Obsessive Temptation: A BWWM Romance Limited Edition Collection

by Peyton Banks

She was no longer the girl who got picked on because of her hair and because she was heavier than all the other girls in her class. She was a confident, grown ass woman. She was beautiful. She was sexy. Her black girl magic was unstoppable.

  Smiling, Criss fluffed her curls then turned and headed to her area. Her walk was fierce as she strode down the corridor. Employees stopped to stare. She kept her eyes forward until she reached the lounge area where she worked. It was on the other side of the club, away from the strippers and the loud music.

  It was a place where the gentleman could sit while they waited on their favorite stripper to perform or become available for a lap dance. It was also where some of the patrons came to sober up before they returned home to their husbands and wives.

  The band was already there and setting up their set. They appeared shocked when she told them of the new music she wanted to try. Shocked and delighted. However, the way they stared at her made her wish she’d worn a jogging suit over her dress.

  “Damn, Criss,” her drummer, Rico, called out. “You lookin good.”

  She told herself not to blush. Damn it, she blushed anyway. “Thank you.”

  “What’s the occasion?” Paul asked.

  “The occasion is I need tips.”

  Her crew burst out laughing.

  Criss chuckled. “I’m serious guys. You guys are on payroll. I only get paid in tips. I need to make more money. Which is why, I need to dress like this and play sexier songs.”

  “We can help you with that,” Rico offered. “Let’s discuss these songs you want to sing.”

  Criss huddled in the corner with her band and told them what songs she wanted to sing. Most of the songs were more up to date songs. A few were oldies. But they were sexy. Her crew let her know they could play the songs she’d chosen.

  Before they opened the doors to the lounge, they practiced a little. Singing and dancing was in her blood. It was as natural to her as walking. Singing sexy songs and swaying seductively to the beat was natural for her too.

  She did it all the time when she was in her bedroom. When she was alone in her bedroom, she was able to release the Sexy Empress. That was what she’d named her alter ego. Tonight, she would let the Sexy Empress out and allow her to do her thang.

  “Hey Criss,” Moe, the pianist, called to her. “You ready to open the doors?”

  Gripping the mic stand tightly, Criss shook her head.

  “What you scared of?” Rico asked.

  “I ain’t never scared,” Criss replied, offended.

  “Then act like it,” Rico goaded her. “If you ain’t scared, let Moe open the door and let’s get this thing started.”

  Criss glanced to the door. In the words of Rico, it was time to get this thing started. Was she ready? Could she do this? Criss took a deep breath and released it slowly. Yes. Yes the fuck she could do this.

  She could do anything she put her mind to. She was going to rock this club tonight and make a gang of money. And then she was going to use it to move her and her family as far away from Chicago as she could. Determined to succeed, Criss turned to her pianist.

  “Open the doors, Moe. It’s time to do this.”

  4

  Con felt like shooting a motherfucker.

  “What the fuck you mean you didn’t get a clear view of his face?” Con yelled to Yury.

  “He never faced the camera directly. We only got a side profile. We know that he’s a white male, about six foot with blonde hair. We were able to get a look at the tag on his vehicle. Louis is looking into that now.”

  “I want to know who that bastard is and why he was at Criss’ house.”

  “We should know something by tomorrow.”

  “I need that shit tonight.”

  “Boss, we can’t get it tonight. Louis’ department is already suspicious of him. If he goes to the police station on his day off, they’ll grow even more suspicious. He works tomorrow night. He’ll have the info to you tomorrow night.”

  Patience was not one of Con’s strong suits. “I want it ASAP.”

  Yury nodded.

  “Have you seen Criss tonight?”

  “I have not. I talked to Lina earlier and she was on her way to take Criss a drink.”

  Con nodded. Seated behind his desk, he brought his glass of bourbon to his lips and sipped. Who the hell was this mystery dude who’d broken into Criss’ house last night? And why hadn’t she reported the bastard to the cops?

  “You sure the video footage shows the man holding a gun?”

