Freeing Her (15 page)

By now, Kolson’s lips had worked her into a
frenzy as they brushed over and around her neck. Gabby couldn’t
think straight as she was damn near hyperventilating. When he
lifted his head, he slid his finger over her brow and said,
“Gabriella, open your eyes.”

Dazed, she stared at him like a brainless
fool, incapable of words. His hair was bunched in her fists and she
didn’t recall doing that. Gabby knew one thing: she wanted to sleep
with this man. Tonight.

“
Take me home.”

“
That was my intention.
But you distracted me.”

“
That was
my
intention. Glad it
worked.”

“
Shall I carry
you?”

“
I think I’m capable of
walking.”

“
Are you sure? Those Sugar
Tits …”

Gabby groaned. He set her down as he
chuckled. With his arm around her, he walked her to the waiting
car.

Gabby was surprised when Sam drove them to
her place, but she got out and Kolson followed. When they got to
her apartment, he unlocked her door, turned on the lights, and
checked things out. Then he said, “Sleep tight, Gabriella.”

“
What?”

“
I said …”

“
I know what you said. I
thought …”

“
And I know what you
thought, but that’s not how this works.”

“
I don’t …”

“
Good night, beautiful
Gabriella.” His brow furrowed as he looked at her, as though he
fought with the desire to stay. But he turned and left her standing
by her door, alone.

Chapter
Thirteen

“
You’ve got to be
kidding me!” Sky yelled into the
phone.

“
Ouch! Don’t scream so
loud, and no, I’m not kidding. That’s exactly what happened. I’m
lying here all alone. Me, my horny self, and I. Well, I’m not
really horny anymore. More like hungover.”

“
What the hell is wrong
with him?”

“
He must not want me, I
guess,” Gabby said.

“
He didn’t want to take
advantage of you. That’s what it was. You were wasted.”

“
No I wasn’t. I was
feeling good. I was feeling damn good.”

“
You were toasted. Come
on. Be glad he was looking out for you.”

“
You’re absolutely right
and I’m feeling sorry for myself that I let a great opportunity
slip through my fingers. The truth of it is I never want to sleep
with anyone, but I want to sleep with Kolson.”

“
You will and when you do,
the time will be right,” Sky said.

“
Is this coming from
experience?”

“
Gosh no! Don’t ever think
that. My experience is so awful. Well, except for Ryder and I’d do
anything for him. You know that. I’m just saying that I think this
guy has a ton of respect for you and when the time is right, it’ll
happen.”

Gabby covered her face with a pillow. “Oh,
God. Did I make a fool of myself? Did I throw myself at him? I have
this vision of pouncing on him.”

“
Girl, you were hot. You
even had me squirming. And it takes a lot to make me do
that.”

“
Oh gawd. I’m so
embarrassed.”

“
Don’t be. The man ate it
up like cotton candy.”

“
Shit!”

“
Listen, I have to meet
Ryder in five minutes, so I gotta head out. Let me know what
happens with all this.”

“
You know I
will.”

Gabby pulled her wretched ass out of bed and
made coffee. After downing a quick cup, she headed out for a
leisurely run to expunge the Sugar Tits and the rest of the toxins
from her body. Why the hell did she let Sky and Cara talk her into
drinking that sweet stuff? She shuddered at the memory.

It was Saturday, around nine, so she didn’t
have to worry about getting mugged in the dark. Leaving her
building, she made a drag-assed beeline for the park.

Humming as she moved along, she tried to
unravel the events of the previous night. It wasn’t that easy,
because her alcohol-addled mind didn’t allow her to produce a solid
picture. But one thing was clear: those kisses were earth-rocking.
And she would’ve let him climb into her bed and into her without
hesitation. Maybe he didn’t like his women sloppy drunk. If that
were true, who could blame him? But then again, he sure didn’t push
her away, either.

