Freeing Him: A Hart Brothers Novel, Book 2

by A. M. Hargrove

  Gabriella has pulled out all stops in her search for me. NYPD is terming it a missing persons incident but there are no clues in the apartment. She’s called Case—he was interviewed. I knew she would do that and I’m pretty sure I didn’t leave anything behind for him to find. But he’s damn good at what he does, so I hope he doesn’t figure this out.

  I pray she’ll give up soon. When the police find no evidence of foul play, they will have no choice. They’ll break the news to her that they can’t continue the search after a certain length of time and that will be all there is to it. At least that’s what I hope for.

  ***

  It’s so dark and the mean man scares me. He took my Spiderman pajamas away and gave me some other stuff to wear. I don’t know if they’re Spiderman ones or not, but they itch me. I want my other ones back. I cried and he said if I didn’t shut up I wasn’t gonna get any water or stuff to eat. I tried to stop but I couldn’t so I put my fist in my mouth to make me stop but the man left and he hasn’t come back. I’m so hungry and thirsty. Why doesn’t my mommy come for me? The mean man said she’s not ever coming back again. How come she’s not coming back? I want my mommy and my Spiderman pajamas. And my Thomas the Train lamp. I can’t see anything.

  Memories of those first days flood me. There was a time when I was able to push them back, cover them up and hide them. But every night since I’ve been in this apartment without Gabriella, they crash into me when darkness settles in. It’s no use even trying to keep them out anymore. They tear into me with lightning speed, so many of them at once. It’s like the fight has gone out of me. I’m limp and lifeless as I lie here, thinking, thinking, thinking. About how he stole my childhood. How he stole my youth. How he stole my life. And how he’s doing it again.

  I pace but I’m caged. I’m so tense; I don’t know how to release it. I need to fight. To expend this energy, but I’m trapped in here. Exercising only does so much. I run in the early hours, when I’m sure no one will see me. But it’s not enough. That’s where the liquor helps. I drink to numb myself. It’s the only way.

  When I’m sober, I remember how there’s only one thing that can cleanse me and I can’t get to her right now. So I will begin to make a plan. A plan that will take him down. Piece by piece. A cold, calculated plan. It has to be perfectly executed because his tentacles are far-reaching and so is his fire. And if I burn in the end, along with him, will I care? Not really. Because what kind of life has he condemned me to? He stole every last shred of anything I ever had. So I must find a way to steal it all back.

  ***

  The mean man told me my name was Kolson. Why does he tell me that? That’s not my name. Mommy won’t like that. My name is Jason but he told me I have to say it’s Kolson or I won’t get to eat. I’m hungry so I say it’s Kolson. But I know it’s not. I say Kolson out loud but Jason in my head. Mean Man says if I say Kolson, he’ll turn on a light. I said, “Kolson,” as loud as I could. But my throat burned ’cause I’m so thirsty. He gave me water and turned on the light but my eyes hurt so bad, I squeezed them shut. He mean laughed and I got scared and cried. So he shut it back off and told me I needed to be quiet and be a big boy and not a crybaby all the time.

  Vivid memories, so distinct. I want to slam his face into a wall until he can’t take another breath. But my goal won’t be his death. It’ll be worse. I want him to go to prison. I want him to spend time in a cage like I did. Only he’ll be in there with others like himself. And that will be much more detrimental to him than death. Humiliation for the humiliator. Removal of power for the power hungry. The burning of the dragon himself.

  My hope is that the file I have on him will lead me somewhere, so I delve into it and begin my long search. I look for any names or connections that might point me toward something I can sink my teeth into. Langston has been linked to all kinds of illegal activities but no one has ever pinned him down. I know the names of some of his mob contacts, so if I can put two and two together, maybe I can be the one to make him fall. Time is all I have right now, so I plan to spend hours and hours searching for anything that can guide me to the right information.

