Freeing Her by A. M. Hargrove Page A

her
chances.
    There had to be a solution for all this.
There had to be a way for her to be rid of Danny, once and for all.
The scars on her wrist tingled briefly, reminding her of what had
been her solution in the past. She wasn’t going down that road
again. She was determined to find another way, because she had a
mission to complete.
    The wind whipped her hair around her face,
but she barely noticed. She hardly felt it when it stung her
cheeks, either. Her shoes chewed up the sidewalk and she ran and
ran until her legs felt like jelly and the sky was lightening.
    It wasn’t long before the streets were
shredding the loneliness of the night as people emerged from their
apartments. More runners and walkers appeared, some with dogs,
others just out to pick up coffee or breakfast, perhaps for family
members or loved ones. As Gabby moved along, the aroma of coffee
brewing and freshly baked bread wafted in the air around her. It
occurred to her then just how abnormal her life was. She should be
out here picking up breakfast, instead of running to expunge her
crazy-assed cousin from her head. Fucked up beyond anything, she
thought.
    Danny was the root of all her issues. He had
warped her life until she felt she had no other choice than to try
to end it all. The last holiday she’d spent with her family was
when she was seventeen. That was right after her final attempt.
They didn’t even want her there because she was an embarrassment to
them. She had been the unwanted piece of furniture that no one
wanted to sit on. Shunned by those who should’ve loved and
protected her, she never spent another holiday with them after her
release from the hospital.
    When she came home, they isolated her in her
room and avoided her like she was diseased. If only she’d known the
proper way to slit one’s wrist, she would’ve been out of their hair
long ago. It was odd to her that she spent so much time thinking
about the people who had ripped her heart to shreds. Why was that?
Why couldn’t she move on and forget about them? Just go forward and
not live through those hateful memories again?
    “ He hurt me! He raped me.
Did awful things to me. Why won’t you believe me?”
    “ Gabby, quit telling those
lies! Danny wouldn’t do those things. You need to stop making those
stories up. Get your head out of those books you read and get a
grip.”
    “ Dad, I am telling the
truth.”
    “ There you go, being
difficult again. Drop it, girl!”
    “ Gabby! What the hell are
you doing out here? All alone?”
    His voice jolted her out of her horrid
memory. It was Kolson.
    “ Um, running.” He was
dressed much like she was—running attire from head to toe, except
he wore fancy earbuds and carried a phone.
    Chestnut tendrils swept over her face, and
she pushed them away. Her breathing was heavy from running and he
fixated on her mouth … the one that was slightly too wide, but in
the dim light, all he wanted to do was touch it, lick it. Her pink
tongue poked out to dab her bottom lip and it nearly undid him. He
wanted to bind her hands behind her back and bury his own in her
dark strands. Then he wanted to haul her body up close so he could
bite her wet lips. Hell, his dick was probably making a damn show
in his shorts right now.
    He clamped a hand around her arm and pulled
her to the side of the walkway. “Are you intentionally trying to
put yourself in danger?”
    Who was this guy and why was he doing this
to her? “Why are you so interested in my welfare?”
    Kolson stared at her for a
moment. Her question caught him off guard. He had to admit he
couldn’t come close to having a good answer for her. Why was he doing this? He
couldn’t very well tell her he wanted to fuck her. Nor could he
tell her that he felt like they were kindred souls. She would think
him crazy.
    “ Because someone has to,
damn it. It’s obvious you’re oblivious to the dangers around you.
Your cousin Danny could be out here. Or have you