Freeing Her (A Hart Brothers Novel Book 1)

by A. M. Hargrove

  And the greatest part? The burden that had weighed her down all these years lifted, freeing her from its gruesome memory. The air she inhaled was cleaner, fresher, and her lungs expanded more because of it. The vertebrae in her back separated incrementally, allowing her spine to lift higher. She reached a fuller height, all due to Kolson. One man and his persistence and his promise to believe her.

  She tightened her arms around him and pressed her lips to his back. “Thank you. For everything. For standing firm in your belief in me.”

  He spun within her hold and pulled her against his chest, holding her so she heard his heart beat beneath her ear. “I keep my promises, kea. I always keep my promises. You can count on that.” He smoothed his hand over her hair and murmured, “Enough talk for tonight. I know you must be exhausted. I think it’s bedtime for us.”

  She nodded, weary as could be. He walked her to his bed, but right before she climbed in, he said, “Your things are in the guest room and if you’d rather stay there, you can, you know.”

  “Do you want me to stay there?”

  “Hell no. I want you in this bed. Next to me.”

  “Then this is where I want to be too.”

  He smiled. “I was hoping you’d say that. Take off your clothes, Gabriella.”

  Her face showed surprise. “I thought we were going to sleep.”

  “We are. But I won’t lie in bed with you and have any scrap of clothing between us. I want to feel your smooth skin next to mine, touching me.”

  That was all she needed to hear. He lifted the covers for her and, naked, she slid under. He followed her and tugged her into the curve of his body.

  “Go to sleep.”

  “Mmm.” She burrowed into him and fatigue sent her straight into the arms of sleep.

  # # #

  Gabby opened her eyes to brightness, realizing they hadn’t closed the blinds or drawn the curtains. She groaned because the room glowed with the rising sun.

  “What is it, kea?” Kolson asked.

  “We forgot to draw the curtains. It’s so bright.” She snuggled closer into his neck to shut out as much light as possible, but it didn’t do much good. After a few minutes, she rose and went to the bathroom.

  When she came out, she noticed that Kolson had fallen back asleep, so she went to the guest room. She opened the closet and found her belongings Lydia had placed in there. Turning to the dresser, she rifled through the layers until she found her favorite pair of soft yoga pants and a cami.

  Gabby was conflicted. Staying here was truly her only option. There wasn’t anywhere else she could go. Sky lived in a studio and Ryder only had a one-bedroom apartment so that was out. As much as she adored Case, moving into his studio wouldn’t work. She didn’t have the money to stay in a hotel for more than a night or two.

  Kolson was her salvation right now, but she didn’t want to come off as looking like she was using him, either.

  Pulling on her clothing, she padded into the kitchen to get coffee going. She checked out the contents of the refrigerator to see if she could throw together a breakfast. It was Sunday and she had to volunteer this afternoon at the women’s shelter. But she would have plenty of time for a run and a good meal first.

  Kolson had a fully stocked kitchen, which made her smile. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d been around so much food. Searching for the proper pans and necessary items, she set to work on making bacon, hash browns, and omelets. She chopped onions, peppers, and mushrooms as the bacon cooked.

  After the potatoes were grated and ready to go, she heated the griddle and whisked up the eggs. It didn’t take her long to have everything prepared, so she hunted down a tray for her artfully arranged plate as well as for coffee, cream, sugar, and orange juice. She smiled to herself as she carried it into Kolson.

  He was finally stirring, and he sat up, confused.

  “Good morning, sleepyhead.”

  He flashed her a toothy grin. “What’s this?”

  “Room service.”

  “Breakfast in bed? For me?” He patted the bed next to him and she set the tray down. Then he grabbed her and kissed her. “Sorry, I haven’t brushed my teeth yet.”

  “It’s okay. I have coffee breath. I’ll be right back.”

  She returned a moment later with her tray and climbed up next to him. Kolson took his first bite. “This is excellent. Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome. It’s the least I could do after everything you’ve done for me. Besides, I was starving and your kitchen is a cook’s paradise.”

  “That’s Lydia. She keeps everything stocked for me.”

  “Nice.”

  “How did you sleep?”

  “Great, until the darn sun woke me up. We didn’t shut the blinds.”

  “Gabriella, I don’t have any blinds.”

  “Oh! How can you stand it?”

  He stared at his plate while he ate. “One of the best omelets I’ve ever had.”

  After a few more bites, he asked, “So what’s on your agenda today?”

  “I have to volunteer at one. At the women’s shelter downtown. And I was going to hit the medical library to catch up on some journal reading a bit before hand.”

  “I’ll drive you and pick you up.”

  “That’s not nec …”

  “Yes, it certainly is. And I also want you to call your friend, Case. In fact, I think the three of us should meet. What time are you free tonight?”

  “Seven.”

  “See if he can meet for dinner, my treat.”

  “Okay, are you sure, though?”

  “Don’t fight me on this. This is your safety we’re discussing. And while you’re gone, I’ll work on getting an apartment locked down for you.”

