“First timer, huh?”
“Uh, yeah, and a last timer, I believe.”
“I don’t think so.” He refilled her glass and handed it back to her. “Now, this is the one you’ll sip.”
Her gut burned from the first glass and she rubbed a circle on her stomach as she reached for the glass. “What is this?”
“Evan Williams 23. It’ll take away your angst. Guaranteed. The first one was just a run-of-the-mill bourbon. But this one is in a class all its own.”
This time, the sip eased down her throat and created a soothing warmth laced with hints of dark chocolate and plums. She swirled it around her mouth and as it coated her tongue, she found herself wanting to moan.
“My God, this is lovely!”
A hearty laugh ripped out of Kolson. “You should see the expression on your face. It nearly matches the one you had as you came when I was deep inside you.”
Her head whipped around and her eyes met his. Another belly laugh escaped him.
“Now your cheeks are the color of poppies.” He ran his finger across the apple of one cheek. And he dipped his head, touching his lips to hers for a second. In a gruff voice, he added, “And your lips are warm and inviting.”
“They should be hot after that drink. But this really is delicious.”
“Yes, it’s my favorite bourbon. And it should be. It’s been aged twenty-three years and sadly, they only produce a limited amount so my stock is very limited as well.”
“So I will sip this one and savor it indeed.”
“Like a very fine wine.”
She was silent for a moment. “I have this friend. A very close friend. He’s a former cop but is now a private investigator.”
“Case Russell?”
Gabby’s mouth dropped open. She set her glass on the counter and didn’t answer him.
“I’m a high-profile, fairly wealthy single man. My security team investigates everyone I come into contact with. Not just you. You also ran a check on me. Which, by the way, was smart, particularly with what you’re going through. Unfortunately, you came up empty-handed. My background is … buried, you might say.”
“And why is that?”
“I have good reason.”
“How do you keep your information off of Google?” She was suddenly mortified that she’d asked it.
Kolson looked at her and chuckled. “You Googled me?”
“Well, yeah. I mean, after Case investigated you, he said he couldn’t find anything so I Googled you.” She tried to hide her embarrassment by turning away from him, but he grabbed her arm and forced her back around.
“So, what did you learn?” His eyes crinkled with mirth.
“Nothing. I even Googled how to keep your name off Google!”
Now Kolson laughed. “You are a curious one, aren’t you?”
“Well, yeah, because it seems it’s all but impossible to do that.”
“Gabriella, listen. I employ a top-notch security team that keeps my name out of the news and the gossip pages. I avoid the press and the paparazzi. That’s why I use a security crew. I’m very careful who I associate with, which is why I investigated you.”
“I know very little about you and you know everything about me. All my darkest secrets.”
Gabby heard the air rush out of Kolson. “Gabriella, I …”
“You don’t trust me.” It wasn’t a question; it was a statement.
“I do. Surprisingly enough. Which, for me, is unusual.”
“Then why won’t you tell me?”
“Perhaps one day.”
“I don’t understand.”
Kolson placed his hands on her face and lifted it so he could look into her eyes. “My past is every bit as twisted as yours and one day, when the time is right, you’ll hear it all. But not now.”
His voice was wracked with an emotion Gabby understood well—she had lived with it for years. Pain.
“The psychiatrist in me is screaming to get you to open up, but I make it a point not to psychoanalyze my friends.” Then she held up her hand. “But I want you to know I understand your reticence in digging up a fucked-up past. Look how hard it was for me to tell you about mine. I should be seriously pissed for how you manhandled the truth out of me. But I’m not because I feel like a ton of bricks has been lifted off my chest. I also want you to understand I’m here for you when you’re ready to talk. And I won’t judge you, Kolson.” She placed her hands on his. “Will you tell me something about yourself?”
“What do you want to know?”
“Anything. Tell me about your company. Hart Transportation Service. How did you start out?”
He chuckled. “You don’t read the tabloids or the financials, do you?”
“Afraid not.”
“I started with one cab and one limo. I worked my ass off night and day until I could afford another limo. And so it went. I’d hire drivers when I could afford them and soon I had a fleet and was vying for contracts. Honestly, the speed at which the business grew surprised me. I knew how to negotiate from working with my father’s corporation, so getting the business was the easy part. But I never thought it would blossom the way it did.”
Gabby looked at him with admiration. “Impressive. And I actually did know some of that. But why did you leave your father’s business? In the report Case ran on you, it said your father has a huge corporation too.”
“That’s a story for another day. But let’s say we didn’t see eye to eye.”
“Far be it for me to judge you on your relationship with your father when mine is nonexistent.”
Kolson knew he had to switch gears. A discussion about his father was off limits for now. “Did Danny ever hit you?”
Gabby stiffened. His question fired from out of the blue. Her head dipped before she answered. “Yeah, he did.”
“Tell me,” he growled.
She backed away, but he caught her and said, gentler this time, “I have to know, kea. How bad was it?”
“Why is this so important to you?”
“It just is.” Kolson wanted to hurt Danny. He could feel his hands around that bastard’s neck, squeezing the life out of him. And Kolson knew he would take pleasure in that act.
