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Priest looked down at the phone as it continued to ring. He was debating on even answering the call because he knew J'Ru would only call if something was wrong. A sigh aired out of him as he grabbed the phone to answer it.

"I gotta take this," he told Britain, excusing himself for the phone call.

"I can't even listen to phone calls anymore?!" Britain called behind him.

"Church and state, Britain!" he reminded her of the new set of boundaries.

Once he was far enough away to ensure she wouldn't be able to hear any parts of his conversation, he held the phone up to his ear. "Yo, you know we in two different time zones, right?" Priest furrowed his brows, confused about why J'Ru was calling him.

"Yeah, and you know I wouldn't call unless it was important," J'Ru said to him with a deep amount of stress in his tone.

Priest ran his hand down his face in distress. He hadn't even left New York for a day, and he was already being servedwith issues. He was sure J'Ru and Kaymen tried their best to handle the situation without bringing him on, so whatever it was probably needed dire attention. "What is it?" he asked, ready to take it on.

J'Ru sighed as she shook his head. "It's Sylvia, man. She's trying to blow up our whole spot right now."

A huff of frustration exhaled out of Priest at the mention of his mother. Priest had long forgotten about his mother and her antics. She had been the least of his worries for a while now, so he didn't touch bases with her when the word about him being dead aired on the news. Of course, that was one of the biggest mistakes he could’ve ever made. Silvia was theatrical and yearned for attention, so there was no telling what she was doing right now to get it.

"What the fuck did she do now?" Priest groaned.

Despite the situation not being anything to laugh about, J'Ru let out a chuckle. He had to admit Silvia had completely gone over their heads with this one. "She called a press conference with every fucking news outlet there is in the city. She's wilding, acting all concerned and shit like she gives a fuck," he scoffed.

Just like any other time, Sylvia was bound to put on a fucking show. She played the doting mother role well, but Priest and everybody else in his camp could see through all the bullshit. "If I'm gone, so is her lifestyle," Priest stated, putting it in perspective for J'Ru.

"I'm about to send you the clips from the press conference. Get back to me whenever you figure out how much you wanna pay her off with," J'Ru replied, immediately assuming that Priest was just going to offer his mother some hush money so she would keep out of his business.

A scoff aired out of Priest as he shook his head. "She ain't getting shit out of me," he clarified. "I'll hit you back soon."

When the call ended, Priest exhaled a deep sigh of agitation. Instead of carrying his conflicted demeanor back to Britain, he reevaluated himself and pushed the thought of his mother to the back of his mind.

Once he returned to the bedroom, Britain eyed him up and down, trying to pinpoint a sense of anger or even worry within him, but she couldn't.

"What was that about?" she asked, unable to suppress the urge to know everything.

Priest made his way to the other side of the bed, aiding her with untucking the duvet so they could sleep comfortably. "I want a small and intimate wedding. Nothing as big as Kaymen and Jadey's," he responded to her, completely disregarding her question.

Britain watched as he got into the bed, waiting for her to do so as well. "That's not what I asked you about, Priest," she clarified as she got into bed.

Priest tossed his arm around her waist, bringing her closer to him. "I know, but that's what I'm telling you. That'sallI'm telling you," he asserted, letting her know that she wasn't about to shake anything out of him. There was now a clear line.

Church and state.

Chapter Eleven

Jazzlyn maneuvered the steering wheel of the Porsche to parallel park in an empty spot at The Groves. Over the years, she had definitely overlooked all that came with Priest's lifestyle. She knew her brother worked hard, but she definitely underestimated how hard he actually worked. It had only been two days since he flew off to Ibiza with Britain, yet Jazzy had a task load that seemed to be out of this world.

Now that business was involved, J'Ru and Kaymen weren't cutting any corners with her. If she fucked up Priest's money, their money would get fucked up as well, and they weren't having any of that.

Like clockwork, her phone rang with a call from J'Ru right at noon. A heavy breath aired out of her before she accepted the call. "Yo," she answered.

J'Ru's chuckle sounded through her ears. "You sound like PJ already," he teased her.

Amused at the fact that she actually did sound like Priest whenever he would answer the phone, Jazzy laughed. "You calling with another task for me?"

"Nah," J'Ru denied as he shook his head. "But you are picking up the rent at The Groves, right? Nia don't appreciate us being late," he warned her.

Jazzy pressed the button to turn the vehicle off before grabbing her purse to step out. "I'm here now," she informed him. "And I'm on time." Her Bottega heels made contact with the cement once she exited the vehicle and locked it up behind her.

"See, I knew we wouldn't have to worry about you much," J'Ru praised her. "It's like PJ never left."