Playing Dead (45 page)
Authors: Jessie Keane
Benito smiled and shook her hand. ‘She’s beautiful,’ he said to Max.
‘Don’t tell her that, she’s vain enough as it is.’ Max’s eyes were teasing as they caught Annie’s.
Not a serious argument then
, he thought. These two looked to be very much in love. He guessed they sparred a lot, but always made up.
‘Come in, come in. I want to know everything about how you found your family again . . .’
Benito led the way into the monastery grounds, thinking that this was perfect; that he was so happy for his friend. Things had gone full circle for Max Carter and it had all worked out well.
‘I have whisky,’ Benito said to Max, who burst out laughing. He remembered all too well that grim time in hospital, when Benito and his cheap, disgusting whisky were all that kept him sane.
‘
Whisky . . .?
’ asked Annie, puzzled.
‘I’ll explain,’ Max was saying as the monastery gates closed behind them. ‘I’ll explain everything, okay?’
‘Okay,’ she said, and smiled.
To all my friends who help me in all sorts of ways to carry on the business of writing. To Lynne, Steve, Karen, Mandasue, Louise, Judith, Sarah, Wayne, Ryan – and if I’ve missed out anyone else, you know who you are, and thanks.
To the people of Majorca, who answered my seemingly stupid questions with endless patience, and to the girls at the hotel in Cala Bona – thanks for coming over and saying hello and asking me to sign the books. Thanks to John Follain for his excellent and informative
The Last Godfathers,
and to Thomas Reppetto for
American Mafia, a History of Its Rise to Power.
And finally, thanks to all my dedicated fans and friends on Facebook and Twitter, whose kindness and encouragement lifts me every day and who have been clamouring for Annie Carter to stroll back into their lives – well, gang, here she is. Keep those lovely comments coming!
Jessie Keane
is the bestselling author of
Dirty Game
,
Black Widow
,
Jail Bird
and
The Make
.
Scarlet Women
, the third book in the Annie Carter series, shot straight into the
Sunday Times
bestseller list. Jessie lives in Hampshire.
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Dirty Game
Black Widow
Scarlet Women
Jail Bird
The Make
This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © Jessie Keane 2011
Jessie Keane asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN: 978 0 00 732656 3
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
EPub Edition © 2011 ISBN: 9780007332960
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Table of Contents
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
Chapter 50
Chapter 51
Chapter 52
Chapter 53
Chapter 54
Chapter 55
Chapter 56
Chapter 57
Chapter 58
Chapter 59
Chapter 60
Chapter 61
Chapter 62
Chapter 63
Chapter 64
Chapter 65
Chapter 66
Chapter 67
Chapter 68
Chapter 69
Chapter 70
Chapter 71
Chapter 72
Chapter 73
Chapter 74
Chapter 75
Chapter 76
Chapter 77
Chapter 78
Chapter 79
Chapter 80
Chapter 81