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

by A. M. Hargrove

  “Gabriella,” he said as he practically ran to greet her, surprising both of them.

  “Kolson! Where have you been? I’ve been calling and texting you!” Her voiced had a sharp edge to it he hadn’t heard before.

  “I’m sorry. I had a meeting in Philly.”

  “Philly? Today?”

  “Yeah. This afternoon. It was at four.”

  “And you went there and back after lunch?”

  “I flew.”

  “In a plane?”

  “No. I have a helicopter.”

  What else did she not know about him? Probably a whole hell of a lot, she surmised.

  “Yeah. Can we talk about my methods of transportation another time? I wanted to tell you that I, uh, I apologize for the way I reacted today. It was inappropriate. My reaction was unnecessary and you didn’t deserve it. I should’ve called sooner, but I … it’s a difficult and touchy subject for me. I’m sorry.”

  “No, I realized after you left that it was what I’d said. I’m guessing here, but I’m pretty sure it had something to do with what I said about being born lucky. That’s why I was calling. Then I got angry when you didn’t call me back, but after a while I began to worry.”

  “About me?”

  “Well, yeah. Isn’t that what people do when they care about each other?”

  “You care about me? After I was such an ass to you?”

  “Kolson, maybe I didn’t make myself clear. I don’t sleep around. Especially with men I don’t care about. I know that’s not common these days, but it’s sort of the way I operate.”

  “You amaze the hell out of me. But I’m afraid I don’t deserve you.”

  “You’re not the only one who’s amazed. And maybe you need to let me be the judge on whether you deserve me.”

  He jerked her against him and crushed his mouth on hers. His kiss conveyed everything his words didn’t. Her hands curled around his lapels as she stood on her toes and kissed him right back. When he released her, he asked, “Where the fuck have you been all my life?” He swept her hair off her face. “I wish I’d met you years ago, kea.” He brushed his lips over hers, kissed her temple, and then shrugged out of his jacket as he loosened his tie.

  “Are you hungry?” she asked.

  “Starving. What about you?”

  “I ate right after work. Lydia left us something. Why don’t I get your dinner ready while you go change?”

  By the time he was back, she had his meal ready for him, along with a glass of wine. They chatted while he ate and he told her about the contract he was awarded that day.

  “Congratulations!”

  “That’s also another reason why I couldn’t call. I was stuck in the meeting.”

  “It’s good. We’re good. But please don’t avoid me. Don’t run from me when the subject matter gets tough. If it’s something you can’t discuss, tell me, because I’m not a mind reader. Okay?”

  “Okay.”

  “I also wanted to let you know that I talked to Case tonight and I’m going to take him up on his offer. About moving in. Since I’m behind on my office rent,” she said sheepishly, “I don’t think my landlord will be sorry to see me go.”

  “Kea, that’s the best news I’ve heard. Do you have a date set for that?”

  “Yeah. Two weeks.”

  “Then you’ll have a double move.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Because I locked in an apartment for you.”

  “You did?” She wasn’t all that excited about it for a couple of reasons, but the biggest one was she didn’t want to leave him.

  He wore a sly grin. “I did.”

  “Well?”

  “It’s in this building.”

  “You’re joking. I can’t afford this.”

  “Yes, you can. It’s a studio. And it’s less than what you were paying.”

  She jumped into his arms and squealed. “I can’t believe it. That’s incredible. Wait. Did you make some kind of sneaky deal or something?”

  “No, I did not. It’s the real deal. But the best part is you can still stay here whenever you want. You can even do your laundry here if you want, but you’ll have your own private getaway if you grow tired of me.” He winked at her.

  “You might be the one who grows tired of me. And I couldn’t take advantage of you like that.”

  “Hmm. Maybe I want you to take advantage of me. And if you don’t, I may have to paddle your ass, Dr. Martinelli.”

  “Is that a promise?”

  “It most certainly is. Now get that ass of yours in my bed, because I distinctly remember giving you an order this morning. And if you disobeyed me, a punishment will ensue.” He smacked her on the ass and she scurried to his room with him on her tail.

  The next day, Gabby was busy when the mail arrived and she didn’t have time to look at it until she’d finished with her patients. As she flipped through it, she noticed a large manila envelope at the bottom of the stack. Pulling it out, she gasped when she saw it was addressed to Dr. “Precious” Martinelli. Her heart slammed into her chest and her breath seized in her throat. She immediately called Kolson.

  “Can you come to my office?” She fought to control her quavering voice.

  “What is it?”

  “I need you. I’m sorry to bother ...”

  “Gabriella, are you okay? Is he there?”

  “No, I’m, uh I just need you here.”

  “On the way.”

  A few minutes later, Ovaltine was walking inside, checking on her. And not long after, Kolson was there.

  “This came in the mail.” Gabby looked at the envelope and then at Kolson. Her heart banged in her throat because she couldn’t imagine what was inside, but she knew it wasn’t good.

  “Ovaltine, can you wait outside, please?” Ovaltine left and Kolson went to Gabby’s side.

  She held the envelope and her fingers quivered as she tried to slide them under the flap. After several tries, she handed the envelope out and asked, “Will you do it?”

