Page 63 of The Fire We Make

“Mr. King,” the man drawled, his expression a mixture of amusement and too much hatred for a man he’d never met.

Ace looked him up and down. “Do I know you?”

The man pushed off the wall, taking a step closer. “I don’t believe we’ve had the pleasure of meeting yet. But I heard you were in the building and I thought it was only right to introduce myself being that I know so much about you.”

He removed his hands from his pockets. “District Attorney Elliot Young,” he said, extending a hand.

Ace looked down at it and chuckled, crossing his arms over his chest. “What is it you think you know about me, District Attorney Elliot Young?”

Elliot chuckled back, unmoved by the snub. “Lots of things,” he shrugged, taking another step closer. “But here’s something you should know about me. I have a vested interest in putting your family’s reign of terror to an end and I won’t stop until you and your entire family are behind bars.”

Ace let a slow grin cross his face. “Is that right?”

Elliot nodded once before his eyes flicked to the closed office door over Ace’s shoulder.

“It was nice meeting you, Mr. King.”

Ace moved around him, bumping his shoulder in the process. “I wish I could say the same.”

Chapter Seventeen

When Joy heard the whirring of the custodial staff’s cleaning tools, she knew she’d been at the office too long. A quick glance at the time in the corner of her computer screen confirmed it.

7:57pm

The sun had long since retired for the night but Joy was still working. Truthfully, she’d been done with all of her tasks for the day at 6pm but Mel was out of town and nothing about going back to the empty apartment sounded appealing so she stayed.

She used the alone time to formulate her plan based on Glock’s reports and the resources she now had at her disposal. She ripped the pages out of her legal pad that housed the notes she took about the political and business associates the Kings had and stuffed them in her purse. Beside each name was a problem her organization was having that a connection with them could help solve.

Ports, law enforcement, real estate, taxes.

“If you come to me with problems, I’m coming to you with a bullet. Bring me solutions,” her father had preached to her and the soldiers.

She’d heard about the elder Kings’ anniversary party coming up and that it was considered a grand affair with lawyers, politicians, and businessmen from across the country set to be in attendance. Joy figured that would be the best time to make some contacts and wanted to be prepared.

With a deep sigh she stood and gathered up the copies she’d made of her work earlier. She’d leave them on Ace’s desk for him to see in the morning then she’d drag herself home.

Joy hated to admit it but she was lonely. The only thing her father couldn’t train out of her was her desire for companionship. Luckily, she’d had Glock and her soldiers and even Jermaine when he wasn’t being an asshole. Now, it felt like she had no one. Mel and Glock both tiptoed around her, both trying to change her into a version she no longer was or would never be.

This is your penance, she reminded herself. The sooner she became normal, the sooner she could go home and be released from this purgatory.

The halls were empty and dimly lit. The building was almost eerily silent with everyone having left hours prior. With Jessica gone, she walked right past the reception desk and pushed the door to Ace’s office open.

“Oh!” Joy startled, taking a step back.

Ace sat in his chair with his suit jacket discarded and his tie loosened. His eyes, the same color as the scotch he was sipping on, looked up from his computer screen to meet hers.

“Sorry, I thought you were gone,” she apologized, hovering in the doorway.

Ace just stretched his full lips in a grin. “You good. Come in,” he waved her inside.

Ignoring the way his face lit up when he saw her, Joy walked deeper into the office with the folder in her hand. “I was just going to leave these here for you. They’re copies of all of the motions I filed with the court. They’re time stamped in case anyone tries anything funny.”

Ace accepted the folder and placed it on his desk. “‘Preciate you, Rose. Have a seat.”

Part of her said she should drop the files and leave but the other part, the part that didn’t want to go home alone and was becoming increasingly more intrigued by Ace, sent the message from her brain to her limbs to do as he said.

“What are you still doing here?” Joy asked, lowering into the seat across from him. When she crossed one leg over the other, her dress rode up, revealing more of her thighs. She smirked watching Ace fight not to zero in on the movement.