Her phone vibrating in her
pocket shook her out of her reverie. Pulling it out, she nearly
lost her footing when she read the text. It was from Danny:
Where the fuck are you, you little cunt? I’ve
been waiting for you and I know where you live. 333
East 86th
. Don’t keep me
waiting too long or you know what’s gonna happen.

Gabby stood in the center of the trail that
circled the Central Park reservoir. Her heart wasn’t pounding. It
was flying apart within the confines of her rib cage, her breath
trapped in her lungs. She fell to her knees and grabbed her throat,
trying to ease the tension. All the techniques she’d found useful
in the past were beyond her capability right now. She was in a
full-blown panic attack, desperate for air.

A young woman came to her aid, but Gabby
couldn’t hear her. All she could do was gasp for air. Her cheeks
and lips began to tingle, as did her hands and feet. The girl took
her wrist and felt for a pulse.

“
I’m going to call 911,”
the girl said. But it didn’t register with Gabby. All she heard was
the blood pounding in her ears.

Her mind was on Danny’s words. He knew where
she lived and was waiting for her. The vicious cycle was set in
motion with Gabby’s heart continuing to race. She felt like she
wasn’t getting any air, when in fact her oxygen levels were too
high. Hyperventilation set in, and she couldn’t remember her
breathing techniques to increase her carbon dioxide levels.

The EMTs arrived. Gabby was treated on site
but refused to go to the hospital. When she calmed down and was
able to speak, she thanked the girl and told the EMTs she suffered
from anxiety and had forgotten to take her medication. She was so
used to denying the truth, it came naturally to pretend that she
was fine. They left and she moved to an obscure park bench and
nearly had another breakdown. This time, she was able to identify
it in time so she gained control before it controlled her. What was
she going to do now? Danny knew her address—now she was anything
but safe.

When she checked her watch, she was
surprised to find it was after lunch. She walked along East Drive
and exited the park on 84th Street where she found a corner market
and purchased a bottle of water and a granola bar. As she walked,
she tried to come up with a reasonable solution to her problem.
There was no doubt about it. She was going to have to find another
apartment. If only she could move out of New York City altogether.
But that wasn’t possible. It was where all her connections were,
where she had trained in her residency, and where she had spent the
last year trying to build up her practice. Though she was barely
making it, starting over would mean bankruptcy for sure. She simply
couldn’t handle the pressure of that. Moving out of her apartment
was the only solution. It would be too risky to stay there with
Danny knowing where she lived. Deep in thought, she was startled
when she bumped into Sam.

“
Everything okay, Dr. M.?”
he asked.

“
Oh, Sam, hello.” She was
so relieved to see him, she hugged him.

He could feel her trembling. “Dr. M., are
you okay? With all due respect, ma’am, you don’t look so good.”

Her eyes pinged around and her lips trembled
as she attempted a halfhearted smile. “Please. You know you’re safe
with us. Completely.”

The hand that held her water bottle shook so
much she had to hold it with her other hand too. Her large eyes
landed on Sam’s and she choked out three words. “He found me.”

She didn’t need to say anything else. Sam’s
giant paw of a hand gently wrapped around her arm and he said,
“Come with me, Dr. M.”

She watched Sam pull out his phone and send
a text message as they walked. She let him lead her around the
block to a side entrance of a building. In her musings she hadn’t
noticed where she was or that she was near Kolson’s apartment. Sam
took her through a side hall to the elevator and waited for the
doors to open. He entered a series of numbers and the elevator took
them up to the penthouse. When the doors slid open, Kolson was
standing there and she numbly drifted into his outstretched arms.
It was almost like he was supposed to be there, waiting for her,
and like she knew he would be.

“
What happened?” he
murmured into her ear. She felt safe within the possessive cage of
his embrace and now that she was here, it was where she wanted to
stay.

Without looking up, she handed him her
phone. He read the text from Danny.

Kolson’s flinty countenance didn’t come
close to matching the fury that brewed within him. He tossed the
phone to Sam. They exchanged nods and then he led Gabby through his
bedroom and into his bathroom. He set to filling his enormous tub
and piled fluffy towels next to it. From his closet, he pulled out
clothes for her to change into afterward.

