The Hart Brothers Series Box Set (Including the bonus book Sabin: A Seven Novel): Freeing Her, Freeing Him, Kestrel, The Fall and Rise of Kade Hart, Sabin: A Seven Novel

by A. M. Hargrove

  “I figured the dress code would be casual.”

  “Are you sure you’re up for this? The clinic can be a very unpleasant place at night. Addicts needing fixes and sliding into withdrawal is pretty ugly stuff. And they hate me when I try to dig into their issues. They know I’m the final step and they get pretty damn mean a lot of the time.”

  “Don’t worry about me, Doc. Just do your job. By the way, you look lovely tonight.”

  Gabby glanced down at herself and shook her head.

  “Accept the compliment, Gabriella.”

  “Okay. Thank you. But I’m …”

  Kolson cut her off with a short, sweet kiss. He leaned into her and murmured, “You’re very beautiful. You’d look lovely in anything.”

  Gabby smiled. “Thank you. Again.”

  “So, how long are you there for?”

  “That depends on the patient load tonight. But usually at least eleven.”

  “Did you eat?”

  “No. I didn’t have time.”

  Kolson nodded and then said, “Hey, Sam, after you drop us off, can you pick up dinner and bring it back to the hospital?”

  “Sure thing, Mr. H.”

  “Kolson, that’s not necessary,” Gabby said.

  “Of course it is. You need to eat and so do I. Sam is going to wait on us so he can do that. It’ll give him something to do.”

  “Thank you. That’ll be great. I usually don’t get to eat on these nights.”

  Kolson narrowed his eyes. “Are you being careful? As in not running in the dark?”

  “Yes. I haven’t run in days.”

  He slanted his head. “You have no other time to work out, do you?”

  “No, early mornings are it,” she said.

  “Would you like me to accompany you?”

  Her head snapped up as she looked at him. “You would do that?”

  “Hell yes. It’s dangerous to be out there alone and it’s apparent you don’t have any friends who run. Of course I’ll run with you.”

  “Thank you. I’d like that very much.”

  They arrived at the hospital and Gabby said to Sam, “I’ll let them know at security that you’ll be bringing us food. They’ll call me to let me know. You won’t be able to come through, but I’ll meet you.”

  “That’ll be good, Dr. M.”

  “Thanks, Sam.”

  When they got inside, Gabby led the way through security and they gave Kolson a visitor’s badge to wear. She told him he could sit in the office in the back that she used. As she hit the clinic door, all hell broke loose. A patient had started a fight with another patient and security had to be called. One of the nurses took a fist to the face and was escorted to the emergency department with a suspected broken nose.

  The patient was restrained and sedated, and then admitted. Once he was moved out, three acute withdrawals came in, so severe they had to be sent to emergency for treatment.

  Security called when Sam brought the food, but a nurse had to get it because Gabby was too tied up. It wasn’t until after ten that she even had a break to eat. Sam had brought pizza, so she grabbed a quick piece before finishing her shift. By eleven, she still had paperwork to complete. She and Kolson didn’t leave the hospital until after midnight.

  “I am so sorry it’s this late.”

  “Don’t apologize. It’s not your fault. I was able to get some work done so it was fine. Is it like this every time you work here?” Kolson asked.

  “It’s not always quite this crazy, but it usually is steady.”

  “Gabriella, I never thought about how dangerous this could be for you.”

  She stopped walking and looked at him. “What do you mean?”

  “That patient could’ve punched you instead of that nurse.”

  Waving her hand, she said, “Oh, that. Stuff like that happens all the time.”

  They stood under the lighted entrance and she saw his brow crease. “That’s a bit unsettling.”

  “We have good security. The addicts usually get a little high-strung but there’s someone around to handle them.”

  His dark expression let her know he was not pleased with her response.

  “Kolson, think about it. If it were a rampant issue, you’d hear about it all the time. It just isn’t much of a problem. They’re usually subdued fairly quickly. Sometimes it can get out of hand, like tonight, but not very often.”

