Chapter Eleven
While Gabby was with a patient, a text came in. Once the patient had gone, Gabby checked the text and saw it was from Case: Call me when you have a minute.
She did so right away. “It’s me.”
“I have the information you requested on Kolson Hart.”
“Perfect. So?”
“Oh, I don’t work like that. When can you meet?”
“I’ll be finished in an hour.”
“I’ll come to you,” Case said. “See you in an hour.”
“Make it an hour and fifteen.”
Gabby barely made it through her next patient because she was preoccupied with what she was going to learn about Kolson. The minutes crawled by. But Case showed up at the time he promised, a file in hand: Hart, Kolson (NMN).
“What’s NMN?”
Case said, “No middle name.”
She flipped it open and started to read. Age: thirty-two. Biological parents: unknown. Adopted by Langston and Sylvia Hart at age six. No known biological siblings. Two adopted brothers, Kestrel Hart and Kade Hart. No known arrests. Owner and CEO of HTS Enterprises, aka Hart Transportation Services. Left his father’s employment at the age of twenty-five. Estimated worth: Hundreds of millions but exact number unknown because his company is privately held. Bank accounts and financials are inaccessible. HTS has branches in most large cities in the US and also owns charter airlines and helicopter services. Kolson Hart started this business as a taxi driver. No education information could be found. All records were wiped clean. No adoption records could be found. Birth certificate and passport have his last name listed as Hart.
And that was it. Gabby looked at Case. “Never seen anything like it. His identity is buried. Someone with major connections has been paid to bury his information. It’s pretty fucking difficult to do that, you know. Have you Googled him?”
“No,” Gabby answered.
“Well, don’t bother. Nothing comes up. Nada. And that’s nearly impossible. Google has something on everyone. Except for Kolson Hart. I gotta say it freaked me a little. Now, Gabby, I have a friend—a good friend. He’s a PI in Denver and is extremely well connected. If you want to know more than this, I can pick up the phone and call Drexel Wolfe. He can find out anything because he has access to government stuff that I don’t. He could probably tell me if this guy was in WITSEC, which I doubt.”
“What’s that?”
“Witness protection.”
“Oh my God. Do you think …”
“No! I honestly don’t think. I was just saying that Drex can find out things most everyone else can’t. So if you want me to dig deeper, I can.”
“Do you think I should?”
Case eyed her for a second. “Let me ask you this. Are you comfortable around him?”
“Um, yeah. I mean …”
“What?”
It was a little embarrassing discussing this with Case. “Well, he, what I mean is …”
“You like him, don’t you?” Case asked, grinning.
Gabby felt her cheeks heat. “Yeah, kinda. I mean, he, well …”
Case busted out laughing. “How long have we known each other?”
“Three? Four years?”
“Yeah, and I’ve never seen you this flustered.”
“That’s it! He flusters me!”
“Do you trust him? Not to harm you?”
“Without a doubt. I feel very safe with him. The man is running three mornings a week with me to keep me safe, for Pete’s sake.”
“Then I’d let it go. Sometimes digging into pasts isn’t worth it. There are things people like to keep private for a reason.”
Gabby certainly agreed with that. “You’re right. And thanks, Case.”
He gave her a thumbs up.
# # #
Kolson sat at his desk and reviewed the file in front of him for the umpteenth time. Gabriella was going to run herself ragged if she didn’t stop with all the volunteer hours. Between that and the moonlighting at the hospital, she had no life. He looked at the schedule Tom had given him and this was only a two-week snapshot of what she’d done. No telling what her past year had looked like. And she gave away more of her services than she charged for. It came as no surprise that her financial situation was in such sad shape. Her heap of debt, while enormous by Gabby’s standards, was nothing to Kolson. She had no cash flow. She was behind on all her bills. Her rent was overdue and from what he could tell, she wasn’t extravagant in the least about how she spent her money. There simply wasn’t enough of it. He’d gently suggested as much on their runs together, but she wouldn’t hear any of it.
Another file sat next to the opened one—it contained information on John Anthony Martinelli, Gabriella’s father. A successful attorney in Stamford, Connecticut, it wasn’t like he couldn’t afford to help her out. The words that had slipped out of Gabriella’s mouth kept coming back to Kolson. It must be horrible to have a secret that no one believes. One that hurt you so terribly, and when you finally garner the courage to tell, they say you’re lying.
Everything that Kolson saw on Gabriella’s file pointed to a kind, loving, caring individual. And everything that he’d uncovered on his own went along with that. So why did her parents treat her like a pariah? Kolson decided he needed more information on Danny Martinelli. He called Tom Barrett back and told him what he required. Barrett said he’d get back to him in a few days. Kolson believed there had to be something. If there were, Tom would dig it up for him.
Glancing at his watch, Kolson frowned. He only had a couple of minutes to look over the paperwork necessary for his upcoming meeting.
The phone rang and his assistant, Jack, was on the other end, letting him know his ride awaited him on the roof. He would be headed to New Jersey for the afternoon. On his way up to the helicopter, he called Sam.
“Everything okay on your end, Sam?”
“Yes, sir, Mr. H. Mr. Russell stopped by her office today, but didn’t stay that long.”
