Freeing Her (5 page)

“
Yep. A
shrink.”

The corners of his mouth turned up and her
attention was drawn to that sexy scar of his.

“
How’d you get that
scar?”

His expression turned stony and he said, “A
horse riding accident. Don’t take offense at this but you seem so
young to be a physician.”

“
No offense taken. I was a
nerd.” She tugged on her collar. “No friends. You know the type. I
finished high school a year early and then I did the same with
college. That part was motivation for financial purposes.” She
grimaced. “I went to Princeton and then Columbia Med School.
Stacked up quite a bit of debt. And now I’m trying to get my
private practice up and running but it’s not been easy.”

Kolson listened to her and knew how she
must’ve racked up some serious financial obligations. Princeton was
about forty grand a year in tuition. And Columbia Med School was
about fifty grand. Neither of those figures included the cost of
living or fees associated with it.

“
It can’t be. Not starting
out with that kind of debt hanging over your head.”

“
I wish I could be at the
point where I could afford to take cash, but I’m not established
enough. Insurance reimbursement for psychiatrists is terrible.
Sometimes I only get about twenty percent of what I bill, other
times, fifty percent. It depends and each policy is different. I
spend so much time trying to figure them out because I don’t have
an insurance specialist. So that puts me further behind plus I have
office rent I have to pay.”

“
And I always thought
psychiatrists were wealthy.”

She agreed with a small nod. “Most people
do. But we’re not. Particularly when we’re starting out. I have to
work shifts at the hospital to help out with my bills. I’m sorry. I
don’t mean to complain.”

“
You’re not complaining.
You’re explaining. There’s a difference.”

Gabby reached out to touch the single rose
bud that was in a vase and her sleeve slipped back off her wrist.
Kolson noticed the scars that were previously hidden. Her other
hand moved to cover her wrist. She glanced up at him to see if he’d
noticed them. When she found him watching her, her body
deflated.

“
That’s a beautiful
flower, isn’t it?”

“
Yes,” she
mumbled.

“
It’s not nearly as
beautiful as you are.”

Gabby wasn’t sure she heard him correctly,
as she slanted her head.

“
You don’t believe me, do
you?”

“
I uh, well, I ...” She
twirled a piece of her hair.

Kolson laughed. “Believe me, Gabby. It’s the
truth.”

The waiter showed up with their drinks, and
right afterward, their antipasti platter. Gabby smiled at the size
of it and at the way Kolson enjoyed eating.

“
Are you laughing at me?”
he asked.

“
Not at all. I like to see
people enjoy their food.”

“
I wish you’d
eat.”

“
I think I will.” And she
had a few bites, but that was all she could manage.

When they were finished, Kolson asked the
waiter to box it up for him, and then gave it to Gabby to take
home.

“
You may find you’re
hungry later tonight.”

She smiled and clasped his forearm. “Thank
you. You’re very kind.” She pressed her fingers to her lips. Gabby
wasn’t used to this type of treatment from complete strangers.
Though she had spent the night at this man’s home, she was still a
stranger to him.

The dinner had eased her worries a bit, but
now that she was going home, thoughts of Danny were storming her
mind again.

When they arrived at her building, he asked,
“Would you like me to walk you upstairs?”

“
Please.” Her voice was
raspy and strained.

When he delivered her to her door and made
sure her apartment was safe, he handed her a card. “If you need me,
for anything at all, call.”

She looked at the card and it bore no name.
Only a single phone number. She smiled. Reaching into her pocket,
she said, “Here.” She handed him a card that looked identical to
his with one exception. The number was different.

He turned to leave, but she stopped him with
her hand. Gripping his arm with a firm hold, she said, “Thank you.
I’m not sure how, but …” She squeezed her lids together and
swallowed. Then she looked at him, caramel-colored eyes meeting
multihued ones, and repeated herself, “Thank you for everything.”
Her look imparted much more than gratitude. It conveyed to him
exactly how much she appreciated what he had done for her.

