Page 49 of The Fire We Make

Get out yo feelings and get in yo bag. Your emotions have no place here.

She hated to admit it but he was right. Getting close to a King and working on his cases was a surefire way to get close to the contacts she needed. Making a name for herself on a high profile case would give her the credibility she needed to start her network from scratch. Whatever feelings she was having for him personally didn’t matter. She needed to put her big girl panties back on and get what she needed.

Ace must have seen her acquiescence written all over her face. His grin widened. “I’ll have my assistant send over the details.”

Joy sat on her window ledge, the cold night air coming through the lifted window.

With a blunt between her lips, she combed the internet for known King, Kincaid, and Associates connections and cross referenced them with her list of potential connections. The overlap was staggering, bringing a smile to her lips.

Her marriage to Jermaine was supposed to solidify an alliance with his father, a Senator and him who was being groomed to be the future attorney general of Texas. Since her episode had ruined that alliance, she knew the only way to prove her worth was to form her own. Finding politicians, high level attorneys and donors who had pull in Texas was no easy feat in New York jurisdiction but not impossible.

She scrolled through news articles and social media posts making note on the paper beside her of faces and names that could be of use to her.

Step one of her plan had been completed. Reintegrate herself into society. She’d been at the firm for a little over a month and had knocked the dust off of the polished persona she’d been crafting all her life.

The next step was to make a name for herself in the legal world. She’d only just taken the bar when she was sent away and hadn’t yet been able to practice. Jermaine was supposed to be the legitimate face of their organization and offer legal protection while she ran the underground business, playing his doting and accomplished wife in public. Now, she would need to play both roles.

Immediately following that, she would need to assemble her dream team of politicians, donors, attorneys, lobbyists, and fixers who would make her life easier back in Texas.

Joy strategically picked the King, Kincaid, and Associates because of their connection to high powered movers and shakers. Connections she needed.

Ace King, though a thorn in her side, would prove to be useful on that front.

As she worked, she wrote names and connections on sticky notes and slapped them on her bedroom wall.

Weed smoke billowed around her as her plan to get her life back started falling into place right before her eyes. She only hoped it would be enough for her father and the board.

Chapter Thirteen

As soon as Joy made it to the office the next morning, her cases were reassigned to other associates and the details for Ace’s case were waiting in her email inbox.

Shaking her head, she navigated to the case files in their internal database and began reading.

New York V. Hill

Lead Attorney: Adonis King II

Franklin “Blue” Hill is alleged by law enforcement to be affiliated with a Brooklyn-based faction of a New York City criminal organization referred to as the “Black Mafia.” According to NYPD intelligence reports, the group has been under intermittent investigation since the 1970s for suspected involvement in narcotics distribution, money laundering, illegal gambling, weapons trafficking, and contract violence.

To date, law enforcement has not publicly identified or charged any individual as the organization’s leader. Investigative files describe the group as highly structured and insulated, with limited success in securing indictments against upper-level members. Mr. Hill has not been formally charged with racketeering (RICO) or conspiracy.

Mr. Hill was arrested outside a warehouse in Manhattan following a coordinated law enforcement raid. Authorities allege the location was being used to store controlled substances and firearms. During the execution of the search warrant, officers reportedly recovered narcotics (pending laboratory confirmation), U.S. currency, multiple firearms, and items characterized as gang paraphernalia.

Mr. Hill was taken into custody outside the premises, where officers allege he resisted arrest.

He is currently charged with:

Possession with Intent to Distribute (Controlled Substances)

Possession of Drug Paraphernalia

Unlawful Possession of a Firearm

Resisting Arrest

Obstruction of Justice

Public Intoxication