By Kim Cano

All this week, Written Words is publishing excerpts from books by fellow author-members of the Jet and Lei Crime Kindle worlds. Today, you can get a feeling for Kim Cano’s Jet novella, JET – Rescue.

Bangkok, Thailand

Lawan stared at her reflection in the dirty, cracked mirror. Instead of the eyes of a ten-year-old child, innocent and filled with light, hers were despondent, the embodiment of lost hope.

So much had changed in such a short time.

A bouncer came in. “Hurry up!” the heavyset Asian man shouted. “Customers waiting.”

Lawan rose and wordlessly walked to the front of the nightclub, trying not to fall in the high heeled shoes they made her wear. It was difficult to see in the dim, smoke-filled red light, but after a few minutes, her eyes grew accustomed to the gloom.

Rap music thumped loudly as a bevy of young waitresses clad in skimpy vinyl outfits served drinks to the farang — white male tourists who came to Bangkok seeking pleasure. The mama-san stood like a sentry, scanning the crowd. She was old but missed nothing and monitored all the girls’ movements like a hawk.

The ping pong show had just started, and Top Cat, the most popular club in Bangkok’s Nana Plaza, was known for having the best ping pong show in town. Lawan watched as nude young ladies stood on stage, smiling suggestively while performing for the men seated in the audience.

The tourists held their paddles in the air and whistled appreciation, making Lawan uncomfortable. She wished she could disappear but paid close attention to the show, remembering what the mama-san had said when she arrived last week: “Watch and learn, because soon you’ll be up there with them.”

A drunk patron bumped into Lawan, and she lost her balance.

“Sorry,” the man mumbled as he walked past.

Not knowing what he said since she didn’t speak English, Lawan righted herself and resumed watching the show. As she studied the girls on stage, trying to figure out how they did what they did, the mama-san approached.

“Room number two,” she said.

With a heavy heart, Lawan headed to the back of the club and knocked on door number two. A moment later, a balding, obese white man opened the door, and she walked into the mirrored bedroom.

He stood opposite her, sweating profusely and eyeing her like she was a rare jewel. The man reeked of cheap cologne and body odor, and Lawan almost retched.

“You speak English?” he asked.

Lawan had only learned what the mama-san had taught her to say. She was trying to think of the words but was so nervous she couldn’t remember.

“Guess it doesn’t matter,” the man said, removing his pants.

Lawan took off her clothes. She felt nauseous as he pulled her close and groped her, but she pretended to like it, as instructed. They lay on the bed, the man crushing her tiny frame with his weight, and as he violated her, Lawan thought of the place she and her sister, Mayura, used to play together, a verdant valley of rice paddies as far as the eye could see.

About JET – Rescue

Set in Thailand’s seedy underbelly, in Russell Blake’s Jet – Betrayal, Jet rescues a ten-year-old girl named Lawan from Bangkok’s red light district. Jet Rescue explores more of that story from Lawan’s point of view, chronicling her time at the Top Cat Club and her escape with Jet and Matt.

“A heartbreaking tale of human trafficking.” Bestselling author Deborah Brown

“Jet – Rescue is a great companion book to Jet – Betrayal.” Reader and Jet fan, Janet Nelson

About the author

Kim Cano is the author of three women’s fiction novels: A Widow Redefined, On The Inside, and Eighty and Out. Kim has also written a short story collection called For Animal Lovers. 10% of the sale price of that book is donated to the ASPCA® to help homeless pets.

Kim lives in the Chicago suburbs with her husband and cat.

Visit Kim’s website to learn more and sign up to be notified of new releases:

About Amazon Kindle Worlds

Kindle Worlds is an Amazon initiative that allows authors to publish stories set in another author’s fictional universe. The Jet Kindle World is based on the character Jet, created by bestselling author Russell Blake.