I walk to my office and open the top drawer for the spare keys. There they sit on the tray where I left them. Before I lose my nerve, I leave, careful to reset the security system. I take the stairs again and when I get down to her floor, I’m quiet as can be when I open the door. It’s after midnight so the hall is empty. When I slip the key into the lock, I feel a momentary sense of guilt, but this is something we both need. If she sends me away, fine. But at least I’ll know.
I close the door gently behind me and lean against it for a second, trying to quell my rapid heartbeat. The blinds are open and the room glows with silvery moonlight. The outline of her body is visible in bed, even from where I stand. My pulse throbs in my neck as my desire soars. It’s not sexual, though. It’s the craving to see her, to touch her, to smell her and feel her next to me. My need to surround myself with her warmth is paramount to my existence. If she tells me I can only hold her, then fine.
I unlace my shoes and kick them off. Then I strip as I walk to the bed. It’s only when I slide between the sheets that she stirs.
“Don’t be frightened. It’s me, kea.”
She flies to her feet, ready to scream. I’m right behind her as I grab her and clamp my hand over her mouth.
“It’s me, Gabriella. Kolson. Please, don’t be frightened.”
Her back is flush to my chest and she shakes her head as she turns it. Her eyes lock with mine and recognition registers within. Then they fire with the spark I remember and anger surges in her. She elbows me in the solar plexus and I bend over as the wind bursts out of me. Fists fly as she throws punches left and right. I try to block her to stop from getting decked, only my damn diaphragm won’t release. She’s pissed as hell, and I can’t blame her. Finally, it eases, enough so I can talk.
“Whoa! Stop, Gabriella. Stop!”
“Fuck you!”
I don’t know who taught her to swing, but she comes at me with some jabs and a few uppercuts and actually connects. Her strength isn’t up to par, so she doesn’t do much damage, but I know when she starts to tire.
“Kea. Please, let me just hold you.”
“Go to hell. Exactly where I’ve been for the last month, thinking you were dead or lying in a ditch somewhere.”
And then the fight blows out of her. She sags in my arms, deflated. The arms that struck me only seconds ago wrap around me and she clings to me like ivy on old brick. Her fingers dig into my skin as her tears soak me. Her body shudders with sobs and the moment is heart-rending because I’m the cause of her despair.
Then come the questions. They tumble so fast from her mouth, I can’t keep up. I finally say, “Shh. No more. I’m here for this one night because I had to see for myself you were all right and I wanted you to know I was too.” She starts to speak again but I stop her. “Gabriella, there is so much I want to say to you, but it’s too risky right now. My father, he is a very dangerous man and wants me for things I’m unable to explain. Please trust me. I’m doing this to keep us both safe. I didn’t leave because I wanted to. I did it because I had no other choice. Please know that.”
She nods. “No. This is enough. You disappear for a month, without a word, and you expect me to blindly accept it? I won’t, Kolson. Your father is threatening me and I’m afraid!”
“Jesus. Fuck. I know you are. But you’re safe. He won’t hurt you knowing I’m out here somewhere. I’m the prize he wants, not you.”
“How do you know that?”
“Tell me something. What does he say to you when he calls?”
“He wants to know where you are.”
“He wants me, Gabriella. Only me. Please give me your trust for a little while longer.”
“Why can’t you tell me?”
“Because the less you know, the safer you are.”
She chews on this and I see when she accepts it. Relief floods me.
Moving in front of me, she says, “Okay.” Her hands brush through my beard and hair.
“I’m so sorry. Sorry for putting you through all this. For making you so angry. But I’d rather have your anger than risk your safety.”
She sighs loudly and then speaks, her voice husky. “Kestrel came to see me and so has your father.”
“They’ll be back. Don’t tell them you saw me. Whatever you do, don’t tell my father anything. Stay as far away from him as you can.”
“He called me. And then some men dragged me into one of his cars where he was waiting. He wanted to know where you were. He said something about a debt. He said he’d kill you.”
