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

  “Well, I gotta give it to you, kea. You certainly handed him his balls. I can’t say it was the smartest thing to do.”

  “I fucked up, didn’t I?”

  “Yeah. Yeah, you did.”

  “Kolson, what’s this thing about a debt?”

  “Come here.” I move to where we can sit and face each other. She needs to hear some things and the time is long gone for me to sugarcoat them. “I’m going to tell you some things and you may hate me for them. You may kick me out of your life forever and if you do, I’ll understand. But know this—I did all of this for your safety. Now, looking back, I’m not so sure it was the wisest thing, but if presented with those choices, I can’t say I wouldn’t do it all again.”

  “What the heck are you talking about?”

  Deep breath, Kolson. You can do this.

  “Right. Danny. When he disappeared. I hired someone to find him. And then I called my dad to take care of things.”

  My hands hold hers tightly, our eyes locked. Her pupils dilate, black bleeding into caramel-brown irises as she listens. But one thing gives me hope. Her fingers don’t loosen. On the contrary, they clamp mine even harder, fingernails gouging into the skin on the backs of my hands.

  “So what you’re saying is Danny didn’t commit suicide, that your dad’s mobster connections had him killed. Am I right?”

  Hysteria edges her voice but I hold her steady and nod.

  “And please remind me exactly why again.”

  “There never would be an end. Even if he served twenty years, I knew he’d be released and come after you then. By that time we’d have children and he’d go after them to get to you. The idea of you and our daughter being raped by that man and then kidnapped or murdered, it was more than I could bear. So I made the call to the devil himself. I agreed to that debt. But that’s when I created Operation Dragon Slayer. I changed everything in my will and in the legal holdings of HTS and put you in as CEO.

  “And Langston will never get a piece of the company. I don’t know if you even are aware of this, but if something happens to both of us, everything diverts to Case. I know you trust him and even though his company is small, he’s fair and honest. He would do right by HTS.”

  “Jesus.” She rubs her forehead with our gripped hands. “Jesus. Jesus.” I can’t tell if she’s repeating it as a litany or because there are no other adequate descriptors. “I know I should feel terrible and be pissed about this. We’re talking about murder. But I wanted to kill him that day. I should have, Kolson. I should’ve been the one to do it.”

  “No, no, kea. It’s best this way.”

  “But it’s not. Because now your father is going to win after all.”

  “No. He won’t. I’m trying to come up with a plan and I won’t let him take either of us down.”

  She stands suddenly and walks away from me. I can feel the frayed edges of my nerves that have knitted together start to unravel again.

  “What is it?”

  “I don’t want you to risk anything. I want us to leave. To go away,” she says.

  My hands reach for her shoulders and I pull her back into my chest.

  “I won’t risk anything. No chance of it.”

  “But if we leave, he can’t hurt us.” She’s insistent.

  “I thought of that, but his reach is far, and if you leave they would look for you. They would know you were with me. Think about it. It’s nothing for him to order an execution. It would be a simple matter for him to find us both if you were to up and disappear. I had a month to prepare for mine. And then would you want to live the rest of your life in hiding? My plan is better. Flush him out and have the authorities take him in.”

  She exhales and I feel her deflate. I turn her to face me.

  “Trust me, Gabriella. I’ve dealt with him for a long time. I know his weaknesses and strengths and I know what will work. I need more time here. Please.”

  She sighs and presses her cheek against my chest. I feel her head move up and down in agreement.

  “Gabriella, I want you to promise me something.”

  “Anything.”

  “Get a bodyguard. One you can trust. Sam maybe. Or Ovaltine. Someone who can protect you from him. Someone who isn’t afraid of him.”

  “It’s that bad then, is it?”

  “Yes.”

  “Why don’t you be my bodyguard?”

  “What do you mean?”

  Lifting her head, she stares at me. “Exactly what I said. You can come here, in an HTS uniform, at night. Get a gray wig or something. Disguise yourself even further. Like with one of those fat suits. You can work several nights a week and I can get someone else on the other nights. On the nights you’re not with me, I’ll stay in the penthouse, but on the others, I’ll stay here. With you. And Case can destroy the bug he found. Or I can set something on it to muffle it.”