“I don’t want …”
“Gabriella, please tell me. These are things that we may need, in case the police need to be involved. And your friend, Case.”
“It happened a lot, but the worst time was when he pushed me down the stairs after he punched me in the nose. I broke my wrist, arm, and several ribs. Of course my nose was broken too. He told my parents I tripped and fell and he found me crying at the bottom of the steps. They believed him, of course, because he was perfect Danny. He took me to the hospital and on the way, he continued to beat me. The doctor knew I was lying. He tried to get me to tell the truth, but I knew if I did, it would be worse for me when I got home. By then, my parents were convinced I was clumsy, because I had bruises all the time. And those were only the ones they saw. They never saw the ones I hid.”
“Fuck. All this went on during your middle and high school years?”
“Yeah. I thought it would stop when he went to college, but he stayed close and would come home all the time. There was no escaping him.”
“What the fuck kind of parents do you have?”
“Obviously ones who don’t give a shit about me.”
Those words ripped through Kolson, words that he could relate to wholeheartedly. Except for Kolson, his case was different. His father had a motive and his mother was clueless. “I’m so sorry. For everything you’ve been through.”
“You sound as though you can relate.”
His brows shot up, but he said nothing. Turning away, he reached for his glass and she noticed how his arm tensed as he stretched it on the counter. She stepped behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist and rested her head on his shoulder blade.
Somehow, this man had managed to take her perfectly constructed fortress of protection and tear it dow
n, stone by stone, until she stood fully exposed and naked before him. Not only that, he had achieved the unachievable. He had wriggled the truth out of her. Every secret she’d ever had, every mystery had been revealed and exposed to him. She’d dragged the last skeleton out of her closet, dressed it up in all its finery, and willingly displayed it for him to see.
And the greatest part? The burden that had weighed her down all these years lifted, freeing her from its gruesome memory. The air she inhaled was cleaner, fresher, and her lungs expanded more because of it. The vertebrae in her back separated incrementally, allowing her spine to lift higher. She reached a fuller height, all due to Kolson. One man and his persistence and his promise to believe her.
She tightened her arms around him and pressed her lips to his back. “Thank you. For everything. For standing firm in your belief in me.”
He spun within her hold and pulled her against his chest, holding her so she heard his heart beat beneath her ear. “I keep my promises, kea. I always keep my promises. You can count on that.” He smoothed his hand over her hair and murmured, “Enough talk for tonight. I know you must be exhausted. I think it’s bedtime for us.”
She nodded, weary as could be. He walked her to his bed, but right before she climbed in, he said, “Your things are in the guest room and if you’d rather stay there, you can, you know.”
“Do you want me to stay there?”
“Hell no. I want you in this bed. Next to me.”
“Then this is where I want to be too.”
He smiled. “I was hoping you’d say that. Take off your clothes, Gabriella.”
Her face showed surprise. “I thought we were going to sleep.”
“We are. But I won’t lie in bed with you and have any scrap of clothing between us. I want to feel your smooth skin next to mine, touching me.”
That was all she needed to hear. He lifted the covers for her and, naked, she slid under. He followed her and tugged her into the curve of his body.
“Go to sleep.”
“Mmm.” She burrowed into him and fatigue sent her straight into the arms of sleep.
Gabby opened her eyes to brightness, realizing they hadn’t closed the blinds or drawn the curtains. She groaned because the room glowed with the rising sun.
“What is it, kea?” Kolson asked.
“We forgot to draw the curtains. It’s so bright.” She snuggled closer into his neck to shut out as much light as possible, but it didn’t do much good. After a few minutes, she rose and went to the bathroom.
When she came out, she noticed that Kolson had fallen back asleep, so she went to the guest room. She opened the closet and found her belongings Lydia had placed in there. Turning to the dresser, she rifled through the layers until she found her favorite pair of soft yoga pants and a cami.
Gabby was conflicted. Staying here was truly her only option. There wasn’t anywhere else she could go. Sky lived in a studio and Ryder only had a one-bedroom apartment so that was out. As much as she adored Case, moving into his studio wouldn’t work. She didn’t have the money to stay in a hotel for more than a night or two.
Kolson was her salvation right now, but she didn’t want to come off as looking like she was using him, either.
Pulling on her clothing, she padded into the kitchen to get coffee going. She checked out the contents of the refrigerator to see if she could throw together a breakfast. It was Sunday and she had to volunteer this afternoon at the women’s shelter. But she would have plenty of time for a run and a good meal first.
Kolson had a fully stocked kitchen, which made her smile. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d been around so much food. Searching for the proper pans and necessary items, she set to work on making bacon, hash browns, and omelets. She chopped onions, peppers, and mushrooms as the bacon cooked.
After the potatoes were grated and ready to go, she heated the griddle and whisked up the eggs. It didn’t take her long to have everything prepared, so she hunted down a tray for her artfully arranged plate as well as for coffee, cream, sugar, and orange juice. She smiled to herself as she carried it into Kolson.
He was finally stirring, and he sat up, confused.
“Good morning, sleepyhead.”