“Jesus.” That motherfucker. Already going after Gabriella to get to me. “He wants HTS in payment. That’s why I put you in charge.”
“Oh, Kolson. I hope you know what you’re doing. And all your personal assets. I’ve never managed a thousand dollars, much less hundreds of millions.” She fists my shirt and buries her face in it.
“I’m not worried about the company. You have a solid team to help you.”
She speaks into my chest. “I can trust Jack?”
I put my fingers under her chin, lifting her face so I can look at her. “Listen to me. Without a doubt, you can trust Jack. And everyone else at HTS. They’ve all been vetted by my security team. And if you need anyone checked out, have Tom do it. He’s top-notch.”
“I’m so blind here.”
“Not blind at all. Just inexperienced, but you’ll be fine,” I say.
“Are you ever coming back?”
“I’d like to think so. Stay away from my father and don’t go anywhere alone. And you need to eat, kea. You’ve lost too much weight.”
“Eating’s been difficult. You look so different. Your hair. And you have a beard.” She stifles a sob.
I hadn’t planned on it, but her mouth is right there and I can’t help myself. My lips touch hers, lightly at first, but her response is so robust, they become rough and frenzied, and before I realize what I’m doing, we’re kissing like it’s our first time. Instead of pulling away, she arches into me, pressing herself closer. We are two love-starved people who haven’t been together for far too long and our passion soars, our bodies eager for each other.
My mind is a contradiction. I want to be hard and fast with her because I’m so needy. Yet I want this to be slow … slow and memorable so I can imprint this night into my brain. Hands, mouths, tongues, lips press, taste, lick, and suck until we both moan our lust.
“I’ve missed you. Every part,” I tell her. “All the curves and edges, like that song I can’t get out of my head. It makes me think of you every time I hear it.”
Her face is damp because she can’t stop her tears. And it’s my fault. I’m the one who did this to her.
“I need to feel you inside me, Kolson. When you left, you took that part of me and I need it back. Please give it to me.”
“Gabriella, I’m going to find a way to work this out. I promise. I don’t want just your love. I want every bit of you … your flesh, bones, breath, and soul. I want you wrapped around me in the morning, your hair spread across my body. I want to hear my name when you come around me and feel you melt in my arms when you do. I want you to be the last thing I touch before I fall asleep every night and the first thing I taste when I wake up each morning. And I’m going to find a way to make that happen.”
Her mouth stops my words and her hand guides me inside her. Warm and slick, she’s ready as she welcomes all of me home. Home. I’ve missed this. If there was one thing I could do, it would be to make this night last forever. But time speeds on, much too fast, and I need to be out of here before sunrise. I need to be back in Brooklyn, where I’m safer. Where she’s safer.
The thought crosses my mind about leaving without telling her goodbye, but I know it would be wrong.
“Kea, I have to go.” My lips taste the soft flesh on her neck.
“Kolson, is there anything I can do on my end? Langston said he’ll kill you.”
Smiling, I say, “Don’t worry about me. You be safe. I want you to get a bodyguard. Don’t travel
alone. And keep HTS strong. I know you can do it.”
“I was talking about your father.”
I scowl. “No! Stay out of this. It’s too dangerous for you to get involved. The way he pulled you into his car ... that’s only a taste of what he’s capable of. He’s got connections that …”
“Kolson, I’m afraid.”
“And you should be, Gabriella. Stay away from him. Fear him. More than anything you’ve ever feared in your life. Including Danny.”
Putting those thoughts in her head sickens me, but it’s the truth. Danny was nothing compared to the dragon. He’ll burn her alive if he knows he can get to me through her.
“Close your eyes and dream of me.”
