Eddie nodded. He would not beg for mercy like his father had. He would die like a man.

* * *

Dominic’s hands were visibly shaking as he tried to turn the steering wheel. He couldn’t believe this was happening. It was like a bad dream, totally surreal.

‘Please don’t do this. Let’s go to the police, I beg you. If something happens to you, I’ll never forgive myself for giving you a lift. You’re a lover, not a fighter, Joey,’ Dominic pleaded.

Stony-faced, Joey ignored his boyfriend’s little speech. He took the handgun out of its cloth and stared at it. When his dad had first given him a key to his cottage, he had shown Joey where the gun was kept and Joey, having never seen one before, had been interested to know how to use it. Unbeknown to Dom, Ed had given Joey a lesson in shooting. ‘You’re a natural, boy. You never know, it might come in handy one day,’ his father had joked at the time.

Dominic stopped at the traffic lights and shivered as he glanced at his partner. His earlier anger at Joey for involving him in the drama had now all but disappeared. Whatever Frankie had said to Joey in the kitchen earlier had turned him into a person that Dom barely recognised, and that scared him.

‘Joey, I beg you one more time, please don’t do this to me. If you truly love me, you wouldn’t be putting me through this.’

Joey looked at Dom and felt no guilt when he saw the pain and tears in his boyfriend’s eyes. ‘When you turn onto the A13, drive past the scrapyard, then pull over on the left. Wait five minutes then, if I ain’t back, drive straight back to Frankie’s. I love you, Dom, I always will, but don’t make me choose between you and my family, because you won’t like the fucking answer. As much as you probably won’t understand this, blood is a very special tie, and at the end of the day, I’m a Mitchell.’

When Jimmy held the gun against his temple, Eddie shut his eyes. He couldn’t look at the fearful expression on Gary’s face. Ricky had been so badly injured he hadn’t really known what was going on, but Gary had only been shot in the back of the leg and although he must be in pain, he was very much in a state of awareness. Ed took a deep breath, wondering if it was going to be his last. After all these years, his colourful lifestyle had finally caught up with him.

‘You’ve got one more chance to give us an address, lads, else Steady Eddie ’ere gets his head blown off,’ Jimmy said to Raymond and Gary.