He flashed her a toothy grin. “What’s this?”
“Room service.”
“Breakfast in bed? For me?” He patted the bed next to him and she set the tray down. Then he grabbed her and kissed her. “Sorry, I haven’t brushed my teeth yet.”
“It’s okay. I have coffee breath. I’ll be right back.”
She returned a moment later with her tray and climbed up next to him. Kolson took his first bite. “This is excellent. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. It’s the least I could do after everything you’ve done for me. Besides, I was starving and your kitchen is a cook’s paradise.”
“That’s Lydia. She keeps everything stocked for me.”
“Nice.”
“How did you sleep?”
“Great, until the darn sun woke me up. We didn’t shut the blinds.”
“Gabriella, I don’t have any blinds.”
“Oh! How can you stand it?”
He stared at his plate while he ate. “One of the best omelets I’ve ever had.”
After a few more bites, he asked, “So what’s on your agenda today?”
“I have to volunteer at one. At the women’s shelter downtown. And I was going to hit the medical library to catch up on some journal reading a bit before hand.”
“I’ll drive you and pick you up.”
“That’s not nec …”
“Yes, it certainly is. And I also want you to call your friend, Case. In fact, I think the three of us should meet. What time are you free tonight?”
“Seven.”
“See if he can meet for dinner, my treat.”
“Okay, are you sure, though?”
“Don’t fight me on this. This is your safety we’re discussing. And while you’re gone, I’ll work on getting an apartment locked down for you.”
She nodded. Gabby knew that was the appropriate thing to do, but she enjoyed being here with Kolson and wouldn’t mind staying here a while. The safety issue factored into it, but that wasn’t all. Kolson had wedged himself into her life. It would’ve been impossible to ignore, since he was such a monumental presence. And if she were truly being honest, she doubted he would let her disregard him anyway. He wasn’t a man who would easily take being pushed aside. No, she could only imagine the things he would do to ensure he was front and center with her. She grinned as she thought about it.
“What has you smiling so?”
“Nothing.”
“Well, I hope that nothing was me. I want to be the one who puts a smile like that on your gorgeous face, kea.”
Oh, don’t worry about that. You do, Kolson Hart, you do.
Chapter Eighteen
After hanging around Gabby’s apartment for four hours on Saturday night and then again late on Sunday afternoon, Danny’s anger was escalating. He didn’t know what to do. That damn boyfriend of hers must be monopolizing her time. He thought about sending her flowers but nixed that idea. That would cost money and he was on a strict budget. She would just trash them anyway. No, following her was the best option to get her alone. Eventually she’d slip up, so he needed to be prepared at all times.
It was time for him to start keeping track of when she arrived at her office every day and what days she was at the hospital. Then he needed to figure out where else she spent most of her time—that’s when he’d strike.
Kolson showed up at the shelter an hour early to retrieve Gabby. It was a small, non-descript building near The Bellevue Hospital Center on the lower east side of Manhattan. Like most shelters of this type, the location was kept secret and the only way a person could find it was through phone screening. Security was controlled and Kolson had to answer a set of prearranged questions that he and Gabby had agreed upon. Once he had been cleared, the receptioni
st ushered him into an office with a glass window and told him he could wait for her in there. He stood to the side and observed her at work. She was speaking with a mother with a small child. The little girl was clinging to the mother and both had bruises covering their faces and arms. Kolson was sure they had them in other places too, hidden by their clothing.
The young child kept peeking at Gabby, and Gabby bent down to talk to her. It didn’t take long before the child held out her arms for examination. The girl’s eyes were huge in her swollen, discolored face. Gabby pushed the hair off her forehead and then shone a light into her eyes. Kolson could see traces of tears reflected in the light on the child’s cheeks and Gabby took her thumbs and dabbed them away. Moments later Gabby sat on the floor in front of the little girl and helped her remove her shoes and socks. She then showed Gabby the bottoms of her feet. Though Kolson couldn’t see what Gabby was seeing, the child winced when Gabby touched her. The child sniffed constantly, as if trying not to cry, but then Gabby patted her lap and the little thing crawled into it and started bawling.
Kolson never imagined he’d feel such a strong emotion toward a child he didn’t know, but this whole situation opened a wound in him that he thought had been permanently sealed. His guts twisted and his heart clenched. As he watched Gabby hold that young girl in her arms, the deep admiration he felt for her astounded him. He’d not previously understood her role here, but now he did. And what was baffling to him was he didn’t know how she did it, day after day, and kept her heart intact.
He turned away, unable to watch any longer and sat down, dropping his head into his hands. Kolson realized that Gabby’s capacity for love was far beyond anything he’d ever encountered. And it angered him that her family had abandoned such a beautiful soul.
He was still sitting there an hour later when she walked in.
“Hey.” She eyed him for a moment. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” he said softly. “How are you?”
“I’m good. You ready?”
His penetrating stare pierced her, but no words would come to him.
The Hart Brothers Series Box Set (Including the bonus book Sabin: A Seven Novel): Freeing Her, Freeing Him, Kestrel, The Fall and Rise of Kade Hart, Sabin: A Seven Novel Page 16
