Chapter 26
Chapter Twenty-Six
Joy’s eyes found Ace as soon as she entered the courtroom. Her gaze was involuntary, immediately drifting to him like he was the center of her universe. The thought disgusted her but the sight of him was pleasing.
He stood behind the counsel table in a crisp black suit, his hair freshly tapered looking better than anyone should have the right to.
She steeled herself against the wave of desire that rushed her and, with her shoulders back and chin up, made her way to join him.
She cleared her throat as she approached. “Good morning, Mr. King.”
He faced her, tilting his head. After a pause he replied. “Ms. Thibodeaux. Sleep well?”
Joy stiffened. Their eyes held for a beat too long. Long enough for memories to flash in her mind.
Soft sheets and his waves beneath her fingers.
The warmth of his breath against her skin.
The secure way his thick arms held her in his sleep.
Her body reacted before she could stop it. A quiver crept up her spine and her thighs involuntarily clenched together to quell the ache that was starting to form.
“Fine, thanks,” Joy finally found her voice.
Ace smirked knowingly and Joy had to divert her gaze to keep from zeroing in on his mouth now that she knew what they felt like between her legs.
His smirk dropped when the door opened and the bailiff walked Blue in.
Joy watched as they uncuffed him. His height rivaled Ace’s but he was lanky in stature. His jaw was set tight and his eyes were hard, but softened when they landed on Ace. They greeted each other with a silent handshake then Ace spoke in a low tone.
“It’s just bail,” Ace briefed him quietly in the slowly filling courtroom. “I’m not making any promises but I’m confident.”
Blue nodded his understanding silently.
Ace claimed his seat beside Joy, the two sharing only a brief glance before she shifted her attention to meticulously arranging her notepad rather than Ace’s stare.
Soon, the judge entered and opened the proceedings. “And the defense is requesting bail, correct?”
Ace stood. “Yes your honor we–”
“You'll get your turn, counselor. I'll hear from the prosecution first,” Judge Ingals cut in.
Ace’s nostrils flared but he lowered quietly into his seat.
Elliot Young stood and began speaking with a bravado Ace found misplaced at a bail hearing. “Yes, your honor. The state believes that the defendant is a flight risk. He is a high-earning narcotics distributor with access to significant resources–”
“Objection. Speculation. My client has never been convicted of any such crimes,” Ace stood.
“Overruled. Continue,” Ingals said dryly without looking at Ace.
Ace’s brows furrowed. He felt a tap on his arm and looked down to see the slip of paper Joy had slid to him.
What the fuck????
Ace shook his head. His sentiments exactly.
“Yes, as well as the nature of the crimes he’s currently charged with, we believe he is a danger to the community and should remain in custody until we can prove it at trial.”
“King,” Ingals prompted Ace to speak without a glance.
Ace cleared his throat, hoping to clear the anger out of it as well.
“Your honor, my client is not a flight risk. He doesn’t even have a passport but would be willing to submit to an ankle monitor as a show of good will.
He is the sole caregiver to a young daughter and checks in on his elderly grandmother often as well.
All we're asking is that you grant bail to allow my client to go home to take care of his family while we prove his innocence. The state does not have enough substantial evidence linking my client to any crimes to justify keeping him.”
“We’ll argue the evidence during trial, King.”
Ace nodded in concession and continued. “As I said before your honor, Mr. Hill is the primary guardian of his six year old daughter, Lauren who has a ballet recital next week. She’s been really working hard and he couldn’t miss the most anticipated dance display of the year,” Ace joked, earning a few endearing chuckles from others in the room.
“This is a courtroom, not a comedy show Mr. King,” the judge scowled.
“Tough crowd,” Joy muttered under her breath only loud enough for Ace to hear.
Ace paused for a moment, taken aback, but recovered quickly. He finished his closing statements, then returned to the counsel table beside Blue who was shifting uncomfortably in his seat.
