Read Freeing Her for Free Online

ever
touches her again, lays so much as a finger on her, and you’re near
him, beat the fuck out of him. And I mean beat. The. Fuck. Out. Of.
Him.”
    “ Yes, sir.”
    Kolson was determined that Danny wouldn’t
get close to Gabby again. If he was the one who had fucked up her
life, Kolson would do his best to keep her safe. He knew what it
was like to live in fear, to dread every minute of the day, and if
he could prevent that from happening to her, he would do everything
in his power to make it so.

Chapter Four
     
     
    When the door
closed behind Kolson, Gabby almost
collapsed. How did he happen to be there when Danny showed up? What
would’ve happened if he hadn’t been around? Gabby’s body shuddered
so violently, she could barely unbutton her blouse. Maybe a hot
shower would soothe her frayed nerves.
    When the water was as hot as she could stand
it, she stood beneath the spray and let it massage her knotted
muscles. She stood there for so long, the spray turned chilly,
forcing her out. The fluffy towel she wrapped in felt cozy, but her
hands still trembled as she finished drying off.
    What the hell was Danny up to and why
wouldn’t he leave her alone? After she brushed her teeth and
finished combing out her tangled hair, she put on her Snoopy
pajamas and climbed into bed. Then she ran a Google search on
herself, just to make sure her home address was not listed
anywhere. If there were a hint of it anywhere, she would be on the
hunt for a new apartment. Her body slumped with relief when her
name only revealed her office address. She dug through her purse to
make sure she still had her pepper spray and checked her nightstand
for the one she kept there as well. All was as it should be. Every
light was on in her house when she scooted down under her blankets
and sleep finally claimed her.
    “ You’ll never tell anyone
about this, because if you do, I’ll hurt you even worse the next
time. You hear me, you little whore? And trust me, there will be a
next time.”
    His breath smelled like
stale beer and cigarettes. She wanted to gag. But she didn’t
because his hand was clamped over her mouth, causing her teeth to
rip into the inside of her lips. The metallic flavor of blood seeped onto her tongue .
    She squeezed her eyes shut, but he hissed,
“Look at me. Don’t you stop looking at me. You hear? I want you to
watch me when I fuck you.”
    Gabby bolted up in bed
with a muffled scream. Shit! The
nightmares are back. Her pajamas were
soaked clean through and her breath rushed in and out in rapid
puffs.
    Breathe, Gabby. Nice and easy.
    She talked herself out of the panic attack,
just like she had done countless times before. It had become a
ritual for her. Inhale, one-two-three-four, hold-two-three-four,
and exhale, one-two-three-four. Though she was always one tiny hair
away from a panic attack, she was proud of the fact that she had
learned to deal with them without the use of drugs.
    Gabby looked around her tiny apartment,
curious whether her life would always be like this. She’d chosen
psychiatry as a way to help others, those who had been through
life-changing events like she had. But in doing so, she’d wracked
up thousands of dollars of debt. Her parents wouldn’t help—they’d
booted her to the curb long ago.
    She’d always be a softie where her services
were concerned. If someone couldn’t afford them, she would only
charge a nominal fee, or not charge at all. At that rate, she’d
never dig out of the mountain of debt. She didn’t live
extravagantly. Her apartment was tiny. Not a studio but not quite a
full one bedroom, though her rent was higher because it was in a
secure building. She couldn’t live any other way, not with Danny
still threatening her. Between her office and her apartment rent,
she was barely breaking even. And that didn’t include student loans
from college and medical school, malpractice insurance, or other
expenses. In a word, she was broke. Maybe she should’ve joined