  CHAPTER NINE

  Gabriella

  Two weeks after Kolson’s disappearance, I’m back at work, but on an extremely limited basis. It probably isn’t the wisest thing for me to be at work at all, but I can’t stay at home, alone, any longer. Gloria the receptionist knocks on my door. This is highly unusual because I’m with a patient and she never interrupts me.

  After apologizing to the patient for the interruption, I tell whomever it is to enter.

  She cracks open the door and says, “There’s a Jack McCutcheon here to see you, and he says it’s extremely urgent.”

  My heart flips because I immediately think he’s heard from Kolson.

  “Tell him I’ll be with him in fifteen minutes. I’m with a patient.”

  “Okay. And there’s another man with him but he didn’t give his name.”

  I nod and continue on with the appointment. When we’re through, I walk my patient out and greet Jack. He introduces me to William Parrish.

  “Dr. Martinelli, I’ve been trying to get you to call me for several days.”

  “I’m sorry, Jack, but I don’t want to hash out this story about Kolson’s whereabouts anymore.”

  “That’s not what I need to discuss with you. Can we go somewhere private?” he asks.

  I take them to one of the conference rooms.

  William begins. “Dr. Martinelli, I am the lead attorney for HTS and there are some things you need to be made aware of. I will also need your signature on several legal documents.”

  Now I’m confused.

  “Whatever for?”

  William glances at Jack. “Does she not know about this?”

  “Apparently not.”

  Both men look at me. William says, “Dr. Martinelli, do you know what a poison pill is?”

  “A what?”

  “A poison pill. It’s a strategy that corporations sometimes employ to discourage hostile takeovers. In the case of HTS, the company is not publicly held, so a true corporate takeover isn’t really possible. However, with Mr. Hart’s disappearance, there was a possibility that his family, namely Langston Hart, could come in and raid the company. That’s where you enter the scene. You are Kolson’s poison pill. About two months ago, he completely changed the structure of HTS and in the event of his absence or death, this corporation reverts to you. So you are now in total possession of HTS. Lock, stock, and smoking barrel, as they like to say. Nothing can take place without your approval. He trusted you, Dr. Martinelli, with the reins of this corporation. Or more specifically, to keep it out of the hands of his father.

  “I have all the paperwork back at the office, if you’d like to take a look at it, which I suggest you do. You are the current CEO and owner of Hart Transportation Services. It is worth upwards of eight hundred million dollars. And you hold all control of this in your hands. That’s not to say you don’t have an excellent team at your disposal, with Jack here at the helm. But, Dr. Martinelli, we do need your signature on several contracts that are pending. Today, if you will.”

  Somehow, by an unseen force of will, I suppose, I reach for the phone that sits on the conference table. “Gloria, is Case in?”

  “Yes, Doctor.”

  “Can you send him to Conference Room One, please.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  A few minutes later, Case walks in and I turn to William. “Will you repeat everything you just told me?”

  Case sits next to me and listens to what they say. Then he looks at me. “We need to go to HTS. Now. And you need to take care of business.”

  “I have another patient,” I say, dazed.

  Case takes my hands. “Gabs, this is a lot to take in, but Kolson did this for a very good reason. It was well thought out. Give the man some credit. There’s a corporation at risk and only you can prevent its destruction. Do you honestly want that to happen? Sign this
shit, go to HTS, take care of business, and let Jack handle what needs handling. Kolson trusted him and so should you. You can see your patient later.”

  “He left me.”

  “Again, you’re not listening to me. He must’ve had a reason. Let’s get moving here.”

  I scribble my name on the document that Jack holds open for me. “Jesus, let me look at that. Can I really trust you?” Now I’m getting paranoid.

  Case grabs the contract from me and hands it back to Jack.

  “Dr. Martinelli, I’ve dedicated my life to HTS and I’ll still do that. I know how much Mr. Hart hated his father. You can trust me. I won’t fail you in this,” Jack says.

  Case pulls me to my feet and we follow the two men out the door. I tell Gloria to cancel and reschedule the rest of my appointments. It seems that’s all I do these days. My practice is going to hell.

