by Jessie Keane
Kit glanced around, then pulled her back behind the brick pillar beside the gate and kissed her, long and hard. ‘So the house is sold, but you’ve got nowhere else, not yet?’
‘Not yet, no.’
‘You could move in with me.’ He nuzzled into her neck, making her shiver. ‘I got a nice place. Near Belgravia. You’d like it.’
‘Kit,’ she said, almost laughing. ‘You’re a very bad boy. And I’m on the side of the angels. It couldn’t work.’
Kit shrugged. ‘Hasn’t worked too badly, up to now.’
And that was true. They’d had months of passion, great debates, lots of fun. Weirdly, they suited each other. They had similar intellects, they were both driven. But . . . she couldn’t ignore the fact that they were on opposite sides of the fence.
‘Listen,’ said Romilly, freeing herself from his arms. ‘I have to go.’
‘Meet me tonight. The Italian place. Eight o’clock.’
The little Italian restaurant near London Bridge had become ‘their’ place over the last few months.
‘OK,’ she said, and kissed him again, lightly.
Kit thought that if Rob could see him, right now, falling like a ton of bricks for DI Romilly Kane, then he’d kick his arse. Hard. But right now, he didn’t even care.
‘I think this break will do me good,’ said Romilly. ‘Give me time to think it all over, work out what I want.’
‘And what do you want? Exactly?’ asked Kit.
Romilly grabbed his tie, pulled his head toward hers, and kissed him hard on the lips.
‘You know what?’ she murmured against his mouth. Her eyes danced with teasing light as they gazed into his. ‘I think I’m looking at it.’
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 it 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 brutal 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?
Jessie Keane is a Sunday Times top ten bestselling author. She’s lived both ends of the social spectrum, and her fascination with London’s underworld led her to write Dirty Game, followed by bestsellers Black Widow, Scarlet Women, Jail Bird, The Make, Playing Dead, Nameless, Ruthless, Lawless, Dangerous, Stay Dead and Fearless. Jessie’s books have sold more than 800,000 copies.
She now lives in Hampshire. You can find her on Facebook WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/JESSIEKEANE or Twitter @REALJESSIEKEANE and WWW.JESSIE-KEANE.CO.UK.
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
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
To the team who get me there – you know who you are. And the pals (Steve and Lynne, I’m looking at you!) who make life worthwhile. Special thanks to Louise Marley, who patient
ly explains technology to me while I blunder along in cheerful ignorance. And grateful thanks to Tobias Backer Dirks, SERC Shooting Officer, for the fine details. Any mistakes are mine, not his. And to all my Facebook and Twitter friends and fans who catapult me every time into the top ten Sunday Times bestseller list, thank you, thank you, thank you! Your support means such a lot, guys. Big hugs from me.
First published in 2019 by Macmillan
This electronic edition published 2018 by Macmillan
an imprint of Pan Macmillan
20 New Wharf Road, London N1 9RR
Associated companies throughout the world
www.panmacmillan.com
ISBN 978-1-5098-5496-7
Copyright © Jessie Keane 2019
Cover photography: figure © Colin Thomas;
background © Thomas Erskine / Arcangel
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.
You may not copy, store, distribute, transmit, reproduce or otherwise make available this publication (or any part of it) in any form, or by any means (electronic, digital, optical, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of the publisher. Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
Visit www.panmacmillan.com to read more about all our books and to buy them. You will also find features, author interviews and news of any author events, and you can sign up for e-newsletters so that you’re always first to hear about our new releases.