Read Freeing Her Online

Authors: A. M. Hargrove

Tags: #Thriller, #Mystery, #alpha male, #thriller and suspense novels, #broken alpha male, #broken characters, #steamy adult romances, #dark pasts

Freeing Her (4 page)

BOOK: Freeing Her
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# # #

 

Gabby barely made it
through the door of her office, her hands were shaking so
badly.
He
had
been by earlier that morning and taped a note to her
door.

Where are you, you little cunt? I’m waiting
for you.

 

What did he want with her and why was he
back now? Jesus, what was she going to do? She couldn’t live
through that hell again.

She managed to make it through her morning
by pushing all thoughts of the note to the back of her mind. All
she really wanted to do was crawl in bed and sleep away the
afternoon. However, that wasn’t an option. She was meeting her
friends, Sky and Ryder, for lunch. This date had been set weeks
ago. Their schedules were so busy, she never saw her friends
anymore.

Ryder was a former patient and Gabby had
seen Sky a couple of times as a favor to Ryder after her mother’s
death. The two of them were working things out as a couple. Sky had
been forced into prostitution as a teenager by her drug-addicted
mother who needed money to support her habit. Her mother eventually
died from complications of drug use. Ryder was a recovering addict
himself. It made for an interesting relationship, to say the
least.

At one o’clock, Gabby walked into the
restaurant. Sky hopped to her feet and ran to hug her. Ryder at
least waited for her to get to the table.


God, you look like shiz.
What the hell have you been doing?” Sky asked.


Yeah, thanks, honey. Love
you too,” Gabby said.

Ryder looked at Gabby. “I’d have to agree
with Sky. You don’t look so good, my friend. What’s happening?”


Aw, it’s nothing. I had a
bad day yesterday, went out last night, and drank one too
many.”


One?” Ryder said. “And
what brought that on? You never do that.”


Okay, more than one. And
can we please not talk about this?”


Gabby, is everything’s
okay?” Ryder watched her with concern.


Fine. All’s
fine.”


You’re going to have to
do better than that,” Ryder said.


What’s with the
interrogation? I’m just a little tired, okay?”

Ryder cocked his head to the side and said,
“Only a friend concerned about a friend. That’s all.”


I’m sorry. I didn’t mean
to snap.”


You need food. Lots of
starchy stuff,” Sky said. “That’s what I used to feed my mom after
one of her binges.” Sky knew what she was talking about. She had a
ton of experience in that area when her mom was still
alive.


Cheeseburger and fries.
That’s what I’m ordering. And a real Coke,” Gabby said.


Oh, I’m so jelly. If I
didn’t have to keep my girlish figure, I’d get the same
thing.”

Ryder and Gabby flashed Sky a look that told
her she was full of it.


You never for one minute
watch what you eat. I’ve seen you devour half a pizza before,”
Gabby said.

The three friends caught up on everything
from Ryder’s college courses to Sky’s latest audition for a dance
role on Broadway to Gabby’s boring life. Ryder and Sky laughed
because Gabby was so busy with her work, she couldn’t possibly have
time to be bored.


Ok, so spill,” Ryder
said. “You walk in here looking like a zombie that just saw a
ghost. It’s more than a hangover. What gives? And we’ll stay here
all day. Do you want me to call Case and have him come over here?”
Case was another mutual friend of theirs that Gabby was especially
close to.


No!” Gabby’s hands
knotted her napkin then looked up. “Okay. I have this cousin who
used to harass me as a kid and he sort of showed back up last
night. Then this morning there was a note stuck to my office
door.”

Ryder’s jaw snapped shut as he stared at
Gabby. “What exactly do you mean by harass?”


It’s nothing,
really.”


Gabby. You tie a major
one on last night and right now I can see how upset you are. I’m
calling BS on that. Tell us. Or I will call Case.”


He did some stuff that I
really don’t want to talk about. And I’m serious, Ryder.
Okay?”

