Chapter 49
Chapter Forty-Nine
Ace cupped Joy's cheeks in his hands, searching her face for signs of distress.
“You okay?” he asked.
Joy smiled, her head of curls bouncing as she nodded. “I am, actually,” she said definitively. “I’m more than okay,”
Ace smiled then dropped a kiss on her lips. “Good.”
“Clean up is on the way,” Glock said once they’d pulled apart.
Joy smiled. “Thanks.”
He inclined his head. “I’m proud of you Princess,” he said, holding his hand out. Joy took it, returning the dap.
She was proud of herself too.
Men filed in, clearing the room of the bodies with practiced ease and efficiency. Joy watched for a moment before Glock’s voice pulled her back.
“So what now?” he asked. “The board will be here any minute.”
Joy looked over at Ace. “Can you give us a moment?”
Ace looked between Joy and Glock for a moment before nodding and stepping outside. The clean up crew filed in, removing bodies and wiping up blood as Joy faced Glock again.
She took a deep breath, looking around the office that had served as more of a classroom.
She trailed her hand against the wood of the conference table she’d sat at, then the chair that had once been her father’s and she knew would one day be hers.
She lowered into it slowly. When her back hit the leather, she waited for that feeling of wholeness she thought she’d feel.
It never came.
The seat was uncomfortable as hell. The leather pressed stiffly against her back, the table was too large, the room too cold.
She had won, but the victory no longer meant what it used to.
“I’m going back to New York,” she said softly.
“I know,” Glock answered in the same tone. “From the moment you got here I could tell your heart didn’t belong here anymore.”
Joy sighed. She’d known it too. She should’ve gotten her ass right back on the plane. She shouldn’t have boarded it to begin with.
“I need someone here I can trust.”
“Are you asking me, or telling me?”
Joy gave him a sidelong glance. “I’m telling you that it’s yours if you want it.”
Glock nodded, rounding the table to take the seat that had previously been hers.
“You know I got you. I serve at the pleasure of the Princess. Always”
Joy grinned. “Queen now. Get it right nigga.”
Glock threw his head back laughing before raising his hands in mock surrender. “You’re right, Queen, my bad.”
“I’m glad you found some happiness, Princess. You deserve it,” Glock said, sincerity and warmth bleeding through his expression. “You deserve a nigga that steps for you the way that big ass nigga out there does.”
Joy smiled, her eyes drifting wistfully towards the door she knew her happiness was standing right outside of.
“You deserve happiness too, Glock,” she said.
Glock’s smile dimmed just a bit, before he put his toothpick back in his mouth.
“Shit,” he drawled. “I guess monsters like us deserve love too, huh?”
Joy smiled. “Exactly.”
Their moment was cut short by the door opening, and the board filtered in, their expressions morphing into confusion when they saw who sat at the head of the table.
The cleanup crew hadn’t completed their job yet, so one look around the room painted a picture of what had gone down there.
Joy sat at the head of the table, peering around at the men who, not even a year ago had deemed her unfit to hold her seat, let alone the one she occupied now.
The expressions on some of their faces let her know that they were still of the same opinion.
“Thank you for joining me, gentlemen,” Joy greeted them, leaning back in her father’s chair.
“What the hell is all of this, Joy? Where’s Byron?” a member of the board spat. Joy didn’t turn her head but her eyes settled on the man who’d spoken, head of their DFW operations and the man who’d written her letter of recommendation for her Rice University application.
She’d seen these men as uncles before. Family and teachers who helped mold her into the queen she was. As she looked at them now, the reverence she had before had been replaced with disdain and hate.
“There will be some changes around here. Starting with, my father is no longer in charge here. I am.”
“And who decided that?” That came from the leader of their west Texas operations and the man who’d taught her almost as much about the drug game as Byron had.
Joy looked over Glock who sat reclined in her old seat with a toothpick between his lips and his locs in his face. She gave him a slight nod and without a word, he sent a bullet in between the man’s eyes.
The silent shot whizzed through the air and the man’s head dropped to the table with a subtle thump.
Glock rested his smoking namesake on the table in front of him.
“I did,” Joy said, now for the benefit of the men around the table as opposed to the dead one who’d asked the question.
