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"How many were on there for me?" Priest asked, wanting to verify the number of bricks that were being shipped to the city.

He eyed Suzette and Matteo as they exchanged glances with one another. It was evident that they were withholding information from Priest, and that didn't sit well with him. "None," Matteo blatantly stated with a light shrug, causing Priest’s jaw to constrict.

A bitter chuckle aired out of Priest as he hoped Suzette and Matteo would quickly let him know they were just giving him a hard time for being late. Seeing that neither interjected, his chuckle halted abruptly. "None?" he asked, needing more clarification. His handsome face contorted into a screwed-up look as he awaited an explanation from either of them.

Seeing that neither was willing to offer him any clarification, Priest spoke once more. "The only reason I'm even doing this shit is because you promised me more product. If you can't honor the deal we made, then we can dead this shit right now," he threatened with a shake of his head.

Suzette turned around so her back was facing Priest. He watched as she lifted her hand, gesturing to one of the crew members on each ship to open up the storage compartment. Priest could recall his first visit to the dock where Suzette had made the same gesture, showcasing the amount of product that would be transported from continent to continent. This timearound, Priest wasn't in awe. The empty storage compartments stared back at him, indicating that there wouldn't be any product sent out anywhere.

A feeling of defeat plunged down on him as he sank his hand into the pockets of his slacks. "So, you played me?" Priest asked, wanting to know why he was promised more product when they clearly couldn't fulfill their usual demand at the moment.

Using her hand to block the rays of the sun, Suzette turned around to face Priest again. She had a sheepish look on her face as she shrugged her shoulders. "We need your help.”

"You need my help? I have a whole crew waiting on this shipment back in New York, and you mean to tell me you sent that ship off with nothing on it? Then you roped me into this bullshit-ass deal just to let me know y'all don't have no fucking product to begin with? Check this out. I have nothing but respect for y'all, but y'all are gonna have to find help elsewhere ‘cause now I gotta figure out how my people back in the city gonna eat," Priest fumed in frustration. He was livid. He felt played and lied to. Here he was sacrificing it all just to get to a bigger end goal, yet Matteo and Suzette couldn't even hold up to their part of the bargain. They were sure if they let Priest know they were experiencing a drought and had no product he wouldn't have agreed to take on the issue with them. Priest would have managed to find some sort of work around to appease his demand out in New York, then returned to Suzette and Matteo once they got their shit sorted out. That would have been the smart thing to do.

Now, here he was, out of product, roped into a deal with Suzette and Matteo who he was depending on, and putting his relationship with his fiancée on the line. This was all due to Suzette and Matteo being too prideful to admit the only reason they needed his help was because shit was bad for them at the moment. Priest would be a fresh face, bringing in new energyand closing new deals in hopes of getting their supply back. They were no longer able to supply themselves, so now they were in search of a new plug, something Priest would help them with.

"Priest, if we didn't need your help we wouldn't be asking," Matteo stressed as he placed a pleading hand on Priest's shoulder. "Suzette’s sister, Aida, cut our pipeline from the inside out. She has closed all our connects to the Cartel because Suzette found out that her husband was an informant some years back who took out their uncle Javi. She’s blackballed us, Priest, and there’s no way for us to find our way back in unless we have a new face. This is a time of need, and right now, we're all in this shit together."

Suzette came from a dynasty that had heavy connects to the Cartel. After their father, Julio Aguilar, passed suddenly, Suzette and her siblings fought mercilessly to claim their spot as the successor to the empire Julio built alongside his brothers. This fight was one that Suzette managed to win for a while before her sister Aida convinced her husband, Manuel, to claim the spot as his. It was a gritty and nasty dispute for power that left many people dead and their family strained. It took a lot for Suzette to finally bow out gracefully. That was until she stumbled onto some intel about Manuel being a rat. Suzette thought she would be able to use this information to her advantage and have her sister and Manuel back down from the throne gracefully just as she did, but she was sadly mistaken. Aida and Manuel were out to end Suzette and Matteo. They knew the first thing to hit to make Suzette weak was her money, so cutting their supply and connection to the Cartel was their first powerplay.

Matteo was a lot less prideful than his stubborn wife. Truth was, they had been struggling for a while now but always managed to send out the same quota of product to Priest since he was their main distro that brought them in the most money. All their other distros were shorted immensely, which was badfor business. It was Suzette who refused to let anyone in on their drought and figured it would be best to fight tooth and nail until something changed. Matteo believed if they continued on doing things Suzette's way, they would lose everything. Priest moving out to Italy was just divine timing for them. Once Matteo convinced his wife to agree to getting Priest to help, he knew things would be looking up soon.