  Kolson took it from her and opened it. He pulled out three large photos and a note. The photos were all of Gabby, of course. She was bound, gagged, and naked.

  Gabby’s hand covered her mouth as she cried out, “Oh, God! Oh, God!”

  Kolson tore the pictures up but not before he saw the bruises across her ribcage. What haunted him the most was the absolute terror in her eyes. He recognized that extreme fear and empathized with it. The note said:

  * * *

  This is all mine. Every single bit of it, precious.

  * * *

  Kolson knew they were dealing with a sick son of a bitch. “Come here.” He pulled her into his arms and held her, while she cried. He tried to calm her down.

  “When did he take those? I don’t remember him taking those. He could have all sorts of pictures of me. What if he puts them on the Internet or something?”

  “Sshh. He won’t. He doesn’t want anyone to know he took them. It makes him look guilty as hell. From now on, you’re going to have someone in here with you at all times. I don’t want you in here alone. And in two weeks, you’ll be moving in with Case, so you won’t be so isolated.”

  Kolson could feel the tremors lessening in her body.

  “I’m such a pain. I’ve been nothing but trouble to you.”

  “Nonsense. It’s not like you’ve asked for this. Now let me see that beautiful smile of yours.”

  “Kolson, the last thing I feel like doing right now is smile.”

  “You’re right. That was insensitive of me. Why don’t we go home and have a relaxing evening?”

  “I was going to go to the medical library at the hospital tonight to catch up on my journal reading. I’m so far behind. And now I won’t be able to concentrate.”

  “It’s my fault you’re behind, isn’t it?”

  “No! I’ve been busier than usual.”

  “Gabriella, you don’t have to soften the blow. I know I’ve been occupying more of your time
lately. Come on. Gather your things and let’s get out of here. You need food and maybe after you eat, you’ll feel like doing a bit of reading.”

  On the way home, Kolson did a little probing on how to make it easier on Gabby to read her journals. The next day when she went to work, an iPad was delivered to her office and on it were all her subscriptions to her medical journals.

  Hands fumbling for her phone, it took her three times to hit Kolson’s number because of her excitement.

  “Hart.”

  “Oh my God. Oh my God. I can’t believe you. You crazy man. You are amazing!”

  Kolson leaned back in his chair and found himself smiling at his phone. “I can only assume by your erratic sentences that you received the iPad.”

  “Yes! Thank you! You’ve made me the happiest woman alive.”

  “Well, damn. If I’d known all it took was a mere iPad, I’d have done that long ago. But wait. I thought my amazing finesse in the sack did that.”

  Gabby giggled. “Stop. You know what I mean. And you went a little crazy on the journal subscriptions, didn’t you? That’s a lot of money. Those are expensive.”

  “Kea, you’re worth way more than that. I see how hard you work and it’s important for you to stay abreast of things. This will make it easier for you. I wanted my favorite girl to be happy. Besides, this means she’ll be able to spend more time with me. Ulterior motives and all.”

  “Oh, so that’s how it works. But damn. Addiction, American Journal of Psychiatry, Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, Archives of General Psychiatry, Neuropsychopharmocology, Evidence Based Mental Health. That’s some kind of reading stack you have for me. I’m impressed.”

  “It’s not that much. If you need more, let me know.”

  “Oh, that’s plenty. Trust me.”

  “Gabriella, I do trust you.”

  “Thank you, Kolson. I, uh, I think I would be in deep trouble without you.”

  “The feeling’s mutual. Listen, I need to go, but I’ll see you in a little while.”

  Two weeks passed in a blur and it was moving day. Since Gabby’s office was so tiny, the move was a cinch. Kolson had two men from HTS take care of it for her. The biggest issue was her personal office, which consisted of her desk and file cabinets. The rest was only a few chairs and kitchen items.

  As for her apartment, Kolson and Gabby argued over it. He insisted on buying her new furniture. He wanted her to have new bedroom furniture since the things she currently had were old, from her college days. He thought it was time to move on. She disagreed. She liked her shabby chic things and wanted to keep them. In the end, she won, and he sent his men to move them. He had to agree; her things were cute. She’d painted and sanded them, giving them a rustic, stylish look.

  Gabby smiled all day long as she set up her new living quarters, and Kolson sat in her only chair and chuckled at her. He couldn’t imagine living in something so cramped again. He had at one time, when he’d left his father and started out with nothing, but to go back, he knew it would be difficult. But watching Gabby gave him a new appreciation for things. She literally was giddy. And it made him happy to see her happy. It also made him want to give her things. Lots of things.

  “If you could have anything in the world, anything at all, what would it be?”

  “World peace.”

  “What?”

  She laughed. “There was a movie a while back where this girl was an undercover FBI agent posing as a beauty pageant contestant and when it came time for her to answer the million-dollar question, that was what she said.” Gabby giggled. “It was hilarious because the character was so not a pageant type and she didn’t know what the hell she was doing.”

  “Oh.” He looked positively confused.

  “Oh my God. You don’t get it, do you?”

  “Not a bit.”

  “I was kidding. I don’t know. You’re asking me something I can’t answer. The question’s too out there for me.”