  She nodded. Gabby knew that was the appropriate thing to do, but she enjoyed being here with Kolson and wouldn’t mind staying here a while. The safety issue factored into it, but that wasn’t all. Kolson had wedged himself into her life. It would’ve been impossible to ignore, since he was such a monumental presence. And if she were truly being honest, she doubted he would let her disregard him anyway. He wasn’t a man who would easily take being pushed aside. No, she could only imagine the things he would do to ensure he was front and center with her. She grinned as she thought about it.

  “What has you smiling so?”

  “Nothing.”

  “Well, I hope that nothing was me. I want to be the one who puts a smile like that on your gorgeous face, kea.”

  Oh, don’t worry about that. You do, Kolson Hart, you do.

  Chapter Eighteen

  After hanging around Gabby’s apartment for four hours on Saturday night and then again late on Sunday afternoon, Danny’s anger was escalating. He didn’t know what to do. That damn boyfriend of hers must be monopolizing her time. He thought about sending her flowers but nixed that idea. That would cost money and he was on a strict budget. She would just trash them anyway. No, following her was the best option to get her alone. Eventually she’d slip up, so he needed to be prepared at all times.

  It was time for him to start keeping track of when she arrived at her office every day and what days she was at the hospital. Then he needed to figure out where else she spent most of her time—that’s when he’d strike.

  # # #

  Kolson showed up at the shelter an hour early to retrieve Gabby. It was a small, non-descript building near The Bellevue Hospital Center on the lower east side of Manhattan. Like most shelters of this type, the location was kept secret and the only way a person could find it was through phone screening. Security was controlled and Kolson had to answer a set of prearranged questions that he and Gabby had agreed upon. Once he had been cleared, the receptionist ushered him into an office with a glass window and told him he could wait for her in there. He stood to the side and observed her at work. She was speaking with a mother with a small child. The little girl was clinging to the mother and both had bruises covering their faces and arms. Kolson was sure they had them i
n other places too, hidden by their clothing.

  The young child kept peeking at Gabby, and Gabby bent down to talk to her. It didn’t take long before the child held out her arms for examination. The girl’s eyes were huge in her swollen, discolored face. Gabby pushed the hair off her forehead and then shone a light into her eyes. Kolson could see traces of tears reflected in the light on the child’s cheeks and Gabby took her thumbs and dabbed them away. Moments later Gabby sat on the floor in front of the little girl and helped her remove her shoes and socks. She then showed Gabby the bottoms of her feet. Though Kolson couldn’t see what Gabby was seeing, the child winced when Gabby touched her. The child sniffed constantly, as if trying not to cry, but then Gabby patted her lap and the little thing crawled into it and started bawling.

  Kolson never imagined he’d feel such a strong emotion toward a child he didn’t know, but this whole situation opened a wound in him that he thought had been permanently sealed. His guts twisted and his heart clenched. As he watched Gabby hold that young girl in her arms, the deep admiration he felt for her astounded him. He’d not previously understood her role here, but now he did. And what was baffling to him was he didn’t know how she did it, day after day, and kept her heart intact.

  He turned away, unable to watch any longer and sat down, dropping his head into his hands. Kolson realized that Gabby’s capacity for love was far beyond anything he’d ever encountered. And it angered him that her family had abandoned such a beautiful soul.

  He was still sitting there an hour later when she walked in.

  “Hey.” She eyed him for a moment. “Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine,” he said softly. “How are you?”

  “I’m good. You ready?”

  His penetrating stare pierced her, but no words would come to him.

  “You sure you’re okay?”

  “I saw what you did. With that little girl. Your heart is so immense, Gabriella. You have so much compassion inside of you.”

  She tipped her head and said matter-of-factly, “It’s what I do. What I love to do. To help people.”

  “I can see that. But it’s so much more than helping them. You give them a part of you … what’s inside of your heart. I felt it from here … watching you. I felt your love from inside this room.” He couldn’t tear his eyes away from her. He wanted to tell her how fucked up her parents were and that they were the ones who had missed out on being a part of such an amazing human being’s life. And he wanted to tell her that she was even more beautiful on the inside than she was on the outside.

  But he didn’t. Instead, he grabbed and kissed her, showing her how he felt. Like she meant the world to him. Like he wanted to hold her close and never let her go. Like he wanted to feel her beautiful heart beat against his chest and hear her breath next to his ear. Like he wanted to smell her with every breath he took. When he released her, he took his hand and tucked her hair behind her ear and simply said, “I think your profession chose you, Gabriella, and it’s damn lucky to have you.” Then he reached for her hand and proudly escorted her to the car.

  Gabby beamed as they walked hand in hand. No one had ever said such lovely things to her. Yes, she knew the people she volunteered for appreciated her, but this was unsolicited, so it meant more to her than anything. Not only that, Kolson had looked at her in such a soft way, it made her heart melt. And that kiss was toe-curling and heart-stopping. But it was also sweet, like he was trying to convey something to her. He had such a way with his mouth, and he had certainly made her feel special.

