Page 17 of SEAL's Sky
After a moment, she unscrewed the cap and took a drink, then continued. “It was about two months after I moved in with him that he made me quit my job. He said I needed to be home to keep the loft clean and entertain his law partners and clients. It was my new job.”
Murph had a pretty good idea where this was going, but he kept his mouth shut to let her finish telling her story. Now that she’d started, it was tumbling out.
“He’d come home at night and walk through the loft. Nothing was allowed to be out of place. Dinner had to be ready a half-hour after he got home so he’d have time to check everything and take a shower before we ate.”
“How did you know what time he’d get home?” Rafe asked.
“He’d call me when he was leaving the office. He had a driver bring him from midtown to Tribeca. Then he’d call along the way. I had to wait for him near the door so I could take his briefcase and coat, if he was wearing one, and hang it up in the closet.”
“Fucking A,” Cam whispered. Murph heard him, but he doubted that Jen did.
“If anything wasn’t perfect I’d have to sit on the couch while he berated me until he was satisfied I understood how he wanted things and then send me to bed.”
“So, let me get this straight. He basically kept you hostage in his loft and dictated every moment of every day?” Jake asked.
“Yes, exactly. He’d lock me in so I couldn’t leave. There was no phone except the cell he’d given me that could only receive calls. I tried and tried to figure out how to unlock it.”
A soft noise caught Murph’s attention. Pam had gasped and covered her mouth. Obviously, this is the first she was hearing most if not all of this.
“Whenever we were around others he was the perfect boyfriend. No one would believe the hell I lived in.”
“If he kept you locked in, how did you get away?” Jake asked before Murph had a chance. Because the dirtbag hadn’t let her go if he was offering a reward for information.
“I didn’t even try for months. But one afternoon I fell asleep after being up all night and dinner wasn’t ready on time. He went berserk and totally lost it. Dumped the dining room table over, sending the dishes and silverware flying. Then he turned toward me. I’d never seen him so mad. I backed away as he approached but then he grabbed me.”
The color drained out of her face, but she kept talking.
“I thought he would just scream at me to clean up the mess, but he smashed my face against the wall. Then before I could do anything he punched me in the stomach. I fell on the floor. I couldn’t breathe, and that’s when he kicked me. I thought for sure he was going to kill me, but he didn’t. Without another word he turned and left the loft.”
“He just left you like that?” Pam asked with tears on her cheeks.
Murph couldn’t imagine the pain she must be going through hearing how the man had terrorized her daughter. He was furious and would like nothing more than to drive up there and beat the shit out of the guy. He’d teach him to touch women or anyone weaker than him.
“What happened next,” Murph asked, encouraging her to get it all out.
“I laid on the floor for a while. The pain was incredible, and I didn’t know if anything was broken. I’m not sure how long I stayed on the floor, but knowing if I left the mess he’d made, it would be worse for me when he returned. I cleared all the broken dishes and tossed the food, then put the furniture back in its place. I’d just finished when he returned.”
“What did he do?” Ryan asked.
“Nothing, absolutely nothing. He acted as if nothing had happened. He came over and kissed me on the cheek and asked what was for dinner. Thankfully, it hadn’t been ruined or I don’t know what he would have done.”
“What happened after that night? Did he threaten you again?” Jake asked.
“It’s like he realized he went too far. He was nicer for a bit, but I was never going to let him hurt me again and I started making plans. Trying to come up with some way to get out of there. My break came when a customer sent him a gift that had to be delivered to the house. He had to stay home to accept it since he would keep me locked in.”
“What if there was a fire?”
“I don’t know, I never thought about it. I guess I would have been toast.” When she grinned at her little joke, Murph was shocked. After sitting there telling them everything for the last half hour that she could smile about anything.
“The hardest part was keeping calm, so I wouldn’t tip him off. I had only a couple of things I wanted to take with me, and they fit in my purse. He had cameras up all over the house, except the bathroom, so I’d put everything in a zipped bag and taped it inside the toilet. When it was time, I just grabbed the bag and shoved it in my purse.”
“How did you actually get out though? He was there with the delivery guy, right?” Cam asked.
“Yes, it was a new chair for his office, and the delivery man had to bring it in and set it up. That gave me my chance. Kurt couldn’t exactly lock us all in without it looking suspicious. I excused myself to use the bathroom and then took off. By the time, he realized I was gone I’d made it to the subway and hopped on a train to Queens.”
“Then you came here?”
“No. I didn’t want Mom to see all the bruises. When he showed up at the first motel I was at I realized he’d put a tracker on me. I still had the phone, not sure why I’d taken it since I couldn’t make a call. I changed motels, bought a bunch of burner phones, and waited to heal.”