When the water was high enough, he turned on
the jets. “Take a bath and try to relax. I’m going to fix you some
lunch. Take as long as you need. I grabbed some things for you to
wear—choose whichever works best. Whenever you’re finished, join me
in the den or kitchen. And Gabriella, please take your time. You’re
safe here. He can’t touch you. Can I get you anything … something
to drink, perhaps?”

“
No, and thank you.” She
squeezed his hand.

He nodded and closed the door after him.

Sam was waiting for him in the den.

“
What the fuck, Sam? I
left her there last night. Alone. I thought you had this
handled?”

“
I thought I did too. I
put Ovaltine on her place for the early mornings.”

“
Who the fuck is
Ovaltine?”

“
He’s my little brother,
Leroy. Ovaltine’s his nickname. Kid wouldn’t drink anything but
Ovaltine growing up. He was supposed to be checking on her place
every night from eleven to eight.”

“
Then how did Danny find
her? Did Ovaltine report anything suspicious? And what about from
five until eleven? Who was covering her then?”

Sam looked at Kolson sheepishly. “That’s my
responsibility, boss. Well, I handle it from eight in the morning
to six or until she gets home. And if I can’t do it, I get Jimbo to
cover for me.”

“
Then you had a break
somewhere. We gotta get her out of there. Today.”

“
Yes, sir.”

“
That prick has a file a
mile long. He’s a fucking pervert. I don’t want him anywhere near
her. Am I clear?”

“
Yes, sir. I may need an
extra man or two.”

“
Get however many you
need. And find her another apartment in one of our buildings. Make
sure it’s one with a doorman and tight security. Scratch that. I’ll
get one of our people to do it. We have to move her out today or
tomorrow. She doesn’t know HTS owns her building. I’ll tell
her.”

Sam nodded. “Where will she stay in the
meantime?”

“
She can stay
here.”

“
Yes, sir.”

“
Go to her place and get
the things she’ll need until she moves. I’ll get you through their
security. I’m not letting her out of here and I need to fix her
something to eat. Did you see the look on her face? Jesus. How the
fuck?” Kolson rubbed his neck as he headed for the
kitchen.

Kolson’s mind was filled with all sorts of
images as he thought of Danny breaking into Gabby’s apartment while
she was there. What if he’d been there last night, when she’d had
too much to drink and he’d left her there alone? It was a damn good
thing she’d gone for that run. No telling what would’ve happened if
she hadn’t.

Chapter
Fourteen

Gabby stepped into
the hot bath and let the water do its thing. It
took some time, but eventually the tension eased out of her body.
Little by little she allowed herself to put together the last few
hours. How the heck had Danny found her? Did he follow her? She
thought she’d been smart all this time, but apparently she hadn’t.
Kolson had been right. Running in the early morning hours had been
beyond risky. She was surprised Danny hadn’t gotten to her then.
Where would she have gone without Kolson? Sky, most
likely.

But her mind had been so troubled, she
hadn’t been able to think properly. Now what the hell was she
supposed to do? If she went back home, she was sure she’d run
straight back into Danny’s clutches. But he couldn’t stand guard
all the time, could he? There had to be a moment when he wouldn’t
be there. That was it! That’s what she would do. Figure out when he
would leave and then she would go home.

When the bathwater chilled, she turned off
the jets and climbed out. After she dried off, she stepped into the
shorts Kolson had given her. Yeah, they were huge, but she could
cinch up the waist with the drawstring. Then she put on the
T-shirt, also too big. She felt so sleepy now that the tension had
dissipated. Padding through Kolson’s bedroom, she took a quick peek
around. A giant four-poster bed sat against one wall and it was
canopied with sheer creamy fabric. Her toes sunk into the plush
cream carpet as she moved silently toward the door. Everything
reeked of money. She had an urge to slip under the
expensive-looking duvet and take a nap. But she didn’t. She walked
toward what she hoped was the kitchen.