I hastily dress and leave. Brooklyn is no comparison to the comfort of Gabriella’s arms, but it is with some reassurance when I sit and watch the sun rise that she knows I’m safe. This waiting game is difficult, but it’s unavoidable. I want my father’s anger to be so potent that he’s at the point of losing control. Only then will my plan be put into motion.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Gabriella
Kolson leaves and I scramble out of bed and watch him walk to the stairs. I’m desperate to follow him, but I don’t. My brain buzzes with everything that’s happening. In the time it would take me to dress, he’d be long gone. I have no idea where he’s staying, and if I try to follow him, it will only arouse suspicion, particularly if Langston is watching me. And that poses another question. What if he has cameras here? My paranoia mounts. I need to have Case sweep the place for microphones, hidden cameras, and bugs before I will be comfortable here again.
Sitting up in bed, I pull my knees to my chest. Exactly how much danger am I in? Would Langston try to have me killed? Is that what Kolson was alluding to? How much of this should I tell Case? Or should I tell him anything at all?
Kolson told me not to say a word, so I won’t. For now. I trust Case with my life. He’s loyal to me, but he operates on the right side of the law too. If Kolson has done anything in the past that can put him behind bars, I don’t want Case involved.
My brain is on its way to a meltdown. I can’t just sit here. Jumping out of bed, I start to search my apartment for unusual things … things I’ve seen in movies and on TV. I look under lamps, on the back of picture frames—I even dissemble the heating and air conditioning unit looking for bugs of any sort. I find nothing in my search.
By the time I have to head to the penthouse to get ready for work, I’m frazzled.
I don’t spend a minute thinking about what to wear. Instead, I shower, throw on the first thing I get my hands on, and head to the office. No one has arrived yet so I put the coffee on and get on my computer. It’s amazing what you can find on Google these days. I run a search on how to sweep your apartment for listening devices. What comes up is unreal; I quickly realize I’m going to have to enlist Case’s help.
When I hear the door open, I walk up front and see it’s Gloria.
“Dr. Martinelli. You’re here early.”
“Uh, yes. Gloria, I need you to cancel out my day. In fact, I’ve decided to take a leave of absence.”
“Dr. Martinelli, are you okay?”
“Not exactly. With everything going on, I’m not doing my patients justice by seeing them when my mind is elsewhere. The past month, I’ve canceled more than I’ve been here and it’s silly to go on like this. It’s not fair to my patients. I can refer them to one of my colleagues if they’d like, or not. But can you take care of this for me?”
“Certainly. And I sure am sorry, but I know you’ll get through this.”
“I hope so, Gloria.” Truth is, at the moment I’m more worried about Langston Hart killing Kolson—or me—than I am about my psychiatric practice. “And Gloria, can you let me know when Case gets in?”
“Sure.”
Twenty minutes later, Case pokes his head into my office.
“Hey. So you decided to take that leave after all?”
“Yeah.” I motion him in. As he shuts the door behind him, I scribble a note.
I need to talk to you about something vitally important. Away from prying eyes and ears. Where there is no risk of anyone hearing us. Can we do this?
He reads the note and nods. Then writes back:
Gramercy Park. West Gate, 1 hour.
My eyes bulge and I mouth, “How the fuck did you get a key to Gramercy Park?”
He shrugs and laughs. Then he gets up and leaves.
Gramercy Park isn’t too far from here so I have about forty-five minutes before I need to leave. But I head out in thirty and pick up coffee and donuts on the way. When I get there, Case waits for me at the gate.
“Yeah, so, you have to explain this.”
He shrugs. “Believe it or not, it was Narcotics Anonymous. You know I’ve helped a lot of people get clean. Some of them are wealthy. And one of them once promised me that if I came through for her, she’d give me her key. So here we are. This place is as private as can be. No possibility of prying eyes or ears. Unless they knew ahead of time we were coming.”
We sit on one of the benches and I can’t help but sigh at the beauty that surrounds us. The park is small, only about two acres, and it’s the only private park in all of Manhattan. Talk about exclusive. Key owners, and there are only approximately three hundred fifty, pay an annual fee for exclusive access. It’s a quaint, lovely slice of nature wedged within a charming neighborhood that makes me breathe easier and feel more peaceful. Lush with grass and perfectly trimmed hedges, the November fall blooms still dot the landscape as there hasn’t been a hard frost yet to kill them off. It’s like I’ve been transported into a fairyland. As I take in the varying shades of umber on what remains of the autumn shade trees that paint the park, I can only imagine that this would be a wonderful place to sit and read a favorite book.
