Takedown by Heather Atkinson (latest books to read txt) 📕

enough proof for you? Yes, we can send over the footage for you to look at. We need their identities.” She paused to listen. “What do you think we’re going to do when we find them? Give them a big sloppy kiss each? I don’t know, I need to speak to Jules. Okay, bye.” She hung up and looked to Jason. “Can you email me the footage of the club so I can forward it onto Matthew?”

“Yep,” he replied, tapping at the keyboard again. “Sent.”

Faith’s phone beeped and she forwarded the email with the attached file onto Matthew. “He made the good point that the situation is more complicated now we know they’re firefighters, respected members of the community, not just local thieves. I need to tell Jules,” she said, already dialling her number, feeling like they were finally making progress.

“All right babes?” said Jules’s cheery voice.

“You sound in a good mood,” replied Faith.

“That’s because my gorgeous, sexy husband has just surprised me and the kids with a castle.”

“A castle?”

“My brother Ryan and his wife bought one down in Devon. You remember Ryan, don’t you?”

“How could I forget?”

“Yeah, he is pretty memorable,” she chuckled. “All the ladies remember Ryan. Anyway, I said I wanted a castle too and Mikey’s bought one on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales. Best of all, it’s bigger than Ryan and Rachel’s. Big bruv is going to be so pissed off.”

“Sounds amazing.”

“It is. I am now lady of the manor.” Jules spluttered with laughter. “Yeah, right. As if I could ever be a lady. Anyway my lovely, how can I help?”

“The crew who robbed the product are firefighters.”

“Wow, that’s a first. Not even we’ve been robbed by firefighters. At least you were done over by the sexiest of the emergency services.”

“Good point,” she smiled. “I’ve sent the footage to Matthew so he can identify them. It won’t be difficult. The footage of their faces is very clear.”

“How do you know what they look like? They were wearing balaclavas.”

Faith explained about the back-up footage in the club Jason had recorded.

“Tell that little brother of yours that he’s a star and Aunty Jules will send him a special present.”

“I will. He’ll be very pleased.”

“So you’ve still got it covered?”

“Yes we do, now we finally know who we’re dealing with. We’re just relieved they’re not more corrupt police officers.”

“Me too but this could still get awkward. These aren’t the type of people you can just make disappear. What I told you before, hang fire on that. Let’s see exactly who we’re dealing with first but they do still need to be made an example of.”

Faith breathed a little easier. The kill order had been temporarily countermanded. That was not a road she wanted to take her family down. Killing Lenny Paisley had been hard enough but only herself and Caleb had been involved in that and Vance had already killed while he was in prison. She was worried about the effect murder would have on her younger siblings. “I’ll keep you informed.”

“Cheers babes. Me and the family will be heading to the castle tomorrow to check it out. I’m so bloody excited but you can still contact me on this number. Never be afraid to come to me Faith if there’s something you think I need to know. I’d rather be kept in the loop.”

“Will do.”

“Right, I’m off to pack. Good luck, not that you need it, you can handle this. I wonder what Mikey would look like dressed up as a knight? Or maybe a naughty stable lad? Sorry, I said that out loud, didn’t I?”

“Yes you did but I’ll pretend I didn’t hear it.”

“Good lass. I’ll be away but I won’t forget about the auction. I can’t believe I’ve never bought a porn shop before. I wish I’d thought of it sooner. Bye Faith.”

“Bye.”

Faith hung up and took a breath. Having a conversation with Jules Maguire often had the same effect as a violent breeze sucking the breath from your lungs. “Well,” she told her siblings. “The good news is that we’re not to deal with the robbers as we were before.”

They all sighed with relief.

“But it’s not been taken off the table just yet. She wants us to find out who they are first. The last thing we want is to draw attention to ourselves. Jules was very impressed with your tech work Jason, so she’s sending you a special present.”

“Awesome,” he beamed.

“Don’t go getting excited. I’ve no idea what a woman like her considers a present.”

“Tea’s ready,” Rose called from the kitchen.

Faith and Vance glanced at each other as they steeled themselves to spend more time with their mother.

“I’ll be there in a sec,” Faith told the others when her phone rang. “Yay, a reprieve,” she whispered to herself before answering. “Hello Matthew.”

“I’ve watched that footage,” he began.

“And?”

“I was delighted that these thieves weren’t police officers but it’s almost as bad.”

Faith’s stomach lurched. “Why, who are they?”

“I know two of them, I’ve met them plenty of times during the course of my work. The lead firefighter is the problem. He’s only a bloody hero. He saved a local dignitary from a fire at his home. Carried him out over his shoulder. He’s got commendations coming out of his arse.”

“So what’s this hero doing stealing our product?”

“Maybe he got tired of risking his life for a living?”

“Perhaps.”

“He’s built like a brick shithouse and is as tough as hell.”

“I was afraid you’d say that. What’s his name?”

“Ben Cooper. Forty one years old. He’s been a firefighter a long time.”

“Where does he live?”

“I don’t have that information.”

“Yes you do, you can easily get it.”

“All right, I can but I am not going to give you any