Freeing Her by A. M. Hargrove

to cut costs. Where the hell would the cuts come
from? It looked like peanut butter and bananas were going to be a
mainstay of her diet again, like they were in med school.
    Brushing those thoughts away, she enjoyed
the scenery as the cab made its way uptown. The city sparkled with
lights and Gabby loved how people milled around at all hours of the
night. That’s one reason she adored New York so much. Growing up as
isolated as she was, she loved the fact that she was immersed in
Manhattan, a place that had a population of over one and half
million people. She never felt alone here. When the cab pulled up
in front of her building, she got out and marched to her cubbyhole
of an apartment. There was a reason she was here, a reason she was
doing all of this. And she was forging ahead with her dream. She
didn’t care if it took everything she had she would never give
up.

Chapter Six
     
     
    The last few weeks had been extremely busy for Gabby and she knew
she needed to trim back her schedule. A couple of weeks after her
encounter with Danny, she’d begun to relax, thinking perhaps their
most recent encounter had been nothing but idle threats. One night
after moonlighting at the clinic to make a little extra money, she
was so worn out, she didn’t bother eating dinner but got ready for
bed and fell promptly asleep.
    Her alarm went off while the night was still
black as coal and it confused her. But it wasn’t her alarm after
all; it was her ringing phone.
    “ Martinelli.”
    “ Hi, precious . Are you sleeping alone, or
is your little boyfriend with you?”
    Gabby sat up and her heart took off at a
sprint. She fisted her pajamas and tried to calm down. But every
damn time he called it was like this with her.
    “ You gonna answer me,
cunt?” he hissed.
    “ Y-yeah. He’s
here.”
    “ Prove it. Put him on the
phone.”
    Crap!
    “ Well? I’m
waiting.”
    Gabby could tell Danny had been
drinking.
    “ He can’t come to the
phone right now.”
    Danny laughed. “So, where
is he, precious ?”
    Gabby didn’t answer. It was no use. Danny
knew Kolson wasn’t there. She went to end the call when his voice
stopped her.
    “ Don’t you even think
about hanging up on me, you stupid cunt.”
    “ What do you want?” She
knew he could hear the tremors in her voice. It was no use trying
to hide her fear.
    “ Do you really have to ask
me that question?” He laughed and her skin prickled.
    “ I told you after the last
time, there would be no more.”
    He cackled again. “Yeah,
well, you were wrong. There will be more. A lot more. Now that I’ve
found you again, you’re not gonna be getting away from me very
easily. So get used to it. You can tell your little boyfriend that I’m not
afraid of him, either. By the way, I saw your folks the other
night. Told them I was heading this way. You know what they said to
me? They told me to stay away from you. Said you were bad news.
Isn’t that sweet of them?”
    “ Fuck off, Danny. You’re
nothing but a sick bastard.”
    “ Maybe. Maybe not. But you
liked it when I fucked you hard. I remember how you begged ,
Gabby.”
    She threw her phone across the room and it
broke into several pieces. She didn’t know what time it was, nor
did she care. All she knew was she had to get out of there. In
minutes, the walls would close in on her. She tugged on a running
bra and shorts, a T-shirt and shoes. She didn’t even bother putting
her hair in a ponytail. Out the door she went.
    As soon as she hit the lobby, she took off
like a rocket. It was either really late or really early, because
no one was out and about, which was totally unlike New York City.
She spotted an occasional man or woman, but she kept on running.
When she arrived at the border of Central Park, she decided against
going into the park itself. That wouldn’t be smart. Being out at
this hour was pretty damn stupid as it was, but right now she was a
pressure cooker and this was her release valve. She’d take