“Before we get started, will you promise to bring me back here under better circumstances one day? This is like a scene from a fairy tale.”
Case laughs. “It is sort of romantic, isn’t it?”
“Yes.” It makes me think of Kolson.
We quietly munch on our donuts, taking in the scenery. Finally, he asks, “So?”
I embark on my explanation of why I wanted to meet him here.
“This all probably sounds crazy to you. And you’ll think I’m delusional or paranoid. But I want you to sweep my studio for surveillance devices.”
“He came to you last night. I had a feeling he was around somewhere. The way he handed you HTS, I knew he wouldn’t leave the area.”
“God, Case. Please don’t say anything. He says both our lives could be in danger.”
“Gabby, I know. Langston Hart has been tied to the Mob. The FBI has never been able to nail firm evidence, though.”
“I’m worried about Kolson. I’m worried that if they get Langston, they’ll find something on Kolson too.”
Case rubs his chin. “I can find out if they suspect him.”
“How?”
“I have a friend.”
“I don’t know, Case.” My stomach wants to hand me back the donut I just swallowed.
“Think about it. It’s just an idea. I’m sure the FBI is searching for Kolson already anyway, since Langston has been on their radar for years. In the meantime, I’ll do whatever you want me to do. And you know you can trust me, Gabby. Always.”
“This is so fucking crazy. I mean, he up and leaves. And then when he showed up last night, I didn’t even recognize him. At first I freaked out. And here’s what else is weird.” I tell him about Kestrel’s visit and Langston’s call and how he had me pulled into his limo.
“As much as your heart wants to reach out to his brother, do not trust him. Under any circumstances. Kolson’s right. He’s glued to his dad’s hip. If you Google him, you can barely find a photo of one without the other.”
“I understand. That’s not uncommon in abuse victims. I see it all the time. There’s an unbreakable bond. The victim fears the ab
user yet won’t report him or her and stays with them.”
“I think with Kestrel, it’s more than that. Langston must have him over a barrel about something. In any event, let’s get back to what you need me to do. I’ll do it tonight.”
“Can’t we go now?”
“No. It’s imperative to stick to a normal schedule. Act as though you never saw him. If they are watching you, which I’m guessing they are, they’ll notice if you start doing things out of the ordinary, such as meeting me in the park. We’ll say this is one exception and we won’t do this ever again. I’m going to get you another phone today. One that you’ll only use to contact me. For all we know, they’re watching me as well because they have to know that you and I are close.”
“I hadn’t thought of that.”
“Communicate by text if it’s something you don’t want anyone to hear. Other than that, we’ll stick to our usual thing. The leave of absence will take you out of your office but will put you at HTS. They’ll be checking you out there for sure. They want that company. Whether it’s for revenge or just financial gain, who knows? But whatever the reason, make sure you watch your back. Stop by your office at RIS a couple times a week to keep things on track. That will show them you’re still keeping your practice alive.”
The information piles up in my head like bricks. I hope the masonry work is stable enough to stay put, because the bricklayer, namely me, is toting around a set of nerves that are utterly frayed.
“Now do me a favor and make yourself cry.”
“Huh?”
“I want you to cry so it looks like I’m consoling you.”
I’m not too far off from that state, so I lay my head on his shoulder and cover my face. He puts his arm around me and pats my back, making it look to anyone who might be spying on us that he’s being a good friend.
He bends his head and whispers, “Rub your eyes against my shirt to smear your mascara.”
I murmur back, “Why are you whispering?”
“Just do it.”
“I think I got some in my eyes. Now they’re watering.”
Freeing Him: A Hart Brothers Novel, Book 2 Page 10