Page 73 of Priest

“No! Don’t say that.” I cried and turned in his arms to face him. “My heart broke for you because I cannot imagine how difficult that was for you. It was cruel of her to ask you that but so damn brave and loving of you to sit with her and watch her go through it.”

He reached out and wiped the tears from my face.

“Don’t cry for me, princess. I made my peace with my life and the shit I’d gone through long ago. That’s what led me on this path. The shit I do ain’t because I’m just an evil nigga bent on breaking the law. The shit I do is to help the ones that the government, the wealthy, and the elite don’t give a fuck about. The arms dealing and gambling are all so that I can give back to the ones in need.”

I allowed Priest to pull me back into his arms again, and he held me close. I cried some more and he wiped my tears. I cried for the little boy he had been, his sister, my mother, his mother, and me.

The food was forgotten as I drifted in and out of sleep. At some point, as I lay on my side, wrapped in his arms, I woke up again. And the realization of what I felt hit me square in the chest.

“I love you, Priest,” I whispered before I fell asleep again.

(FOUR MONTHS LATER)

“That shit’s beautiful, love,”I observed.

Gold and red leaves swirled around a black and gold cross in a rendition of our love and commitment to each other on September’s back. Fang, my head tattoo artist, applied some ointment to September’s upper back area.

I zoned out as he explained to her what she needed to do to care for the tattoo. She already knew, but she chose to let him drone on. I glanced at my phone again and read the text message.

CHAINZ:

It was just delivered, Prez. You want it out back or in the lot?

ME:

Take it to the back, under the patio.

CHAINZ:

Gotcha.

I flicked out of that text and went to the next one.

BELL:

Everything’s ready. We’re just waiting for you.

ME:

We’ll be there in half an hour. Tell Jagged to lock in on my location to keep y’all updated.

BELL:

Okay. See you soon.

“You ready, baby?” September’s soft voice came from behind me.

I turned back to her and smiled. She had just slipped her T-shirt back on. “Yeah. Let’s ride.”

“Wait, where’s my jacket?” she asked.

“It’s out there,” I replied and bobbed my head toward the door. She frowned, but she didn’t question me. I led her out of the room and to the receptionist’s desk.

“Hey, Patch. You got my baby’s jacket?” I asked the dude wearing glasses and a face full of piercings.

“Oh, yeah,” he replied.

I took the bag that he handed to me and turned to September. I pulled the black leather jacket from the bag and watched as she scrunched her face.

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