‘Who are you? What do you want from me?’ Colin asked fearfully.

Eddie waved and Colin’s face turned pure white as he spotted him.

Stuart shoved Colin in the back of the motor.

‘I’m sorry about not paying you on time, Eddie. I weren’t gonna knock you. I’ll get you your money, I promise,’ Colin stammered.

‘Pass me the bat,’ Ed ordered Gary.

Gary took the baseball bat out from under the seat and placed it on his father’s lap. Eddie stopped at the red traffic light, turned around and clumped Colin over the head with it.

‘Mr Mitchell to you. Only my friends call me Eddie, you cunt.’

Colin clutched his throbbing head. Whatever had possessed him to think he could stripe up Eddie Mitchell and get away with it? He must have been mad. ‘I’m really sorry. I’ll pay you interest and everything,’ Colin begged as Eddie pulled up on the dirt track.

‘Get him out and walk him through them trees,’ Eddie ordered his sons.

‘What exactly do you want me to do to him?’ Stuart asked Eddie.

Eddie put on a pair of latex gloves, and took an axe out of the boot. ‘He needs to be taught a lesson. One finger, perhaps two, I’ll let you choose, boy.’

Gary stopped by a clump of trees, kneed Colin in the groin and sniggered as he rolled on the floor in agony.

Eddie walked over to their victim and crouched down beside him. ‘I want twenty-five grand off you and I want it by the end of next week. Comprendes?’

‘I’ll get your money for you, I swear,’ Colin promised.

‘I’ll be coming to your house at midday next Friday to pick it up and if you ain’t got every last penny of it, you’re a dead man.’

‘I understand, Mr Mitchell.’

Gary glanced at Ricky as Eddie gave Stuart the nod. Now they would see what their father’s golden boy was made of.

‘Please God, no,’ Colin screamed, as he spotted Stuart holding the axe.

Stuart knelt on Colin’s left arm, then brought the axe down expertly just past his knuckles.

Colin’s screams filled the cold December air as two of his fingers parted company with his hand.

Eddie found Colin’s phone in his pocket. The prick looked as if he was losing consciousness and he needed to act fast. ‘Can you hear me, Colin?’

Colin nodded.

‘Right, I’m gonna dial nine, nine, nine, then you’re gonna ask for an ambulance. Tell them that you’re at the dirt track that leads to the back end of the park. When they turn up, you tell them you were chopping branches off the trees for a bonfire and you had a little accident, OK?’

‘OK,’ Colin croaked.

Eddie dialled the number and was relieved when Colin managed to tell the operator where he was.