Then again, how had she not seen it?
The jealousy, the manipulative behavior, how easy Tony was to anger—allof it. She’d spent countless sleepless nights reliving each moment she’d spent with that monster, and each time she’d discovered something else bottled up within her memories that she should have noticed, but didn’t.
“Tony got worse and worse,” Nessa added faintly, her mouth dry as she forced the words out. “He started treating me like his personal punching bag until it was impossible to cover up all the bruises with makeup. But … He didn’t just use my body for that.” She fisted the sheets so hard her knuckles hurt. “Sometimes he got excited after he’d hurt me, and then he enjoyed hurting me in other ways.”
Nausea churned in her gut as memories threatened to resurface, but she buried them deep, refusing to think of anything that would taint what she’d shared with Murphy in the shower less than an hour ago.
Murphy had helped her remember after all these years what sex should have been like. How special, and sexy, and intimate the act was with the right person.
“And your brother still didn’t help?” Murphy grated out, the words a thunderous rumble of outrage.
Nessa swallowed down the small sob building in her chest at the question. She’d felt that same way when she’d finally gone to Angelo, hoping he’d save her, only to realize too late he wouldn’t.
“No. Angelo told me he couldn’t get involved because Tony would kill him.”
And she’d screamed at her brother through her tears,‘If you do nothing, then he’ll kill me!’
All Nessa had wanted was for her brother to see reason, to put aside his loyalty to Tony and be the brother she’d so desperately needed. But if he had, she never would have wound up in Montana.
She never would have found Murphy, the man she was falling so hopelessly in love with.
Butterflies took flight in her stomach, and she relaxed into Murphy’s hold, wishing they could spend all of their days and nights like this; wrapped up in one another.
Knowing what she did of Murphy, he’d probably be thrilled spending his time in that way—his bear definitely would be. At least, until his bear clan needed him. Then she’d have to share him.
“How did you get away from him, Nes?” Murphy whispered the words into her neck, his voice laced with fury despite the tender way he held onto her.
She leaned back into his chest, and he pulled her more tightly to him, his muscled arms reminding her of just how powerful he was.
“Tony had this giant safe in his office—the kind with a spin dial combination? I knew there was plenty of money inside it. It would help me get away and start a new life somewhere else. I just needed to figure out the code.”
If she’d been braver, she could have taken his gun while he’d slept and shot him. Make it where Tony never threatened her or anyone else ever again. But she wasn’t a cold-blooded killer. Besides, risking a life sentence in prison and a gang seeking retribution for their dead leader wasn’t exactly in her best interest, either.
Escape had been the only feasible option.
“And he didn’t suspect anything?” Murphy murmured.
“No.” Nessa shrugged, hoping to play off just how dangerous the stunt she’d pulled had been. “Toward the end, I was meek and docile in Tony’s presence; the perfect future wife of a gang leader. He didn’t think me capable of anything other than taking his punishments submissively,” she gritted out. “But when he was out handling business or sleeping, I was planning.”
She’d spent months finding out how to break into his safe; what to do once she’d secured some money to escape; where to go to have her identity replaced with another. Every little detail, she’d figured it out before leaving.
“When I was ready, I broke into his safe while he was handling an issue at one of his warehouses. I knew he’d be gone for a few hours, and so I got to work.”
Getting into the safe was easier than she’d thought, and clearing out every single dollar had been even easier. She hadn’t felt one ounce of remorse for stealing all that money. It was the least of what Tony owed her for the years of abuse.
“Believe it or not, the hardest part was changing my name. I kept my first name—Vanessa. But my last name is Baccay. It’s the only thing I had left of my family, and I had to give that up.”
The sting of that pain was long gone now, but back then? The decision had gutted her. She knew her parents andLolowere watching over her, though. She knew they’d understand, but it hadn’t made the choice any easier.
“The first few years, nowhere felt safe. I’d move to a new city, a new state, and at any bad feeling, or if I felt like I was being watched, I’d pack up my things and run away again. I hadn’t even planned on living in Montana for any length of time, but when I saw a teahouse for sale, something settled inside me, and I knew it was time to plant roots here. That I’d been running for long enough.”
Had she known, on some kind of subconscious level, that Murphy, her future, was so close by? She’d like to think so.
“What you did … What you’ve been through …” Murphy brushed his lips gently against the side of her temple. “You’re the strongest, most courageous female I’ve ever known, Nes, and I’ll spend every day proving to you that fate was right to make you mine.”
Eyes pricking with unshed tears, Nessa turned her head toward Murphy, her mouth lightly caressing his. “You don’t have to prove anything, Murphy,” she whispered, turning in his hold fully and wrapping her arms around his neck. She climbed onto his lap, pressing her lips more firmly to his. “I already know fate was right. I feel it every time you look at me.”
Chapter 30
