Page 67 of The Love of Priest

"You not gonna walk me out?" he asked as he extended a hand to her, indicating that he wanted her to.

Britain rolled her eyes playfully before putting her hand in his. He whisked her out of the bed, causing her to laugh before he sat her down in front of him. "I prayed all night." She gazed up at him.

"I appreciate it.” He wrapped his arms around her.

Britain laid her head against his chest, listening to the strength of his heartbeat as they stood in her bedroom. "I gotta get going," he said to her while applying a light kiss on top of her head.

Britain nodded before she began leading the way out. "Thank you for last night," he expressed his gratitude.

Britain smiled up at him. "It's nothing. You'll get through this, and I'll be there every step of the way." She lifted her hand up, initiating a high five.

Priest chuckled before slapping his hand with hers. They said their final goodbyes to each other before Priest made his way to his car and she returned to her apartment.

As he climbed into his car, his phone chimed with a call from J'Ru. He sighed before answering, knowing that he was about trip on him. "Now, how the fuck are you not home to get ready for this trial?" was the first thing J'Ru asked, not bothering to give Priest a proper greeting.

Priest chuckled. He had gotten used to J'Ru's constant nagging about him needing to be punctual for everything. "I'm on my way," he assured.

J'Ru smacked his lips with a shake of his head. "Alright. I'm gonna get ya moms. Is Jazzy coming with? She's getting ready like she is," J'Ru pointed out.

Priest screwed his face up. "No. Have Kaymen stay with her. Make sure she knows it's my orders."

J'Ru nodded his head. "I got you. Stay up." The two friends said their goodbyes as Priest continued the drive back to his penthouse. His mind ended up wandering, and he chuckled to himself at the fact that it landed on Britain. The thought of her brought an immediate aura of relaxation and happiness. He wasn't sure how he would have coped if he hadn't shown up at her place the night before. She handled everything perfectly, and it showed Priest that he could count on her when he was down.

Arriving at the penthouse, Priest’s eyes scanned the array of black on black, bulletproof SUVs his people had lined up out front. His security detail was doing a great job of keeping the media away from the vehicles as their burly frames guarded the perimeter of the SUVs.

Parking his car in his reserved parking section, Priest made his way into the building. He bypassed his security measures with his palm print, and the elevator doors to the top story penthouse glided open. He was met with the hasty movements and rushing faces of everyone inside. "Man, deal with this shit. I gotta go get your moms." J'Ru shook his head as Jazzy cut her eyes at him with her arms folded across her chest.

Priest entered the penthouse, sitting his keys on the counter where Talia was claiming all the dirty dishes left behind from J'Ru, Kaymen, and Jazzy eating breakfast. "Look." Priest glanced over to Jazzy who was sporting a lethal mean mug on her face. "I don't really have the time to deal with the attitude right now. I gotta get ready to go," Priest explained to her as he dapped Kaymen up.

"Why can't I go with you?" Jazzy asked, not liking the fact that J'Ru had just informed her that she would be getting babysat by Kaymen and not supporting her brother. "You're taking her and not me? What paradox are you trapped in?" She screwed her face up, referring to Sylvia being able to accompany him for the trial.

Priest turned on his heels to face his little sister. The longer she stayed out in Paris the more he forgot how bratty she could be. Here she was doing what she did best, acting and whining to get her way. "Listen, this not gonna be up for discussion. You're not going, and that's final," Priest concluded as he began making his way toward his bedroom through the extended hall of the penthouse.

He could hear Jazzy let out a loud groan. "Do I have to stay with Kaymen, though?! He doesn't even talk!" Jazzy cut her eyes at Kaymen, who shot her his signature stale face that he kept on practically all the time.

Priest chuckled a bit. "He talks, just not to you!" He enlightened her. Kaymen was real low key and didn’t like to say too much, which was why Priest and J'Ru rocked with him so heavy. He didn’t enjoy the clout and glamour of everything, nor was he trying to impress anyone. Many thought Kaymen lacked the fundamental vocabulary of a decent human being at times, since he didn't speak much, but around those he was comfortable with, he opened up a bit. Jazzy, who wasn’t really around, never got the chance to get Kaymen comfortable, which was why Priest determined Kaymen to be perfect for the job of keeping Jazzy on the straight and narrow until his trial was over for the day.

After taking a much-needed shower and getting dressed in a fine tailored Giorgio Armani suit and black leather penny loafers, Priest was ready to go. The color choice for his suit was an alluring deep navy blue that contrasted with his golden skin tone perfectly. A black turtleneck was topped with the double-breasted suit jacket, coordinating the gold detailing on the jacket’s buttons with the gold jewelry he fastened around his neck. He ran his hands down his face as he gave himself a final once over and then smoothed his hands over the lapels of the suit as he adjusted his posture.

"Priest Kanaz Justice," he recited to himself in confidence, reminding his once hopeless self of who he was.

As he exited his bedroom, his loafers graced against the oak wood flooring. "Mr. Justice, don't you want to grab something to eat for the road?" Talia asked with a light smile on her face.

Priest shook his head, assuring her that he was fine. "Thank you, Talia, but I'm fine. Tonight, if you can, I'm hoping to celebrate Jazzy's return."

The light smile on Talia's face grew since she was always fond of the way Priest took care of Jazzy. She had been around long enough to know that Jazzy meant world to Priest. "I'll have her favorite prepared. How many should I be expecting?"

Priest let out a sigh. He would have wanted his mother to join them, but he knew nothing good would come from having her in the same room with Jazzy. "The usual; me, Jazzy, and J'Ru," he rattled off the list to Talia who nodded.

A smirk crept across Talia's face. "Not that woman Jazzy thinks you've fallen for?" she teased. Jazzy had been talking her ear off about the sudden changes in Priest.

Priest couldn't help but laugh a bit while shaking his head. "Don't let Jazzy feed you nonsense," he jokingly warned her. "Thank you for breakfast. We appreciate it."

"I'll appreciate it when you eat some." She smiled as she handed him an already packed plate of breakfast. He chuckled, knowing that Talia took her job of keeping him fed with her refined cooking very seriously.

He thanked her for his breakfast before saying goodbye to her. Before he could exit the penthouse through the elevator, he turned on his heels to speak to Jazzy who was still sporting her attitude about staying behind with Kaymen. "Don't give him a hard time," he warned her.

Jazzy looked up from her phone at Priest. "I'll try not to." She smirked. "You make sure you give them a hard time, though," she jested, knowing that Priest's ability to handle himself so well during trial always got under the prosecutor’s skin.

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