  This may be the most brilliant idea ever. I smile and then so does she. Then we laugh. And for the first time in ages, we kiss without urgency, as our lips curve around each other’s. Clothes puddle on the floor and we land in a pile of heat on her bed.

  But soon, she’s rushing things, hands whipping across my torso like a fire is chasing them. I turn so she lies beneath me and bracket her hips with my thighs. My hands clasp hers and I kiss each finger. “Easy, Gabriella. No hurry right now.”

  My head drops to her collarbone where I gently suck and leave a trail with my tongue down to her nipple.

  “Teeth. Use your teeth,” she rasps.

  I slide down and graze her nipple with my mouth first and follow with my teeth as I bite into her. Her fingers dig into my hips as she growls.

  “More.”

  I slide lower down her hips and continue to lick and nibble but then I lean over her and say, “I have the greatest desire to mark you. To smudge your creamy skin with my mouth and leave evidence of me behind. But I can’t because I don’t want anyone to suspect you’ve been with someone and it’s killing me and fueling me all at once.”

  “Do it, Kolson, where no one will ever see. Do it so I can be reminded of you when I look at it tomorrow.”

  My throat constricts as I look at her. And then my mouth drops down right next to her hip bone and I suck and bite her, bruising her and drawing her blood to the surface as she writhes beneath me. My hand stills her as it finds her pussy. She’s slick with need and want.

  “Oh, Kolson. More. I need more.”

  “Tell me.”

  “You. I need you.”

  “How? Do you want to drive?”

  “No. I want you to.”

  Taking the head of my cock, I swirl it around her clit and she makes those sweet, sexy sounds I love so much. I want this to be the best moment of her life. The best of everything we’ve ever done.

  “Kolson.”

  Frustration makes her jumpy. Running my hand along her neck to her shoulder, I say, “Easy, kea. We have time. Look at me. Look into my eyes, my love.”

  A flush blooms up her neck and the way she looks at me squeezes the air right out of my lungs.

  “Fuuuuck, I’ve missed you. Missed this,” I tell her.

  That tenderness in her eyes turns my bones from solid to liquid. I want this moment to last for hours and hours.

  My hips push forward, on their own accord, and I seat myself fully in her.

  “You’re like hot silk swaddling my cock, kea. Holy fuuuuck. So damn good. So fucking good.”

  Glazed eyes stare back at me and all I can hear are the tiny huffs of air she takes in. Her hips meet mine as she matches my rhythm and I reach beneath to cup her ass. Swiveling against her, she moans, loudly, telling me what I need to hear. She lifts her legs higher, opening up wider, giving me more room to move, and then she becomes more vocal. I begin to alternate my speed, fast at times, then slowing down to prolong this moment, watching her face, feeling her every move under me. Sweat beads my forehead and a fine sheen covers her. Hands plow through my hair and pull, my muscles jolt at the slightest t
ouch, and I kiss her then, taking my time to tease all of her mouth.

  I steal an orgasm from her and continue to move, not stopping even a tiny bit as she comes. My hands become restless, moving everywhere, greedy for every part of her as I keep up my momentum. The sounds she makes increase, become raspier, and I’m ravenous for more. I speed up until she moans loudly and then I slow down and pull all the way out and stop, only to push back in and begin all over again. My body is a live wire, ready to spark at any second. And then she groans what I want to hear.

  “I’m going to come again, Kolson.”

  “I am too, kea. Come with me.” I buck into her, my movements wild. Mouths together, I swallow her cries as I feel the spasms of her climax spurring me into my own. Thighs tensing, it races into my spine until I release myself into her as she arches upward.

  When everything ceases, I collapse, rolling to my side, taking her with me. “I don’t want to separate. I want to stay connected with you forever.”