  “Well, think about it.”

  “Why?”

  He stood and moved to her. She was standing next to the bed so he grabbed her around the waist and she tumbled down on top of him.

  “Because maybe I want to give you the world, kea.” His lips touched hers softly. “You are so overjoyed by the smallest things. It makes me happy to see you happy.”

  “I don’t need things to make me happy. This, you and I being together, makes me happy. Moments such as this make me ecstatic. Materialistic things don’t make me happy. Touching you is what brings me joy. For most of my life, I didn’t have any of this.” Her fingers danced over his cheeks and then into his hair. “Or this.” She kissed him. “You make me happy, Kolson.”

  “Say that again.”

  “You make me happy, Kolson.”

  “God, Gabriella. No one has ever made me as happy as you have. Some days I want to walk out of my office and come straight to yours, grab your hand, and do all sorts of crazy shit. Act like we’re twelve. Do things we should’ve been doing when we were teenagers but never did because we were living fucked-up lives. I want to do so many things with you. But then I stop myself because I’m afraid I’ll scare you off. Or that you’ll think I’m a freak. Or that I’m moving too fast. I’ve never wanted anything like this before or anything this badly.”

  She laced her fingers with his and held on fiercely. “Do them, Kolson. Do every one of them. I won’t run. And you won’t scare me off. I swear you won’t.” Her eyes burned into his as she spoke and his heart expanded like it never had before. It was in that moment that Kolson knew he was falling in love with Gabriella Martinelli. And he prayed she was falling in love with him.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Kolson and Gabby met with the attorneys to discuss the avenues regarding Gabby’s case against Danny.

  Stan Harrison, the lead attorney, said, “Dr. Martinelli, I have to be honest with you here. Even though you can get those X-rays and a psych evaluation and there is the fact that you tried to take your life, I’m not sure how far that will take us.” Stan paused and hated what he had to tell her next. “The problem we have is that you never filed a police report on the rapes so if that wasn’t done, technically, a crime was never committed in the eyes of the law. We may be able to file a civil suit, particularly against your parents, but I think that’s as far as we’ll be able to take it. I do recommend you have the X-rays and the evaluation done, in case your cousin tries something, since he is stalking you. You’ll be one step ahead of the game.

  Kolson was one gigantic stretch of unyielding steel. He watched Stan with interest but was not pleased with his statement. Danny would always be an issue for Gabby, blocking her ability to move freely without fear.

  “So what you’re saying is she has no recourse at all.”

  Stan looked at both of them and nodded. “Unless she wants to file a civil suit against her parents.”

  She sighed. “I don’t know if this is all worth it.”

  Kolson leaned forward and grabbed her hand. “It would be a start, kea.”

  “He’s right, Dr. Martinelli. And considering the fact that your parents abused you, this is truly the best way I see. The other thing, and I hate to bring this up, is if he ever acts, we’re already ahead of the game, like I said before.”

  “Absolutely,” Kolson agreed.

  “Okay, if you think this is my only option.” Gabby wasn’t altogether comfortable with this, but everyone else was advising her to do it, and as a psychiatrist, it was what she would advise her patients to do.

  “So do you want me to arrange the X-rays?” Stan asked.

  “Please. Can we use Lenox Hill?”

  “Certainly.”

  “I want this to stay away from my professional interests.”

  “Dr. Martinelli, I need to mention this. You do realize that if this goes to court, it will most likely catapult your career.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “You were sexually molested as a young girl by a family member. The
act was ignored and denied by your parents. You then tried to commit suicide, and they still turned the tables on you. But you persevered. Not only did you persevere, you went to a very prestigious medical school and became a psychiatrist to aid the kinds of patient you once were. You will become a media icon. I’m only telling you this because once this trial hits, you are going to become the darling of the news. The beautiful, tragic story of the girl who rose from the ashes.”

  “Oh hell to the fucking no!”

  Stan and Kolson looked at her and then Kolson laughed.

  “How can you laugh?” she asked, indignant.

  “I’m laughing at your choice of expletives. ‘Hell to the fucking no?’ I don’t think I’ve ever quite heard it put that way.”

  “Well, I’ve never quite felt this way, so yeah, hell to the fucking no. I don’t want to be in the media or the news.”

  “Welcome to my world, kea.”

  “What will I do? Is there any way to stop it?”

  “We can try, Dr. Martinelli. But this will be pretty damn big.” Stan looked at Kolson.

  Kolson leaned closer to her and took her hand in his. “First things first. Let’s take this one step at a time before you start worrying about the news.”

  “Yeah. You’re right.”

  As they walked to Kolson’s car after the meeting, he said, “I think it’s time we set you up with a full-time bodyguard. I’m not comfortable with you on your own.”

  “But I have Sam, Ovaltine, and Eddie.”

  “And they’re fine, but they drive you around. I want someone with you in your office and someone escorting you; I think it’s wise so you’re not alone. Just being safe. And please allow me to satisfy myself here. That will make it easier on me so I don’t spend my days worrying about you.”

  She was thoughtful for a moment. “Okay, but when I’m at work in my new office, I’m good. With Case and the guys around …”