Freeing Her (6 page)

Two hours later, she lugged her laundry back
upstairs and got ready for work. It was going to be another
grueling day, and tonight she had an NA meeting she’d promised her
friend Case, a group leader, she would attend. The volunteer hours
she logged in were one of the most important things she did. She
truly loved helping the people who didn’t have anyone to rely
on.

Today her schedule was packed, so she would
be brown-bagging lunch. She crammed it into her briefcase and
headed to the train.

On the trip to the office, she didn’t know
where to look. Her eyes darted everywhere, not seeing anything
because she was so jittery. Heart thudding, palms sweaty, she made
the walk to the subway, but nearly freaked out when she got down
there. It was dark and dreary and the noise that usually didn’t
bother her, made her super edgy. When she boarded her train, she
felt claustrophobic with all the passengers squished in beside her.
Thankfully, she didn’t have many stops before her station. It
seemed like everywhere she looked, she saw Danny’s face. But upon
closer inspection, she’d realize she’d been mistaken. She finally
stared at the floor and concentrated on her feet.

When she got to her stop, it was all she
could do not to push people out of the way. She hit the steps at a
run and practically jogged to her office. Her hands shook so badly,
she couldn’t find her keys to unlock the door. Frustration mounted,
and she almost screamed.

“
Miss, may I help
you?”

She jumped at the intrusion.

“
I’m so sorry. I didn’t
mean to startle you. I saw you were having difficulty, so I thought
to assist you.”

She looked up at over six feet of burly
muscle. Soft brown eyes stared back at her as recognition hit her
and she instantly relaxed. “You’re the guy who drove me home
yesterday, aren’t you? Sam isn’t it?”

“
Yes, ma’am. May
I?”

“
Please. I’m such a
mess.”

Sam nodded. He looked into her purse and
spied the keys immediately. Pulling them out, he unlocked the door,
handed the keys back to her, and retrieved her briefcase.

“
Thank you.” She sighed as
she rubbed her forehead. “Hey, why you were here?”

He smiled but didn’t answer.

“
Are you following
me?”

“
Not following,
ma’am.”

She looked at him with furrowed brows.

“
Let’s just say I’m
keeping you safe. Have a nice day.” And he walked away.

Gabby walked inside and shut the door behind
her. She hoped Sam would be hanging around outside her office. She
would feel a lot better knowing he was there. She got up and looked
out the window but didn’t see him.

Her first patient was due in ten minutes, so
she needed to pull herself together. When her butt hit the chair by
her desk, the phone rang. She answered it. She wasn’t expecting the
voice on the other end.

“
Gabby, are you all
right?”

“
Um, who is
this?”

“
It’s Kolson. Are you okay
over there? Did anything happen?”

“
No, I’m fine.
Why?”

“
It’s nothing,” Kolson
replied.

“
Are you having me
followed?”

“
Er, not exactly. I’m
having Sam hang out for a while. Just making sure your cousin
doesn’t show up.”

“
Oh.” That took her by
surprise. “I forgot to thank you yesterday for returning my
wallet.”

“
It wasn’t a problem,” he
said, pausing before speaking again. “Gabby, did your cousin Danny
threaten you again?”

His question was met with silence.

“
Are you
there?”

“
Uh, yeah,” she answered
in a shaky voice.

“
Hey, what’s going on? Is
someone there?”

“
No. I’m fine. It was just
coming back here after yesterday.”

“
Was he there?”

“
No. It was only my vivid
imagination. I can’t talk right now. I need to go. I have a
patient.”

The phone went dead. Kolson wanted to know
what the hell that was all about. Unfortunately he didn’t have time
to figure it out. He had a meeting, so he pushed all thoughts of
her out of his mind and focused on the situation he was about to
walk into.