Ryder leaned forward and asked, “Have you
called the police?”


What will they
do?”


They’ll put a restraining
order on him?”


Why? He hasn’t done
anything and this is the first time I’ve heard from him in three
and a half years. It’s fine. I’ll be extra careful. I’m just a
little upset by this and shocked.”


You need to tell Case.”
Ryder glared at her.


Ryder, if I tell Case,
he’ll keep me homebound. I’m not telling him and neither will you.
Promise me you won’t say a word.”

Ryder leaned back in his chair and stretched
his neck. Then he ran his hand through his hair. “If Case finds out
about this, he’s going to be pissed off at me and I don’t like it
when he’s pissed at me. It doesn’t make for a good situation. He’s
one of my best friends.”


I know and I’m sorry, but
you have to promise me.” Gabby turned to Sky and said, “And you
too. Promise me you won’t say a word to Case. I know how you are
Sky.”


Okay. I promise. Just be
careful.”

Ryder shook his head and said, “I don’t like
this one bit. If you think there’s any possibility of him around,
you call me. Got it?”


Yeah. And
thanks.”

Noticing Ryder’s displeasure, Sky changed
the subject. “So, Gabby, have you met tall, dark, and dangerous
yet?”

The question startled Gabby so much she
choked on her Coke. Ryder patted her back. “Damn, Sky. That was
random. And why do you have to be so nosy?”


Well, I only want her to
find someone to make her happy.”


She’ll find him when she
least expects it. Now let her be.”

Gabby finally stopped coughing and
smiled.

They finished lunch and promised to catch up
soon. Gabby said she wanted to have a girl’s night with Sky and
Cara, another mutual friend.

When she got back to her office, she felt
somewhat better. The burger and fries felt like lead in her belly,
but her headache was gone and she had more energy for her afternoon
patients. Though Danny still rattled her nerves, she was more
focused on her work and the afternoon sailed on by.

 

# # #

 

When six rolled around, his curiosity could
no longer be contained. Kolson joined Sam when he went to check up
on Gabby. They parked about a half a block away, near the subway
entrance, and watched her leave her office. Kolson couldn’t get the
dark-haired psychiatrist off his mind. Something about her had
reached inside him, which troubled him for more than one reason. He
wasn’t the kind of guy who usually gave a shit about strangers and
he never got involved in other people’s lives, particularly those
with issues. Why he was tracking her made absolutely no sense at
all. He needed to have his head examined.

He laughed to himself. What a fucking joke.
Here he was, the most screwed-up individual he knew, following a
psychiatrist who apparently had her own issues and he was telling
himself he needed to have his damn cerebral matter examined.

After she locked the
office door, she trudged toward the subway station. She had taken a
cab that morning and since she was on a barely existent budget, she
couldn’t afford another one. She carried her briefcase in one hand
and held her purse next to her body with the other. About twenty
yards from the stairway to the train, a shadow crossed in front of
her and she looked right up into
his
face. The briefcase hit the
sidewalk with a thud.


Didn’t think you’d see me
so soon, did you, cuz?”

Her heart hammered her ribs so hard, she was
sure he could hear it.


H-how did you find
me?”

Danny laughed. “For such a bright girl, you
sure are stupid. You’re in the fucking phonebook, you idiot.”

Gabby tried to inhale, but the steel band
that had tightened around her trachea made it impossible. He’d
found her office. God, she prayed he hadn’t discovered where she
lived too. What would she do if he had?


What? Aren’t you happy to
see your cousin Danny?” He spread his arms out wide, like he was
going to hug her. If he touched her, she would scream. He laughed
again, the sound like fingernails on a chalkboard. She
cringed.

She bent down to retrieve her briefcase,
never taking her eyes off him. Her mind raced—what should she do?
If she had to, she would check into a hotel. There was no way he
could find out where she lived. She shook with fear, and it pissed
her off because he knew it. He saw the effect he had on her. His
menacing laugh confirmed it.