  And with those words, just like that, she’s on top of me, kissing me, and we start again. At first, it’s only slow, short bursts of movements, until I grow hard again. It takes a while, but she bites my lips, teases my nipples, tugs at my piercing. And then, I’m sliding, sliding, sliding with her, against her, and we go at it fast and hard, rough this time. She’s the one marking me now. Her teeth sink into my chest as she sucks and pulls. It’s a savage ride for both of us. Her nails scrape as she sits on me and I can’t think of any pain or pleasure I’d rather experience. I don’t know how it’s possible to feel this way … twisted with so much emotion that I want to scream with joy yet cry in sorrow all at once.

  Her hands grab my face and she asks, “Can you come again?”

  What is she asking me? My thoughts are so jumbled, I can’t decipher her question.

  “Come for me, Kolson.” It’s not a question but a demand.

  She bends over me and takes my lower lip in her mouth and sucks, hard. For a moment I’m lost in a sea of her scent all mixed up with the smell of her sex. Then she says, breathy, into my mouth, “Come for me. I need to feel your climax and I can’t hold back much longer.” She lifts up slightly, just enough for her hand to slip between us and she tugs on my nipple piercing. “I love you, Kolson. Everything about you. Do you understand what I’m telling you?”

  My brows knit as it fully registers what she’s admitted to me. “Yeah, I do, kea.” And I crush her lips with mine. I don’t care that my teeth bruise our lips. I don’t care that our lovemaking has just turned rough again. I don’t care that tonight will end and I’ll have to leave her soon. She’s just told me that she understands what I did and she still loves me and she’s handed me the world in the palm of her hand.

  The reality of our situation comes full circle and I know I cannot live without her by my side. We have to be together in some fashion. And I’m going to make that happen. I don’t care if I have to kill my father to do it.

  “Kolson.” Her voice brings me back. “Come for me.”

  When I focus, her mouth is open and she pants, begs for me to move faster.

  “Ahh, yes.” And though I don’t come with her, her orgasm sends me into one of my own. She collapses on me, burying her head in my neck, her breath hot against my skin.

  “This is one of my favorite times. Right after you come, and you’re all quivery and relaxed. I love it when you wrap yourself around me and warm me, from the inside out. I don’t ever want this feeling, this completeness, to end. You are the most beautiful human being I’ve ever known, Gabriella Martinelli. I want to spend the rest of my life with you.”

  She doesn’t respond, but I feel her trembling so I know she’s crying.

  “Don’t. It’s going to be fine,” I tell her.

  “Oh, Kolson, I’m frightened for you.”

  I chuckle. “And I’m frightened for you! So we’re even.”

  “Quit joking about this. When you leave here tonight, I don’t know when I’ll see you again.”

  She’s right. I don’t know when I’ll come back.

  “I’ll work on that bodyguard thing.”

  “Won’t that be impossible with HTS’s security and the way they vet employees?”

  “I wouldn’t be an official employee. I’ll talk to Sam and have him get me a uniform.”

  We fall asleep and I wake several hours later, knowing I need to get out of here soon. It’s the last thing I want to do, but I loosen her arms and scoot out of her embrace, careful not to disturb her. I scribble a note and quietly leave. Getting out of the building before the early risers is crucial.

  It’s still dark when I make it to Brooklyn. I sit in my usual chair and watch the sun rise. New plans need to be made. The ones I’ve begun are worthless. Langston is too volatile. He needs to be stopped and more quickly than I thought. And I’m going to need something much more substantial than what I have to take him apart. My problem is that I’m basically empty-handed. I don’t know what he has on my brothers or me. The last thing I want is for either of them to go to prison. I’m not sure of Kestrel’s involvement in the business or if Langston has any records of my involvement in Danny’s death.

  I’m in way over my head, but I have to come up with something quickly before he harms Gabriella. I need to reach out to Case too. Jesus, what a clusterfuck. Gabby should be reading the note I left her any time now, and the only thing I’m sure of is that I want to be with her now more than ever.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Gabriella

  My alarm goes off at six thirty, but I’m already awake. The spot next to me is cool and I hate it. I wish he’d have kissed me when he left. Maybe he did and I slept right through it. When I go to stand, my body is so sore in too many places, I can’t begin to count them. I need a hot shower to work out the kinks. Kink. Hmm. Interesting choice of words.

  Sitting on the counter is a note.

