Page 75 of The Fire We Make

“I don’t take kindly to liars,” he countered, mocking her southern accent.

Joy grinned. Von’s rough, no nonsense attitude reminded her of Glock. Under different circumstances, she might’ve liked him. “You have a good day, hear?”

“I will.”

Joy snorted and walked out the way she’d come.

Curtis stood in the hallway staring her down with anger in his eyes.

“Thank you for your cooperation, Curtis,” she said.

He scoffed and waved her off. “Yeah whatever, just get the fuck out bitch.”

Joy opened her mouth to speak but Ace’s deep voice and swift hand popping Curtis in the mouth beat her to the punch.

“I don’t like repeating myself, Curtis. Watch how you talk to her or you and I will have an issue,” Ace warned.

Curtis immediately piped down, rubbing the sting from his mouth. “My bad, man.”

Ace glared him down for a moment, then with a hand on the small of Joy’s back, guided them out of the warehouse and back to the car.

Joy spent the entire walk to the car trying to calm herself down but all she heard was the ringing in her ears and her father’s voice in her head, reprimanding her for accepting such disrespect.

Joy’s hands had joined the twitch in her eye and by the time they reached Ray and the car, she’d barely gotten a harness on her anger.

Ace waited beside the door for her to slide in first but when she went to do so, she realized she didn’t have her notebook or pen.

“Shit I left something inside. I’ll be right back,” she said quickly. Her blood still had a low hum beneath her skin and she wasn’t looking forward to seeing that man again.

“What’d you leave? I can get it for you,” Ace offered.

“I got it,” Joy declined, then turned and headed back in the direction of the building.

She went back to the door and knocked, waiting impatiently for Curtis to open it. When he swung the door open, he had a 40 in his hand and an even deeper scowl on his face.

“The fuck you want? Came back to put more words in my mouth?” he snapped.

Joy took a deep breath and thought peaceful thoughts before responding.

“No, I left my notes on your desk. Would it be okay if I came in to get it?” Joy asked. She injected as much diplomacy into her tone as she could muster.

He stared at her a moment, a predatory glint in his eyes before he stepped aside and let her enter.

She quickly located her belongings and was halfway to the open door when his voice halted her.

“You need to watch that big ass mouth before I put something in it. Hoes like you don’t know your place.”

Joy stilled and she didn’t fight the onslaught of anger pulsing through her.

She turned slowly on her heels.

“Fuck you say to me?” she asked, dropping the items she’d come to retrieve on the floor.

“You heard me,” Curtis replied defiantly, taking another swing of his drink.

Joy took several steps forward until she closed the space between them.

“I want you to try that shit pussy ass nigga,” Joy challenged. All diplomacy was gone from her tone and her stance had become defensive.