Page 211 of The Fire We Make

Ace and Alfonso settled across from each other beneath the poolside Cabana. Ace had dressed down in a short sleeved button down and trousers but the sun still beat down on him.

“What can I do for you?” Alfonso asked once they had drinks and a plate of fruit between them. He placed a cigar between his lips and crossed one leg over the other.

“I’m looking for a Black cartel out of Texas and all of my east coast contacts have come up empty. With your connections in the south, I’m hoping you can help,” Ace replied.

“The biggest Black cartel I know out of Texas are the Thibodeauxs.”

Ace nodded. “Yeah…You know where I can find them?”

Alfonso tilted his head. “What you want with them? I’m not taking sides in a war, the Thibodeauxs have been good to me.”

Ace shook his head. “No war. They have someone that belongs to me and I need to know where to find her. Quickly.”

Alfonso’s brow raised. “Her? Since when do you have a woman?”

“It’s… new.”

“Who is she? Not too many women in the Thibodeaux Cartel.”

“Joy.”

“Joy Thibodeaux? You’re with that pretty demon?” A disbelieving chuckle burst from his lips.

“You know her?” Ace asked.

“She’s quite infamous down here,” Alfonso said, shaking his head. His voice lowered then, like he thought she would pop out of the bushes. “I heard she cut a man’s hand off, you know.”

Ace couldn't help the smirk that curved his lips. The wide eyed look on Alfonso’s face brought pride to Ace’s chest.

His rose inspired fear in men similar to his own and he loved that about her.

“Yes I heard,” he answered proudly.

Alfonso chuckled, taking a puff of his cigar. “How ‘bout that? I guess it makes sense. The demon and the menace.”

“Do you know where to find her or no? I know they're in Houston, I just don't know where,” Ace said, anxious for answers.

“I don’t think I like the idea of two of my allies forming such an alliance,” he added before Ace could take the paper.

Ace’s jaw clenched and his hands followed suit. He didn’t like the idea of what he had with Joy being reduced to such a degree.

“That’s not what this is,” he said through gritted teeth. “And I don’t recall asking for your permission. Can you help me or not?”

Alfonso pulled at the hair on his chin. “What’s in it for me?”

Living to see another day, Ace wanted to say. But, if he killed the man, he’d be back to square one and time wasn’t on his side.

“What do you want?”

Alfonso shrugged. “I don’t know yet. But a favor of my choosing in the future will suffice.”

Ace exhaled roughly. If he knew Alfonso, he knew agreeing to this would be like writing a blank check. Yet, for Joy, he didn’t think twice about holding his hand out.

“Deal.”

A Cheshire smile spread across Alfonso’s face before he took Ace’s hand and shook it.

He leaned forward and motioned for the guard hovering nearby. Without a word, the looming man produced a sheet of paper and a pen. “They do business out of Galveston. That’s where their ports are but they have a trucking business based downtown as a front. That’s where their office is.”