One Week Ch. 05 Second Edition

Note from the author; I originally published this on Kindle last year. I'd been given the chance to write a crime novel and used the opportunity to write and edit the One Week Collection as part of my training for that. As I geared up to write a sequel to that novel, I realised that I wasn't done with the One Week world and so dived back in. It's a big part of me and the first thing I wrote that made me believe that I could write. I've had so much positive correspondence about the series and so many pleas to make it available again that I felt I should put Part 5 on the website that started my journey. Part 6 will become available if folks want it.

I've also added the Kindle edition of Part One as there are many ideas, characters and character traits that may be unfamiliar to you if you've not read it. Feel free to start at whichever point you want!

I hope you enjoy the story as much as I enjoyed writing it!

*

One Week; Part 5

By Louise Nichols

Prologue

We stepped out of the taxi to wolf whistles and cat calls and I pulled the faux fur jacket tighter around my skimpy dress. I wore a shimmering silver dress with thin straps and plunging neckline that showed virtually all of my breasts. I wasn't wearing a bra and felt my still sensitive nipples harden in the chill. The dress barely covered my arse cheeks and I felt self-conscious as the wind whipped at the light material, exposing more of myself than I'd like.

I wore my make-up slutty and my newly dyed red hair loose around my shoulders. I'd removed all of my expensive jewellery and replaced my beloved wedding ring with a cheap imitation. On my feet I wore sandals with a six inch heel and plastic see through platforms on the sole.

I was dressed as a stripper might and so was my dear wife. She stepped from the taxi in a matching outfit and, as she looped her arm through mine to walk into the strip club, we garnered the attention of those waiting in line to get in. They assumed we were there to work and showed their appreciation.

On the one hand, I enjoyed the attention, but the nerves I felt at the task we were to undertake gave me a restless disquiet that I couldn't shake. Looking at Jade, I saw the same unease in the set of her shoulders and the grimace on her face.

I gave her a reassuring look as she fussed with her hair. She was stunning. The most beautiful woman I'd ever known, both in body and spirit. She didn't have to be here. This was my mess and she wasn't a part of it, but she insisted. We'd only been married for two days and she would not leave my side.

"Brighten up love," came a voice that I'd learned to hate. Emma stepped from the passenger seat of the car and paid the driver, who sped off to find his next fare. She was a beautiful woman but, whilst Jade's beauty came from her warmth, openness and fire, Emma's was all ice, cool and detached.

She had long blonde hair and dressed in a tight fitting business suit that attenuated her large breasts and thin waist. She wore heels, but couldn't match the ones we were in and so looked up to us both as she spoke.

"I'm told your kind love this sort of thing. You'll be fine." I wanted to reach over and slap her. Unfortunately, Master Leung had taught us self-control and I pictured his disappointed face as I radiated loathing in her direction. Breaking her out of jail had been tough and undermined all of my hard work. To me she still had a debt to pay and I would collect. Ignoring her goading comment, I gave her a cool stare.

"You have a role to play as well. Make sure you do it well or you'll find yourself back in jail," I replied as we made our way to the large doorway set into a building just off Leicester Square. It had been newly erected as a tower of flats several years ago, but the owner had bought the entire building and converted it to his own needs. The building held no signs or indication that there was ever a club there, burly bouncers and queuing pundits the only obvious sign. If you had to ask, you weren't invited. Emma smirked at my retort.

"And you'll be joining me there Louise darling, remember that. Maybe you'll be my bitch." Jade gave a snort of derision as our heels clicked on the pavement, the cold wind chilling our exposed legs and ruffling the fur of our jackets. She gripped my arm tightly as Emma spoke quietly to the large bouncer at the door.

Even in our heels, he towered above us and seemed to be made from granite. A slab of muscle, though his eyes were keen and radiated an intelligence that belied his looks. He looked searchingly at us and then Emma as she spoke. Eventually, he nodded and beckoned us to step past and into the club. Emma gave a triumphant smile as we walked in.

The club was quiet, the only sounds the clink of bottles as they were stacked quickly and efficiently into fridges. Various waitresses moved quickly past, making sure preparations were made for opening. They were all stunning and dressed in similar garb to ours. They paid us scant heed as we walked past.

