Freeing Her (10 page)

The two women headed out together and rode
the subway, but Gabby was unaware that she was being watched. And
she didn’t know that Danny followed her all the way home. He
grinned as the doorman opened the door for her. He took note of the
address, the number of security measures, and how many men were in
the lobby once she’d entered the elevator. Danny was no slouch. He
walked around the block several times until he satisfied himself
that this place could be a possible entry for him. He could rest
easy now that Gabby was back within his reach. Soon she would be
his.

# # #

Gabby was back at work the next day, but she
felt achy. She missed her morning run, all because of Kolson. He’d
made her feel unsafe. She analyzed the situation and felt silly
about it now. She’d been in Manhattan for a while and never felt
uncomfortable about her early morning runs. That was the only time
she had to get her stress-relieving exercise in. Why did he make
her feel guilty about it?

She needed the exercise and couldn’t afford
to join a gym. Her hours after work were usually taken up with
volunteering at NA, the hospital, or the women’s shelter, so the
mornings were her only option. She’d get a big can of pepper spray
and be done with it.

Her phone rang and she was secretly happy to
hear Kolson’s voice.

“
Are you free for dinner
tonight? I promise not to be annoying.”

She could sense the smile behind his words.
“I’m afraid I’m not. I’m volunteering at NA tonight,” she said.

“
Hmm. What about
tomorrow?”

She smiled. “Tomorrow would be nice. Does
that promise extend until then?”

He laughed at her question. “Yes, it does.
I’ll pick you up at seven.”

She shivered when she hung up the phone,
thinking about the way he’d kissed her.

That night at NA when she saw Case, she
decided to ask his opinion about the running thing.

“
Do you think it’s unsafe
for a single woman to run alone in the early mornings?”

“
Of course it’s unsafe.
Don’t you dare do it.”

“
But Case, it’s the only
time I have.”

“
Then you need to carve
out time somewhere else.” He stared intently at her. “Gabs, you’re
playing with fire. Honest to God, I’m not fooling.”

“
Ok, ok. I won’t. Got it.”
She groaned.

“
I’m only being
protective. Besides, I used to be ...”

“
A cop. I know. And I
appreciate you looking out for me.”

“
You sound more
annoyed.”

Gabby looked contrite. “I’m sorry, Case. I’m
just being snarky and I shouldn’t be. You’re only looking out for
me. I’m just frustrated that I can’t run and it’s the only time I
have. I’m sorry I’m such an ass.”

“
Don’t worry about it.” He
hugged her and rubbed her head with his knuckle until she
laughed.

“
Hey, can I ask a favor of
you?”

“
Anything.”

“
Um, can you look someone
up for me?”

“
You mean run a background
check?”

“
Sort of.” She didn’t like
asking him to do this but she needed to know more about Kolson. “I
want information on someone.”

“
How much and what kind?
Basic background stuff or more in-depth? You know I can pretty much
get you anything you need.”

She blew out a long breath. “Okay, here’s
the deal. I met this guy a couple of weeks ago.”

Case perked up and asked, “Did he mess with
you?”

“
No. Nothing like that.
Actually, he did the opposite. Helped me out.” Gabby smiled when
she saw Case’s stance ease. “Hey, don’t get all big bro on me.”
They laughed.

“
Okay, so what do you
need?”

“
He’s kind of a … well,
I’m not exactly sure. He’s wealthy and I’m sure he’s prominent, but
there’s something mysterious about him. I just want to know more
and I don’t think he’s the type to share.”

“
Have you asked
him?”

“
No, and I don’t want
to.”

“
Why the hell
not?”

“
It’s
complicated.”

Case rubbed his forehead. “I don’t really
like the sound of this.”

“
Yeah, I figured you’d say
that. But I know what I’m doing.”

“
Okay. You want financial
records? Work history? Education? That sort of thing?”

“
Yeah, and family stuff
too.”