A contract was on the fence for an
entertainment company, Bright World Enterprises. They headlined all
sorts of big names, from bands to individual musicians to movie
stars. They were an enormous operation with clients all over the
country. HTS was on the cusp of a huge deal that would catapult
their business into another financial status altogether. His
analysts were predicting that if he landed this deal, the prestige
of HTS would be unmatched in the business.

He tightened the knot on his tie, adjusted
his cufflinks, and smoothed his hands over his suit coat. His
assistant was waiting for him with the necessary paperwork.

He entered the luxurious conference room,
one of the few rooms in the building in which he had spared no
expense. All eyes were on him as he moved to the head of the huge,
oblong table. Coffee and tea had been served, along with other
beverages and morning snacks.

“
Good morning, ladies and
gentlemen. I trust everyone is well today.”

The spokesperson for Bright World
Enterprises, Janice Pittman, reminded him of a pit bull. Kolson
didn’t like her because she eyed him like a juicy piece of steak.
He preferred to keep separate his business and bedroom interests,
but from the looks she shot him, she didn’t.

“
We’re all well today. And
how about you, Kolson?” Janice purred.

He didn’t even like the way she said his
name. It sounded like she was tasting it, rinsing it around on her
tongue. He’d rather she spit it out when she said it. The thought
of any part of him in her mouth didn’t sit well.

“
I’m great, Janice,” he
said briskly. “Shall we get down to business, then?”

“
Sounds
perfect.”

Not many women of her status made him
shudder, but Janice Pittman was an exception. Everything about her
grated on his last nerve. He asked himself several times whether
this contract was worth pursuing, simply because of her. But then
he reminded himself of his employees and what it would mean for
them. Swallowing his distaste, he moved to make his play. Offering
up his most charming smile, Kolson Hart began the deadly game of
contract negotiations, a game in which he was highly skilled. He’d
been raised by a dragon, after all, and he learned young how to
save his ass from getting singed. Not a single emotion he didn’t
want his opponents to see ever crossed his face.

If Janice thought she drove a tough deal,
she was terribly mistaken. By the end of the morning, the deal was
signed, sealed, and delivered, leaving Janice Pittman scratching
her head over how the hell she handed everything to him on a
sterling platter, serving pieces and all.

“
It’s been quite a
pleasure, and I look forward to a beneficial business relationship.
Good day to you all.” Once more, every eye in the room watched as
he walked away from the table.

On the way back to his office, he slipped
off his tie and coat. It was time to hit the gym over lunch. He’d
use the punching bag to vent his tensions with the lascivious
Janice. The bitch had eye-fucked him throughout the meeting. What
she hadn’t realized was that she was dealing with an expert at game
playing.

She was trying to tango with Lucifer, and
he’d seen to it she’d ended up getting fried in her own game.

Chapter Five

When Gabby walked
through the door of the NA meeting, her first
stop was the coffee pot. This may have been her fifteenth cup so
far—her jitters were proof of that. Her lunch had gone half eaten
because her head was still wrapped around Danny. But honestly, who
was more fucked up? She or Danny? As a psychiatrist, she knew she
was every bit as bad as he was, though not in a malevolent
way.

“
Hey!”

Gabby jerked and spilled coffee down the
front of her blouse. She fanned herself and grabbed napkins to
clean up the mess.

“
Damn, I’m sorry. Didn’t
think that would scare you.” Case led her to a sink so she could
wet some paper towels too.

“
It’s okay. I was thinking
about a patient. Was here, but wasn’t, ya know?”

“
Well, you don’t look so
good. You okay?” His voice was filled with concern.

“
What is it with
everyone?”

“
Maybe we’re all right.
Ever think of that?”

“
I’m just
tired.”

“
Uh-huh.
Suitcases.”

“
What?”

Case shook his head. “You’ve got purple
suitcases under your eyes.”

“
Thanks, Case.”

“
Why don’t you go home and
get some sleep?”