  He nodded, but she could tell he was concerned. “I guess I never gave it much thought about the risk involved. You give up a lot for your work. I’m so impressed by everything you do, Gabriella.”

  “Come on, let’s go home. I’m beat.”

  Silence greeted her, but he followed her to the waiting car. He was quiet on the drive to her apartment. When Sam pulled up in front of her building, she said, “I think I can make it to my place okay.”

  “Nonsense. I’m walking you up.”

  Once they were in front of her door, she said, “Thanks again for dinner. I’m so sorry it’s this late.”

  “Stop. Gabriella, I have a new appreciation for what you do. I never imagined it was that intense.”

  “Oh.” His admission surprised her.

  “Why do you do it?” he asked.

  “I like to help people. It’s because I want to …” She looked down at her knotted fingers. She didn’t dare tell him the truth about why it was so important to her. “Those people need help. They need someone to give a damn because it’s a possibility that no one else does. I want to be that person.”

  “How lucky they are to have someone like you. Now, I still owe you a proper dinner. But you have to tell me when you have a night free.”

  She laughed.

  “Before I forget—” he reached into his pocket—“one of the nurses gave me this to give to you. Said someone left it for you.”

  He handed her a note. When she opened it, her face blanched and her hand shook as she released it. It floated to the floor.

  Kolson retrieved it and read what it said.

  * * *

  Not only do I know where your office is, cunt, I know you work at the hospital too. And guess what else I know? I’ll have you soon, Gabs.

  * * *

  The motherfucker found her again.

  “Gabriella, it’s okay.” He put his arm around her and pulled her into his chest. “He doesn’t know where you live.”

  “How do you know that? He could’ve followed us.” Her fists gripped his shirt.

  “No, he didn’t. He’s trying to scare you into thinking he does. You’re safe. I’ll have someone watch this building just to be sure.”

  Her body shook, as she feared what would happen next. And Kolson seethed as the thought of Danny sending her that note raced through his mind.

  Pulling out his phone, he dialed Sam who was still waiting curbside.

  “Gabby got another note while we were at the hospital. Do you notice anyone lurking around outside?” Pause. “Good. Okay, I’ll be down in a few minutes, but keep your eyes out.”

  Gabby looked up at Kolson, her face shrouded in alarm. “I’m afraid he’ll find me here.”

  “I know you are, but I’ll make sure the doormen know not to let him in. He won’t get to you if I have anything to do about it. Sam says all is clear on the street. I think he’s only trying to scare you.”

  “No shit. And he’s doing a damn good job of it.”

  “Would you like to stay with me tonight?”

  “No, I’m sure it’s fine. If Sam doesn’t see anyone outside, I’m sure it’s okay.”

  “Sam will be by to take you to work. And if it’s not Sam, I’ll call to let you know who it will be.”

  “Thanks. I know you need to go.”

  “No, I’m fine. Let me check inside, just in case.”

  She unlocked the door and he made a pass through. All was fine.

  “Call me if you need anything,” he said.

  “Thank you.”

  He gave her a brief kiss and returned to
the waiting car. “I want to keep an eye on her apartment. Now that Danny has found out more about her, I’m beginning to worry.” Kolson considered that perhaps Danny was the one they should be following, not Gabby.

  Chapter Eleven

  While Gabby was with a patient, a text came in. Once the patient had gone, Gabby checked the text and saw it was from Case: Call me when you have a minute.

  She did so right away. “It’s me.”

  “I have the information you requested on Kolson Hart.”

  “Perfect. So?”

  “Oh, I don’t work like that. When can you meet?”

  “I’ll be finished in an hour.”

  “I’ll come to you,” Case said. “See you in an hour.”

  “Make it an hour and fifteen.”

  Gabby barely made it through her next patient because she was preoccupied with what she was going to learn about Kolson. The minutes crawled by. But Case showed up at the time he promised, a file in hand: Hart, Kolson (NMN).

  “What’s NMN?”

  Case said, “No middle name.”

