by Keane Jessie
Now, what the hell was she going to do with it all?
Later, she sat Belle down in her bedroom and said: ‘I have to talk to you.’
‘Go on.’
‘Belle – I don’t want it. I’m frightened of it, with the drugs. To have so much! I could do anything.’
‘You’re worried you’ll start using again,’ said Belle.
‘Of course I bloody will! With all that?’ Milly was shaking her head. ‘Belle, I’ve thought it through. You could run it all for me, couldn’t you. You could see to things. I don’t want to get involved.’
‘Oh come on, Mills . . .’ Belle protested.
‘No, I mean it, Belle. I’m serious. I want you to handle it all. I can’t.’
Belle was quiet, taking it in. ‘Well . . . I suppose the clubs could be usable still. Maybe the furniture business if we could make it “properly” legit.’
‘You could do it,’ said Milly eagerly. ‘We’re the can-do girls, yes? And you could do it? You always wanted to break out, get a job, do something. This is your chance. This is it.’
Belle didn’t know what to say.
She had a lot of thinking to do, that was for sure.
162
Javier Matias sat comfortably in the back of a black A-Class Mercedes as it zipped along the motorway through almost horizontal sheets of rain. Javier was on his way to Gatwick, and home. This fucking country, he thought. People you couldn’t rely on, weather that drenched you, no sun, only grey clouds. He was getting too old for this shit. Next time he would send one of the sons from his first disastrous marriage, or Elena, his daughter from his second. He couldn’t wait to get home to Bogota, where there was civilization and blissful hot sunshine.
Of course he was going to have to make new deals now. Harlan was off the scene, and one of Javier’s people had told him it had been in the papers: Harlan Stone had been eaten by his own pet caimans. A terrible accident. Truly tragic. But did Javier give a fuck? He did not. Someone would take over, and he would know as soon as there was a new boss in charge. Then, they would talk. For the moment, the shipments were paused. The other families wouldn’t like that, but it was prudent. Things would settle, and then it would be business as usual.
He lounged back, luxuriating in his heated leather seat. He’d read the paper and now he was idly looking around, watching the cars and trucks on the inside while his driver smoothly guided the Mercedes along the outside lane. Then they hit a quieter stretch of road and a big Harley motorbike hovered alongside, two black-helmeted men on board, and he watched it with interest. Maybe he would have a motorbike like that. He could have anything he wanted, anything in the world, after all.
The helmeted head of the man on the back turned toward Javier as the bike roared along, keeping pace with the Mercedes. Then he leaned over and . . .
Clunk!
Javier straightened in alarm.
That guevon had attached something to the side of the car!
‘Paolo!’ shouted Javier as the Harley shot forward and was gone, out of sight in an instant.
Paolo’s head turned.
Then the world exploded in Javier Matias’s face.
EPILOGUE
Jack was cutting open hay bales when Belle came to find him after their visit to the solicitor’s office. Around his feet was dancing a tiny black-and-white pup, tail wagging like crazy.
‘God, he’s so pretty,’ said Belle, instantly cheered. ‘Is this the surprise then?’
‘Yeah. And he’s a she.’ Jack scooped the pup up and handed her to Belle. ‘A little mini-Trix. How’d you two get on?’
Belle shrugged. ‘Turns out Milly’s mega-wealthy. Hello, gorgeous.’ She kissed the puppy’s head.
Jack stood still, staring at her. ‘You’re serious?’
‘Deadly,’ said Belle. She looked at him. ‘It’s done then? The Tank thing?’
‘It’s done.’ Tank had been an ammunition technician in his army years, specializing in deployment, disposal and setting of IEDs; he’d seen to Javier Matias.
‘Need a hand here?’
‘Always.’ He leaned in and kissed her.
Belle leaned in too, twining her arms around his neck. The pup, caught between them, wriggled and let out a yelp. Carefully, Belle set her back on the ground.
‘Jack?’ she said, frowning.
‘Hm?’ He was pulling her in again, but she resisted. ‘What?’ he asked, his dark blue eyes holding hers.
‘What will you do now? Will you stay here, on the farm?’
‘Dunno,’ he said. Then he grinned. ‘Mind you – there’s always a war going on somewhere, with my name on it.’
