Page 73 of The Fire We Make

Ace shook his head, a smirk playing at his lips.

Von stood outside with a blunt between his fingers and a gun tucked into his jeans. His long locs covered his face but Joy could see the scowl peeking through. Wordlessly, he dapped Ace up. He looked Joy up and down and she returned his scrutinous stare.

“I thought you didn’t work for the firm,” Joy questioned.

Von’s scowl deepened and Joy was sure he was going to ignore her before he answered. “I don’t. I own this property ma.”

“Oh? You own a property that’s used as a stash house?”

“Your landlord keep tabs on what you do in your shit?”

Joy silently conceded that point but her narrowed gaze didn’t leave Von as they headed inside.

Jovon King wasn’t listed on the paperwork as the owner. It was a shell company owned by a shell company owned by a shell company weaving a path that led nowhere.

Joy saw now that was intentional.

From a few paces behind, Joy sensed the room still when Ace and Von walked in. Conversations stalled, movements ceased and eyes shifted between the two men, nerves apparent. The way they greeted Von but stiffened when Ace neared was clear to Joy that they held him in high regard, a fact she found odd even for the man that keeps them out of jail.

“Where’s Curtis?” Ace boomed. All of the soldiers stopped and pointed towards the back of the warehouse.

Ace nodded and motioned for Joy to follow.

Without knocking, he opened the single wooden door, revealing an office. Curtis sat behind the desk with his feet kicked up and his phone playing TikTok videos at full volume. He looked up, his expression saying that he was prepared to cuss out whoever had interrupted him but the words died on his lips and his eyes bulged when he saw Ace. Instead, he locked his phone screen and sat up straight.

He moved to stand but Ace silently held a hand up halting his movements.

“Oh, hey Ace,” he said, his eyes shifting nervously from Ace’s face, to Joy’s, and behind them.

“What’s good Curtis?” Ace replied.

“My bad, I know I was supposed to call you back. Shit been busy. You know how it is.” Curtis offered what Joy assumed was supposed to be a cool smile but ended up looking like a grimace instead.

“Yeah,” Ace replied coolly. “I know how it is. You don’t look too busy right now though so how about we chop it up, then we’ll be out of your hair.”

Ace worded the statement as a request but his tone and the look in his eyes let Curtis know that he wasn’t asking. Acquiescing, Curtis nodded.

Ace slammed the door shut and leaned against it and Joy could’ve sworn she saw Curtis flinch. Joy dragged the only other chair in the small office and sat gingerly on the edge of it.

“Look I don’t know nothing about nothing,” Curtis said immediately, holding his hands up.

“We just have a few questions about the day of the raid. We need a little help aligning some things so we can get Blue out. Feel me?” Ace said, leaning forward, his elbows resting on his knees.

Curtis nodded. “Fasho.”

“It looks like the cameras that are kept at the warehouse didn’t capture anything from the hours leading up to and following the raid. Did you notify anyone of the malfunction?” Joy asked.

Curtis turned to her. “Uh nah. I don’t really check the cameras like that.”

“Forgive my ignorance. Is that not a part of your job description?”

His eyes hardened on her, catching the indirect accusation.

“I mean kinda but we usually don’t have any issues.”

“Hm,” Joy hummed, pretending to write in her notebook.

Ace spoke up then. “The alleged evidence the cops seized was logged into the system before the raid. Did you notice anything missing when you did your counts?” he asked.