  She flipped it open and started to read. Age: thirty-two. Biological parents: unknown. Adopted by Langston and Sylvia Hart at age six. No known biological siblings. Two adopted brothers, Kestrel Hart and Kade Hart. No known arrests. Owner and CEO of HTS Enterprises, aka Hart Transportation Services. Left his father’s employment at the age of twenty-five. Estimated worth: Hundreds of millions but exact number unknown because his company is privately held. Bank accounts and financials are inaccessible. HTS has branches in most large cities in the US and also owns charter airlines and helicopter services. Kolson Hart started this business as a taxi driver. No education information could be found. All records were wiped clean. No adoption records could be found. Birth certificate and passport have his last name listed as Hart.

  And that was it. Gabby looked at Case. “Never seen anything like it. His identity is buried. Someone with major connections has been paid to bury his information. It’s pretty fucking difficult to do that, you know. Have you Googled him?”

  “No,” Gabby answered.

  “Well, don’t bother. Nothing comes up. Nada. And that’s nearly impossible. Google has something on everyone. Except for Kolson Hart. I gotta say it freaked me a little. Now, Gabby, I have a friend—a good friend. He’s a PI in Denver and is extremely well connected. If you want to know more than this, I can pick up the phone and call Drexel Wolfe. He can find out anything because he has access to government stuff that I don’t. He could probably tell me if this guy was in WITSEC, which I doubt.”

  “What’s that?”

  “Witness protection.”

  “Oh my God. Do you think …”

  “No! I honestly don’t think. I was just saying that Drex can find out things most everyone else can’t. So if you want me to dig deeper, I can.”

  “Do you think I should?”

  Case eyed her for a second. “Let me ask you this. Are you comfortable around him?”

  “Um, yeah. I mean …”

  “What?”

  It was a little embarrassing discussing this with Case. “Well, he, what I mean is …”

  “You like him, don’t you?” Case asked, grinning.

  Gabby felt her cheeks heat. “Yeah, kinda. I mean, he, well …”

  Case busted out laughing. “How long have we known each other?”

  “Three? Four years?”

  “Yeah, and I’ve never seen you this flustered.”

  “That’s it! He flusters me!”

  “Do you trust him? Not to harm you?”

  “Without a doubt. I feel very safe with him. The man is running three mornings a week with me to keep me safe, for Pete’s sake.”

  “Then I’d let it go. Sometimes digging into pasts isn’t worth it. There are things people like to keep private for a reason.”

  Gabby certainly agreed with that. “You’re right. And thanks, Case.”

  He gave her a thumbs up.

  Kolson sat at his desk and reviewed the file in front of him for the umpteenth time. Gabriella was going to run herself ragged if she didn’t stop with all the volunteer hours. Between that and the moonlighting at the hospital, she had no life. He looked at the schedule Tom had given him and this was only a two-week snapshot of what she’d done. No telling what her past year had looked like. And she gave away more of her services than she charged for. It came as no surprise that her financial situation was in such sad shape. Her heap of debt, while enormous by Gabby’s standards, was nothing to Kolson. She had no cash flow. She was behind on all her bills. Her rent was overdue and from what he could tell, she wasn’t extravagant in the least about how she spent her money. There simply wasn’t enough of it. He’d gently suggested as much on their runs together, but she wouldn’t hear any of it.

  Another file sat next to the opened one—it contained information on John Anthony Martinelli, Gabriella’s father. A successful attorney in Stamford, Connecticut, it wasn’t like he couldn’t afford to help her out. The words that had slipped out of Gabriella’s mouth kept coming back to Kolson. It must be horrible to have a secret that no one believes. One that hurt you so terribly, and when you finally garner the courage to tell, they say you’re lying.

  Everything that Kolson saw on Gabriella’s file pointed to a kind, loving, caring individual. And everything that he’d uncovered on his own went along with that. So why did her parents treat her like a pariah? Kolson decided he needed more information on Danny Martinelli. He called Tom Barrett back and told him what he required. Barrett said he’d get back to him in a few days. Kolson believed there had to be something. If there were, Tom would dig it up for him.

