Page 133 of The Fire We Make

The quiet authority that followed him into every room.

The pressure that visibly weighed on his shoulders.

Joy had assumed it was the pressure of one day running the firm.

But it was more than that.

Much more.

Not only did it explain the way Ace moved and was treated but it also explained the way he handled her.

The way he seemed to see her and get her. Because he did.

They were the same. Cut from the same twisted cloth.

The realization should’ve unsettled her. Should’ve made her put distance between herself and a man who was clearly more dangerous than she’d allowed herself to believe.

Instead, she wanted him more.

Joy exhaled slowly, dragging a hand over her face.

She would have to be careful if she wanted to keep her identity under wraps.

If Ace was who she suspected, then he wasn’t a man who could be misled or outmaneuvered easily.

She would need to be sharper. More controlled.

Joy’s worrying and reeling were momentarily disrupted by a wave of desire.

They were the same, she thought again.

Perhaps that’s why loneliness fled when he was around and her carefully curated mask slipped without thought.

She’d spent so long hiding in crowded rooms, blending in, becoming what was needed.

But she couldn’t hide from him.

That fact used to unsettle her about him but now, it brought comfort. And not for the first time, she wondered what would happen if she stopped trying to.

Chapter Thirty-Two

The hallway outside the courtroom buzzed with the murmuring voices of passing attorneys with their clients and reporters milling about, waiting for a story.

Ace stood off to the side with Joy, watching as she flipped through her notes for the hundredth time that morning.

Joy looked up and caught his eye. He gave her a reassuring smile that she didn’t return.

“Nervous?” he asked.

She shook her head but Ace saw the truth in her eyes and jittery hands.

“Just making sure everything is in order.”

“It is,” he assured her.

She looked up at him and Ace could see what was really bothering her.

He stepped closer and lowered his voice. “He was put under investigation by Internal Affairs that morning,” he said. “His car was abandoned at a train station and when cops went to his house, they found his suitcase gone along with some of his clothes. Sounds like he’s on the run to me, how about you?”