Belle nodded. She had a handle on Jack Tavender now; he was an adventurer, always looking to new horizons. She’d drifted into his life and it was good luck alone that he’d been here, on the farm, just when she needed him. Six months earlier or six months later, that might not have been the case. Maybe he’d sell this old place. Move on. Maybe he’d go soldiering again, to a new future that didn’t include her. Or maybe to one that did. Her feeling was that whether they stayed together or were apart – even at the far corners of the world – they would probably come back together again, drawn by the powerful magnetism they shared. Maybe this was love. Belle wasn’t sure about that. But it was certainly something very like it.
Belle sighed. ‘Milly’s freaked out by it all, you know. Her inheritance. She wants me to take over. Handle things. The business. The manor. Which is scary. And sort of exciting.’
‘What do you know about business?’
‘Nothing.’
He shrugged. ‘You could do it.’
‘Maybe. You know – we ought to take a holiday. Your mate over in Berkshire could look after the horses and this little one here for a couple of weeks and we could all go down to the Med. You, me – Milly too.’
‘On what?’
‘On Charlie Stone’s yacht. Lady of the Manor. Actually – it’s Milly’s yacht, now.’
He tilted his head. ‘So,’ he said. ‘She’s the lady of the manor and you’re the boss of it.’
‘The clubs could be salvageable,’ she said. She knew that Milly was going to have a mountain to climb, but she was determined to help her do that. They were the can-do girls, after all. Strong together, weaker apart.
‘They could.’
‘Don’t fancy the furniture business too much though.’
‘It’s all out there, Belle,’ he said. ‘It’s all waiting for you.’
‘Yeah. It is.’
She would have a new life now. She was free of the toxin of Harlan at last. Free of the suffocating shelter that had been imposed on her because of Charlie Stone’s drugs empire.
One thing was certain: she knew that this new life of hers was never, ever going to be dull. She could grab it, embrace it – enjoy it, at last. And she would.
NAMELESS
JESSIE KEANE
They took her children away, and she will fight to the end to get them back . . .
In 1923, mixed-race Ruby Darke is born into a family that seems to hate her, but why?
While her two brothers dive into a life of gangland violence, Ruby has to work in their family store. As she blossoms into a beautiful young woman, she crosses paths with aristocrat Cornelius Bray, a chance meeting that will change her life forever. When she finds herself pregnant, and then has twins, she is forced to give her children away. At that point she vows never to trust another man again.
As the years pass, Ruby never forgets her babies, and as the family store turns into a retail empire, she wants her children back. But secrets were whispered and bargains made, and if Ruby wants to stay alive she needs to forget the past, or the past will come back and kill her.
Nameless is a gripping underworld thriller by bestselling author Jessie Keane.
LAWLESS
JESSIE KEANE
Only the lawless will survive . . .
It is 1975 and Ruby Darke is struggling to deal with the brut
al murder of her lover, Michael Ward.
As her children, Daisy and Kit, battle their own demons, her retail empire starts to crumble.
Meanwhile, after the revenge killing of Tito Danieri, Kit is the lowest he’s ever been. But soon doubt is thrown over whether Kit killed the right person, and now the Danieris are out for his blood and the blood of the entire Darke family.
As the bodies pile up, the chase is on – can the Darkes resolve their own family conflicts and find Michael Ward’s true killer before the vengeful Danieris kill them? Or will they take the law into their own hands?
Lawless is the heart-racing sequel to Nameless, from bestselling author Jessie Keane.
RUTHLESS
JESSIE KEANE
She thought she’d seen the back of the Delaneys. How wrong could she be . . .
Annie Carter should have demanded to see their bodies lying on a slab in the morgue, but she really believed the Delaney twins were gone from her life for good.
Now, sinister things are happening around her and Annie is led to one terrifying conclusion: the Delaneys, her bitter enemies, didn’t die all those years ago. They’re back and they want her, and her family, dead.
This isn’t the first time someone has made an attempt on her life, yet she’s determined to make it the last. Nobody threatens Annie Carter and lives to tell the tale . . .
Ruthless is the fifth book in the compelling Annie Carter series by hit crime writer Jessie Keane.
