Chapter 6

Zane sat up and turned away. He grabbed his shorts and pulled them on. He left the room and returned to the kitchen where their coffee still stood on the table. It was cold.

He put their mugs in the microwave and heated them as Hope followed him into the kitchen. She was still naked. She retrieved her panties and put them on. Then she put on her skirt and top and sat at the table.

“Those drugs are low-key stuff but still drugs. That’s where it starts. Kids just want a gentle lift or high and before they know it, they want something stronger. Then they move on to the really bad shit and from there it’s a one-way ticket.”

“I don’t peddle bad shit. Have you never had your share of weed in your life?”

“Who hasn’t tried it? The problem is some people don’t know when to stop. Others can control their need for use of drugs. As I said, it starts with the mild stuff and it’s just downhill from there.”

“You should stop looking at the drugs. I put a lot of poor kids through school. Poor kids that want to go to school but can’t, for whatever reason. I give them a place to stay, I feed them, and I try to give them a better life. They don’t do drugs. I make sure of it. That’s part of the reason I’ve come as far as I have. The kids know what I do for them and they look after me ‘cos that means they’ll get looked after.”

“There are lots of organizations out there that support people like you. Why don’t you go work with one of them, or for one of them?”

“What? Do you think they want to fund me? Help me? I am a queenpin. Do you think they’re going to believe for a moment that I’m not going to use their money for drugs? I probably make more money than they’ll give me anyway. And I use a lot more money to help the kids. That’s why the kids call me ‘Flamingo’”. Why don’t you go ask about

Flamingo and see what you come up with? Not in your police computer but on the streets where you know I’ve been.”

Zane paused as he digested what she had told him. He made a mental note to make inquiries on the streets about a person called ‘Flamingo’.

“So, what are you going to do?” she asked.

“You’re asking me? I’m going to put you away unless you get out of my town. And after tonight, I’d be lying if I told you I want to do that. If what we did here tonight ever gets out, I’m done for. So between us, I’m happy to call it zero-sum for both of us and start over tomorrow. Clean sheet. I forget about tonight and so do you. If ever you get caught, even by me, tonight is off the record. Agree?”

Hope smiled, teasing him, “So does that mean I get to spend the rest of the night between those not so clean sheets on your bed?’

“You slut,” Zane smiled.

“Well, didn’t you enjoy yourself? I’d be lying if I said I didn’t. And if it ends after tonight we may as well make the most of it.”

“Maybe we can talk about that later. You keep sidestepping the issue and not answering me.”

“And you take life too seriously,” she replied simply.

It was his turn to ignore her now, “What I don’t get, is why a queenpin like you placed yourself so clearly in the open, in the frontline. Ringleaders just don’t do that.”

“This is new territory for me. We haven’t even made many inroads yet so my impact and distribution are still small. On a small scale, you don’t worry about being in the open. It’s the best place to be sometimes. If someone hadn’t tipped you off you would never have caught me. It’s not the first time I’ve been so close to the frontline in a new territory.”

“How is it that you keep slipping away without staying caught and being sentenced? That’s one of my biggest questions. It’s allowed you to come this far. How long did we have you arrested for today and you were free at the station beating up my partner?”

“Imagine what he’d say if he saw us now?” Hope smiled shamelessly.

“I think he’d want me to spank your ass until you couldn’t sit for a week,” Zane said.

“I guess he might and, if he did ...,” Hope paused smiling, “I’d gladly let him.”

“Really?” Zane asked his eyebrows arched in surprise. “You like my partner?”

“No,” Hope replied frowning.

“You mean the spanking part is what you’d like?”

“Uh-huh,” she nodded her eyes twinkling at the thought.

“Well, maybe then I should spank you on behalf of him?”

“Big boy threats,” Hope replied with disbelief daring him to live up to his threat. Zane was tempted but resisted. He still wanted to talk.

“So do we have an agreement about tonight? When tomorrow comes it never happened?”

“You should know better than to bargain with a criminal Zane,” Hope replied calmly. “You should know criminals have no honor. What makes you think you can bargain with me and that I’ll remain true to our agreement?”

“I like to believe in the good in people. And I believe that somewhere in your heart there’s good too. That’s what I’m appealing to.”

“And because it’s you, and you’re asking so nicely, I’ll say I agree. But I don’t have control over my life so don’t trust me.”

“What the fuck is that supposed to mean? That sounds like you’re promising something with crossed fingers behind your back.”

“You got that right,” Hope replied. “But I’m not crossing my fingers. Someone else is.”

Zane sighed. “Okay, so between you and me, no-one has to know what happened tonight. It was just you and me. No-one else right?”

“That makes sense.”

“So no-one else is going to know unless we tell them.”

“Something like that,” Hope replied.

Zane sighed. Hope was the most frustrating woman he had ever known. His mind was telling him to arrest her there and then. But she was different. He wanted to believe she was. Wanted to believe she could change, could see reason. But for some reason, she was resisting. He couldn’t understand why, but his gut feeling was telling him there was trouble here. A fire had started and he better put it out quickly or it would burn everything in its path including him, his life, and his career.

“Zane,” Hope said reaching across the table and putting her hand on his. “I like you. I haven’t liked being with anyone for a long time but you’re different. I don’t know why. What I did in the station today, I wouldn’t normally have done. But you, you affect me and I don’t know what it is. It’s an attraction. But I’m trouble. I don’t want to be. I want to be better. You make me want to be better. In the short time since I met you, that’s the truth. But I can’t. I don’t have a choice. I can’t make you promises other than tell you, I’ll do my best. But I have to warn you, you’re better off either arresting me or staying away from me.”

Zane looked at Hope again. “Can you give us tonight? This night? Just you and me?”

“I’ll do my best. I’ll try.”

Zane’s mind screamed for him to run but he couldn’t.

“Well then, let’s use what’s left of tonight.”

“Are you going to spank my ass?”

“Do you want me to?”

“Yes please officer!”

Zane stood and scooped Hope up off her chair. He carried her to the room again and sat down with her in his lap. Then he told her to stand and as she did he pulled her over his lap. Her ass was firm and round and he couldn’t resist spanking it and watching as the red outline of his hand appeared on each cheek as he spanked her enjoying the feel and sound of his hand as it landed on her ass.

When he decided she had enough, he slipped his fingers inside her soaking pussy. He let her get on the bed and they made love again falling asleep in each other’s arms when they were spent.