Priest ran his hand down his stressed face. Yet again he had tied himself into an everlasting sequence of bullshit. "Look, I didn’t agree to help you sort out your fucking family issues," Priest reminded them as he shook his head. "I don't appreciate you trying to leave me in control of a mess you can't dig yourself out of. I'm not trying to be the face of anything aside from what I have going on back in the city. I will do my part to score a deal with a plug that can guarantee high quality product at the scale y’all are used to, but that’s all I’m doing." Priest’s dark orbs seared into Suzette.

"Deal," Suzette accepted and extended her hand to Priest.

Priest’s orbs drifted down to her hand. He opted out of shaking it. She couldn't be trusted at the moment since she had wrapped him up in a web of prideful lies already. "Deal?" He raised his brow as he extended his hand to Matteo instead.

"Deal," Matteo solidified the new terms of the agreement Priest set in place.

MANHATTAN, NEW YORK

Sitting her hand in Cyro's, Britain thanked him for his assistance with getting out of the car. She was quickly sheltered from the pouring rain that cascaded from the sky with the umbrella he held over her head. She wasn't a huge fan of the rain, but the sudden change in weather called for dramatic attire consistingof knee-high boots and overcoats. When packing her bag for her visit back home, she didn't understand why she had the urge to pack her boots. Once she took notice to the weather, she couldn't help but find the fact that she still had the gift of predicting New York's weather even after being in Italy as long as she had.

Dressed in all black, her physique, which was curvy in all the right places, was on full display in the long-sleeved body suit she wore. She complimented her leather boots with a matching leather bag. To complete her look, her hair was styled bone straight with a sharp blunt cut at the ends. The only way she would feel good was if she looked good, so she had put on a nice outfit just to meet with her sister Brea.

It was like divine timing when she got a text from her sister letting her know they were visiting the city at the same time. Typically, their schedules almost never aligned unless Seven was coordinating a family event. This time around, Brea flew out to New York to attend a convention where both their father and mother would be honored for their achievements and advancements they made in medicine. Henderson had graciously extended an invite to Britain, but she had yet to offer him a response. She wasn't sure if she could handle celebrating her mother with all the tension they had brewing with each other.

In hopes of enjoying the day out, Britain set up a nice outing for her and Brea. She invited Jazzy as well, but just like Priest, she prioritized her busy schedule and let Britain know she would be arriving later to meet her and Brea at the boutique where they planned to shop.

Cyro held the door open for Britain, allowing her entrance intoLa Lealtá.As always, the ambiance of the restaurant captivated her upon stepping inside. Glancing around the lounge area that was equipped with a bar, Britain caught notice of her younger sister sitting nearby with her attention set onher phone. With a smile of excitement etching her face, Britain scurried over to her sister.

Sensing her sister's presence, Brea glanced up from her phone, pleased to catch sight of Britain. "Oh my God! You look amazing!" Brea complimented her sister as she stood up from her seat to embrace her. "God, I wish I had your genes!"she gushed in admiration of Britain.

Britain couldn't help but laugh at her sister's dramatics. "You look gorgeous too, Brea," she complimented her.

Brea was absolutely beautiful. Taking after their mother, Seven, she grew to be fonder of the simplistic style. She was nothing like Britain, who enjoyed making a statement with each and every bold outfit. She was clean cut and conservative, which fit her career choice pretty well. Despite how basic and simple Brea claimed to be, it never took away from how stunning she was. Taking after Britain, Brea's umber skin radiated no matter the weather. She favored her father Henderson much more than she favored Seven, so she was gifted his cute button nose and loving eyes. Today, she had her hair pulled up with some of it flowing gracefully down one side of her face. She was dressed in a chic black satin dress that she paired nicely with her designer overcoat. Taking the first opportunity she had to get out of running sneakers and scrubs, she finalized the look with a pair of black open toe heels.

"Thank you," Brea said as she beamed her gorgeous smile. "You might as well have a seat. The wait time in here is ridiculous." She moved her purse from the seat beside her so Britain could sit.

Glancing over her shoulder at the busy waiting area of the restaurant, Britain returned her attention to her sister. She shook her head as she extended her hand to her. "You mean to tell me you made reservations this whole time, and you justhad me sitting here?” Brea smacked her lips, ready to scold her sister.

"I didn't make reservations," Britain clarified as she continued to lead the way toward the hostess.

Brea continued to eye her sister oddly, hoping like hell Britain wouldn't be embarrassing her by demanding a table in the nice establishment despite the evident wait time. Britain exchanged a few words with the hostess, and sure enough, they didn't have to endure the straining wait. They were led toward the private tables toward the back of the restaurant that would usually only be occupied by Priest, J'Ru, Kaymen and Jazzy.

Once the ladies were seated and offered some of the finest wine or champagne, they were handed their menus. "I should have known." Brea chuckled at the sight of Priest's name printed right underneath the name of the restaurant on the menu.