Freeing Her (13 page)

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 slammed 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?”

“
Okay, okay,” Sky said.
She stuck out her tongue.

“
So, at first I didn’t pay
attention to this guy sitting two seats away from me, but
eventually he started talking to me, and it turned into a
three-way.”

“
What
?” the girls shouted.

“
No! Not that kind of
three-way! A three-way conversation, for Pete’s sake.”

“
Oh, for a minute there, I
thought you landed on the dark side,” Cara said. “We don’t even
do
that
.”

“
Ha, you wish I had that
kind of sordid tale to tell.”

“
Yeah, I actually do.” She
giggled.

“
Well, as the night wore
on, I got super trashed. I honestly don’t remember much, other than
calling him Skippy.”

Sky laughed. “Skippy? Why’d you call him
Skippy?”

Gabby shook her head. “Beats the hell outta
me. But then the next thing I knew, he was waking me up and I’m in
this amazing room in his home.”

“
His
bed
? Ohmygawd!” Sky grabbed Gabby’s
wrist and squeezed it. Hard.