“Any more questions?” she asked, her narrowed eyes swimming around the table.
They all stared, some wide eyed and some in disgust but no one spoke.
“Good,” Joy smiled. “Glock will oversee daily operations here. You’ll answer to him, and he’ll answer to me. Any problem you have with that, now would be the time to speak up.”
No one spoke.
“And where will you be?” one of the men asked warily.
“I’ll be available for anything needed remotely and will pop in every once in a while.
But I won't be staying here,” she explained.
“Please make no mistake, me going back to New York doesn’t mean I’m giving up my seat.
It means I don’t need to sit in this building every day for y’all to remember who it belongs to. ”
They all nodded silently.
“What about this legal issue?” another man asked. “What are we doing about that?”
“I’ll take care of it,” Joy assured them. “You all just make sure your teams are following protocol. My protocol.”
She clapped her hands together and smiled. “Now if there are no more questions, comments, or concerns, you’re all dismissed.”
The board didn’t hesitate to rise, wanting to be out of her presence and crosshairs as quickly as possible.
“One more thing,” she held up a finger, making them all pause. “The last time I sat at this table, y’all voted me out. I haven’t forgotten.” Her gaze traveled slowly from one face to the next. “Consider that your first and only act of disloyalty under my leadership. There won’t be another.”
With inclined heads, they all mumbled their understanding before making their exits.
Joy smiled and stood, making her way to the door behind them. On the other side, Ace waited for her with a grin.
“I heard a gunshot,” he said, pulling her to him.
“Trying to teach some early lessons,” Joy shrugged.
Ace chuckled. “That’s my girl,” he lowered his lips to hers, smiling through the kiss.
She pulled away slightly. “You ready?” she asked, toying with the collar of his shirt, speckled with a few drops of blood.
“Where we going?” he asked, peering down at her.
Joy placed a quick kiss on his lips. “You’re taking me home,” she said against them.
Ace grinned. “Then let’s go home.”
The lot was quiet as they made their way out. Empty, save for the few bodies of fallen guards that had yet to be cleared.
“You killed my men,” Joy observed.
“They need more training,” Ace parroted her, causing them both to stifle chuckles.
He laced his fingers with hers. “They got in my way,” he continued. “Anyone that tries to stand in my way of getting to you is getting put down.”
Joy’s heart fluttered at the words.
When they reached the car, Ray opened the door without a word.
“Good to see you, Ray,” Joy smiled.
Ray gave her a rare smile in return. “Good to see you too Ms. Thibodeaux.”
“Are we gonna wait for Von?” Joy asked as Ray shut the door behind them.
“Nah,” Ace shook his head. “Lil nigga can get home on his own.”
They both laughed as the car rolled away from Thibodeaux Trucking. Joy watched the city roll by her in reverse and smiled. She gripped Ace’s hand, ready to start a new life with him. A new life of her choosing.
When they made it onto the jet, Ray disappeared toward the front with the crew, leaving the cabin to them. Joy stood in the aisle for a moment, taking in the extravagant luxury, before slipping into the bathroom.
When she came out, the last traces of Texas were gone.
No blood.
No ghosts clinging to her skin.
Physically and emotionally, she felt lighter.
Ace sat back in the leather seat, watching her like he’d been waiting for her.
She made her way to him slowly, suddenly shy. The weight of what she’d done settled over her. Ace had come to get her, but did that mean he forgave her?
Ace saw her timidness and extended a hand.
“Come here, Rose,” he said.
She crossed the space between them and climbed into his lap. His arms encircled her immediately, his familiar scent and warmth instantly bringing her comfort.
“You good?” he asked quietly.
Joy nodded, resting her head against his shoulder.
“Yeah.”
His hand moved slowly up her back.
For a long moment, neither of them spoke. The hum of the jet filled the silence before Joy finally broke it.
“I thought eventually I’d become a problem for you,” she admitted. “That all the shit attached to me would start bleeding into your life and you’d realize loving me wasn’t worth what it cost. That the fire you say you love so much wouldn’t be worth it if I burned you by accident.”
Ace’s expression hardened. “You thought I’d leave you?”
“Or start trying to change me.” Her gaze dropped to his chest. “Make me easier. Softer. Something that fits better into your life. I’ve tried that and I don’t know how to do it.”
