twig.’

‘I’ve been known to hit the weights,’ James grinned. ‘Plus some Karate, a little kickboxing. I’m not a violent person. I’ve not been in a fight since I was twelve, but it’s best not to mess with me.’

Ashley purred approvingly as Nigel joined Caitlyn on the other side of the table.

‘Will Julian be OK?’ James asked.

Nigel burst out laughing. ‘Well his car keys are on a rooftop and you’ve got his girlfriend’s hand in your lap. I’m sure he’ll be just fine.’

‘He’s your mate though,’ James noted.

‘A mate who owes me two hundred quid,’ Nigel said. ‘Never pays for his shit. If I hadn’t known him since primary school I’d have got one of the Monster Bunch to beat it out of him.’

‘His dad’s a judge,’ Caitlyn noted.

‘That as well,’ Nigel smiled.

Caitlyn wasn’t eating, but when the food arrived she moved closer to Nigel and picked at his chips. James realised they were drifting towards a double-date situation. His mind was split. Part of him thought about the mission and the talk he’d had with Kerry. On the flipside Ashley was quite sexy and James’ moral compass always flew out of the window when he was within ten metres of an attractive girl.

When their plates were empty the foursome drifted out into almost dark. Distant yachts caught the moonlight and candles glowed on tables inside restaurants at the grown-up end of the promenade.