Page 214 of The Fire We Make

“Uh yes I do mind. That’s my fucking fiancé.”

Ace turned at that. His body never moved but his head rotated with an agonizing slowness to face Jermaine like a possessed doll.

“Excuse me?”

Jermaine puffed his chest out, foolishly mistaking Ace’s surprise for weakness.

“Yeah we⁠—”

Ace stepped across the room to Jermaine in two strides and his gun was at the man’s temple before he could finish his sentence.

Jermaine’s security tried to intervene but Von and Ray trained their guns on them, halting their movements.

Ace pressed the barrel more firmly against Jermaine’s head.

“She’s not your anything,” Ace said, his eyes dark and his voice threateningly low. “She’s mine. Let’s be clear on that.”

Jermaine’s eyes widened. “Joy, who is this?” he asked.

“Better,” she smirked.

Fury lit his eyes and she was sure if Ace’s gun wasn’t trained at his head, she’d have caught a fist to her mouth for the quip.

“Adonis,” Joy said.

“What?” he snapped, turning to her with his gun still at Jermaine’s head.

“Put the gun down.”

Ace scoffed. “You got some motherfuckin nerve asking me to spare this niggas life. This why you left me? So you can come home to your nigga?”

Joy reeled back. “Of course not. You’re the only one I want to be with.”

“Aye don’t let her treacherous ass sweet talk you big bruh. Put that nigga down and snatch her ass up so we can go. It’s hot as a fuck down here,” Von griped.

Joy smiled. “Hi Von.”

“Don’t ‘hi Von’ me Jane. You wrong as hell and you know it.”

Joy huffed and turned her attention back to Ace who still had his gun trained to Jermaine’s head.

She put her hand on his arm and lowered the gun herself. “I don’t give a damn about his life but if anyone is gonna kill him, it’s gonna be me.”

Jermaine scoffed. “Same old Joy. Byron I thought you said you had her under control.”

Joy’s eyes ballooned at that. She wasn’t sure why she was so shocked.

“Joy…” Byron started, tension evident in his shoulders and the set of his jaw. “That’s enough. I don’t know what you were up there doing in New York but tell your friend to leave. We have business to finish and I don’t have time right for these games.”

Neither Joy or Ace acknowledged him, their eyes catching again.

“I came all the way down to this humid ass city to get you, Rose. You gon’ stand there and stare or you gon’ give me a kiss?”

“This is enough, Joy,” Byron barked. “You had your fun in New York but now it’s time to do your duty to this organization. To this family.”

“Would you shut yo old ass up?” Von snapped. “My brother trying to be romantic and shit.”

Ace scoffed. “Some family this is.” He turned to her, gripping her chin to force her eyes to meet his.