“Okay. Any sign from Danny?”
“No, sir.”
“Keep your eyes open for that scum.”
“No problem, sir.”
Kolson opened the door to the noise of the helicopter and climbed aboard. He was in the air moments later.
Chapter Twelve
Gabby stared at the nearly blank file. The mystery of Kolson Hart intensified. She thought having Case look into this would settle her questions, but it had done the opposite. What was he hiding? Why did he have his past buried so deep that even Case, a PI, couldn’t uncover it? Was it painful memories he didn’t want anyone to know about? If so, she could certainly empathize with him. But what if it was something disturbing that she should run from?
She knew he meant her no harm. He’d had plenty of opportunity, and he hadn’t acted. In fact, she’d never felt safer than the day he put his arms around her, much like that proverbial knight in shining armor. If she were honest with herself, she would’ve wanted to stay like that forever, wrapped in the security blanket of his embrace.
The ringing of her phone barged in on her thoughts. She looked at the caller ID and smiled.
“Sky! What are you doing calling me at this hour? Shouldn’t you be getting ready to go twirling around a pole?”
“Hey, Gabby! And no, I’m off this week, taking a break. I’m dying for a girl’s night out. Cara and I are meeting for drinks tomorrow night and we want you to come with us. Please?”
Laughing, Gabby said, “How can I refuse such an invitation? When and where?”
“Seven at Extra Dirty.”
“See you then.”
Gabby thought about Sky and Cara and wished both of them would give up their night jobs. She never suggested it to them, but she worried about the long-term effects it would have on their lives. Sky assured her that her customers were the upper crust of society—rich men with expensive tastes and a fondness for attractive women. But Gabby was still concerned about them.
The next day,
she knew she wouldn’t have enough time to go home and change before she met Sky and Cara, so she took an outfit to work she could change into. She stuffed a pair of jeans and a black shirt into a bag and off she went. Sam was waiting to drive her to work.
The upcoming night and meeting her friends busied her mind so she wasn’t paying attention to things when she walked into her office. Everything was fine up until mid morning when she went to use the restroom. That’s when she saw the message that was scrawled across the mirror in red lipstick: I’m waiting for you, bitch.
Gabby stumbled out of the bathroom, backwards, until her back hit a wall. She choked on her own breath as it jammed in her throat.
“Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.”
Then the panic hit. She ran out the front door, hoping to see Sam somewhere. Her head jerked around until she saw the familiar black car and she took off running toward it. Sam was startled when her palms pounded on the glass window.
“Sam! Help!”
“What’s happened, Dr. M.?”
“He’s been inside. He left me a written message on the mirror.”
Sam was out of the car and running inside with Gabby on his heels. He looked at her and she pointed toward the tiny bathroom.
“In there.”
“Jesus. That dude’s a crazy fucker.”
She flapped her hand in the air. “He broke in here, Sam.”
“He sure did, Dr. M. We need to have your locks changed and install a better security system.” Sam reached in his pocket for his phone and made a call.
“Mr. H. He broke in her office and left her a note.” Pause. “Umm hmm. Yes, sir. I will.”
“What did he say?”
“That I’m not to leave your side and he’s on the way. He’s sending over someone from our security team to change the locks and all.”
By the time Kolson arrived, Gabby had calmed down. Sam had searched her office for any other signs of Danny, but found none. The man from the security department arrived right behind Kolson. He installed two deadbolts and an alarm system. Both windows were secured too.
“It looks like you’re good now,” Kolson said. “I need to head back to the office. Will you be okay?”
Gabby stood on her tippy toes and kissed his cheek. “Yes, thank you. Whatever would I do without you? You seem to be my guardian.”
“Glad to be of service, ma’am.” He winked. “In all seriousness, you are okay, right?”
“I’m fine.” She shook her head. “And thanks again.”
“Sam will be outside keeping an eye on things, too.”
Gabby cancelled her morning patients in order to have her office secured, so now she needed to put her shrink hat back on since it was nearly time for her afternoon to begin. She was glad it would be a busy one to keep her mind off things.
When her last patient left, she had some extra time before she had to leave so she again looked over the information Case had given her on Kolson. Feeling frustrated from the lack of what was there, she logged into her computer and ran a Google search. Just as Case said, nothing came up. How could that be? Given that he was a gazillionaire, there should be at least a tiny tidbit of information about him. Perhaps a snippet from a newspaper article, an old photograph, something. But the only hits she got were on his father and mother.
That gave her a harebrained idea. She Googled “how to keep your name and information out of Google.” The hits that came up made it clear that it was all but impossible unless you had a way to continually access any and all information about yourself and could constantly get it pulled from the Web. That would take an entire security team to do nothing but watch the Internet for news about you. Who could do that and why would someone go to such lengths? Seemed Kolson Hart was remarkably intent on keeping his life private.
She glanced at her watch and saw she needed to hustle or she would be late. Grabbing her phone and purse, she headed out the door. Extra Dirty was down in SoHo, so she went to tell Sam where she was headed.
“I’ll be happy to drive you, Dr. M.”
“Are you sure? I don’t want to be a bother.”
“No bother at all.”
