Freeing Her by A. M. Hargrove

Right, Roberta, I’m
preaching to the choir here, aren’t I?” Gabby laughed.
    “ Come on, let’s get out of
here.”
    “ Hang on a minute. I need
to check on a patient.” Gabby made a quick call to see how Juliana
was and discovered she was doing as well as could be expected for
the first day in rehab.
    The two women headed out together and rode
the subway, but Gabby was unaware that she was being watched. And
she didn’t know that Danny followed her all the way home. He
grinned as the doorman opened the door for her. He took note of the
address, the number of security measures, and how many men were in
the lobby once she’d entered the elevator. Danny was no slouch. He
walked around the block several times until he satisfied himself
that this place could be a possible entry for him. He could rest
easy now that Gabby was back within his reach. Soon she would be
his.
     
    # # #
     
    Gabby was back at work the next day, but she
felt achy. She missed her morning run, all because of Kolson. He’d
made her feel unsafe. She analyzed the situation and felt silly
about it now. She’d been in Manhattan for a while and never felt
uncomfortable about her early morning runs. That was the only time
she had to get her stress-relieving exercise in. Why did he make
her feel guilty about it?
    She needed the exercise and couldn’t afford
to join a gym. Her hours after work were usually taken up with
volunteering at NA, the hospital, or the women’s shelter, so the
mornings were her only option. She’d get a big can of pepper spray
and be done with it.
    Her phone rang and she was secretly happy to
hear Kolson’s voice.
    “ Are you free for dinner
tonight? I promise not to be annoying.”
    She could sense the smile behind his words.
“I’m afraid I’m not. I’m volunteering at NA tonight,” she said.
    “ Hmm. What about
tomorrow?”
    She smiled. “Tomorrow would be nice. Does
that promise extend until then?”
    He laughed at her question. “Yes, it does.
I’ll pick you up at seven.”
    She shivered when she hung up the phone,
thinking about the way he’d kissed her.
    That night at NA when she saw Case, she
decided to ask his opinion about the running thing.
    “ Do you think it’s unsafe
for a single woman to run alone in the early mornings?”
    “ Of course it’s unsafe.
Don’t you dare do it.”
    “ But Case, it’s the only
time I have.”
    “ Then you need to carve
out time somewhere else.” He stared intently at her. “Gabs, you’re
playing with fire. Honest to God, I’m not fooling.”
    “ Ok, ok. I won’t. Got it.”
She groaned.
    “ I’m only being
protective. Besides, I used to be ...”
    “ A cop. I know. And I
appreciate you looking out for me.”
    “ You sound more
annoyed.”
    Gabby looked contrite. “I’m sorry, Case. I’m
just being snarky and I shouldn’t be. You’re only looking out for
me. I’m just frustrated that I can’t run and it’s the only time I
have. I’m sorry I’m such an ass.”
    “ Don’t worry about it.” He
hugged her and rubbed her head with his knuckle until she
laughed.
    “ Hey, can I ask a favor of
you?”
    “ Anything.”
    “ Um, can you look someone
up for me?”
    “ You mean run a background
check?”
    “ Sort of.” She didn’t like
asking him to do this but she needed to know more about Kolson. “I
want information on someone.”
    “ How much and what kind?
Basic background stuff or more in-depth? You know I can pretty much
get you anything you need.”
    She blew out a long breath. “Okay, here’s
the deal. I met this guy a couple of weeks ago.”
    Case perked up and asked, “Did he mess with
you?”
    “ No. Nothing like that.
Actually, he did the opposite. Helped me out.” Gabby smiled when
she saw Case’s stance ease. “Hey, don’t get all big bro on me.”
They laughed.
    “ Okay, so what do you
need?”
    “ He’s kind of a … well,
I’m not exactly sure. He’s wealthy and I’m sure he’s prominent, but
there’s something