Gabby adored Case Russell. She met him
during her residency. A recovering addict, he had been clean for
eight years and ran this group of Narcotics Anonymous. His
addiction was the result of a mugging. He’d been shot, badly beaten
and consequently gotten hooked on drugs in the aftermath. It had
cost him a hell of a lot—his wife, his child, and his job as a
police officer. Now he was a private investigator and owned his own
firm, Russell Investigator Services or RIS. Gabby loved to help him
because he was such an inspiration to others and gave so much of
himself to getting people back on their feet.

And Case matched Gabby’s adoration. He
looked at her like a baby sister. Truth was, he would do anything
for her. She’d helped him more times with his NA people than he
could count and he owed her so much, he doubted he could ever repay
her.

“
You have that girl coming
tonight, remember?”

Case’s eyed drilled into hers.

“
Hey, you
okay?”

“
Of course. Why wouldn’t I
be?”

“
Uh, I dunno. Maybe ’cause
you work your ass off and never take any time for
yourself.”

Gabby laughed. “Gee, that sounds familiar.”
She pointed her index finder at him. “I’d like to stay. I’ll be
fine. You know me.” She gave him a sloppy smile.

“
God, I’m such a sucker
for you. If we ever got married, you’d walk all over me and I’d let
you.”

“
Ew, that’s almost
incestuous.”

He laughed. “Yeah, it is pretty nasty, isn’t
it?” And that’s the way it was. They loved each other like
siblings, but that was as far as it had ever gone between them.

“
So, who’s the
girl?”

“
I don’t see her here yet,
but I’m afraid I’m going to lose her. She’s hanging by a thread.
Her boyfriend beats her up and she’s on H. It’s bad.”

Gabby looked around for a minute because the
cold, hard facts were, he was right. Heroin was a tough nut to get
off and if you had a bad home life as well, that was like shooting
oneself in the foot over and over again.

“
I’m sorry, Case. I’ll do
what I can if she comes in, but you know the score. I don’t have to
tell you.”

“
I know. If only I could
get her away from him,” he said.

Gabby realized that if Case had been in her
life when everything went down with Danny, he might have believed
her. Maybe he would’ve been the one to stick up for her. Then
again, probably not. Her brother hadn’t. He’d told all his friends
she was a liar. Of course, he was best buddies with Danny. He
persuaded them that he was the honest one.

“
Hey, why the long face?”
Case asked.

“
Oh, it’s nothing,” she
answered quickly with a smile. “I was thinking about the
girl.”

“
You sure?”

Gabby nodded.

“
Okay, I gotta get this
meeting underway. If I see her come in, I’ll give you a signal. But
she’s waif-like with light brown hair. About five three—she has
that typical look about her.”

“
Gotcha. I’ll be on the
lookout. What’s her name?”

“
Juliana. No last
name.”

Gabby sat at the back of the room by the
door. One thing she was thankful for—she had never done drugs.
These people were in a constant fight against their urges to
self-medicate. She wanted to medicate herself, but with other
things besides drugs. And even though her urges could be quite
compelling, they weren’t mind bending and didn’t take away her
ability to function. Her urges only led her to work too hard. But
that was her main goal in life—to help others.

Case kicked off the meeting. Every time
Gabby listened to him lead the group, she was amazed at his love
for what he did here. He was so invested in this cause to help; it
shone in every word, action, and deed. The group circled up and one
by one shared their issues. Some were angry, some defeated, and
some apathetic. But Case turned every emotion around and made each
individual care about his or her own life, made them want to
change.

By the time the meeting ended, he’d gained
their commitment to stick with him for another day. Twenty-four
hours to a drug addict was a lifetime. The sad thing was that
Juliana never showed up and Gabby speculated if she was even still
alive.

What Gabby failed to recognize was that one
of the reasons she came here and gave of herself was that it
validated her and gave her life the self-worth she’d never felt at
home. As much as her psychiatry training had done for her, she’d
never used it to delve into her own mind. She didn’t see the big
hole that existed in her heart and soul because she refused to
look.