His hand slid beneath her jaw, holding her gaze on his. “I saw what was in you from the beginning. Before you were ready to show it to me.”
Something tightened in her chest.
“It called to me,” he continued. “Because I knew it. I got the same shit living in me.”
He placed their interlocked hands over his heart.
“Everybody else either acts like they don’t see it or keeps enough distance that they never have to,” he said. “You looked right at me and you didn’t flinch.”
“Neither did you,” she whispered.
“Exactly.” His thumb brushed her cheek. “You think I’m gonna ask you to cut away the part of you that understands me better than anybody?”
Her eyes burned, and she blinked the feeling away.
“I don’t want you easier or softer. I want you to give me a chance to love every part of you.”
“Even the fucked up parts?” Joy whispered.
“Especially those,” he said. “I had a whole life before you. A purpose, a family. I never needed anything but that. I didn’t even know I was walking around with something missing until I met you.
You’ve been walking around with a missing piece of my soul and now that I found you, on my soul, I’m not letting you go.
“I love you Joy, every fucked up part.”
“I love you too,” Joy said.
A moment of silence stretched before Ace spoke again.
“You left me,” he said.
Joy sighed. “I know. I'm sorry…” she said, holding his face in her hands.
“You're sorry?” Ace’s jaw worked beneath her palms.
Joy nodded. “Mhm.”
He stared at her for a long moment, his hands remaining firm around her waist. He leaned in slightly, voice low and eyes filled with heat. “Show me.”
Joy swallowed and shifted in his lap, prepared to show him the full three hour flight if she needed to.
She pressed her forehead to his, her breath warm against his lips as she sank onto him.
Ace’s hands tightened on her hips, but he didn’t help her. He made her close the distance herself. Made her prove that this was what she wanted and this time, she would choose to stay.
“Look at me,” he ordered.
Joy lifted her eyes.
The anger was still there. So was the hurt she had caused him. But beneath both was something more vulnerable than she was used to seeing from Ace.
Fear.
“You can’t leave me again, Joy,” Ace said as she moved atop him.
“I won’t,” Joy promised.
Ace groaned low, his grip tightening on her hips. “Say it,” he demanded, taking over the pace.
“I’m not leaving you,” she breathed. “I promise.”
His pace turned rougher, deeper, pulling her closer like he was making sure she couldn’t disappear again.
“You scared, you tell me,” he demanded through gritted teeth.
She nodded.
“You think you need space, you ask me for it.”
“Okay,” Joy whimpered.
His hand moved to her jaw, holding her attention on him.
“But you don’t fucking run.”
Ace met her with all the anger, hunger, and relief he had held during their time apart. His restraint gradually disappeared, pulling her closer .
He drove into her, giving her punishing strokes and burying himself so deeply she wouldn’t be able to extricate him if she tried.
With each thrust he expressed his displeasure with their time apart and reminded her who she belonged to. Who he belonged to.
“I love your ass,” Ace grunted.
Joy moaned and tightened around him, a soft moan slipping from her lips. “I love you too.”
“You love me?”
“Mhm,” she whined.
“Then nut on this dick,” he ordered. “Wet this motherfucka up for me, Rose.”
On command, her pussy clenched and fluttered around him.
She rested her head against his chest as they came down, listening to the steady beat beneath her ear.
“What does this look like for you?” he asked eventually.
Joy lifted her head, studying him. “What do you mean?”
“I want to spend my life with you Rose,” he said, his thumb brushing along her thigh absentmindedly. “Every part of it.”
“Running the firm. Running the organization.”
His gaze held hers.
“Coming home to you.”
Something in her chest tightened.
“I want you to be my queen, Rose,” he said softly.
Joy’s breath hitched.
Her father had dangled the title of queen over her head for years. A carrot hanging on a string in front of her face to keep her running on the wheel that fueled his fortune and power.
When Ace said it though, it felt real.
“I want that too,” she admitted.
“Good,” he murmured. The kiss that followed was slow and deep, sealing it. Sealing them.
Joy was still every dangerous, broken thing she had spent years trying to outrun.
But with Ace’s arms around her and his love enveloping her, she became a new, beautiful thing of her choosing.