Page 13 of SEAL's Sky
It wasn’t the first time this scenario played out, and the odds were even at fifty-fifty. Ryan put a ten-dollar bill on the table, and Cam matched it.
They’d bet on just about anything, but they always donated the winnings to charity. Murph put down his money and took Jake’s side. He looked extra determined and he did outrank Rafe.
A couple of the guys from neighboring tables got in on the betting and soon there was a pile of bills in front of Ryan.
“Seriously, you’re going to play the rank card? Don’t be a dick, can’t you see I’m starving here?” Rafe pleaded his case.
It was all in good fun and as others gathered around their table to see how it would play out. Rafe was going down, no way would Jake let him win after that. Just as predicted, Jake reached across the table and snatched the wing off the plate so quickly Rafe never had a chance.
Score one for the boss tonight.
Not sure what made him do it, but he looked up at one of the TVs mounted on the wall just as they flashed a photo of the woman missing from New York City. The one he’d seen the other day. He couldn’t hear what the reporter was saying, and the sub-titles weren’t on. But then they changed to a picture of Mr. Pretty Boy. He didn’t have a clue what he was saying, but then the graphic changed. It was a reward poster offering a fifty-thousand dollar reward for any information leading to the location of Jennifer Turner.
As he focused on the image on the screen it all clicked. He was looking into the same emerald green eyes he’d seen earlier. What the ever-living fuck? The missing woman was in Norfolk and posing as someone named Sky? It didn’t make sense, why come here, why involve Pam? Unless they were related. While the questions raced through his head faster than he could catalog them, a crash came from behind the bar.
It was loud enough that almost every person in the room turned toward the noise. Murph stood so quickly his chair fell backward with a crash. But he didn’t care. It was the sight he saw that took his breath away. Staring across the crowded bar, a lightbulb in his brain went off, and he knew exactly why Sky looked so familiar. She was the missing woman, Jennifer Turner. The eyes were unmistakable, but instead of the smiling happy woman in the photo on the TV, her face was a mask of sheer terror. Murph would bet a month’s salary that the asshat offering the reward was the one who put it there.
Chapter 6
When Jen finally stopped crying, her mom pulled back enough to kiss her face. It was probably red, blotchy, with mascara trails. But her mom’s gentle smile filled with love nearly restarted the waterworks.
“I love you,” her mom murmured as she pulled Jen into another embrace. “Whatever it takes we’ll get through this. I promise. You’re home.”
They were almost identical in height, but that’s where the similarity ended, although some people said she looked just like her mom. Jen had inherited her dad’s blond hair and green eyes, where her mom had what she insisted was mousy brown hair and brown eyes. Wrangling her emotions into check, she sighed as she took a step back out of her mom’s arms.
“I just pray I haven’t brought trouble here. I’ll never forgive myself if something happens to you.”
“It won’t.”
“You can’t know that. He’s devious and conniving and a total dirtbag.”
“There was no one you could turn to in New York?” Her mom led her over to the sofa then went into the kitchen to get them water. The apartment was small, and Jen hated it when they first moved there. It was so different from the little house they’d shared with her dad. But as always her mom had been right, it would have been too hard to stay there. They needed a new beginning and it became the only home that mattered.
“You’ve seen him on TV, right? He’s the epitome of suave and debonair.”
“That doesn’t mean he can’t be a bad guy.”
“No, it doesn’t. But he was wonderful around others. A big shot partner in his law firm, donating to charities, the perfect guy. Until he wasn’t.” Jen took a drink of water and thought about how to explain without upsetting her mom any more.
“I know that look. Don’t even try to fudge the truth. I’ll get it out of you eventually and you know it. So you might as well make it easier on both of us.”
Jen set the water glass on the coffee table and looked into her mother’s eyes. She didn’t know how badly she’d cried off her makeup, but probably enough that she’d see the remnants of the black eyes.
“Sweet mother of God. Oh baby, did he do this to you?” Mom slid across the couch and pulled her into another hug, but this time Jen was able to hold back the tears.
“In a way it’s good, it was the impetus I needed to run. He was killing me slowly with the mental games and verbal abuse. But when it got physical something inside me woke up.”
“Good? There’s nothing good about him hurting you but thank the Lord you got away. I should have come to visit you. Something. I’m so sorry you were all alone.”
“No, don’t you feel guilty.” She reached for her mom’s hand and squeezed it between hers. “This is on me. I wanted a new adventure and I made a bad choice.”
Tears rolled down her mom’s cheeks and it gutted Jen. It had been eighteen years since she’d seen her mom cry. It reminded her of that last, horrible day.
Mom had been in the kitchen making dinner when the doorbell rang. Jen opened it and at fourteen she knew exactly what seeing the two officers in full dress meant. Her mom had yelled from the kitchen asking who it was. Jen couldn’t speak. It was like she’d been glued to the floor.
When she hadn’t answered, her mom came to the door, still drying her hands with a towel.
“It’s okay. Jen. Please come in,” she’d said. “We can sit in here.”
