Freeing Her (A Hart Brothers Novel Book 1)

by A. M. Hargrove

  Danny Martinelli was a charmer. He’d been that way ever since he was a toddler. His parents never denied him anything; his mother was smitten with him as soon as the nurse handed him over. She’d taken one look at him and that was it.

  He’d learned at a very early age exactly how to cry, which tone of voice to use and what to say to get what he wanted. And he’d been given everything his heart desired—from clothes, toys, the latest computer, video games—whatever it was at the given moment. Even his aunt and uncle fawned over him like he was some sort of gifted child, which he wasn’t. His gift was he knew what people wanted to hear and he told them those words exactly at the right moment to achieve his goals.

  With one exception—his cousin Gabby. She never paid him the least bit of attention. No matter what he did or said, she would sit silently in the corner, reading her stupid books, and never laugh, grin, or take part in any of his stimulating conversations.

  One day, Danny decided he would make it his personal mission to make sure Gabby noticed him. It started when he was fifteen and for one solid year, he went out of his way at every opportunity to pay attention to her. He would visit his alcoholic aunt and pompous uncle, spend time with Gabby and her brother, try to engage her in conversation, take her places and buy her little trinkets. Nothing worked. The only things Gabby cared about were doing well in school and reading her damn books. Those goddamn, stupid meaningless books.

  Danny reached a point where he’d had it. His aunt, uncle, and cousin were going out, so Gabby needed a babysitter. Danny kindly volunteered. And that’s when it all began. It went on for years. Danny enjoyed it so much he even came home from college a lot more than he probably should have. He said he missed his family. But that wasn’t the real reason. The truth was he missed terrorizing and fucking Gabby. He loved how he had that control over her. It irked the shit out of him when she left for college and he lost some of it. He could only get to her occasionally then.

  But the best part was when he’d convinced everyone that she was the problem child and had made up her ridiculous accusations. Even her obtuse parents believed him. Danny reminded Gabby of it constantly, but particularly when he was punching her. He liked to do that. But she was tough. She never showed any emotion and it took a lot to scare her.

  He had no problems or issues with ruining her life. He didn’t even care that she tried to commit suicide. The only thing he cared about was that had she succeeded, she wouldn’t have been around for him to fuck anymore.

  Then his mother told him a secret—the best secret he’d ever heard. It was one that made him the happiest kid on Earth. When she whispered the truth to him, Danny laughed. He laughed so hard his sides ached. It was so perfect because when he went to Gabby’s father with his little blackmail plan, he insured that Gabby would be his forever. Appearances meant everything to her old man, even more than his own daughter.

  # # #

  Danny waited outside Gabby’s building for over two hours after he thought she should be getting home from work, but she never arrived. His anger mounted. No doubt her little boyfriend picked her up after work and had taken her on a date. That wasn’t going to work for Danny. Gabby was his and his alone, and Danny didn’t like sharing. He let out an expletive, startling a small elderly woman walking her poodle, and stormed off down the street. He’d return later to check to see if she was back. But then, what good would that do? She’d be upstairs and safely tucked away in her little apartment, where he couldn’t get to her.

  He’d poked around the place several times, and there were too many men hanging around the front and in the lobby. He’d need a distraction to sneak past them, and Danny wasn’t stupid enough to try something that daring on his own. He would need an accomplice, but he didn’t trust anyone to ask for their help.

  Grinding his teeth, he headed to a place where he could down a few quick drinks. Maybe that would soothe his temper. After walking ten blocks, he found a seedy bar that looked like it had seen better days. Several people clustered in booths and the stools along bar were nearly filled. The pool table sat unused under blaring music. No one gave Danny a second glance as he hunted a seat.

  A waitress took his order and brought him a drink … whiskey neat.

  “Better bring me another,” he said.

  “Looks like you might need a couple of extra on the side.”