  Yury nodded. Con clutched his glass tightly. He’d known Cristal had some shady shit going on in her life. That’s why he’d placed a surveillance camera on the light post across the street from her house a few weeks ago.

  He hoped it’d offer him some insight into what she had going on in her life. This was not what he’d expected. The information he’d gotten from his private investigator, Dean Chambers, had only informed him about her parents’ situation.

  Her father had been a king pin. Her mother had been his right-hand man. According to Dean, both had been ruthless. Her mother was murdered by a rival gang. A few weeks later, her dad fled the country right before his name hit the Most Wanted list.

  He left his two daughters in the custody of their maternal grandmother. Years later, the older sister died of a drug overdose. Con sighed. Cristal had lived a life almost as terrible as his.

  And now, her house was being broken into. Maybe the guy was someone who was looking for her father. Or maybe he was a jealous ex. It didn’t matter. Con wasn’t about to allow more tragedy to strike Criss and her family.

  Con slammed his glass down on his desk. “I want to know who this man is. I want to know where he lives, who he lives with, who his parents are, where he works…”

  “Boss,” Yury interrupted him. “Are you sure you want to get involved with this? You have your own shit to deal with. Vlad will be here…”

  “I can take care of my shit and Criss’ shit too.”

  Yury nodded. “May I speak freely?”

  “When don’t you speak freely?”

  “Boss, I’ve never seen you act like this over an employee. I’ve never seen you act this way over anyone. You seem to be obsessing over Cristal. For the life of me, I can’t figure out why. There are prettier women here. Sexier…”

  “Where? Who?”

  “There’s…”

  “None of them interest me. Even if they did, I wouldn’t fuck with them. I don’t mix business with pleasure.”

  “But Criss is…”

  “Not on my payroll. And what I do with her is my business.”

  Yury sighed. “You’re not going to let this go, are you?”

  “I’m not.”

  “Okay. As soon as we get a hit on that license plate, I’ll let you know.”

  “Good.”

  “Do you think we should put a pair of eyes on her house?”

  “Good thinking. Put Jinks on it.”

  Yury nodded just as a loud knock sounded at the door. Yury strode over to the door. Speak of the devil. Jinks stood on the other side of the door.

  “Just the man I was looking for,” Yury told him.

  “I don’t like it when you look for me. When you look for me, I usually end up doing something I don’t want to do.”

  “This job is an easy one.”

  “You said that about the last three jobs. I damn near lost a finger last month.”

  “This job is an easy one.”

  “Whatever.” Jinks leaned forward to peer into the room. “Boss man, Vlad is here.”

  “Is he alone?”

  “No. He has two Soldiers with him.”

  Of course, he does. The man couldn’t take a shit without the Soldiers following him around, probably offering to wipe his ass.

  “Bring him inside. Tell the Soldiers to go and enjoy the entertainment.”

  “Vlad said you’d say something like that. He said the Soldiers are to come with him.”

  “Tell
Vlad he owes me one. Tell him to come alone.”

  “You sure, boss?”

  Yury closed the door in Jink’s face. “He asks too many questions.”

  “He’s good. He knows the Soldiers are getting fed up with me. Especially after I fired them all from the club and brought my own men in.”

  “Just because you don’t fear the repercussions of your actions, doesn’t mean you should make things hard for Vlad.”

  “Fuck Vlad.” Con leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes. His thoughts automatically strayed to Criss. Tonight, was to be her first night with new songs. Con chuckled. New songs weren’t going to help her.

  “Boss, Vlad is your friend.”

  “True. But he’s also a fool. I can’t tolerate fools. He was free. He’d gotten away from this life. He left the organization. He left the Soldiers behind. Now he’s back working for them. Foolish, that’s what he is.”

  “I’m sure he has his reasons. Like you have yours.”

  Con’s reasons were nothing like Vlad’s. He’d bet money on it. Con had a debt to repay the leader of the Soldiers. A blood debt. If Con didn’t fulfil his end of the deal, his life would be forfeited.

