Page 158 of The Fire We Make

Von scoffed. “No deal,” he said dryly

Jrue pushed off the wall he’d been leaning on, scratching his beard. “You know Ms. Thibodeaux, you seem very combative for a woman who was involved in a shootout less than 24 hours ago,” he said.

Joy met his eyes with a blank gaze. “Is there a question in there?” she asked with a monotone.

The room stilled and everyone grew quiet as they let Jrue take over.

“Who are you?” he asked.

“I don't think I understand the question,” she said. Her face was void of all emotion.

Five pairs of hard eyes, varying in shades of hazel, pinned her but she didn’t fold. She didn’t wither. She met each pair with defiance and indifference.

Ace was eyeing Joy warily. Her voice and face were devoid of emotion or life. Her tone was monotonous, sounding almost robotic. Her expression was tense and blank, like she was only halfway present.

The woman before them all wasn’t his Rose. This was the version of herself she erected for protection.

“I got ways of making niggas understand,” Jovon proclaimed. Ace eyed him, urging him to stand down.

Joy smirked. "Is that right?”

“It’s a motherfuckin’ fact.”

She turned her head to look up at Ace. “Out of respect for you and April, I’m gonna need you to keep your brother out my face before he gets hurt.”

“Is that a threat?” Von spat.

Without looking away from Ace, Joy answered, “It’s a warning. We can talk, but if he triggers me, I can’t guarantee I won’t kill him and even though he keeps coming at me sideways, I really don’t want to.”

The silence was so thick, you could hear a pin drop in the room. No one knew how to take her bold declaration. Narrowing his eyes, Ace could see the sincerity in her. She was fully capable of killing Von and genuinely didn’t want to.

“You know what we’re asking Rose,” Ace said quietly. “I know enough to put two and two together but we need you to say it. Who are you?”

They’d only scratched the surface of who and what she was the night before. She’d painted the picture and Ace used his context clues but what he needed now was the details of who exactly he’d let in their midst, their business, and under his skin.

“The fuck?” Von exclaimed. “So nobody else heard this bitch say she’d kill me? Why is she even still breathing? Ace, you've smoked a nigga for much less.”

No one spoke or made eye contact at that. Everyone knew it was the truth and it became abundantly clear, if it wasn’t already, that Ace’s affection for Joy had made him lenient.

Ace ignored his brother’s protests.

“My name really is Joy Thibodeaux,” Joy said. “My dad is the head of the Thibodeaux Cartel in Texas.”

Von released a chuckle. “I fucking knew it. Your pops sent you here?”

Joy shook her head. “No. They don’t know where I am. At least I don't think so. I came here on my own.”

“Why?” Jrue asked.

Joy sighed. “I got kicked out and didn't have anywhere else to go. My dad said go far away and I figured it wasn't much further than New York.”

“Kicked out of your house or kicked out of the Cartel?” Jrue asked.

“Both.”

“Why?”

Joy chuckled humorlessly. “That’s a complicated question.”