Page 4 of Obsessive Love

One year later…

Thunder clapped as I moved through my office. Citrine sat across from my desk, his attention on his phone; Amethyst was asleep on my couch. He’d just gotten back into town and finally crashed.

“No word from Cross?” Citrine asked without looking up from his phone.

“Nine said give her ten,” I answered, and he nodded. I leaned on the glass wall to look at the city. My office was on the top floor of the arena; below me was my empire. I’d spent nearly twenty years building my shit from the ground up and had no intention of stopping any time soon. I wanted my grandchildren’s grandchildren to understand what generational wealth meant and be the recipients of it.

“Then give her three,” he laughed. “She knows what this means to you, and no matter how much I respect Nine, his wife is better than he is.”

“He’d crash out if he heard you say that.” I laughed, and Citrine shrugged. I looked over at Amethyst and sighed. I wasworried about my brother. He was chasing a ghost he’d created to prove a point, and I feared he was losing. I’d seen him less than six times over the last year. He was only here now because Citrine had gone to get him. If he hadn’t, there was no telling when the next time we’d see him would be.

“Probably,” Citrine replied. He sat back in his seat, crossed his ankles, and watched me. “You ready to tell me what your problem is?”

“Something isn’t sitting right in my soul,” I truthfully answered, and Citrine lifted his brow in surprise. I ran my hand over my mouth and licked my lips. “I can't explain it, but I can feel the energy shifting around me. I’m restless all the time.” I blew out a breath and chuckled. “I know the shit sounds weird.”

“Nah,” Citrine denied as he shook his head. “I get it. Trust me.”

My cell phone rang, and I looked at my watch to see Cross' name on the display. I crossed the space from the windows to my desk and picked up my phone.

“What’s good, sis?” I said as I sat.

“He’s in Texas,” Cross said, getting straight to the point. “There’s a problem, though.”

“Xayne St. Thomas?” I asked, even though I already knew the answer. Xayne had made it clear to all of us that Javien was on his list, but shit was going to have to change.

“You already know,” she laughed. “He has the address.”

“How did he get it before me?” I questioned.

“He contacted me,” she said. “Call him.”

“Bet,” I replied. We hung up, and I pulled up Xayne’s contact information and called him. Xayne St. Thomas was a man many wished they knew and even more feared. Legally, he was a business owner; illegally, he was the loan shark who sent his killer daughter after you with no remorse.

“What can I do for you, Pyrite?” he answered.

“How much is Javien’s debt to you?” I said, getting straight to the point.

“He doesn’t owe me money. He has a hands problem that was brought to my attention,” he answered. “Is the money a bigger demand than justice?”

“I’ve seen the videos, which is why I am collecting,” I answered, and he grunted. “He owes me, but I told him he couldn’t bring issues to my organization.”

“You took too long to make moves,” Xayne sighed. “Was the money that important?”

“The money is what brought him to me,” I replied.

“Youngblood, what was the first thing I said to you when you were young and trying to make a name for yourself?”

“Never put money on the table that you can’t afford to get back,” I replied.

“Right, the money he owes should’ve been the last thing you worried about because of the videos.” He blew out a breath, and I knew he was smoking. “I been watching him move through Texas like he’s that nigga for almost two weeks. I could’ve snatched him the first night, but I didn’t. I wanted to see what he had his hand in.”

“Which is?” If Xayne was interested, that meant that whatever Javien was up to was worth the wait.

“Nothing worth my time,” he said with a chuckle. “He’s hiding out but still moving sloppily.” He flicked his lighter and took another inhale. “Now the question is, who will reach him first?”

“My plane is waiting for me,” I laughed. “But I know that isn’t going to stop you from moving.”

“It won’t,” he agreed. “But I’ll meet you in the middle. I’ll give you a head start and then send Xoey. She’s been itching at the bit to make some moves, and it's only so many times I’ll be able to tell her no before she takes matters into her own hands.”

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