Chapters (88)
- Cover
- Title Page
- Dear Reader …
- Also by Robert Muchamore
- PART ONE
- Walter J Freeman Adolescent Mental Health Unit – East Grinstead, UK
- ONE
- TWO
- THREE
- FOUR
- FIVE
- SIX
- SEVEN
- EIGHT
- NINE
- TEN
- ELEVEN
- PART TWO
- TWELVE
- THIRTEEN
- FOURTEEN
- FIFTEEN
- SIXTEEN
- SEVENTEEN
- EIGHTEEN
- NINETEEN
- TWENTY
- TWENTY-ONE
- TWENTY-TWO
- TWENTY-THREE
- TWENTY-FOUR
- TWENTY-FIVE
- TWENTY-SIX
- TWENTY-SEVEN
- TWENTY-EIGHT
- TWENTY-NINE
- THIRTY
- THIRTY-ONE
- THIRTY-TWO
- THIRTY-THREE
- THIRTY-FOUR
- THIRTY-FIVE
- THIRTY-SIX
- THIRTY-SEVEN
- THIRTY-EIGHT
- PART THREE
- Walter J. Freeman Adolescent Mental Health Unit – East Grinstead, UK
- THIRTY-NINE
- FORTY
- FORTY-ONE
- FORTY-TWO
- FORTY-THREE
- FORTY-FOUR
- FORTY-FIVE
- FORTY-SIX
- FORTY-SEVEN
- FORTY-EIGHT
- FORTY-NINE
- FIFTY
- FIFTY-ONE
- FIFTY-TWO
- FIFTY-THREE
- FIFTY-FOUR
- PART FOUR
- FIFTY-FIVE
- FIFTY-SIX
- FIFTY-SEVEN
- FIFTY-EIGHT
- FIFTY-NINE
- SIXTY
- SIXTY-ONE
- SIXTY-TWO
- SIXTY-THREE
- SIXTY-FOUR
- SIXTY-FIVE
- SIXTY-SIX
- SIXTY-SEVEN
- SIXTY-EIGHT
- SIXTY-NINE
- SEVENTY
- SEVENTY-ONE
- SEVENTY-TWO
- SEVENTY-THREE
- EPILOGUE
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- Have you read KILLER T?
- 1 SLASHED RUBBER
- 2 NOT HARRY POTTER
Duke had grown frustrated, using pencil strokes to try capturing the lacy translucence of her peeling skin and the bloody sheen of an angry sore in her elbow joint. But it was a contented frustration, taking his mind away from real life and gobbling lonely hours.
When Duke’s mobile rang, he’d been sitting for so long that his calf muscle had gone dead. He feared he’d miss the call as he dragged his leg across the tiled floor. He lived with his Uncle Remi, a controversial journalist with plenty of enemies. Late calls always pricked Duke with the fear that Remi had been kidnapped, or killed. So Julius came as a relief, though he seemed desperately upset.
‘Did I wake you?’ Julius asked.
‘I was drawing,’ Duke said gently. ‘You sound terrible …’
‘I …’ Julius began, then choked. ‘I’m sorry I didn’t call before. But my ma says I can’t ever see you or talk to you.’
‘Your brothers took the trouble to inform me at school,’ Duke said wryly. ‘Collins emphasised with a knee in the stomach.’
‘Sorry,’ Julius sniffed. ‘I hate my family. You know I’m nothing like them.’
‘For sure,’ Duke said.
‘My mother will check my calls,’ Julius said. ‘So I dug out my old Samsung and snuck in my mother’s office. She keeps prepaid SIM cards, for when she calls certain people.’
‘Wasn’t it your brother’s party tonight?’ Duke asked.
‘It was OK at first, catching up with country cousins. But my cousin Luke paid this girl to come on to me. Straighten me out, as they put it …’
‘Like, a whore?’ Duke asked.
‘They were telling me to kiss her. Making me put my hands on her ass and trying to get me to go in this room with her. When I pushed back, Collins got up in my face. I lost it. Grabbed the back of his head and bit the tip off his nose.’
Duke thumped the tabletop with delight and beamed. ‘Say that a-gain?’
‘I was drunk. And his nose was there, and …’
Duke smiled. ‘You bit it off?’
‘A whole chunk. It was in my mouth.’
‘Like, how big?’
‘The fleshy tip. The size of a butter mint.’
‘Julius, you beautiful man!’ Duke howled. ‘I cannot imagine a human more deserving! It must have bled like an absolute bastard!’
‘I didn’t see,’ Julius said. ‘Luke punched me to the ground. I’ve got a big gash down my cheek from his gold rings, and my jaw feels like it’s set in cement. Luckily, our bodyguards piled in before I got a proper beating.