He nodded and left. When he got back in the
car, he said to Sam, “I want that man, Danny whoever he is,
tracked. I want you to find out everything you can on him. He’s her
cousin, but she doesn’t want anything to do with him. In fact, he
scares the shit out of her. I’m putting Tom Barrett on it. There’s
a reason, and it has to be deeply personal.”

“
Got it, boss.”

“
And Sam, if he ever
touches her again, lays so much as a finger on her, and you’re near
him, beat the fuck out of him. And I mean beat. The. Fuck. Out. Of.
Him.”

“
Yes, sir.”

Kolson was determined that Danny wouldn’t
get close to Gabby again. If he was the one who had fucked up her
life, Kolson would do his best to keep her safe. He knew what it
was like to live in fear, to dread every minute of the day, and if
he could prevent that from happening to her, he would do everything
in his power to make it so.

Chapter Four

When the door
closed
behind Kolson, Gabby almost
collapsed. How did he happen to be there when Danny showed up? What
would’ve happened if he hadn’t been around? Gabby’s body shuddered
so violently, she could barely unbutton her blouse. Maybe a hot
shower would soothe her frayed nerves.

When the water was as hot as she could stand
it, she stood beneath the spray and let it massage her knotted
muscles. She stood there for so long, the spray turned chilly,
forcing her out. The fluffy towel she wrapped in felt cozy, but her
hands still trembled as she finished drying off.

What the hell was Danny up to and why
wouldn’t he leave her alone? After she brushed her teeth and
finished combing out her tangled hair, she put on her Snoopy
pajamas and climbed into bed. Then she ran a Google search on
herself, just to make sure her home address was not listed
anywhere. If there were a hint of it anywhere, she would be on the
hunt for a new apartment. Her body slumped with relief when her
name only revealed her office address. She dug through her purse to
make sure she still had her pepper spray and checked her nightstand
for the one she kept there as well. All was as it should be. Every
light was on in her house when she scooted down under her blankets
and sleep finally claimed her.

“
You’ll never tell anyone
about this, because if you do, I’ll hurt you even worse the next
time. You hear me, you little whore? And trust me, there will be a
next time.”

His breath smelled like
stale beer and cigarettes. She wanted to gag. But she didn’t
because his hand was clamped over her mouth, causing her teeth to
rip into the inside of her lips.
The
metallic flavor of blood
seeped onto her tongue
.

She squeezed her eyes shut, but he hissed,
“Look at me. Don’t you stop looking at me. You hear? I want you to
watch me when I fuck you.”

Gabby bolted up in bed
with a muffled scream.
Shit! The
nightmares are back.
Her pajamas were
soaked clean through and her breath rushed in and out in rapid
puffs.

Breathe, Gabby. Nice and easy.

She talked herself out of the panic attack,
just like she had done countless times before. It had become a
ritual for her. Inhale, one-two-three-four, hold-two-three-four,
and exhale, one-two-three-four. Though she was always one tiny hair
away from a panic attack, she was proud of the fact that she had
learned to deal with them without the use of drugs.

Gabby looked around her tiny apartment,
curious whether her life would always be like this. She’d chosen
psychiatry as a way to help others, those who had been through
life-changing events like she had. But in doing so, she’d wracked
up thousands of dollars of debt. Her parents wouldn’t help—they’d
booted her to the curb long ago.

She’d always be a softie where her services
were concerned. If someone couldn’t afford them, she would only
charge a nominal fee, or not charge at all. At that rate, she’d
never dig out of the mountain of debt. She didn’t live
extravagantly. Her apartment was tiny. Not a studio but not quite a
full one bedroom, though her rent was higher because it was in a
secure building. She couldn’t live any other way, not with Danny
still threatening her. Between her office and her apartment rent,
she was barely breaking even. And that didn’t include student loans
from college and medical school, malpractice insurance, or other
expenses. In a word, she was broke. Maybe she should’ve joined a
group practice when she left her residency, but the ones she
interviewed with didn’t want her moonlighting. They also didn’t
afford her the flexibility to volunteer as much, or to offer her
services for free to those who couldn’t pay, so that was another
reason she opted to go it alone.