  Glancing at his watch, Kolson frowned. He only had a couple of minutes to look over the paperwork necessary for his upcoming meeting.

  The phone rang and his assistant, Jack, was on the other end, letting him know his ride awaited him on the roof. He would be headed to New Jersey for the afternoon. On his way up to the helicopter, he called Sam.

  “Everything okay on your end, Sam?”

  “Yes, sir, Mr. H. Mr. Russell stopped by her office today, but didn’t stay that long.”

  “Okay. Any sign from Danny?”

  “No, sir.”

  “Keep your eyes open for that scum.”

  “No problem, sir.”

  Kolson opened the door to the noise of the helicopter and climbed aboard. He was in the air moments later.

  Chapter Twelve

  Gabby stared at the nearly blank file. The mystery of Kolson Hart intensified. She thought having Case look into this would settle her questions, but it had done the opposite. What was he hiding? Why did he have his past buried so deep that even Case, a PI, couldn’t uncover it? Was it painful memories he didn’t want anyone to know about? If so, she could certainly empathize with him. But what if it was something disturbing that she should run from?

  She knew he meant her no harm. He’d had plenty of opportunity, and he hadn’t acted. In fact, she’d never felt safer than the day he put his arms around her, much like that proverbial knight in shining armor. If she were honest with herself, she would’ve wanted to stay like that forever, wrapped in the security blanket of his embrace.

  The ringing of her phone barged in on her thoughts. She looked at the caller ID and smiled.

  “Sky! What are you doing calling me at this hour? Shouldn’t you be getting ready to go twirling around a pole?”

  “Hey, Gabby! And no, I’m off this week, taking a break. I’m dying for a girl’s night out. Cara and I are meeting for drinks tomorrow night and we want you to come with us. Please?”

  Laughing, Gabby said, “How can I refuse such an invitation? When and where?”

  “Seven at Extra Dirty.”

  “See you then.”

  Gabby thought about Sky and Cara and wished both of them would give up their night jobs. She never suggested it to them, but she worried about the long-term effects it would have on their lives. Sky assured her t
hat her customers were the upper crust of society—rich men with expensive tastes and a fondness for attractive women. But Gabby was still concerned about them.

  The next day, she knew she wouldn’t have enough time to go home and change before she met Sky and Cara, so she took an outfit to work she could change into. She stuffed a pair of jeans and a black shirt into a bag and off she went. Sam was waiting to drive her to work.

  The upcoming night and meeting her friends busied her mind so she wasn’t paying attention to things when she walked into her office. Everything was fine up until mid morning when she went to use the restroom. That’s when she saw the message that was scrawled across the mirror in red lipstick: I’m waiting for you, bitch.

  Gabby stumbled out of the bathroom, backwards, until her back hit a wall. She choked on her own breath as it jammed in her throat.

  “Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.”

  Then the panic hit. She ran out the front door, hoping to see Sam somewhere. Her head jerked around until she saw the familiar black car and she took off running toward it. Sam was startled when her palms pounded on the glass window.

  “Sam! Help!”

  “What’s happened, Dr. M.?”

  “He’s been inside. He left me a written message on the mirror.”

  Sam was out of the car and running inside with Gabby on his heels. He looked at her and she pointed toward the tiny bathroom.

  “In there.”

  “Jesus. That dude’s a crazy fucker.”

  She flapped her hand in the air. “He broke in here, Sam.”

  “He sure did, Dr. M. We need to have your locks changed and install a better security system.” Sam reached in his pocket for his phone and made a call.

  “Mr. H. He broke in her office and left her a note.” Pause. “Umm hmm. Yes, sir. I will.”

  “What did he say?”

  “That I’m not to leave your side and he’s on the way. He’s sending over someone from our security team to change the locks and all.”

  By the time Kolson arrived, Gabby had calmed down. Sam had searched her office for any other signs of Danny, but found none. The man from the security department arrived right behind Kolson. He installed two deadbolts and an alarm system. Both windows were secured too.