Worth The Wait Part8

Monica sat quietly in the back seat for a few moments longer after Crystal drove away with who she presumed to be Cane. She adjusted her skirt and slowly crawled into the driver’s seat. Letting out a deep sigh, followed by a bitter chuckle, she shook her head. It wasn’t surprising, really—she always seemed to want things she couldn’t have. Why should this be any different?

Starting up her SUV, a new thought entered her mind: *This time is going to be different.* She wasn’t going to let Crystal slip away so easily. This time, she was going to get exactly what she wanted.

The way Crystal looked at her earlier—there was no denying it. Monica could feel it too, that electric current between them. It wasn’t just her trapped in this fiery pit of desire. If Cane hadn’t shown up, she had no doubt that she and Crystal would’ve woken up in each other’s arms the next morning. But who was this guy, anyway? Crystal ignored his calls all night and had ended their girl’s night with her lips on Monica’s, not his. Then again, Crystal had left with him. *Not me.*

She sighed as she backed out of the parking lot, but before she could hit the road, her fingers moved almost instinctively, grabbing her phone and pulling up her list of saved locations. She had been tracking Crystal’s phone all day—since she left the newsroom to meet the witness that morning.

Her heart pounded in her chest, and she felt the temptation rise. Should she follow them? Should she let this mystery unfold before her eyes, or should she swallow her feelings, go home, and pretend tonight never happened?

Monica gripped the steering wheel, her knuckles white. The rational side of her screamed to let it go, to avoid whatever mess Crystal was getting herself into. But the other side—the side that wanted Crystal with a hunger she hadn’t felt in years—pulled her deeper into this web of lust and jealousy. She wasn’t ready to accept the awkwardness of working beside Crystal every day, pretending like she wasn’t hopelessly in love with her. Could she really walk away and replay this night over and over again every time she laid eyes on her?

“Fuck it.” Monica drove off the lot and followed the moving blue dot that was Crystal’s location marker. She drove for about 20 minutes and realized she was getting farther away from the city and closer to the woods. *What was Crystal mixed up in with this guy?* The road twisted and turned into the dark. Finally, there was a glimpse of light up ahead, and Monica cut her headlights, pulling off the road onto a biking trail. Nothing but trees surrounded the path. Crystal’s blue dot had stopped, so Monica waited. She saw she was about half a mile behind her. She got out and started to walk. All she had was her phone as a flashlight, and she was scared to death that something was going to maul her, but she kept walking until she saw the little glimpse of light again—it was a cabin. She saw both Cane and Crystal’s cars parked right in front. She tried her best to keep quiet as she slowly crept from behind a tree toward the side of the cabin. She could see them through the window. They were hugging and kissing passionately. Monica was fuming at the sight of them. She remained calm as they stepped away from each other’s embrace and sat down on the couch together. The window was slightly cracked, and lucky for Monica, she could hear them loud and clear.

Cane’s thundering voice started the conversation. “Baby, I need to tell you something. I saw you the other night while you were jogging. I saw you see me. You weren’t supposed to know I was in town right now—no one was—and there’s a reason for that.”

Crystal adjusted her posture, realizing that this was not a romantic moment anymore, and it was taking a serious turn.

“There are some things I haven’t told you about myself. The main thing being that…” he raised his right sleeve to reveal his forearm, tattooed with a blood-dripped rose. Crystal’s eyes widened, and she covered her gaping mouth with her hand.

“Oh shit, Cane. Please tell me you didn’t…”

Monica couldn’t see what Crystal was shocked by, but the next few sentences gave her all the information she needed.

“No, I didn’t kill anybody. Those were my guys. I came here to discuss some numbers with them and reroute the next distribution for the rest of the month. But when I made it to the warehouse, somebody whacked my guys and took the distribution plans with them. I cleaned their prints off of everything I felt they could’ve touched. Their heads were gone, but I couldn’t risk the possibility of their names being released. Whoever did this wanted to send some sort of message because they sent their heads to our Don. We’ve been trying to piece the shit together all day. I wanted to tell you this morning, but you didn’t answer the phone. I went to your job and saw you leaving, so I followed you. I’ve been following you all day because I knew you saw me, and I knew the story would make it to you. I just knew it would. And I knew you would think it was me, but it wasn’t me, Crys.”

Monica’s thoughts were spinning, and all the dots were connecting. “So that’s why she was so invested in the story? She thought her little boyfriend was a murderer. Honestly, he probably was, just not in this particular case.” She rolled her eyes and kept listening. Crystal was shaking her head in disbelief.

“So you’re a mob member and a military-grade level spy? Awesome. Anything else you’d like to share tonight?”

Cane ran his hand through his hair again, looking both frustrated and cornered. “I didn’t want to involve you in this. It’s not safe, Crys.”

“And yet, here we are,” Crystal spat, her tone sharp.

Monica watched through the window as Crystal stood up, arms crossed, pacing back and forth as if trying to make sense of it all. Cane remained seated, his head bowed slightly. He looked like a man cornered, but Monica knew better. He wasn’t out of options. Men like Cane never were.

Monica leaned closer to the window, the wheels in her mind spinning faster than ever. She could hear Cane’s low voice, full of desperation. “I’m trying to keep you safe—don’t fault me for that. Who was that guy you met today at the coffee shop? It wasn’t just some casual run-in, was it?”

Crystal stopped pacing and shot him a cold glare. “His name is Rami. And no, it wasn’t just a run-in. He’s my ex.”

Monica could see Cane tense up at the mention of Rami, his jaw tightening. Crystal continued, her voice steady but distant. “He’s also the lead detective for the police department. I needed some info for the story, and...”

A silence fell over the cabin, thick and heavy. Monica’s heart leaped at the new information. “The lead detective?” Suddenly, she had a new card to play. If Cane was as tangled up in cartel business as he seemed, Rami might be her ticket.

Monica’s mind raced with possibilities. She could subtly feed Rami information—maybe something to point him directly at Cane. She wouldn’t even have to get her hands dirty. And with Cane out of the way, Crystal would be hers. It was almost too easy.

She stepped back from the cabin, her breath quickening as the plan solidified in her mind. She hadn’t meant to stumble upon this, but now that she had, she was going to use it. “This is how I win,”she thought with a grin, heading back toward her SUV. As she drove away, Monica plotted her next move, already envisioning Crystal turning to her after Cane’s inevitable fall from grace.

It’s only a matter of time.