Chapter 17 #2
She rounded the desk and spread the enlarged images out on the surface in front of Ace.
She stepped behind him, leaning over his shoulder as she pointed out elements in the photos but Ace couldn’t focus.
Regret filled him as he felt her warm breath on his neck and her sweet cherry scent tickled his nose.
I should have invested in a projector screen, he thought.
His senses were going haywire at having such close contact with her again and he felt like a teenage boy. At the soft brush of her breasts on his shoulder as she leaned over further, Ace felt his dick harden. He did his best to shake off the lust clouding his brain and focus on what she was saying.
“… and you see here? This evidence was logged a whole hour before the raid.”
Ace tuned back in at the tail end of Joy’s explanation of her findings but one look at the document her long red nails were pointing to, told him everything he needed to know.
Ace’s brows pulled together. “That don’t make sense.”
“It doesn’t,” Joy agreed. “Evidence isn’t supposed to be processed until after it’s collected. At minimum, it should be logged at the scene or when it’s brought into evidence—not before the operation even happens.”
She slid another photo in front of him.
“And this,” she continued, leaning closer. “The warrant timestamp.”
Ace glanced down. “What about it?”
“It was signed at 3:12 p.m.,” she said. “But the raid report says they breached at 3:15.”
“So?”
Joy straightened slightly, folding her arms.
“So that’s a three-minute window,” she said. “Three minutes for a judge to sign off, for the team to mobilize, and for them to execute a coordinated raid?”
Ace’s expression darkened.
“…Nah.”
“Exactly,” Joy nodded. “That kind of turnaround doesn’t happen unless everything was already in place.”
She slid a third document forward.
“And this is where it gets weird.”
Ace leaned in, more focused now.
“The evidence log lists items that weren’t even visible in the body cam footage,” she said. “Specifically this weapon.” She pointed. “It doesn’t appear until after the suspect is already detained.”
Ace’s jaw tightened.
“You saying they planted it?”
“I’m saying,” Joy replied carefully, “it didn’t come from where they said it did.”
Silence stretched as she tapped the corner of the page.
“And look at who signed off on the intake.”
Ace followed her finger and his eyes narrowed.
“The DA’s office,” he muttered.
“Mhm,” Joy confirmed.
Ace sat back in his chair, running his hand over his mouth.
“So they knew what they was walking into before they got there,” he said.
Joy tilted her head.
“Either that,” she said, “or someone made sure the evidence matched whatever story they needed to tell.”
More silence stretched between them.
“Some weird shit going on,” Ace sighed.
“Very,” Joy agreed.
“I’ll get Remy to look into the judge and detective on this case. Good work, Rose.”
Joy smiled and nodded, blooming under his praise. She shifted, moving to collect the photos and another whiff of her perfume wafted up into Ace’s nose.
He inhaled deeply and had to suppress a groan.
“What fragrance you got on?”
“Why?” Joy snapped, her defenses rising. “You don’t like it?”
Ace chuckled. “Nah, it smells real good on you.”
Her gaze fell and she absentmindedly pushed coils away from her face. “Oh…thanks.”
He grinned, watching her return her files to the carefully curated system.
His eyes roamed her frame as he considered how he could earn more of her time.
He wasn’t quite ready to go home yet. His options were his empty penthouse or his even emptier estate in New Jersey. Neither sounded appealing to him.
“What are your plans tonight?”
She looked up from her binder. “I’ve got a bottle of wine with my name on it waiting for me at home.”
Ace laughed. “A whole bottle?”
“The whole thing.”
“You wild,” he laughed.
Joy shrugged with a grin. “What about you? It’s Friday. Got a hot date?”
Ace grinned. “Nah. Why, you asking me out, Rose?”
Joy snorted. “I have a date with my wine, remember?”
Ace licked his lips. “Right. You can’t miss that.”
They chuckled together and Ace became acutely aware that their faces were only an inch apart. Ace’s gaze drifted down to Joy's lips then back up to her eyes to see her doing the same thing.
“Stop looking at me like that,” she demanded but it came out more like a plea.
“How am I looking at you?” Ace asked, inching closer.
“Like you did at the club with those… bedroom eyes.”
Ace grinned and the movement made their lips brush ever so slightly. “I can’t help it. Every time I’m with you I think about taking you to my bedroom. Bending you over this desk. Tasting you.”
Joy inhaled a sharp breath. “Adonis,” she gasped.
The air between them crackled with charged energy and neither of them spoke, moved or breathed for fear of combustion.
Ace leaned forward slowly and Joy did the same. Their bodies gravitated towards each other with their mouths leading the way.
Ace gripped Joy by the neck, prepared to pull her the rest of the way to connect them. Their lips were a hairs breath away from touching when knocks on the door startled them both.
Joy shot upright and moved back several paces.
Ace cleared his throat. “Come in,” he rasped.
The door swung open and April sauntered in. “Hey brother I need to talk to you about—,” she started as she entered but paused when she noticed Joy. “Oh hey girl.”
Joy waved awkwardly. “Hey April.”
“Am I interrupting?” April asked, her narrow gaze swinging between the two.
“Nope I was just leaving,” Joy spoke quickly then rushed out past April without another word or backward glance at Ace. Ace watched her go, staring at the door she’d exited out of long after she was gone.
“What was that about?” April asked, once the door closed with a click.
Ace shook off the lust and longing. “Nothing. Wassup?”
April didn’t accept the dismissal, instead training her hard gaze on him as she waited for answers.
Ace always believed his baby sister to be named appropriately for her personality. She was the perfect balance of warmth and coolness, softness and strength. She held a vibrant energy that could quickly shift to gloom, like April showers.
“We’ll come back to that,” she said, motioning between Ace and the door Joy had flown out of.
“Anyway, I just sent you the guest list for a fundraising brunch I’m going to tomorrow. Just wanted to see if you had any marching orders for me,” she said as she sank onto the couch, making herself comfortable.
Ace pulled out his burner phone and scrolled through the names of influential women, looking for anyone who would be of use.
“Have Lydia Wright moved to your table. Her husband was one of Young’s biggest donors.”
April rolled her eyes. “She talks a lot.”
“That’s what I’m counting on. You don’t have to be besties, just see what she has to say when she gets comfortable.”
“Well that won’t take long. That lady drinks like a fish.”
Ace smirked. “Perfect. One man’s alcoholism is another man’s treasure.”
April cackled. “You’re sick.”