His hand stretched out as if to touch her
cheek and she stepped backward. The sidewalk dipped slightly, and
she lost her footing and started to fall.

But she didn’t. A pair of sturdy arms
wrapped around her and pulled her back to her feet, steadying her.
“There you are, precious. I was wondering what happened to
you.”

Skippy! Or Mr. H. or whoever he was.

She spun around in his arms, latched onto
his coat, and held on to him like a lifeline, pressing her cheek
against his chest. She knew he felt her trembling. He held her
close while his eyes narrowed and targeted cousin Danny, who didn’t
look as threatening as he liked to think he was. Slightly paunchy
in the middle, Danny appeared to have lived hard, though he may
have been attractive at one point in his life.


You must be the cousin
Danny I’ve heard so much about.” There was no disguising the menace
layering Kolson’s voice.


Yeah, I am. What’s it to
you?” Danny stood facing Kolson, dark orbs flashing dangerously as
though he owned the world.

But Danny couldn’t miss
the hostility on Kolson’s visage. “I’ll tell you exactly what it is
to me. It’s quite obvious Gabby doesn’t want a thing to do with
you. And besides, she’s mine now. So get the fuck out of here and
don’t come back. Or you’ll have me to contend with. And I can
assure you of one thing: I don’t play nice. Got that,
Danny Boy
?”

Danny stared hard at
Kolson. “We’ll just see about that. See you around,
Gabs
.”

And Danny melted into the crowd.

Kolson stood holding her until he felt her
trembling ease. He let her be the one to decide when she was ready
to release him. When she looked up, he gently asked, “May I offer
you a ride home?”

She nodded. “H-how did you know he was my
cousin?”


I overheard him. I was in
the car and saw your reaction, so I jumped out and ran to you. When
I got there, he was asking if you were happy to see him. It was
quite clear you weren’t.” He took her briefcase and escorted her to
the car parked directly across the street.

As they drove, Kolson took in her
appearance. Ashen-faced and trembling, he thought perhaps the last
thing she needed was to be alone.


Sam, take us to
Antonio’s.”


Sure thing, Mr.
H.”

Kolson turned to Gabby and said, “I hope you
don’t mind, but I thought you might need a little diversion and I
know a great little place. You know how the Upper East Side has all
these great neighborhood restaurants? Well I know the perfect one
where we can sit for a little while. Sound good?”


Yes. Thank you.” Her
voice trembled as she answered.


By the way, my real name
is Kolson Hart. You can drop the Skippy.” He grinned.

His comment got a semblance of a smile out
of her. “It’s nice to meet you Kolson.”

Sam dropped them off on East 83rd Street and
they walked into a bistro where the host greeted Kolson by his
first name. He showed them to a table in the back corner of the
restaurant. Most New York restaurants were crowded and closed in,
not allowing for intimate conversation, but this one was slightly
different. It was dimly lit and their table was set in the back so
it was much more private than the others.


I hope this is okay.
Since I know the owner, he’s fairly accommodating and it’s early so
this table was open.”


No, this is nice. Thank
you.”


Are you any
better?”


Yes, a little. I was just
... he just took me by surprise.”


I could see
that.”

The waiter came to their table and took
their drink order. Gabby asked for water with lemon and Kolson
ordered a glass of wine.


Are you hungry?” Kolson
asked.


I don’t think I could
eat.”

The waiter returned with their drinks and
Kolson ordered an antipasti platter. Gabby smiled.


At least I got a smile
out of you.”


Only because that will
probably be huge.”


Yeah, and they make a
really good one here. I’m starving.”

They were silent.

Kolson cleared his throat. “The fact that
your cousin scared the shit out of you wasn’t lost on me. You don’t
have to talk about it if you don’t want to.”

Gabby nodded. If Kolson was hoping she’d
open up, he was going to be disappointed.


So, a psychiatrist,
huh?”

BOOK: Freeing Her
13.66Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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