The judge’s hostility was palpable and it became clear to everyone on the defense side that they’d all wasted their time.
“I’ve made my ruling,” Judge Ingals stated.
The room paused.
“Bail is denied. The defendant will remain in custody until trial.”
“What?” Joy whispered in disbelief, vocalizing exactly what Ace felt.
Ace stood. “In that case your honor, we’d like to request a date for trial to be set quickly.”
The judge hesitated and at first, Ace thought his request would be denied. After a moment, the judge nodded.
“Will the prosecution be ready in a month’s time?” he asked, turning to Young.
Elliot nodded. “Yes your honor, we’ll be ready.”
“Very well. Trial will be set for a month from today.” He banged his gavel, dismissing the courtroom.
Ace couldn’t believe what had transpired but didn’t have time to sit in his shock because the bailiffs were already moving to take Blue back to his cell.
“We gon’ get you out, Blue. Don't worry about lil mama or your granny. They'll both be taken care of,” Ace promised.
Blue nodded then dipped his head to Joy in goodbye before being ushered out.
Joy and Ace stood in the emptying courtroom looking at each other with defeat and shock mirrored on both of their faces.
“I need a drink,” Ace said.
“Me too,” Joy sighed, gathering her files and purse. “Let’s go.”
“The usual to drink for both of you?” The waitress asked as soon as they were seated at The Sapphire’s lounge.
Ace nodded in answer for them both, yanking at the tie at his neck to loosen it.
“The judge already had his mind up before I even opened my mouth,” Ace muttered, still in disbelief as soon as they were left alone with their drinks.
Joy sighed and sipped her bourbon. “Can we speak candidly?”
Ace waved for her to take the floor.
“This is starting to look like an inside job.”
Ace leaned up at that. “How so?”
“It’s too perfect. The cops knew exactly where to look like they were tipped off.
You said it yourself that Blue is your smartest and most careful client.
Plus it sounds like the judge is in someone’s pocket.
From what I’ve read about Blue’s bosses, they own this city.
Allegedly. Who could have gotten to the judge but someone from within their mafia? ”
Ace stroked the hair on his chin as he let Joy’s words wash over him.
His mind wandered to the series of unfortunate events that had transpired over the past several months.
The missing shipment. The various arrests.
The raid. Peanut had said the exact same thing about them knowing exactly where to find what they were looking for.
He had spent many sleepless nights wracking his brain for an explanation as to how Detective Harris was able to find and pull the strings that had been unraveling.
But what if he had help?
It all made too much sense but who could be sabotaging the mafia and why?
“That… makes a lot of sense,” he mumbled, his mind already running.
Joy nodded. “I think we need to focus our attention inwards. See if there’s any internal beef. Any changes in leadership? From where I’m sitting, someone up top isn’t happy. This feels bigger than Blue and that stash house. Do you have any connections we can inquire with?”
Ace nodded. “I’ll look into it,” Ace promised through gritted teeth.
Anger surged through him at Joy’s insinuation but he couldn’t deny she had a point. He regarded her and smirked.
“They weren’t lying when they said you were a criminal mastermind Ms. Thibodeaux,” he said.
Joy shrugged.
“Where did you learn to think like this? Your internship at the DA’s office?”
Joy flinched at his words. It was slight and anyone who wasn’t studying her so closely might have missed it but Ace didn’t. When it came to Joy he didn’t miss anything.
Joy nodded. “Yeah. That and crime movies.”
Ace chuckled. “Crime movies huh?”
Ace lifted his glass and Joy did the same.
“To crime movies,” Ace toasted.
With a chuckle, Joy clinked her glass against his.
“To crime movies.”
“Wait, so you think we have a rat?” April asked. The King siblings and Remy were gathered in Pops’ office at the estate so Ace could share the events from earlier and Joy’s assumption.
“This is beyond a rat,” Jrue said, nursing a glass of whiskey. “This is sabotage.”
