Page 113 of The Love of Priest

The drive to The Groves was typically a lengthy one whenever Priest wasn't driving and cutting lane to lane. Mirsad sat in silence. He knew he had fucked up. He didn't have the means or the willpower to handle the shit on his own, but Priest did. "What happened, Mirsad?" Priest asked, trying his best to keep his composure while sitting with his hands fused together.

Mirsad kept his orbs pointed at his feet. "I don't know, man," he murmured.

"So, these niggas came gunning for ya moms, and you don't know why? You shittin' me?" Priest shook his head in far more disappointment than he thought he could ever have. "Answer me this: what if one of those bullets went through those walls and hit Nia right in between the eyes? You'd know then, huh?" Priest shifted a brow up at Mirsad, who was denying him eye contact out of embarrassment.

Mirsad said nothing. He never really thought niggas would be coming for his mom. That was street code; kids, women, and mothers went untouched. If those bullets would have even graced Nia, Mirsad knew Priest would’ve ended him in a heartbeat. As insane and sinister as it sounded, Mirsad knew his life was constantly in the air when it came to being around Priest. "Can you not fucking talk like that?!" Mirsad huffed in frustration.

"That's fucking reality! You play with fire and get your ass burned! If you don't have the means to fucking protect your people, then don't do shit to put their lives on the line!" Priest seethed at Mirsad, his baritone voice circulating throughout the vehicle. "Nia and those kids could have fucking died today! That's three funerals that you would have been responsible for! Instead of worrying about how real I'm keeping it with you, you should be worried about keeping your moms alive! You think them niggas gone stop?! This is only the beginning! I can't protect everybody!"

"I'm not asking you to protect me, Priest! I never asked for none of this shit! My moms never asked for no fucking hand out from you either!" Mirsad shouted in fury. His nose flared as his chest heaved up and down.

Priest eyed Mirsad, amusement easing out of him. He shook his head with a chuckle. "You got shit all figured out, huh?" Priest asked with a smirk.

Mirsad said nothing in return. He kept his eyes down at his feet, not knowing how to respond to Priest. A part of him wanted to defy Priest’s words and just say that he did have shit figured out and he could get these niggas on his own, while the other part of him was thinking logically and strategically. Mirsad knew these niggas would blow him out the water if he didn't have Priest on his side, and he couldn't risk that.

Priest took Mirsad's silence as his answer. He nodded as he eyed the scenery that was passing them by through the window. "Exactly,” Priest stated, indicating that he proved his point. He knew the answer to his question just as much as Mirsad did. The kid got under his skin terribly, but he would never allow him to take a knife into a gun fight. This was something Priest was just going to have to step up and handle, no matter how bad he wanted to teach Mirsad a permanent lesson.

When he arrived at The Groves, Priest stepped out of the vehicle just as Mirsad did. The clouds were beginning to congregate in the sky as one big gray cloud that carried the strength of a storm. Hinting at the storm that was to come, a light drizzle began falling. Priest led the way toward the building. It was swarming with responders and officers who came to assess the scene, along with residents of the neighborhood who wanted an inside look at what had transpired.

"Sir, you can't go beyond this line." One deputy attempted to keep Priest behind the yellow tape that blocked access to the building.

"I own this spot," he informed them before crouching underneath the yellow tape with Mirsad following close behind him. His Versace sneakers stepped on the bullet-shattered glass that surrounded the area. Seeing the state of the building wasn't much of a bother to Priest. He knew he could have everything repaired in no time. What bothered him was the safety of the residents. He didn't want any of his tenants going to bed with fear and worry circling their minds.

Entering the building, Priest found more investigators surveying the scene at a close range. He glanced around. The entire interior of the leasing office was decorated with bullet holes. There wasn't a wall that had gone untouched. All he could be grateful for was that no one was hurt, especially Nia and the kids she was looking after.

J'Ru, who was expecting Priest's arrival, met him and Mirsad at the entrance of the office. "Who the fuck you piss off?" J'Ru eyed Mirsad up and down.

Mirsad ran his hand down his face. "Nobody." He shook his head.

"Look the fuck around." J'Ru gestured around himself, motioning to the bullet holes that were sprayed throughout the room. "Any nigga capable of this ain't just nobody."

Priest agreed with J'Ru. "You got what we need, though?" he asked J'Ru discreetly.

J'Ru glanced around to ensure that no one was watching their actions. He unclenched his fist, revealing the small thumb drive he had just swiped from the main computer that stored all the surveillance footage. Priest nodded, and J'Ru handed the thumb drive over to him so he could conceal it in his own pocket.

"Mirsad, you going with him," he informed Mirsad. "I gotta take care of everything here."

J'Ru smacked his lips. "I don't baby sit," he declined with a snarl.

"I'm not your fucking kid," Mirsad muttered rudely.

J'Ru snapped his head in the direction of Mirsad, giving him a crazed look. "You right. If you were mine, I would have been stomped the fuck outta you. Listen, ain't no ties between me and you this way. I look out for him." J'Ru pointed to Priest, making it crystal clear that his favor was extended to Priest rather than Mirsad. "Stop playing with me, you fucking peon," J'Ru spat before averting his attention back to Priest.

"I'm out." He extended his hand to dap Priest up, initiating a goodbye.

An amused smirk pranced across Priest's face as he realized J’Ru had gathered Mirsad well enough to shut him the hell up. "Good looking out. I'll handle him here. Maybe this shit will jog his memory a bit." Priest changed his mind about Mirsad traveling with J'Ru.

He and J'Ru slapped hands again. "No doubt. My work here is done?"

Priest shrugged lightly. "Until further notice," he said and J'Ru agreed.

J'Ru bypassed the slew of deputies who were actively working to gather evidence. Priest took another look around. Free from the conversation he was having with J'Ru, Priest was approached by one of the lead investigators. She made her way over to him in her sleek black pant suit with her hair pulled back in a slick ponytail that swayed with each of her movements. The thin gold necklace she wore around her neck that was strung with what Priest assumed was her wedding ring, contrasted against her dewy almond skin.

She had a set of beautiful brown eyes and graceful lashes to match. Priest could tell by the expression on her face she was going to be a pain in the ass. "Priest Justice?" The smile she gave him was light, more observant than polite.

Priest nodded his head. "You are?" His eyes scanned her up and down.

"Detective Westbrook." She extended her hand to him, and he shook it. "You don't mind walking me through this, do you? We have nothing to work with here besides bullet casings and holes in the wall." She motioned her hands around, alluding to the chaos in the room.

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