“Well, if you don’t mind.”
“Dr. M., if I don’t take you, Mr. H. will be pissed. Oh, excuse the language, miss.”
Gabby chuckled. “No worries.”
Sam drove her downtown to Extra Dirty. The traffic was awful so Gabby watched the New Yorkers moving around like a swarm of insects. It was amazing to her how many people there were on this island.
“Sam, what’s your favorite thing about Manhattan?”
“Oh, that would have to be the food. You can’t beat the restaurants.” He laughed. “Can’t you tell by looking at me?”
They both started laughing. “When I first moved here to start medical school, I thought I was in heaven with the bagels. Every morning I’d get a fresh one from this corner deli and it would still be warm. That was the best!”
“Nah. It’s the pizza. I love the pizza.”
“And the pasta,” Gabby added.
They both went on and on until they ran out of food to add to their list.
“You made me hungry, Dr. M.”
“I made me hungry, Sam!”
They were both still laughing when Sam pulled up in front of Extra Dirty.
“Have a good time and I’ll be here to drive you home whenever you’re ready.”
Sky and Cara were already inside when Gabby walked in. “Well, this is long overdue!” Cara screamed.
“I know!” Sky said.
“I’m so glad it’s Friday. Where’s Ryder tonight?” Gabby asked.
“Studying for exams. You know how he’s trying to graduate early so he can get into law school.”
“That’s right. Too bad for him, but lucky for us!” Gabby hugged her friend and then they grabbed three empty seats at the bar. They huddled together, and started catching up over drinks. Cara was a high-paid call girl, like Sky. She and Sky also worked together at Exotique-A, a strip club.
“So what’s new? How’s everything going? Any chance I can talk you ladies into leaving your profession?” Gabby asked.
Sky and Cara laughed. Cara answered, “Not a chance with the money I make. I won’t leave until I’m forced to.” Then Cara frowned at Gabby. “You’re not getting judgey on us, are you? Because you have a fancy title and all? You know we rarely drink and we never do drugs. Sky’s the one that needs to quit anyway. Not me.”
Gabby was quick to answer. “Not judgey. I don’t judge. You know that. I do worry though.”
Cara relaxed and Sky chimed in, “Things are better with Ryder and me. He’s getting more comfortable with my profession, I think. Or maybe it’s wishful thinking on my part. He’s pushing me to audition more for some off-Broadway dance roles, though.”
“Does that mean you’re thinking about giving up your night job?” Gabby asked.
“Maybe.”
“Well that’s a start then. I’ll take it!”
Sky asked, “What about you, Gabs?”
“Not much going on with me.” Gabby was curt, which was most unlike her.
“What’s going on? Usually we can’t shut you up.”
Cara chimed in. “Yeah. What’s going on with you? Oh, wait a sec! You’ve met someone, haven’t you?”
Gabby scrunched her brows. Her companions laughed and Sky yelled, “Busted! And you thought you were gonna keep this from us?”
Gabby looked pointedly at Cara and asked, “How the hell did you figure that out?”
Cara shrugged. “I’m just a good figure-outer.”
Sky tapped her arm and said, “Give it up, lady. Every tiny bit. You’ve heard all our horror stories, from butt plugs to cross-dressers. Now it’s our turn.”
Gabby laughed. “Yeah, but you told me all of that stuff in confidence.”
Cara said, “Not me. I was never your client. My secrets were all divulged to you under the annihilating effects of tequila.”
Sky slamm
ed her hand on her knee and snorted. “That’s right. And I haven’t been your client for a while now. Your turn. Every detail. Speak.”
“You guys are mean. I can see the green cloud of evil forming around your bodies.”
“Good. Now start talking because we’re only gonna get more evil as the night passes and as we get you drunker.”
“Grrrr,” Gabby groaned. “Okay. A few weeks ago, I went out for a drink and met him.”
“Hey! Was that when we met for lunch and you were all hungover?” Sky asked.
Gabby thought back and recalled that it was.
“I knew you were acting funny.”
Gabby explained the whole story about Kolson Hart.
Cara stuck out her finger. “Wait! Stop right there. You’re talking about THE Kolson Hart?”
“Damn, you sound like Case.”
“What does Case have to do with this?” Sky asked.
“I had him run a check on Kolson.”
Sky frowned. “You did not.”
“Yeah, I did, and before you get all huffy with me, remember what I told you when you found out about how Ryder ran one on you? I don’t think it’s a bad idea.”
“Okay, let’s not debate the merits of background checks right now. I want to know the scoop on THE Kolson Hart. Now!” Cara said.
“That night I landed in a bar and started downing double martinis because I was upset.”
Sky grabbed her upper arm. “What happened?”
Cara swatted Sky’s hand away and said, “Stop interrupting already, and let her tell her story!”
Gabby flashed Sky a look and continued, “So, I was literally pounding these Martians.”
“Martians?” Sky asked.
“Yeah, I call ’em that ’cause the damn things made me feel green the next day.”
“Oh.”
Cara looked at the ceiling and exclaimed, “For the love of God, would you just stop asking her questions already?”
Freeing Her (A Hart Brothers Novel Book 1) Page 9