  A driver I’ve never met is at the wheel and takes us to HTS headquarters. The only time I’ve ever been here was to ride the helicopter with Kolson. We take the elevator to the executive floor and Jack walks me to Kolson’s office. When I see his name on the door, I lose it.

  Case asks Jack for a few minutes and pushes me in the door, closing it behind us.

  I look around and am shocked at all the pictures of me. My hand covers my mouth as I try to absorb what I’m seeing. Stumbling backward until I hit the wall, I slide down and wracking sobs overtake me. His presence is all around me. And I just want to know where he is and why he left. What the hell will I do with this company? I don’t know the first thing about this stuff.

  Then I notice a huge photo of us on his wall. I struggle to stand and slowly walk over to it. It was one of the selfies he took right before we went out to dinner one night. I’m laughing and he’s looking at me. He has an intense look around his mouth and I want to kiss him so badly, I can’t stand it. I run my fingers across his lips and then a fierce anger takes over. Ripping that photo off the wall I punch my hand through it and rip it to pieces.

  “Why have you done this to me? Why did you leave?” I rage.

  Case moves behind and grabs me. He tries to quiet me but I’m so angry; I just want answers.

  “I need to find out how much money he left me, Case.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I want to hire someone to find him. If you can’t do it, I want you to find someone who can. I need answers. If I don’t get them, this will ruin me. It’s eating me alive.”

  “Okay. Okay. But right now, you need to get a grip. We have to go in there and do a job. And you need to be in control. You are the CEO of a huge corporation. We’ll talk about this after we leave. Understand?”

  It takes a little while, but I pull it together. We go into a meeting with Jack, my secretary (Chloe), which is weird to think of me having a secretary, and the entire legal team. I sign everything and we create a schedule where I will come in every week for two mornings. Jack will handle the day-to-day business decisions but I will have the final say on everything else.

  When that meeting ends, I have another one with William. He hands me more legal documents that declare me the joint owner of all Kolson’s personal assets. In other words, Kolson has added me to every one of his accounts, personal holdings, property, etc. I have access to everything. Every last penny. And there is a vast amount. My head is spinning. I have never seen so many zeroes at the end of the numbers.

  After I put my signature on everything, Case and I return to the office at Russell Investigative Services. We need to talk. A lot. I have more questions than answers, but he is smart and he can lead me in a general direction.

  “Let’s get some food and mull this over,” he suggests. He orders Chinese for delivery, and we talk over chicken lo mein and beef with broccoli.

  “So, here’s what I’m thinking,” he says. “Kolson doesn’t just walk out on a whim. He plans this out. You don’t go through all that stuff we just sat through in the blink of an eye.”

  He’s right.

  “It’s the dad. He’s a creepy fucker. He wants the company for whatever reason and Kolson is dead set against it, so he does what he needs to do. He knows he can trust you to do the right thing. And he’s aligned himself with the right people at the corporation already. So that part’s done. You were the last piece of the puzzle.”

  “You think he used me?”

  “NO! That’s not what I meant. What I’m saying is he gave you the company so he can do what he needs to do. When he comes back, he knows it’ll be as good as it was when he left, or even better.”

  “I don’t think he’s coming back.”

  Case scowls. “What makes you say that?”

  “He added me to all his personal wealth. If he were coming back, he wouldn’t have done that.”

  Shaking his head, Case says, “I disagree. He loves you. He didn’t want to leave you without any funds. Plus, I think he’s sending you a message.”

  “A message? Saying what?”

  Case laughs. “Come on, girl. Use that psych brain of yours. He wants you to know that he’s out there taking good care of you.”

  “Bullshit. I want to know he’s right here, taking good care of me.”

  “Yeah. That’s a woman thinking. You have to think like a man. Listen to what I’m saying. If he left, like, really left you, he would’ve walked away and you wouldn’t have any money. He would’ve left you stranded. You know the game. That’s not his plan.”