Coming through the entrance, the club opened out into a spacious area with a large dance floor and a stage set in the middle, running to a room at the back. The middle of the stage held a pole and various stools were set around the edge. Large, plush booths occupied the side areas, dimly lit to comfort the patrons.

Several hallways branched off from the main room, leading to private areas and other bar rooms. A large bar filled one side of the club, backed by a huge mirror. The room was full of mirrors and purple lighting.

At the bar sat several men, the largest of which beckoned us over. He was huge, bigger than the bouncer outside and I gulped nervously. If this went wrong, the three of us were in serious trouble. He wore a sleeveless vest over his jeans that showed thick muscular arms covered in tattoos. I recognised a few of the insignias and had my worst fears confirmed.

He was Russian mafia and his accent cut through the chatter of the surrounding men. They all wore black and had intimidating stares. Several bore hideous scars and mottled faces, years of brutality reflecting in their countenance.

Emma stepped up to the large man and greeted him warmly.

"Dmitri," she said with genuine affection in her voice. He reached a meaty fist around each shoulder and kissed her on both cheeks, a large smile splitting his face to reveal blackened teeth.

"Well if it isn't our favourite lady of the law!" he cried. His friends gave approving grunts and sipped their drinks, eyeing us openly and making me fidget in my coat. It was hot, so shrugged it from my shoulders, the air conditioning cooling my skin instantly.

Dmitri cocked his head, almost like a predator, and gazed at us both with a blank expression. "Who are these?" he asked. Emma's smile broadened even further.

"You may have heard that I am somewhat..." Dmitri gave her an evil smile and finished the sentence for her.

"Disgraced! Outcast! Shunned by people with any sense of self-respect and morality!" I smiled, despite myself and Dmitri gave me a good natured wink. Emma gave an elegant shrug of her shoulders and held her palms open.

"As ever, Dmitri, you have a way with words. I am left with very little. I have skills though and a knowledge of the law. I come to you with my hat in my hands and ask for work. On your terms. I am sure that, over time, I may prove useful and that you may be glad of my work and assistance." Silence settled around the men. A tension filled the space as Dmitri glared at Emma, daring her to expose the lie. He nodded at Jade and myself.

"And these?" he asked. Emma gave us a callous look.

"I said that I would find them work. I see how you look at them. They are beautiful are they not?" Dmitri stood up and walked over to Jade, towering above her. She met his gaze and gave him her most dazzling smile. The kind that sends flutters through my body. He grunted appreciatively and stepped over to me. Without warning, he took my left breast in his hand and squeezed it.

"Speak," he commanded.

"A pleasure to meet you Dmitri," I said, hiding the nerves in my voice. He frowned and moved his hand down my dress. His rough skin scraping against the shimmering material. Reaching below my dress, he reached up and felt my restrained cock.

Every fibre of my body screamed out in a flight or fight response, but I held myself in check. There was too much riding on this. I felt Jade stiffen beside me, ready to act. I shook my head gently and looked at Dmitri with a cool gaze. He grunted and, still cupping my cock, he spoke to Emma, his eyes never leaving mine.

"They trained?" he asked. Emma nodded.

"Exceptionally well. They can sing and dance, cook and clean. You'll fetch a high price for them. More as a pair. Bless them, they are rather taken with each other." Dmitri chuckled and directed his next question at me.

"Why you want to work here?" I gave him a heartbroken smile, an easy task as an image of Jackie flashed through my head. I reached out and took Jade's hand.

"We have nothing. No friends, no family and no money. We only have each other and the clothes on our back. Emma said that she would help us find work." He nodded, bringing his face closer to mine, his alcohol fueled breath stinging my eyes.

"You have me now," he said, his deep voice filled with menace. "If you can dance. Show me." He nodded his head to the barman, who reached under the bar and started some music, the deep base filling the room.

Dmitri stepped back as Jade and I walked to the stage, taking the steps as sexily as we could. As we walked, Jade shrugged off her coat and I could see the change in her. She glanced sideways and winked. Together, we could do anything. She started to strut and I followed, exuding sex as we walked to the end of the stage. Throwing her coat to the floor, Jade grabbed the pole and swung round, reaching for my hand as she completed the circle.

Here goes, I thought and grabbed her hand.