  Con often wondered whether or not the deal he’d made was worth it. Was staying in this organization and living this life of crime, worth the help he’d received from the Soldiers during his time of need?

  Con opened his eyes and stared up at the ceiling. Yes, it was worth it. It was all worth it. If the Soldiers hadn’t provided the resources and the backup, he never would’ve found the sick son of a bitch who murdered his baby sister and nephew.

  It had taken him three years to track the man down. He’d found him hiding out in a small town in Alaska. Con hadn’t wasted time torturing him. He hadn’t wasted time asking him why he murdered the people he was supposed to love.

  The reason behind his sister’s boyfriend committing that heinous crime hadn’t interested him. All Con had cared about was ending the fool. He put a bullet in the bastard’s head on sight. No questions asked. No last words.

  Only death. Because of that, he owed a debt to the leader of the Soldiers. In one year, that debt would be paid. He wouldn’t have been able to find the man without the Soldiers help. For that help, he owed the leader, his former best friend, fifteen years of servitude.

  During those fifteen years, Con had stolen, fought, spied and killed for the Soldiers. This lifestyle was profitable. He’d risen through the ranks quickly. He’d made a name for himself both him Russia and in the States.

  He was feared and hated by many. He could count on one hand the people who cared for him. At first, none of that bothered him. Yet, the older he got, the more he started to hate himself. The more he wished he could be normal, live normally. That couldn’t happen until he was free from his blood debt.

  “Did you hear me boss?”

  Con sat up. “What?”

  “I said when Vlad comes in, don’t bring up the past. Don’t ask him why he returned to the Soldiers.”

  “You know me well. I’m going to ask him. I want to know.” Con shrugged.

  Another knock at the door interrupted their conversation. Before Yury could open the door, Vlad did it himself then strode into the room like he owned it.

  Vlad faced Yury. “You can leave.”

  Con held in his chuckle when Yury didn’t budge. To Vlad Con said, “You must not have gotten the memo. I fired all the Soldiers who worked here and hired my own men. Yury answers to me and me alone.”

  And sometimes he didn’t even do as Con wanted. Such was the way when you hired childhood friends. They often did what was in your best interest rather than doing what you told them too.

  Vlad glared in Con’s direction. “That’s one of the reasons I’m here. Have you lost your mind?”

  “Maybe. Maybe not.” Con looked to Yury. “You can leave. Make sure Vlad’s men stay away from my office.”

  Yury nodded then left the room.

  “Do you have a death wish?” Vlad asked, once the office door shut behind Yury.

  “Actually, no. I happen to like living. Why? Do you?”

  “What the hell does that mean?” Vlad strode over to the chair across from Con and sat down.

  “You were free from this life, Vlad. Why did you return to…”

  “I didn’t come here to discuss that. The only reason I came was because the leader hasn’t been able to reach you.”

  Con shrugged. “I’ve been busy doing the task he sent me to do.”

  “He sent you here to help keep the club running and to aid the Soldiers who worked here in finding Boris. Yet, you fired all of them and brought in your own men.”

  “I trust my men.”

  “You can trust the Soldiers.”

  “You mean the same Soldiers Boris trusted? The same Soldiers who worked for him day in and day out, yet doesn’t seem to know a damn thing about his disappearance?”

  “You read their reports. Boris only allowed them to watch over him while at the club. When he left the club, he forbade them from following him home or for watching over his family. He told them he could take care of himself and his wife and kid. He disappeared while leaving work one night. And per his orders, they didn’t follow him. Therefore, they didn’t see what happened after he left work. We didn’t realize something was wrong until his wife called the next day to say he hadn’t come home.”

  “Right. And then you all started investigating. And you still haven’t found shit.”

  “It isn’t from lack of trying. The leader is using all of his connections…”

  “The leader is using the Soldiers to look for someone who was probably killed by a Soldier. That’s like sending the Cookie Monster on an errand to pick up cookies. He won’t return with shit but excuses.”

  Vlad stood up. “If that’s how you really feel, then you should be having this conversation with the leader. Not me.”

