Page 25 of SEAL's Sky
“Murph says the SEALs are here. They want to know if they can come up.”
“Of course. I’ll go down and let them in.”
“I can do it.”
“No, you rest. It’s your first day off in forever, I can do it,” her mom said with a gentle smile.
“Okay, sorry for trying to help.”
“Quit apologizing and let me take care of you,” her mom said as she went downstairs to let them in.
Jen was nervous about seeing them again. She’d spent the most time with Murph. After all she divulged last night, she was kind of mortified. And then throwing up, oh man. Not exactly the best first impression.
The apartment seemed really small when the five large men and Halo followed her mom inside. Sucking it up, she stood and greeted the men and thanked them for their help. It was a huge step for her to shake their hands and she was proud of herself.
They didn’t stay long, she figured they’d mostly wanted to make sure she and her mom were okay. They told her that their friend Tex was working on trying to find anything they could use against Kurt the jerk burger. That insult almost made her smile. The more she ridiculed him in her mind, the less power his memory had over her.
“Do I have to stay cooped up inside?” Jen asked when only Murph and her mom remained.
“I’m afraid so. The local papers picked up the story because of your mom. People will be snooping around hoping to find you and cash in.”
“I can’t believe he won’t just leave me alone. Can’t he just find someone else?”
“Jennifer Turner, you don’t mean that. Take it back.”
Shocked at her mom’s response she realized she’d basically wished the same treatment on another woman.
“I’m sorry. Shit, I didn’t mean it. I’m just so tired of being afraid. First in his presence and now hiding from him worried he’ll show up and grab me.”
“If he does try to grab you he’d be making a big mistake. He can’t force you to go with him and if he tries, it’s kidnapping.”
“It is?”
“Yes. Oh and Tex sent this for you.” Murph handed her a new phone.
“I just changed this burner two days ago. Do I need a new one already?”
“This one is special, and we’ve already updated it with all of our numbers including Tex’s if you can’t reach us. It contains a special tracker that he developed. As long as you have it with you, we can find you if something happens.”
If something happened repeated in her mind. That’s what she was terrified of. “Wow, that was really nice of him. You’ve gone way out of your way to help and I just don’t know how to thank you.”
“You don’t have to thank us. Just don’t give up, Sky,” Murph said as he stood up.
He looked like he wanted to say more or reach out to touch her, but he turned and went down the stairs. Her mom followed to make sure they were locked up.
“He likes you,” her mom said when she returned.
“Nah, he’s just being nice.”
“No, it’s more than that. I’ve known him a long time and he is not like this around women.”
“He does seem nice, but there’s no way I’m ready for a new relationship.”
“I didn’t say you were, just don’t count him out when you are, that’s all. So what movie should we watch next?”
Later when Jen went to bed she couldn’t get her mom’s or Murph’s words out of her head. There was something about Murph that drew her to him. The more time she spent around him, the more relaxed she became. She wasn’t worried about him touching her like the others. But right now all she could think about was Kurt the turd blossom and how to make sure he couldn’t hurt her or anyone else again.
She gripped the new phone in her hand and ran her fingers over the screen. What if she let him find her and try to take her, would the SEALs be able to stop him so they could lock him up?