“But who and why?” Aug asked.
Von shook his head. “I’ve been hearing some grumblings in the street but none of them niggas have the juice to pull off something this big. Not without help. This is coming from someone up top.”
“You think it’s the lieutenants?” Remy asked.
“They could be in on it and might have the juice to pull off some shit in the streets but the shit with the courts is beyond them. Someone with legit pull is helping them behind the scenes,” Von replied.
Ace nodded in agreement, his brother voicing his thoughts exactly. “That's what I need y’all to figure out,” Ace said.
“And you said Joy is the one who brought this up?” Jrue asked tentatively.
Ace nodded. “Yeah, the more she explained it, the more it started to make sense.” He chuckled, shaking his head. “I don’t know how I didn't consider the possibility earlier.”
“She doesn’t know…?” Jrue started.
“No,” Ace answered definitively.
Joy wasn't a dummy. Anyone with eyes could see that the Kings were corrupt. A few Google searches would feed her all of the allegations and rumors that were rooted in truth about the King family, but no one knew just how deep their influence ran and how invested they were in the cases they tried.
“I’m not worried about her, though. I’m more focused on this shit. We need to figure out who’s playing with us and nip it in the bud. The longer this festers, the more unsettled the soldiers will get and the more ammunition Harris and DA Young will have against us.”
“I’ll have Sasha and my men put their ears to the streets to see if they hear anything,” Von offered, already making plays on his phone.
Ace nodded, before Joy’s words from their visit to the warehouse popped into his mind.
“Have Sasha keep an eye on Curtis,” he instructed Von. “Joy expressed that something wasn’t right with him when we went to look into the cameras and logs.”
“Joy said, huh?” Von scoffed.
Ace shot him a warning glare and Von raised his hands in mock surrender.
“You got it boss.”
“I’ll do some digging to see if I can find anything about where these anonymous tips are coming from,” Remy said, slicing through the tension.
“I’ll look into if someone is living better than they should be,” Aug added. “If someone’s paying judges and law enforcement, that’s gonna leave a money trail.”
“Good shit,” Ace said, his mind racing and his hand digging in his pocket in search of his lighter.
“What about me?” April asked.
Lighter in hand, Ace looked over at her.
“Handle perception. Make a few donations and keep attending your functions. We don’t want to give anyone the impression that we’re affected,” he said.
“Whoever is behind this may be in one of those rooms. Keep your ears open in your social circles, I need to know what people are saying.”
April nodded.
“Rich people gossip and we’re public enemy number one in these circles,” Jrue cosigned. “If someone’s making moves against us, they’ll want to brag and you’ll be the first to hear about it.”
“Got it,” April said.
Ace turned to Jrue then. “Jrue, put feelers out to our people. See if anyone has grievances against us or a palm that needs to be greased. We need to know who our allies are.”
Jrue saluted.
“What about Joy?” Von asked.
Ace stiffened. “What about her?”
“Lawyers don’t tote pistols and carry knives,” Von stated, sending a knowing glance to Ace. “And they don’t think like kingpins.”
I do, was Ace’s first response but he swallowed it. He wasn’t a normal lawyer. He wasn’t a normal man.
He wasn't quite sure how yet, but he could tell Joy wasn’t normal either. That’s what he liked about her. She got him. Even still, his gut told him that Joy wasn’t a threat. Not in that way.
To his life? Maybe.
To his sanity? Absolutely.
To his family? His organization? No.
“She’s not a problem,” Ace answered finally. The room went silent. The fact that she wasn’t automatically taken out for the coincidence or even considered spoke volumes to Ace’s siblings – and to him. No one opposed him further, though.
“Everyone clear on their assignments?” A mumbled symphony of ‘yes’ sounded off around the table as his siblings watched him plant the line firmly between boss and big brother.
Ace nodded and rose from the blue velvet chair. “Good. Someone thinks they’re gonna bring this empire down. Not on my fucking watch.”