  “I chose you because you know how this organization works.”

  “I’m a Soldier…”

  “No. To me, you’re Vlad. Someone I can trust. Someone who left this world because he knew how fucked up it could be. Someone who wanted to protect his family from this life. But, since you’ve returned to it, I’m assuming you’ve failed to protect your family from this life.”

  “Careful, Constantine.”

  “You should’ve been careful Vlad. If you had, you wouldn’t be here. You wouldn’t be working for the organization. And I wouldn’t be hearing rumors that your sister is missing. Is that why you returned to the leader? Do you need help finding your sister?”

  Vlad clenched his hands into fists. Con knew he was pissing the man off. He needed Vlad to be mad, he needed Vlad to see fault in the organization. Only then would Vlad help him.

  “Is that the reason?” Con asked again.

  “My reasons are my own.”

  “There were others you could’ve turned to. You could’ve come to me. You could’ve gone to…”

  “Everyone who could’ve helped me is affiliated with the Soldiers. We are not here to talk about me. We’re here to talk about you. The leader wants his men reinstated here. He wants you to continue using his resources to search for Boris. He doesn’t want outsiders knowing Boris is missing.”

  “I understand the leader’s reasons for wanting these things. But I have no intention of implementing them. When he sent me here, I told him I would find Boris by any means necessary. The means I’m using are necessary.”

  “Fine. Be stubborn. I have to report this conversation to the leader. Do you want me to tell him you don’t trust the Soldiers? Or do you want me…”

  “You can tell him whatever you like. Hell, he can even fire me and hire someone else to run this club. I don’t give a shit. Either way, I’m not leaving Chicago until I find Boris. The leader is busy looking for one of his Soldiers. That’s all he thinks of Boris as. I’m looking for my friend. I’m looking for a father, a husband, who has a family that cries for him every night.�
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  Vlad rubbed his hand through his hair.

  “His wife thinks he’s dead. She’s losing weight. She refuses to eat. She’s having suicidal thoughts. His daughter, who is a straight A student, is falling asleep in class because she stays up as late as she can, in hopes that her father will come home.”

  “That’s enough…”

  “The Soldiers are supposed to take care of their own, right? Then why am I paying Delilah’s bills and providing an allowance for Azariah? Why am I the only one visiting them? Why does it seem like I’m the only one who cares?”

  “Enough!” Vlad yelled.

  “I feel the same way.” Con stood up. “Enough. Enough depending on the Soldiers for this. I will use my own means. But I am not too proud to admit I need help. I need help from people I can trust. I trust you, Vlad.”

  Vlad shook his head. “Why does everyone continue trying to get me to go against the Soldiers. First, Garrett and Dean. And now you. Do I look that disloyal to you motherfuckers?”

  “No. It’s because you are loyal. You’re loyal to your friends. And you recognize that the organization is flawed. I’m not asking you to be disloyal to the leader. I’m not asking you to disobey the leader’s orders. I’m just asking you to help me find Boris. Ultimately, that’s what I was sent here to do. The way I do it shouldn’t matter. As long as I get the job done, right?”

  “The leader will be upset.”

  “When is he not upset with me?”

  “He thought for sure this time you would do things his way.”

  “He knows I like to get shit done my way. If he was really upset, he would’ve come here himself. Or sent his brother.”

  Vlad nodded. “You know him well.”

  “Him, Yury and I, used to be best friends.”

  “Then why don’t you trust him more?”

  “I never said I didn’t trust him. I don’t trust everyone he lets into the organization. We are a group of killers. Why would I trust all of you? I’m pretty sure there are some members who don’t trust me.”

  “Do you truly believe the Soldiers who worked for Boris had something to do with his disappearance?”

  “I don’t know. However, since I do have doubts, it’s best that I don’t allow them to help with this investigation. This is the only way I can be sure I’m not being sabotaged or mislead. This is the only way to truly find Boris and bring him home. I just want to find him. I don’t mean to offend anyone. I just want to bring my friend home.”