STAY DEAD
JESSIE KEANE
When you bury your secrets, bury them deep
Annie Carter finally believes that life is good.
She and Max are back together and she has a new and uncomplicated life sunning herself in Barbados. It’s what she’s always dreamed of.
Then she gets the news that her old friend Dolly Farrell is dead, and suddenly she finds herself back in London and hunting down a murderer with only one thing on her mind: revenge.
But the hunter can so quickly become the hunted, and Annie has been keeping too many secrets. She’s crossed and bettered a lot of people over the years, but this time the enemy is a lot closer to home and she may just have met her match . . .
Stay Dead is the heart-stopping sixth book in Jessie Keane’s bestselling Annie Carter series.
DANGEROUS
JESSIE KEANE
Whatever the cost, she would pay it . . .
Fifteen-year-old Clara Dolan’s world is blown apart following the death of her mother. Battling to keep what remains of her family together, Clara vows to protect her younger siblings, Bernadette and Henry, from danger, whatever the cost.
With the arrival of the swinging Sixties, Clara finds herself swept up in London’s dark underworld where the glamour of Soho’s dazzling nightclubs sits in stark contrast to the terrifying gangland violence that threatens the new life she has worked so hard to build.
Sinking further into an existence defined by murder and betrayal, Clara soon realizes that success often comes at a very high price . . .
FEARLESS
JESSIE KEANE
Two women. One man. Let the fight begin . . .
Josh Flynn is the king of the bare-knuckle gypsy fighters. His reputation is unblemished; his fist a deadly weapon. Claire Milo has always loved Josh – they were destined to be together from the day they met. Two gypsy lovers with their whole lives ahead of them, if only Josh can find a different way of earning a living instead of knocking the living daylights out of another man in the boxing ring. One day, she knows something really bad is going to happen. She can feel it . . .
Shauna Everett always wants what she can’t have, and nobody, especially Claire Milo, is going to stand in her way. She’s had her eye on Josh Flynn for years, and she knows just how to get him. If it means playing dirty, then so be it. What has she got to lose?
In a world ruled by violence, crime and backstreet brawls, only one woman will win. But how low is she prepared to go to achieve that goal?
THE EDGE
JESSIE KEANE
If you live on the edge, you may just die on it . . .
With a mind sharper than a razor blade, it was only a matter of time before Ruby Darke fought her way to the top. From humble beginnings she became the queen of London’s retail, but she didn’t get there by obeying the law.
Now, with her son Kit and daughter Daisy finally by her side, she’s ready to start a new chapter in her life but, unknown to all of them, enemies are circling.
There aren’t many who threaten Ruby Darke and live to tell the tale. But this time, she may just have met her match.
THE KNOCK
JESSIE KEANE
For some, being on the wrong side of the law is the safest place to be . . .
Dora O’Brien had a good start in life, but things went bad when she began to mix with the wrong company. Pregnant by her gangster lover, she found herself on the streets and then in the grips of a bent copper called Donny Maguire.
When her daughter Angel is born, Dora is already under the influence of drink and drugs, and handed around to Donny’s mates. Growing up in the shadow of her mother’s abusive relationship, Angel is nothing like her, but when matters turn murderous Angel is forced to grow up fast, and survival becomes the name of the game.
By Jessie Keane
THE ANNIE CARTER NOVELS
Dirty Game
Black Widow
Scarlet Women
Playing Dead
Ruthless
Stay Dead
THE RUBY DARKE NOVELS
Nameless
Lawless
The Edge
OTHER NOVELS
Jail Bird
The Make
Dangerous
Fearless
The Knock
The Manor
First published 2020 by Macmillan
This electronic edition published 2020 by Macmillan
an imprint of Pan Macmillan
The Smithson, 6 Briset Street, London EC1M 5NR
Associated companies throughout the world
www.panmacmillan.com
ISBN 978-1-5098-5504-9
Copyright © Jessie Keane 2020
Cover images © Shutterstock
Author Photo © Alexander James
The right of Jessie Keane to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
Pan Macmillan does not have any control over, or any responsibility for, any author or third-party websites referred to in or on this book.
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