Page 153 of The Love of Priest

Hearing Tasha's voice put a strain on Priest. All he could remember was how much Jamari loved making her happy. He talked about his mama day in and day out. At twelve years old, all he wanted to do was get his mama out the hood. Although Britain had advised him not to take on the promises of others, Priest had big plans when it came to supporting Tasha and Jamari's siblings. Jamari, who considered himself the man of the house, had passed, so Priest was going to step up for him. Tasha was getting out the hood, and Priest promised Jamari that.

Kaymen let out a sigh himself. "That shit was crazy." He shook his head as his mind flashed to the moment he held Jamari in his arms.

"Yeah," Priest agreed. "I'm helping Tasha set up his funeral. I want little homie to go out nice."

"Let me know if you need me to do anything," J'Ru offered.

Kaymen nodded. "Same here."

Although four hours seemed to be too long to take to get ready, for the full look the gala required, the ladies were actually going over the allotted time. Kaymen checked his watch, letting out a stressed sigh.

"We should've been in the car twenty minutes ago," he groaned lightly.

Priest chuckled. "They're women. It's expected." He shrugged his shoulders as he rose from his seat. He smoothed his hands over his cobalt blue Giorgio Armani double breasted suit.The color of his ensemble coordinated perfectly with Britain's gown, which was Kenya's doing, of course. "Let me go see what's up."

Priest proceeded down the hall, leaving a restless J'Ru and Kaymen in the living room. He applied a light knock on the door before he was granted permission to come in. In the center of the room, Jazzy was stepping into her heels while Kenya was securing a necklace around her neck. Priest glanced to the left to see Britain getting the finishing touches done to her hair.

"I don't want to rush anyone, but we gotta go," Priest announced.

"They're ready." Kenya nodded as she took a step back, taking in the final looks of Jazzy and Britain.

A light smile stretched across Priest's face. Jazzy and Britain looked gorgeous.

Jazzy had designed and made her own dress, stepping out of the restricted zones of the usual gala attire. The glitzy and sparkly hand-sewn Swarovski crystals of her dress complimented her golden skin perfectly. Her light curls cupped her face beautifully as her hair graced down her back. Due to the dress being an attention grabber, she sided on light makeup, along with small details of jewelry.

Priest's mouth watered slightly as his dark orbs bore into Britain. The cobalt blue gown was constructed with a high split that went up to her hip. The material of the dress draped along her shoulders perfectly, holding up her ample breasts well. The contrast of the blue against her umber skin was gorgeous. She matched the dress with a bold makeup look of red lipstick. Her hair was pulled to the side with big, dramatic curls that reminded others of a vintage model. Kenya not only highlighted Britain's beauty with this look, but she also amplified it.

"You two look gorgeous," Priest complimented Jazzy and Britain, causing wide smiles of confidence to etch their faces.

They both thanked Priest for the compliment before thanking Kenya and her team for their amazing help. Priest smirked as Britain placed her hand into his. "You look handsome," she complimented Priest.

The color coordinated attire fit them so well and seamed together perfectly. They even had complimenting jewelry. Britain had a tennis necklace set lacing her neck and wrist. Priest also had the same necklace and bracelet.Britain couldn't help but to fawn over Priest. He was so handsome, and she loved the fact that even though he cleaned up nicely, he still had that hood appeal to him.

The doubled breasted cobalt blue blazer was layered over a black turtleneck, and his navy-blue slacks were perfectly tailored to his height. The haircut and beard line up he had just gotten sharpened his facial features and his intricate jawline. The suit pretty much covered all his tattoos except for the ones that inked his face and both of his hands. The man was living up to his name. He was New York's very own poster boy.

"Thank you, Gioia," he said as he brought her hand up to his lips.

The three made it to the front of the penthouse where Kaymen and J'Ru were overjoyed with the fact that the woman were finally done. "Beautiful, beautiful!" J'Ru complimented the women before quickly averting his attention to the lack of time they had."Cars are downstairs. Britain and Priest are riding with Cyro. Kaymen, me and Jazzy are riding right behind y'all with Stu," J'Ru delegated as he pressed the button for the elevator. Once it opened, he rushed everyone inside for a quick trip down to the lobby of the building.

Priest actually hadn't used the lobby exit since his last trial date. Luckily for him, there weren't any reporters crowding the doors. After a smooth exit, Priest slid into the back seat of the SUV with Britain while J'Ru, Kaymen, and Jazzy filled the one behind them.

"Why are we in different cars?" Britain asked. She was used to everyone being divided after Priest's court dates simply because they went their separate ways afterward. However, now they were all headed to the same place, so she didn't get why they were divided.Priest glanced at her. "Safety precautions," he enlightened her.

Britain wanted to question him and ask how that was keeping them safe, but she didn't. As they pulled off, Britain noticed once they got further up the block that two similar black-on-black SUVs cut in front of them just as two more cut behind them.

"Safety precautions?" Britain raised a brow, referring to the extra four cars they were now accompanied by while Cyro and Stu switched from lane to lane.

Priest nodded in confirmation as he glanced out the window. In the lane to the right of them were J'Ru, Kaymen and Jazzy. "Why do we have to do all of this?" Britain asked Priest.

Priest eyed Britain, his hand conforming into hers. "Bullets went flying yesterday," he sighed. "Someone I care for died. In this car and the next car holds all the family I got. I can't risk any of you.”

His cold tone caused a shiver to run down Britain's spine. "Your safety matters too, y'know," Britain reminded him.

Priest shrugged his shoulders in a dismissive matter. "It matters until it doesn't," he stated dryly.

"When does it not matter?" she asked for clarification.

"When your safety is breached.” His raspy voice caved into her ears as he pulled her closer."Let me protect you. I'll protect myself after."

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