  He looked at her and half-smiled. “Maybe.” He let his eyes wander up and down her body. She wore a tight black V neck T-shirt that dipped low, exposing a good amount of her ample cleavage. She wore no bra and her rigid nipples stood firm, poking right through the thin fabric. The shirt ended above her belly button and her tight black shorts hit her below her hips, exposing tanned skin. She knew how to work it, and work it she did. Long legs completed the look.

  When Danny finished his inspection, she swayed close to him and asked, “Well? Did I pass?”

  “With flying colors.”

  “Wanna take it for a test drive?”

  “That depends.”

  “On what?”

  “How much?”

  “Let’s just say I’ll let you have a few laps for free.”

  Danny was an okay-looking guy. Dark skinned and thick black hair, some women found him attractive. But he was flashy and liked to grab the room’s attention. In recent years, his laziness had added extra pounds to his midsection, making him look much older than his thirty-two years.

  “When?”

  “Now, but we need to be discreet. I don’t want my boss to know. He won’t like it.”

  “You got it.” It offended Danny that she wanted him to be low-key about this. He was prime. Everyone ought to know about his conquests.

  “You go first and I’ll meet you there. Men’s room.”

  He downed another whiskey and headed to the back. It wasn’t long before she walked in, a grin on her face, but he wiped it clean when he pulled her in, jerked her shirt up, and pinched both nipples cruelly. “You are a fucking tease, walking around with your tits poked out like this. You little cunt. What’re you trying to do to me?”

  Then he took that same shirt and twisted it around her wrists, binding them tightly so she couldn’t move. As he moved her up against the wall, he unzipped her shorts and tugged them down. Slipping his finger under the elastic of her thong, he gave a twist and snapped it off her. Then he stuffed it into her mouth.

  “Not a fucking peep out of you or I’ll make this hurt. You got it? This is gonna be either fun or painful. You can have it either way. Is it gonna be fun?”

  Her eyes were like saucers as she nodded.

  “Put your hands above your head and don’t fucking move.”

  Danny put his hands on her breast and someone pounded on the door. “Goddammit, Nadine, are you in there again? Open the door right now!”

  “Nadine?” Danny asked.

  Nadine nodded again.

  “Godammit, Nadine, customers need drinks. If you don’t open the door right this second, I’m busting it down.”

  Danny grabbed Nadine’s thong out of her mouth and loosened the shirt from around her wrists.

  “Just a second,” Nadine called out.

  “NOW, Nadine.”

  “I guess we’ll have to do this when you get off work,” Danny said. “How long?”

  “Eleven.” She reached down and grabbed his crotch, which was hard as a rock and gave it a firm squeeze. “Hang around?”

  “Hang? Doubtful.”

  Nadine wriggled back into her shorts and put her mouth on his. “I’m looking forward to sucking you dry.” Then she waltzed out the door. Danny grinned. Sex with her was gonna be fun. But then his mood soured. It would never match what he’d had with Gabby, though. Nothing would.

  Chapter Ten

  Gabby was in her office when her phone buzzed. Since she was with a patient, she ignored it but checked her messages after her patient left. It was Kolson, inviting her to dinner.

  “Gabriella.”

  Every time he said
her name, desire unfurled in her belly.

  “Kolson. I would love to join you for dinner tonight, except I have to …”

  “Volunteer somewhere,” he finished for her.

  “Yes. You’re starting to figure me out already.”

  “So, Gabriella, is there any night you don’t volunteer? How is a man supposed to take a woman he’s interested in out to dinner when said woman is always volunteering?”

  “Now that is certainly a dilemma for said man, isn’t it?”

  “It certainly is. And said man is getting quite frustrated with said woman’s busy schedule.”

  “Hmm. Then perhaps said man should accompany said woman to her volunteer activities.”

  Gabby was met with dead silence. “Kolson, I was only kidding.”

  “Where and when?”

  “No. It was a joke,” Gabby insisted. “Besides, you’ll be stuck in a an office where it’s cramped and unpleasant. Either that or you’ll have to wait in the waiting room with the patients. You can’t be with me while I work.”

