Page 157 of The Fire We Make

Joy awoke the next morning in bed alone. Her heart raced, panic rising at the thought that the night before had been a dream or a figment of her imagination.

Her fears were assuaged when she caught a whiff of Ace’s enticing scent wrapping around her in the oversized t-shirt she wore.

She threw the covers back and went downstairs in search of Ace.

When she got to the base of the stairs, she found him in the living room, but he wasn’t alone.

His siblings were all there, scattered around the space. Their energy was heavy and guarded and Joy knew what they’d come for.

“Good morning,” Joy spoke from where she stood.

Ace turned at the sound of her voice, his gaze immediately heating at the sight of her—smooth, bare legs beneath his undershirt that hung off of her frame.

“Good morning,” he said, holding his hand out for her.

She went to him without hesitation, walking into his arms. She melted into him, grounding herself in the warmth of his body. His presence was reassurance that last night had been real.

“How are you feeling?” he asked low enough for just her to hear. His gaze snagged on the bruise from Julius slowly blooming on her cheek.

Joy smiled softly. “I’m good.”

Ace dropped a kiss on her lips and they lingered there, long enough to forget they weren’t alone until Von cleared his throat.

They both pulled away glaring in his direction.

“What’s going on?” Joy asked.

“Have a seat,” Ace said. “Breakfast is almost ready.”

Joy did as she was told but kept her eyes on the Kings scattered around her kitchen and living room with tight faces and wary expressions.

“I think it’s about time we talk. Put everything on the table. Don’t you?” Ace asked.

Joy folded her arms over her chest. “I’m not sure what there is to talk about.”

“You know why the fuck we here G.I. Jane. Now stop playing before I lose my damn patience,” Von said, stalking over to Joy, scowling down at her.

“Go sit down,” Ace ordered through gritted teeth.

He turned back to Joy. “Work with me, Rose,” he pleaded against her lips.

“You don’t need to be defensive, Joy, we just wanna talk,” April said, standing up from where she’d been sitting on Joy’s couch. “We appreciate you for having our back but we need some… clarity,” she tried to reason.

Joy looked around at the group for a moment. Her hesitance was apparent and Ace could practically see the wheels turning in her head, calculating her odds against all five of them.

“It looks like we all learned some new things about each other yesterday. Y’all gon’ about your business and forget what you saw, and I’ll do the same,” she said, folding her arms over her chest.

All of the Kings expressed their displeasure with her unwillingness to cooperate.

Jrue groaned.

August huffed.

April rolled her eyes.

Von chuckled.

And Ace shook his head, disappointed but not surprised that she’d make this difficult.