  * * *

  I had to leave before the sun rose, gorgeous. God, I love you so much it hurts to think of you sometimes. Watch your back and do not instigate anything with him. Promise me. He’ll stop at nothing to get what he wants. I’m going to contact Case. If you trust him, it’s enough for me. I hope by the end of today to have a way for us to contact each other. I’ll work on the bodyguard thing. I’d like to think I’ll see you tonight, but no promises. I don’t want to risk too much and neither should you. BE CAREFUL at all times and know that I love you more than anything in this world. Burn this after you read it. Xoxo

  * * *

  I hug it to my chest for a moment before striking a kitchen match. I hold the burning note over the sink until it’s nothing but ash. Afterward, I rinse it down the drain. Then I go to the penthouse to get ready for work.

  When I strip in the bathroom, I’m shocked to see the bruises scattered over my hips and pelvis. He really did mark me last night. My limbs grow heavy as my belly tightens at the thought of what we did. Glancing down, I see how the trail of purple smudges spans from my hipbones to the crease where my leg joins my sex. I flush as my body heats with desire. Thinking of his hands, how he touched me, and what he did with his mouth, makes me languid with need. My breath pushes through my lungs, and I decide I need a shower to relax. But once there, it reminds me of Kolson even more. I’m sore all over, inside and out, so I quickly wash and shampoo, but it does nothing to relieve my ever-expanding ache. Am I going to feel like this all the time? I move my hand between my legs and find that I’m wet, slick for Kolson. I could get myself off, but I’m afraid I’ll only stir things up and make it worse. Water off, I’m out and dressed, ready to go to work to take my mind off things.

  Grumpy can’t begin to describe my mood. I snap at everyone, slam drawers, rattle things on Kolson’s desk. I’m even making Jack jumpy.

  “Gabby, may I get you another cup of coffee?” he asks.

  “No. Coffee can’t solve my problems.”

  “I, uh, I think perhaps we should review the contracts HTS has pending, then.”

  Jes
us, who the hell am I kidding? I can’t function like this.

  “Jack. I’m sorry. I didn’t get much sleep last night. The last couple of days have been rough. You know.” My voice cracks.

  “You don’t have to explain.”

  “No, you’re wrong. I do. My behavior is unacceptable. I’m not some spoiled adolescent and I don’t usually act like this. You should know I’ve taken a leave of absence from my psychiatry practice and I think I may need a few days off here as well. That’s pretty lame seeing as I just began my role as an active member of this team, isn’t it?”

  Jack is silent for a minute. “You want to know what I really think?”

  Leaning back in my chair, I say, “Yeah. I do.”

  “I think you’ve been handed the biggest shit sandwich I’ve ever seen. And to see you here, sitting at Mr. Hart’s desk, trying to run a huge corporation and hold it together, is a fucking miracle in my book. Honestly, if I were you, I’d be on a goddamn island somewhere, drowning my sorrows in a handle of Grey Goose and hoping I’d lose my memory of him in the process. He was so large … so dynamic. You just can’t sit here and not absorb that. And to be in your fucking shoes … to have loved him. I don’t know how you hold on the way you do.”

  He stuffs a handful of tissues in my hand and closes the door behind him as he leaves. This time when I look at all the pictures, I do it with patience, to see what Kolson saw when he took them. I try to understand how he looked at me but there isn’t a single common theme. Happy, serious, comedic, passionate, intense, awe, all there for him to look at each day. I never knew it, either, but I wish I had. I wish I’d taken the time to walk up here, visit with him, share a lunch together, and laugh over something silly. But I didn’t. Not like he did. He brought me lunch and we ate at my tiny kitchen table while he asked me all kinds of questions. I rarely asked him anything. Was I selfish? Or was I so buried in my own issues I just didn’t give a damn about him?

  Something begins to grow inside me. It takes root and I can feel the tendrils reaching out from my soul, strengthening me, strengthening my resolve. This is where it all starts. Langston Hart has fucked with the wrong person. I’m going to find a way to take him down. I don’t care what I have to do but there has to be something I can dig up on Langston that will stop him. Case said the FBI has been trying to bring him down. There has to be a way, and I’m going to figure it out.