  “I know that. I can wait for you in your office and do work of my own, or wait in the waiting room. Shall I get it out of Sam?”

  “Tonight’s not a good place to join me. It can get pretty ugly and honestly, you’d sort of be in the way.”

  “I won’t be in the way. I’ll stay off to the side. I promise. What time?”

  “Kolson. I’m serious.”

  “As am I. Time, Gabriella. Besides, how am I ever going to get to know you and understand exactly what it is that you do if I don’t see it or at least the setting in which you function? Can you understand that I want to be with you?”

  Her gaze softened as she stared at him. “Yeah, I think I can. Seven.”

  “I’ll be there.”

  “Um, no. You’ll have to come with me or they won’t let you in. Security.”

  “I’ll pick you up with Sam at six thirty, then.”

  True to his word, Kolson and Sam picked her up at six thirty. She noted Kolson’s casual attire.

  “I’m glad you dressed down. I forgot to tell you,” she said.

  “I figured the dress code would be casual.”

  “Are you sure you’re up for this? The clinic can be a very unpleasant place at night. Addicts needing fixes and sliding into withdrawal is pretty ugly stuff. And they hate me when I try to dig into their issues. They know I’m the final step and they get pretty damn mean a lot of the time.”

  “Don’t worry about me, Doc. Just do your job. By the way, you look lovely tonight.”

  Gabby glanced down at herself and shook her head.

  “Accept the compliment, Gabriella.”

  “Okay. Thank you. But I’m …”

  Kolson cut her off with a short, sweet kiss. He leaned into her and murmured, “You’re very beautiful. You’d look lovely in anything.”

  Gabby smiled. “Thank you. Again.”

  “So, how long are you there for?”

  “That depends on the patient load tonight. But usually at least eleven.”

  “Did you eat?”

  “No. I didn’t have time.”

  Kolson nodded and then said, “Hey, Sam, after you drop us off, can you pick up dinner and bring it back to the hospital?”

  “Sure thing, Mr. H.”

  “Kolson, that’s not necessary,” Gabby said.

  “Of course it is. You need to eat and so do I. Sam is going to wait on us so he can do that. It’ll give him something to do.”

  “Thank you. That’ll be great. I usually don’t get to eat on these nights.”

  Kolson narrowed his eyes. “Are you being careful? As in not running in the dark?”

  “Yes. I haven’t run in days.”

  He slanted his head. “You have no other time to work out, do you?”

  “No, early mornings are it,” she said.

  “Would you like me to accompany you?”

  Her head snapped up as she looked at him. “You would do that?”

  “Hell yes. It’s dangerous to be out there alone and it’s apparent you don’t have any friends who run. Of course I’ll run with you.”

  “Thank you. I’d like that very much.”

  They arrived at the hospital and Gabby said to Sam, “I’ll let them know at security that you’ll be bringing us food. They’ll call me to let me know. You won’t be able to come through, but I’ll meet you.”

  “That’ll be good, Dr. M.”

  “Thanks, Sam.”

  When they got inside, Gabby led the way through security and they gave Kolson a visitor’s badge to wear. She told him he could sit in the office in the back that she used. As she hit the clinic door, all hell broke loose. A patient had started a fight with another patient and security had to be called. One of the nurses took a fist to the face and was escorted to the emergency department with a suspected broken nose.

  The patient was restrained and sedated, and then admitted. Once he was moved out, three acute withdrawals came in, so severe they had to be sent to emergency for treatment.

  Security called when Sam brought the food, but a nurse had to get it because Gabby was too tied up. It wasn’t until after ten that she even had a break to eat. Sam had brought pizza, so she grabbed a quick piece before finishing her shift. By eleven, she still had paperwork to complete. She and Kolson didn’t leave the hospital until after midnight.

  “I am so sorry it’s this late.”

  “Don’t apologize. It’s not your fault. I was able to get some work done so it was fine. Is it like this every time you work here?” Kolson asked.

