‘Is that all?’ Nick pulled a face. ‘You made it sound like a fuckin’ emergency.’

‘He was asking questions about you lot.’

‘What kind of questions?’ Nick asked, watching his step as he followed her down a rickety flight of wooden stairs to the dimly lit cellar.

‘How many of youse are at the farm, and if her and the others are being forced into this.’

‘Are you fuckin’ kidding me?’

‘That’s what she said.’ Big Shirl shrugged and pushed the cellar door open.

Nick brushed past her and strode into the dank-smelling chamber. Tiny, their man-mountain Romanian security guard, was standing behind a chair, upon which an unconscious, bloody-faced man was slumped with his chin on his chest, a filthy rag in his mouth, and ropes binding his ankles to the chair legs and his wrists together behind his back.

‘Is he a regular?’ Nick asked Big Shirl.

‘First time I’ve ever seen him,’ she replied, pulling a pack of cigarettes from her pocket and slotting one between her teeth.

‘Are you serious?’ Nick glared at her. ‘Why the fuck did you let him in if you didn’t know him?’

‘’Cos he reckoned another punter sent him, and he looked all right, so I give him the benefit of the doubt,’ Big Shirl snapped, her eyes glittering evilly in the flame of her cigarette lighter.

‘You’re going fuckin’ doolally, you,’ Nick sneered. ‘Didn’t that last raid teach you nothing?’

‘’Ere, who d’ya think you’re talking to like that?’ she retorted angrily, jabbing him in the chest with her fingernail. ‘You ain’t bullying me like you bully them soft cunts up there, so wind your neck in before I snap it!’

Nick curled his lip at her and turned back to the man on the chair. Instantly recognizing him when Tiny grabbed his hair and yanked his head up, he muttered, ‘What the fuck’s he doing here?’

‘He must have followed us,’ Gaz said, also recognizing him. ‘K said he looked suspicious when he left the other day, but I wonder how much he knows?’

‘Soon find out,’ Nick said, taking a picture of Evan on his phone before lashing him across the face with the back of his hand.

Evan’s eyes flickered open, and Nick leaned down and tore the gag out of his mouth.

‘Yeah, that’s right, fucker, it’s me,’ he snarled, nose to nose. ‘What you doing here, then, eh? Daddy tip you off, did he?’

Evan’s heart was pounding so hard he could hardly breathe. His dad obviously did know what was going on, or the man wouldn’t have asked if Frank had tipped him off; but the scathing way the man had referred to him told Evan that he’d been right to suspect he was in danger.

Nick’s mobile phone suddenly started ringing. Straightening up, he answered it.

It was Karel.

‘Are you there yet?’