‘About twenty minutes ago. We was on that old mush’s farm. The quad bike’s still there. The bad men took the keys and they drove off that way,’ Sonny said, pointing to the left.

‘Run over to the barn, see if Georgie’s in there with Ryan,’ Jed ordered him.

Sonny ran off and Jed’s hands were quivering as he took his phone out of his pocket. ‘Dad, come home now. Eddie Mitchell’s snatched Harry.’

As Jimmy launched into a torrent of abuse, Jed’s brother Billy drove onto the site in his Land Cruiser.

‘What’s going on? Mum just rang me sobbing her fucking heart out,’ Billy said.

‘Mitchell’s found us; he’s got Harry. Dad’s on his way now, but I can’t wait that long. I need your motor, but go get the guns first. Grab both of ’em, Bill, and you come with me.’

While Billy ran across the field, Jed relayed to his father what Sonny had told him.

‘I’ll be forty minutes or so behind you, boy. You go on ahead of me and I’ll pick my shooter up on the way back. Leave it in the trailer under the sofa. What motor’s Mitchell in, do you know?’

‘It’s a white Merc Sprinter with red writing down the side. I clocked it when I left the site earlier and the number plate starts with BJJ. There was another van behind it, a blue Renault Trafic with white writing on it, so keep your eyes peeled for that an’ all,’ Jed said. He might not be able to spell or read, but he knew which letters were which.

Alice ran out of the trailer. ‘I can’t get no answer on Georgie’s phone,’ she screamed in panic.

Seconds later, an out-of-breath Sonny reappeared. ‘Georgie’s gone. Ryan’s tied up in the barn. The bad men beat him an’ all.’

Jed kicked the tyre of his pick-up truck repeatedly. ‘They’ve got Georgie an’ all. Me and Bill are leaving now, Dad, and I swear on my Shelby’s life, when I catch up with Mitchell, I’m gonna blast the cunt to pieces.’

Georgie O’Hara’s eyes were wide open with terror as she stared at the four men in the back of the van. The one that was driving was called Raymond, but she didn’t know the names of the other three and she now wondered if they were nonces. Her dad had always wanted her to be on her guard against those types of men.