Freeing Him: A Hart Brothers Novel, Book 2 Read online

  “Good morning, Mr. Huffington. You and your guest are cleared to enter.”

  The door opens and we take the elevator up to the top level. When we walk out, there is yet more security to go through.

  “Is it like this on every floor?”

  Huff laughs. “Yeah, but you get used to it. We have sensitive materials we deal with so we never take chances.”

  “Good to know.” And it is.

  We wind through this floor of offices and arrive at a set of thick, frosted-glass double doors. There is another biometric hand scanner and right before we enter, he asks, “Do you need to use the restroom?”

  “No, but if I do, will I need to use my handprint like that?”

  Huff laughs. “I need to share that one with Gemini.”

  “Gemini?”

  “You’ll meet her in a minute.”

  “Oh.”

  “Come on in,” he says.

  The doors slide open to reveal something that looks like the Starship Enterprise.

  “Holy crap. Beam me up, Scotty. What is this place?”

  “Think tank and brain central for DWI.”

  The deep voice makes me jump. I spin around and look at a huge wall of solid muscle. Piercing blue-gray eyes stare back at me and this is one seriously scary dude. I would not want to cross him.

  “Take a seat. I’m Drexel Wolfe.”

  “Hi. Gabby Martinelli. Nice to meet you.”

  “Likewise, Dr. Martinelli.”

  “Please, call me Gabby.”

  “And you can call me Drex.”

  The doors have barely closed when in breezes the most gorgeous woman alive. I’m sure my mouth hangs down to the floor. Long, black hair, eyes the darkest I’ve ever seen. She’s positively exotic.

  “Hey! Sorry I’m running late. You must be Dr. Martinelli. I’m Gemini. It’s great to meet you.”

  Her hand reaches for mine and I shake it. It’s strong and firm, and confidence rolls off her. I find myself in awe.

  “It’s nice to meet you too. Please, call me Gabby.”

  “What kind of doctor are you?” she asks.

  “A psychiatrist.”

  “Oh, would I love to pick your brain about that one over there.” She points to Drexel, a mischievous look on her face.

  “Gem, stop. We have work to do.”

  “Uh-huh.” She leans toward me. “Men. They always have work to do when they want to change the subject, don’t they?” She winks at me.

  I immediately like her. I take a seat and Gemini sits next to me. Drex and Huff sit across from us.

  “So, Gabby, what can we do for you?”

  There’s no place like the beginning so that’s where I start. I don’t stop until I’m finished telling them everything I know about Langston Hart and what I want them to do. Or rather what I’m hoping they’ll help me do.

  No one says a word. Finally, Drexel says, “So what I’m getting from you is that you want me to somehow get you inside of his home and help you get him to confess that he’s a part of the Mob and that he’s related to a string of crimes dating back to when Kolson was a kid? And you also want him to admit his sons had no part in these criminal activities? And you want him to tell you that he basically bought his kids under duress and mentally abused them in order to get them to do what he wanted for years? And all of this while you’re wearing a wire.”

  “Yeah, but when you put it like that, it sounds crazy.”

  “That’s because it is.”

  And he just hands me my ass. This is my only chance to persuade him to help me. Without him, I don’t stand a chance of bringing Langston down.

  “I can see why you’d say that. But I need to explain something to you. Kolson and his two brothers were basically stolen from their mothers. Langston did some terrible things to three young boys.” And I begin with how he kept Kolson in the dark for months. How he deprived him of light. Of food and water when he wouldn’t “behave.” And then I tell him what I think happened to Kestrel. “I’m not even sure what happened to Kade, but he’s been living on the streets, he’s addicted to drugs, and God only knows what else he’s been through. Langston Hart is a monster and needs to be sent to prison. But he has erected a wall of protection around himself that’s pretty much impenetrable. Kolson will get himself killed trying to take Langston down alone. And if I don’t do something, and fast, to stop him, it’s going to happen soon. Please help me. I don’t know what you can or can’t do. All I’m asking is that you give me the help to do this. I know it’s dangerous and expensive, but I’m willing to pay whatever your price is.”

  Then Drexel shocks me by saying, “Did you know that Kolson hired me to find Danny Martinelli?”

  The corners of my mouth curl. “I wondered how he found him. Kolson told me what he did. Look, I know this is the Mob we’re talking about and it’s probably the most dangerous thing you’ve ever done. That’s why I couldn’t meet you in New York. They’re following every move I make. It’s not safe for me there. I have to travel with a bodyguard now.”