  Case does make a strong point.

  “I just want to talk to him. To make sure he’s okay.”

  He pats my back. “I know, and I can’t blame you for that. I would too. I also think there’s a safety net for you in this corporation.”

  “What do you mean by that?”

  Case glances around the office and then back at me. “You know how they mentioned that poison pill thing? With you in here, Langston can’t get to anything, right?”

  “Yeah, but how is that a safety net?”

  “If anything happens to you, he’s screwed as far as HTS goes. Kolson set it up this way to protect you and the company. Besides, if you disappear too, all fingers would certainly point his way.”

  “I suppose that does make sense, but I wouldn’t trust anything as far as Langston goes.”

  “I don’t blame you for that. He doesn’t have the reputation of being the trustworthy sort.”

  “Change of subject, and I know I’m gonna sound really whiny here, but I miss him. How long does this crap take?”

  “A while. When you love someone, you don’t just up and forget them. It sort of eases some, but it takes a long time.”

  “Can I sleep with you tonight?”

  Case was raising his cup to take a drink and the contents slosh out. He frowns as he dabs up the spilled water. “Uh, Gabby, I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

  “I don’t mean it like that.”

  “I still don’t think it’s a good idea.”

  “I can sleep on the couch. I don’t want to be alone. Please.”

  He doesn’t want me to, but I force the issue. My self-pity has made me bolder. But then I think that maybe he has someone special I don’t know about. So I quickly add, “Oh, forget it. I didn’t really mean it.”

  “No, it’s okay. Do you need to run home and grab some things?”

  “No, I have some of my stuff here.”

  “Why here?”

  “I’ve been spending the nights here some. It’s not a big deal.” I don’t want to look him in the eye because now I’m a little embarrassed.

  “You haven’t said anything.”

  My head falls forward, my hair curtaining my face. It’s an old habit from the Danny days. “Didn’t want to be a bother.”

  “Like that could ever happen. Let’s go.”

  But that’s not really true. When I think about it, I’ve been a huge bother to Case the last few weeks. Calling at all hours of the night, texting him for every little thing. No wonder he doesn’t want me at his place tonight.
r />   “You know what? I think I’ll just go home after all.”

  Did I just see his shoulders relax?

  “You sure? Because you know you’re always welcome.”

  Smiling, I say, “Nah. I think I want to sleep in my own bed. And I need to catch up on a little billing here first. It’s getting a bit out of control.”

  He puffs out his breath, and I think he’s going to call my bluff, but then he nods and says, “See you tomorrow, then. Night, Gabs.” One hug and he’s gone.

  When I hear the door lock behind him, I go to my office. How did my life get to be such a roller coaster? I shut myself off to the anger and sadness that seem to be ruling my emotions these days. I need to move past this or I’ll be a disaster waiting to happen. I can barely concentrate on my patients when I see them as it is. The couch becomes my bed as I curl on my side.

  My phone vibrates.

  “You’re still at the office, aren’t you?” Case asks.

  “Yeah. I’m working on that billing I need to finish up.”

  “You can at least be honest with me.”

  “Okay. I’m not working.”

  “Gabby, go home.”

  “I can’t right this minute.”

  “You need to get some sleep.”

  “Case, you don’t understand.”

  “Yes, I do.”

  I sigh, my breath catching in my throat. “No, you don’t. The man I adore walked away from our life. I kissed him goodbye and he said he’d see me that night. He told me he’d be late because he had a meeting. And that was it. That’s the last time I spoke to him. You can’t understand. He didn’t die of some dreaded disease. He didn’t get killed in a horrific accident. He wasn’t beaten to death by some asswipe criminal. He just up and left. Walked away without a trace. And I have no idea where he is or what he’s doing. I’m doing the best I can, but don’t fucking tell me to go home and get some sleep because I can’t. His scent is all over our bed. It’s all over the place. Every time I inhale, he’s there, and I can’t fucking figure out why he’s gone.”