“
You got it. But Gabby, I
need one more thing. His name.”

She laughed. “Yeah, I guess that would help.
Kolson Hart.”

Case whistled.
“
The
Kolson
Hart?”

“
Um, I guess
so.”

Case shook his head. “You really do need to
get out more. Kolson Hart is considered the most eligible bachelor
in all of New York but he’s also the most elusive. He stays
completely out of the limelight and refuses to be photographed.
He’ll even hire a decoy if he has to make a public appearance. He’s
the hard-driving business dealer who walked away from his father’s
multi-million dollar business to start up his own. His company is
called Hart Transportation Service and has contracts for the
world’s top entertainers, millionaires, royalty, —you name it.”

“
I do need to get out
more. Or run in the opposite direction.” Gabby smiled. “So, you
think you can do this? I can’t pay you much.”

Case flashed her a look that said it all.
“Like I would charge you.”

“
But …”

“
But nothing. You do so
much for me and my NA group. There won’t be any charging. And if
you insist, I won’t do it.”

Gabby held up her hands. “You got me. How
long will it take?”

“
I should have something
for you in a week.”

# # #

The following night at seven o’clock, Kolson
Hart took Gabby to Le Chatelaine, one of the finest restaurants in
Manhattan. It was said that reservations were impossible to get,
but they must not have been for Kolson. The menu was in French, so
Gabby had no idea what anything was, and Kolson, being the
gentleman he was, took care of ordering for her, though only after
checking with her over his choices. Gabby was glad—she’d worried
she would make a fool out of herself.

“
So tell me, Gabriella,
what do you like to do?” His mouth turned up as he
grinned.

“
I love to volunteer at
the women’s shelter and I also help out at Narcotic’s Anonymous. I
moonlight at the substance abuse clinic at Bellevue too. I did my
residency there so it was hard for me to move on.”

“
You’re a very busy lady.
Why all the volunteering?”

“
I want to help those less
fortunate. I think they sort of get lost in the
shuffle.”

He nodded. “That’s an admirable quality. Not
many people give up that much of their time.”

Her cheeks warmed with the compliment.
“Thank you, but I love it.”

“
No need to thank me.
You’re the one who needs to be thanked. At least that’s how I see
it.”

“
I don’t know, there are a
lot of lost souls out there. Those that need direction and love.
And maybe if they get a helping hand, it can make a difference in
their lives. You know?” she asked.

“
I do.”

“
So what about
you?”

“
I’m pretty basic. I get
people from point A to point B and that’s about it.”

“
Any volunteer
activities?” Gabby asked.

“
Afraid not. My only
activity is writing the check to the charity.”

Gabby grinned. “Well, checks are very
important.”

Their meals arrived and their conversation
became minimal as they ate. The food was delicious, the wine
extraordinary. She’d never had a culinary adventure quite like it.
And she laughed because she couldn’t even begin to pronounce what
she was eating. Kolson enjoyed watching the expressions of delight
pass over Gabriella’s face even more than he enjoyed tasting the
food.

“
What?” she asked as she
caught him eyeing her.

“
The look on your face.
It’s exquisite. I don’t think I can remember seeing anyone enjoy a
meal like you have.”

Gabby’s hand touched her warm cheek. “Well,
it was the best meal I’ve ever had.”

Kolson chuckled at the mischievous look on
her face. “I’m happy you liked it so much. Later this week, I’ll
take you to La Taverna so you can enjoy some Italian fare. It’s a
marvelous place in Little Italy—you’ll fall in love with
Giuseppe.”

“
Giuseppe?”

“
The owner. On second
thought, he’ll fall in love with you.”

Gabby laughed. “I’d love to go. Italian is
my favorite. Of course, how could it not be?” She sipped from her
wine and sat back in her chair. “I need to thank you.”

“
For what? Your company
made the dinner much more enjoyable than anything I’ve done in
ages.”