Chapter 1

Jade was furious. Anger mottled her cheeks as she focused her rage on Guy. It was the evening after our wedding and we were meant to be on a flight to St Lucia. Instead we were at our home in London. To add insult to injury, Emma was in our house.

Jackie's house.

She looked grey and wan, a shadow of her former self. She was dressed in a baggy jumper and loose fitting jeans, a pale imitation of the power dressing, confidant woman that she once was. She toyed nervously with her hair as Jade raged and I realised that prison had broken her in some way. I felt little sympathy, the pain of losing Jackie was still raw almost a year later.

"You have no right," screamed Jade, jabbing her finger furiously at Guy. She was dressed in a long cotton maxi dress that she had picked for the flight to our honeymoon. It showed her wondrous cleavage and hugged her figure in all of the right places. She'd put it on before I'd told her about my visitor the previous day. He'd arrived just as we were about to get married and I'd not wanted to spoil our wedding day with bad news.

I still wore the satin baby doll I'd bought for our wedding night. It had an ivory sheen and cupped my breasts tightly in its sensual embrace, clinging to my stomach and flaring out slightly just after the hips. Over this, I wore a matching dressing gown that I'd left untied. I wore my wedding shoes from the day before, loving them too much to not wear them as often as possible.

I noticed Guy giving furtive glances to my chest and legs and filed that away for future use, sipping some orange juice as I let Jade give full vent to her feelings.

"You have no evidence, merely circumstantial coincidence. None of this would hold up in a court and you bloody well know it." Guy raised his hands in a placatory gesture and indicated the room that we were in. It was the main study and was plushy decorated with oak furniture, a deep carpet and walls lined with old and valuable law texts, some as old as the constitution and encased in glass cabinets set tastefully into alcoves between the shelves.

"This house, your inheritance, the charity work you are both involved in? All of it will go, taken by the state. There's enough for a court case and enough evidence to at least smear Louise and make it difficult for her to get involved in any kind of charity work again, let alone walk down the street and not be harassed by every Joe Public for being a man in a dress."

He spoke softly, his deep voice carrying easily in the large room. He was tall and dressed in a well-tailored suit that was designed to show his broad shoulders and narrow waist. He was handsome in an American Jock kind of way and I imagined that he found female company easy to come by. His words, however sent Jade into a further rage and she lunged at him as if to rake his face with her perfectly manicured hands.

"That's enough," I snapped, tired of their bickering. They'd been at it for an hour and I wanted to move on. I set my glass down on a slate carved place mat and made them both sit down. Jade, my stunningly beautiful wife, threw herself in a seat and glowered at Guy, her arms tightly folded against her chest. It pushed her breasts out and, even in her anger, I felt the stirrings of lust stretching at my satin knickers.

Pushing such thoughts aside, I turned to Guy who'd had the temerity to sit in the main work chair behind the desk. I'd not been able to sit in it since Jackie had died and sat on the client's side of the desk to do my work.

"I'm not interested in dragging Jackie's name through the mud. Or in losing her family's money. Certainly not to your government. There will be no court case and that's the bottom line. I don't care about me and I defy any man or woman to tell me what I can and can't wear in public." I stared hard at Guy, his grey eyes unreadable in the fading light of the day.

"You play the tranny card with me again and I'll break you. For a start, it's not what I am. Is that clear?"

He made to protest and thought better of it before agreeing with a curt nod. "You threaten Jackie's name and I will also break you. I carry on with her work and her legacy because she asked me too. All this?" I waved at the room around me, indicating the wealth and privileges I'd inherited. "Means nothing. My wife, Jackie's legacy and my right to be who I am is what's important. Fuck with that and what I did to Emma will seem like child's play."

Emma flinched as I spoke, retreating further into her chair. A long silence settled over the room as Guy considered my words, steepling his hands under his chin as he did so. Eventually, he spoke.

"Do as we ask and we will mention no more of this. We wish to avoid any embarrassment to yourselves as much as you do."

"And what happens when we're done here?" asked Jade, her voiced laced with contempt. "What then? You ask us to do more work for you? Threaten us with jail time again?" Guy shrugged.