Last year when she’d finished her residency,
she’d imagined a much different scenario—one that had her
financially ahead of where she was right now. She refused to give
up her dream though. It was too important. Helping those less
fortunate was her driving force. She wanted to raise funds, when
she was able, to open a place where the abused could find
psychiatric services at affordable fees and if they didn’t have any
funds at all, they could still be treated. She knew it was a pipe
dream, but it was hers and she would do all she could to make it
happen.

When she fisted the sheets in frustration,
she realized they, along with her pajamas, were damp with sweat. So
she changed both and when she returned to bed, it was after two in
the morning. She doubted she’d be able to sleep.

Her eyes were riveted on her best friend—the
ceiling. Over the years, it heard every one of her disgusting
secrets, things that no one else knew, ever since that awful day.
As she stared at it, the whispers began, like they did on so many
nights.

“
I wish someone had told
me long ago that life would always be this grim. That damn Danny. I
just don’t understand why he keeps doing this to me.”

“
Gabby, don’t you dare
ever breathe a word of this to anyone or I’ll fucking kill you. You
hear me? I’ll kill you first and then I’ll kill that stupid drunk
mother of yours. I’ll sneak into her bedroom while she’s passed out
and smother her. And it’ll all be your fault. You understand me?
And just so you know, I’ll come here and fuck you any time I want.
Understand?”

Gabby knew she never
should’ve told her dad. She knew after that first couple of years,
she should’ve kept it all to herself. Her mother didn’t care. She
couldn’t stay sober long enough to care about anything besides
booze and the only things her dad cared about were his son and what
others thought of the family. “
Outward
appearances. We have to look good for everyone.”
That’s what he used to say.

When she finally did get the guts to tell
him, his reaction was nothing less than she’d expected.

“
You’ve got to be kidding
me. Danny? Raped you? And when did this happen?” He laughed at her.
“Come on Gabby. This is just a cry for attention and you know it.
Another example of you being difficult. Danny would never do
anything like that. He’s like a member of this family. He and your
brother are more like brothers than cousins they’re so close. Quit
trying to blame things on him. Just because you don’t have any
friends at school, don’t point fingers at Danny.”

“
But Dad, he hurt me. He
really did. And he’s still doing it. I swear he is.” Her face was
soaked with tears as she begged her father to believe
her.

“
You’ve become quite the
actress, young lady. I think you need to quit reading all those
books and start spending more time facing reality. Now stop with
this charade. I won’t have it.” He slammed his hand on his desk and
she flinched, afraid he was going to hit her, like Danny had. “Now
get out of here before I do something we both regret.”

Gabby stared at the ceiling, remembering how
she ran to her room crying that night. She remembered how she would
try to convince herself that she hadn’t been difficult, that she’d
been a good girl and that Danny had truly hurt her. And he was
still hurting her. He had stolen so much of her life, and no one
believed her. Eventually, she’d stopped telling anyone about him …
she’d stopped even trying. And that piece of shit accomplished what
he’d wanted, what he’d set out to do. He’d ruined her and she’d
kept his filthy secret. Even though she never wanted to. And
because of him, that smart, beautiful, kind, young girl lost
everything. She grew into a woman with a cracked heart and a
damaged spirit, with no one to protect her.

# # #

At 5 a.m., Gabby went down to the laundry to
start her wash. There was a large part of her that realized she
should probably talk to a colleague about what was going on. But
she pushed it back in her head because she knew if she did, she
would feel so much shame and humiliation that she could never look
him or her in the eye again. So once again, she kept her ugly
secrets to herself.