  # # #

  They met Case for dinner and when Gabby finally spilled the details about Danny, Case could barely speak. It took him a few minutes to collect himself, so profound was his anger and sadness. His hand snapped the stem off the water goblet he was holding, slicing into his fingers.

  “Fuck,” he swore.

  “Let me look at that,” Gabby demanded.

  They went to the restroom and she cleaned and wrapped it in some paper cloths and then bound it with first-aid tape. It wouldn’t require stitches.

  While they were in the restroom, Case asked, “Why didn’t you ever tell me?”

  “I didn’t tell anyone. Kolson was the first.”

  He surprised her when he jerked her into his arms and held her so hard, she could barely breathe.

  “I’m good now, Case. Much better, in fact, since I told him.”

  “What the fuck was wrong with your parents?”

  “That ship sailed long ago, and frankly, I’m sick of trying to figure it out.”

  “Understood.”

  “I just feel like such a shit because I didn’t know.”

  “Don’t. I didn’t tell you so how could you?”

  Case shook his head and hugged her again. “You know you can come to me any time, right?”

  “Yeah, I know.”

  “You really like this guy, don’t you?”

  She grinned. “Yeah.”

  “It shows.”

  “In a good or bad way?”

  “Good. You’re grinning. All the time. Never seen you like this.”

  “Oh. I don’t look goofy-assed, do I?”

  He laughed. “No. You look great.”

  “Really?”

  “Yeah. Let’s go.”

  When they returned to the table, Kolson asked, “Everything okay?”

  “Yeah. He won’t need sutures.”

  Case added, “Sorry for the disruption.”

  “No problem. I can imagine how you felt, knowing how close you are to Gabriella. We’d like to discuss her options with you. He’s stalking her now and we need to make a case against him. Given your professional background, we thought you would know best how to go about doing it the right way.”

  “There are a couple of problems that I see, but that doesn’t mean we’re at a complete roadblock. The first thing, what you mentioned earlier, is that no police reports were ever filed. The second is that Danny was a minor when this started, but, and this is huge, he turned eighteen and was still molesting you. So that won’t be an issue. I recommend you get full body X-rays to document all the fractures you’ve had. You already know this will be necessary, along with a psych evaluation. You have enough contacts that it shouldn’t be a problem. Forensics can look at the radiology report, too, to add anything to it, such as an approximation of how old each fracture is. When you have that paper trail created, then we start to make a case. In the meantime, I want to investigate this dude.”

  Kolson interjected, “Don’t bother. My security team has already done it. And he’s a real piece of work.”

  Gabby looked at him, brows arched.

  “I know I should’ve told you. I started it after that day he accosted you close to your office. You were so shaken up, it concerned me enough that I also put Sam on your tail for protection, but you know that. I never expected Danny to find out where you lived, though.”

  “Would it be possible for you to share with me what you have on him?” Case asked.

  “Absolutely. I’ll have Tom Barrett, the head of my team, email everything over to you.”

  “Great. So, as soon as we gather everything and I read through it, I’ll figure out who I need to get this stuff to at NYPD.”

  Gabby sat without saying a word.

  Kolson reached for her hand and it felt like ice. “Gabriella? Are you okay?”

  “No, I’m not okay. This is going to lay my life open like a book. For you two to know is one thing, but for everyone else, that’s an entirely different matter.”

  Kolson squeezed her hand. “You’re right. But if Danny does something stupid or threatens you, we’ll be ahead of the game. This is for your protection, Gabriella.”

  She nodded, but Kolson could tell she was still uneasy.

  Case reached over and patted her arm. “One other thing, Gabby. It would be a good idea for you to cut back on your volunteer hours.”

  “No! I love doing that!”

  “I know, but it expo
ses you to him, and it’s too risky.”

  “Why can’t he just leave me alone?”

  The waitress delivered their food, but Gabby no longer had a desire to eat. Instead she sat and stared at her plate. Case looked at Kolson and he nodded.

  Gabby wasn’t safe in her office, either, and both men knew it. The problem was going to be persuading her to move, when her funds didn’t allow it.

  “Gabby,” Case began, “You know your office leaves you exposed to him. Would you consider moving into my building? I can work something out with you. And most importantly, you’d be safe.”

  “I can’t … can we talk about this later? My head is swimming.”

  “Anytime. I have two empty rooms and a conference room that can be used if you need it. There’s a receptionist up front and, well, you know the drill. You’ve been there. Just let me know if you’re interested.”

  “Thanks, Case. You know I love you for looking out for me.”

  They finished dinner and the two men agreed to talk again in a few days. Gabby promised Case she’d consider his offer to move into his office.

  The ride home was made in silence. Kolson’s car, a sleek Mercedes sedan, pulled into the underground garage. The area where he parked, exclusive and reserved, had an added layer of security to access it. Once parked, Kolson checked the area before they exited the vehicle.

  “Is this how I’m going to have to live from now on?”

  He looked at her thoughtfully before answering. “No, I’m only being extra careful. Don’t want to take any chances. Once I’m sure he’s not around, I think it’ll be fine for you to come and go as you please, as long as you take a driver.”