Double-Cross Read Free

trees. It was virtually deserted, apart from a few food stalls near the entrance.
    I spotted Dylan first. She was standing under a street lamp, her dark red hair shining, staring out to sea. Two guys in baggy jeans were eyeing her up, but Dylan seemed oblivious. She’s fit. Every guy I knew fancied her, but I’d never seen her show more than a passing interest in anyone – other than Harry, of course. He was the boy we’d met recently – Jack Linden’s son – who’d helped Dylan and me get away from Geri.
    As I walked towards Dylan, Ed came up to her. The two guys watched him, evidently astonished that someone so geeky-looking should be on speaking terms with anyone as hot as Dylan. And then Ed turned and saw me. He threw his hands up as I approached.
    ‘Are you all right?’
    ‘Yeah, fine. Starving, though,’ I said. ‘Where’s Ketty?’
    ‘Your girlfriend’s getting us food from that stall.’ Dylan pointed across the pier.
    I turned and there she was. My Ketty – the prettiest, coolest girl in the universe – smiling as she walked towards us, her eyes fixed on my face. I smiled back, getting that happy, settled feeling I always have around her.
    ‘I got burgers,’ she said, holding up four wrapped packages.
    ‘Thanks.’ I took one and watched Ketty as she handed out the others. Did I say how pretty she is? Not striking like Dylan, but softer . . . natural-looking, with curly brown hair and big, golden-brown eyes and a small nose that turns up a little at the end. But despite the delicate features, Ketty’s the strongest person I’ve ever met. Not to mention the most stubborn.
    In that moment it struck me that I couldn’t bear to lose her.
    ‘I didn’t want freakin’ cheese on mine,’ Dylan complained beside me. ‘Or fried onions.’
    ‘That’s how they came,’ Ketty said with a shrug. ‘My French wasn’t good enough to understand what he was asking. He spoke too fast – I just said “ oui ” to everything.’
    Dylan muttered something under her breath and wandered away, across the pier.
    ‘So what do we do now?’ asked Ed.
    ‘We need to contact our families,’ Ketty said. ‘We’ve got phones and, now we’re off the ferry, there’s a signal. I want to call home and let my parents know I’m okay. D’you think it’s safe, Nico?’
    I glanced around before speaking, to check we were quite alone. To my relief, the two guys who’d been eyeing up Dylan had disappeared and the nearest people, a couple, were crossing the road several metres away. In the distance another ferry was docking at the terminal.
    I looked at Ketty and Ed. ‘Geri thinks that Dylan and I are dead, so we should both be fine calling home. But right now she thinks you two have gone on the run, so there’s a good chance she’ll have your home phones tapped in case you call in on them. It doesn’t matter. I’ll call home and speak to Fergus . . . He can get a message to your families.’
    Ketty and Ed nodded their agreement. They both looked pale and strained.
    ‘However, we don’t have much time,’ I went on. ‘The explosion at Wardingham will cover our tracks for a while, but I reckon we’ve only got a few hours until Geri realises our bodies aren’t in that building. Fergus is one of the first people she’ll go to and she won’t hesitate. She’ll be after us with a vengeance.’
    Ed looked around nervously.
    ‘Did I hear someone say the word “vengeance”?’ Dylan walked over, crumpling her burger wrapper in her hand. ‘Because that’s the priority as far as I’m concerned. We can’t let Geri get away with trying to kill us – or murdering my parents.’
    There was an awkward silence. Ketty caught my eye.
    ‘But Geri is so powerful,’ she said with a frown. ‘I don’t see how we or our parents can act against her. I mean, look at us. We’ve got hardly any money and no useful papers. We don’t even have any clothes, other than what we’re wearing. And we’ve got no proof that