"That is not for me to decide. Besides, we threatened Louise with jail time. You were in a coma, I believe, when she rather hilariously framed Emma here for running a snuff movie porn industry from her own home." He grinned as he spoke and Jade bit back a smirk. Emma remained silent as Guy continued to speak.

"We're after a man named Dmitri. He's a trafficker. Drugs, weapons and people. There's nothing he won't get his hands on. Runs a club in Soho where folks such as yourself work." As he spoke, I sat in the seat next to Jade, smoothing the hem of my baby doll under me and crossing my legs to stop his roving eyes from finding my knickers.

"We sent in an undercover agent, but he's disappeared. We have no idea where he's gone or if he's alive." He shrugged in helplessness and I saw the pain that it caused him. I felt a pang of sympathy for him.

"Thing is," he continued. "He wasn't a...?" Jade smiled as he struggled for words.

"Tranny? Cross-dresser? Drag Queen? Transsexual? Enough with the labels hun, you won't find us using them here." I loved her just a little bit more then and was amazed to find it possible. She waved for Guy to carry on.

"We think he has them work at his club and stay there. Once they are taken in, they don't leave that place, sleeping upstairs and working all day. They're not allowed to leave the club. We assume because he stores his goods there too, but we can't get in to find out."

"Warrant?" Jade asked, her criminal law background kicking in, despite herself. Guy scowled.

"Not enough hard evidence to get one. Thing is, these girls eventually disappear and they tend to be the prettiest ones. The ones that get the most tips and attention. We think he sells them to the highest bidder."

"Entrapment won't work," Jade said. "Not in this country. You can't pull a sting like this." Guy nodded in agreement.

"That's why you two are perfect. You're both stunning so will be sold quickly and are not on our books. You can tip us off before the sale and we can use that to gain entry and catch him in the act. As far as the law is concerned, you were two simple folk caught up in bad business."

"You're not Scotland Yard are you?" Emma's voice cut through the room like a vice. She'd realised now why she was out of jail. "Dmitri is Russian and probably sells his women to the East as that's where most of his contacts are, so you're not MI5. That puts you as SIS working on home soil. That won't make you any friends in Whitehall if this goes wrong. You need me to introduce these two to Dmitri and get them into the club."

She seemed to grow as she spoke, feeding off the knowledge that she was now invaluable. I could see her mind whirr into action as she evaluated all possibilities.

"How the Hell do you know him?!" Jade asked in disbelief. She then waved an elegant hand in Emma's direction, dismissing her. "Actually, don't tell me, I don't want to know." Guy spoke over Jade as she finished her sentence, clearly in a hurry.

"Do we have an accord? If I'm going to find out what happened to my agent, it needs to happen now." I could see how desperate he was and this made him dangerous. He'd do anything to rescue his agent. Jade gave him a hard stare before turning to me. Her look let me know that she would support me whatever I chose and I loved her completely. I shrugged and turned to Guy.

"Your plan needs some work, but we're in."

Chapter 2

We worked through the specifics for an hour and then dismissed Guy. We wanted one last night alone. Emma hung back as he left and turned to me with a pleading voice.

"I have nowhere to go," she said. "Please can I stay here?" I gave a snort of derision and pointed to the door as I fetched a fiver from my purse.

"Bus stop is down the road. Your parole officer is waiting for you on the other side of town. He'll show you to your halfway house." I gave her the money and wrapped my satin gown tightly round my waist as the cool air wafted through the open door. As she left, Jade closed the door behind her and turned to me, gently taking my hands and wrapping them round her waist, drawing me into her embrace.

"You need to let go of your anger," she said softly. "She is not worth it and Jackie wouldn't want it." I held back a sob, mainly of anger but also of grief. I'd thought I'd had closure over her death, but seeing Emma in Jackie's home brought it back. "This isn't you," continued Jade. "This isn't the Louise I fell in love with and married."

She kissed me deeply and I felt myself begin to stir as she stroked the soft ivory satin of my wedding night baby doll. She had a way of making me forget my troubles and I melted into her kiss, our lipsticks mingling with each other. After a while, she withdrew the kiss and grabbed my hand, leading me to the stairs.

"Come on," she said. "I've been checking out the club on their website and it's a retro themed night tonight. I have an idea that may mean we don't have to go through with this plan."