Thieves Till We Die (33 page)

He raised his eyebrows. ‘Your
bra
is missing?'

‘If it's not on the mud bank, then Patch has got it,
the little pervert. Probably sniffing it right now.' She shrugged. ‘I'll slap him about a bit and get it back. No problem.'

Jonah sighed. ‘I can't bear the thought of someone going down for a crime they didn't commit.' He reached into his jeans pocket and pulled out her bundled-up bra.

She snatched it off him and folded her arms self-consciously. ‘Jonah Wish, I hope you can explain yourself.'

He shrugged, smiled his so-not-innocent smile. ‘Souvenir?'

‘You don't need one,' she told him, turning back round to survey the quiet grove, leaning back against him gently, enjoying the last rays of the sun on her face. ‘I'm not going anywhere.'

Jonah seemed to dwell on this a while. Then he slipped his arms around her waist and planted the softest, lightest kiss on the lump on the back of her head.

‘Neither am I,' he said.

Thieves Like Us

Copyright © 2007 by Stephen Cole

All rights reserved. You may not copy, distribute, transmit, reproduce, or otherwise make available this publication (or any part of it) in any form, or by any means (including without limitation electronic, digital, optical, mechanical, photocopying, printing, recording, or otherwise), without the prior written permission of the publisher. Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.

First published in Great Britain by Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Published in the United States by Bloomsbury U.S.A. Children's Books
175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010
Distributed to the trade by Holtzbrinck Publishers
Electronic edition published in August 2012
www.bloomsburykids.com

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Cole, Stephen.
Thieves till we die / by Stephen Cole. — 1st U.S. ed.
p. cm.
Summary: Teen geniuses Jonah, Motti, Con, Tye, and Patch, working for their mysterious benefactor, Coldhardt, are out to recover more stolen artefacts when one of their members is kidnapped, and they must add a rescue operation to the mission.
[1. Adventure and adventurers—Fiction. 2. Robbers and outlaws—Fiction.
3. Interpersonal relations—Fiction.] I. Title. II. Title: Thieves until we die.
PZ7.C67356Thj 2007 [Fic]—dc22 2006028419

ISBN 978-1-6196-3082-6 (e-book)