  “It’s not always quite this crazy, but it usually is steady.”

  “Gabriella, I never thought about how dangerous this could be for you.”

  She stopped walking and looked at him. “What do you mean?”

  “That patient could’ve punched you instead of that nurse.”

  Waving her hand, she said, “Oh, that. Stuff like that happens all the time.”

  They stood under the lighted entrance and she saw his brow crease. “That’s a bit unsettling.”

  “We have good security. The addicts usually get a little high-strung but there’s someone around to handle them.”

  His dark expression let her know he was not pleased with her response.

  “Kolson, think about it. If it were a rampant issue, you’d hear about it all the time. It just isn’t much of a problem. They’re usually subdued fairly quickly. Sometimes it can get out of hand, like tonight, but not very often.”

  He nodded, but she could tell he was concerned. “I guess I never gave it much thought about the risk involved. You give up a lot for your work. I’m so impressed by everything you do, Gabriella.”

  “Come on, let’s go home. I’m beat.”

  Silence greeted her, but he followed her to the waiting car. He was quiet on the drive to her apartment. When Sam pulled up in front of her building, she said, “I think I can make it to my place okay.”

  “Nonsense. I’m walking you up.”

  Once they were in front of her door, she said, “Thanks again for dinner. I’m so sorry it’s this late.”

  “Stop. Gabriella, I have a new appreciation for what you do. I never imagined it was that intense.”

  “Oh.” His admission surprised her.

  “Why do you do it?” he asked.

  “I like to help people. It’s because I want to …” She looked down at her knotted fingers. She didn’t dare tell him the truth about why it was so important to her. “Those people need help. They need someone to give a damn because it’s a possibility that no one else does. I want to be that person.”

  “How lucky they are to have someone like you. Now, I still owe you a proper dinner. But you have to tell me when you have a night free.”

  She laughed.

  “Before I forget—” he reached into his pocket—“one of the nurses gave me this to give to you. Said someone left it for you.”

  He handed her a note. When she opened it, he
r face blanched and her hand shook as she released it. It floated to the floor.

  Kolson retrieved it and read what it said.

  Not only do I know where your office is, cunt, I know you work at the hospital too. And guess what else I know? I’ll have you soon, Gabs.

  The motherfucker found her again.

  “Gabriella, it’s okay.” He put his arm around her and pulled her into his chest. “He doesn’t know where you live.”

  “How do you know that? He could’ve followed us.” Her fists gripped his shirt.

  “No, he didn’t. He’s trying to scare you into thinking he does. You’re safe. I’ll have someone watch this building just to be sure.”

  Her body shook, as she feared what would happen next. And Kolson seethed as the thought of Danny sending her that note raced through his mind.

  Pulling out his phone, he dialed Sam who was still waiting curbside.

  “Gabby got another note while we were at the hospital. Do you notice anyone lurking around outside?” Pause. “Good. Okay, I’ll be down in a few minutes, but keep your eyes out.”

  Gabby looked up at Kolson, her face shrouded in alarm. “I’m afraid he’ll find me here.”

  “I know you are, but I’ll make sure the doormen know not to let him in. He won’t get to you if I have anything to do about it. Sam says all is clear on the street. I think he’s only trying to scare you.”

  “No shit. And he’s doing a damn good job of it.”

  “Would you like to stay with me tonight?”

  “No, I’m sure it’s fine. If Sam doesn’t see anyone outside, I’m sure it’s okay.”

  “Sam will be by to take you to work. And if it’s not Sam, I’ll call to let you know who it will be.”

  “Thanks. I know you need to go.”

  “No, I’m fine. Let me check inside, just in case.”

  She unlocked the door and he made a pass through. All was fine.

  “Call me if you need anything,” he said.

  “Thank you.”

  He gave her a brief kiss and returned to the waiting car. “I want to keep an eye on her apartment. Now that Danny has found out more about her, I’m beginning to worry.” Kolson considered that perhaps Danny was the one they should be following, not Gabby.