“
That’s not what I wanted
to thank you for,” she said, eyes sparkling.

“
Oh?”

“
You kept your word to not
be annoying.”

A rumble of laughter burst from his chest
and he eyed her with amusement. “I am so right about you.”

Now it was Gabby’s turn to be curious. “How
so?”

“
I can see you’re going to
be a handful, Dr. Martinelli.” Kolson had already decided that Dr.
Gabriella Martinelli was quite a remarkable woman. She was
stimulating, witty, and bright.

Gabby hated for the evening to come to an
end because she couldn’t remember the last time she’d enjoyed
herself so much. When Kolson dropped her home, he walked her up to
her door, and when he departed, she was disappointed that he only
gave her a chaste kiss on the cheek and a promise to see her again
very soon.

A few days later, Gabby was lost in her
thoughts of Kolson when her phone buzzed. She was between patients
and was happy she was able to answer.

“
Hi.”

“
Hi yourself. I was
wondering if you were up for some Italian?”

“
That depends. Is he
nice?”

“
Very funny.”

Kolson kept his promise and the following
evening they found themselves seated at La Taverna, sipping a
lovely Chianti. Kolson had been right. Giuseppe had fallen head
over heels for Gabby.

“
Signor Hart, you must
bring Dottore Martinelli in with you more often. I shall spoil her
and fatten her up, si?”

“
No,” Gabby said,
laughing. “I don’t want to get fat!”

“
Ah, but Giuseppe will
bring you all his special dishes tonight, si?”

“
Yes, Giuseppe. Spoil the
lovely lady for me, will you?”

And that’s exactly what he did. He brought
out dish after dish of pastas and meats, until Gabby thought she
would explode. The food was every bit as good here as it had been
at Le Chatelaine. Kolson had to stop himself from rolling his eyes
at the way Giuseppe fawned over Gabriella.

“
So, tell me a little
about yourself, Kolson. What do you like to do?”

“
I enjoy watching you eat.
I am enamored with you, Gabriella. And I am jealous of
Giuseppe.”

Gabby let out a nervous laugh. No one could
be enamored with her. She was unsure of every move she made and had
no finesse around men. “You didn’t answer my question. I find you
like to deflect a lot. There must be a reason for that.”

Kolson’s expression flattened. The last
thing he wanted to do was talk about himself. He would rather
endure waterboarding. Well, maybe not. But opening up to others was
not an option. Then he flashed her a disarming grin. “Yes. I have a
great reason. When I’m sitting next to a gorgeous woman, why in the
hell would I want to discuss me when I can talk about her? There’s
nothing more intriguing than uncovering the mysteries of a
beautiful woman. And you, Gabriella are much more interesting than
I am.”

Kolson was turning on the flirting game with
her. She wasn’t very good at it for she’d never been flirted with
or played that game before. She bit the inside of her cheek and
frowned.

“
Ah, there it is again.
That doubt is clouding your eyes. You don’t believe me, do
you?”

She squinted at him. “I suppose I have no
reason not to.”

Finally, Giuseppe presented the grand
finale, his specialty dessert, tiramisu. He didn’t make just any
old tiramisu. His was made with a chocolate layer of custard and
Gabby knew she’d found heaven at first taste.

Kolson eyed her with interest, because he
knew what was about to happen. He watched as her mouth closed
around her fork, pulling the semisweet concoction inside. Her lids
fluttered, closed, then opened wide as she hummed and moaned and
Kolson got his first inkling of what she would sound like in bed.
His hand closed into a fist as he felt his dick grow hard.

Gabby grinned and said, “Oh my God! This is
better than sex.”

Kolson quickly swallowed his bite of dessert
and in a voice thickened with lust, he said, “Then, my beautiful
kea, you’ve never had sex with the right man because I can promise
you this: there’s not a dessert in the world that’s better than sex
with me.”

Gabby could only gape at him as he stared
back at her, smirking.