  “Drex,” Gemini says. I can’t see her face, but his entire demeanor softens when he focuses on her.

  Then I’m confused when Drexel turns to Huff. “Huff, will you excuse us for a minute?”

  Huff gets up without a word and leaves.

  Drex leans on the table with his forearms and looks at me. No, I take that back. He doesn’t look; he assesses, analyzes, and dissects me. “Dr. Martinelli. Gabby. This Mob business. It doesn’t scare me in the slightest. And I know all about the dark. I lived in a box underground in Iraq for weeks until my unit figured out where I was being held prisoner. I was beaten, tortured, and starved. I’ve had terrorists after my ass, assassins have tried to kill me, not to mention I’ve seen my wife—that beautiful woman sitting next to you—strapped with enough C-4 to take out six city blocks. So fuck the Mob. What I’m concerned about is whether you have the wherewithal to do this and whether I can gather enough intel to get inside Hart’s home in the time frame we need and get what’s necessary once we’re in there. I’m not sure what information you have on him, but if the FBI can’t get what they need to bring him down, I’m pretty damn sure what you have is miniscule.”

  Whoa. I’m blown away. A hole in the ground in Iraq? What the hell? Who is this man?

  “I don’t know what to say.”

  “Why don’t we start with exactly what you have?”

  “I don’t have a thing. That’s what I need you for. All I know is that Kolson walked away from his father’s business because he said he was involved with organized crime and Kolson didn’t want to have anything to do with that. Kolson disappeared after Danny’s death. His father was responsible for that. Kolson was supposed to repay a debt and his father wanted HTS as payment. Kolson had everything signed over to me and disappeared so Langston couldn’t get it.”

  “Do you know where Kolson is?”

  “Yes and no. I have contact with him and he visits me, but I don’t know where he’s staying.”

  Drexel nods. “Do you want the FBI involved?”

  “I don’t want Kolson or his brothers implicated. They don’t deserve to go to prison. If they committed any wrong, it was because they were forced to, under duress.”

  “Understood.” He reaches for the phone in the center of the table and hits a number. “Ellie, can you have Huff come back in here?”

  He stands and moves to one of the computers. One of the screens lights up—it looks like an FBI database because the FBI emblem appears at the top of the page. He makes a call on his cell phone.

  “Colt. Wolfe here. I need a favor. And it’s one of those favors.” Pause. “Uh, yeah.” Pause. “Langston Hart.” Pause. “I know he is, but can you patch me into his info?” Pause. “You’ll never know we were in there. You know how we operate.” Pause. “Got it. Scout’s honor.” Pause. “Okay, bro, you got it. And thanks.”

  Huff walks in and Drexel says, “We have a mobster we need to take down.”


  Drexel picks up the phone again and says, “Ellie, can you send in Blake and Nikolai.”

  A few minutes later, two other men join us and I’m introduced.

  Drexel begins. “Okay, everyone, this is our new client, Dr. Gabby Martinelli. She’s just hired us to take down Langston Hart who is a part of the East Coast gambling mob.” Then he grins, wiggles his brows, and sticks his tongue between his teeth, like he’s just gotten a new toy.

  Gemini puts her hand on my arm and says, “Don’t worry, he acts like this all the time when he takes on a challenging job. I think it’s testosterone.”

  “Gabby, we need a location for Hart’s home address,” Drexel says.

  I give it to him.

  “Nikolai, pull it up on GPS. Blake, see if you can get into the FBI files yet. I just talked to Colt about ten minutes ago. He was going to clear a pathway for you. And we need to make it quick. It may not be open yet.”

  “Okay, boss. Did he give you a password?”

  “Oh, yeah, that would help, wouldn’t it? It’s scoutshonor one word capital H with an exclamation point between words.”

  Blake’s fingers fly across the keyboard and a few seconds later, he’s in. Langston has quite the file. Seems the FBI has been looking at him for some time. Racketeering is their number-one priority but they can’t seem to find solid evidence. There’s also suspected murder, rigged equipment, crooked dealers, and so on. Blake downloads the file and says, “I’ve got it all.”

  “Make sure you leave no trace,” Drex says.

  “As if.” Blake laughs.

  “Just saying. Don’t want Colt to get pissed at me,” Drex jabs back. “We can’t afford to lose that connection with the FBI. And the last thing I want is to jeopardize his position.”

  The GPS screen shows Langston’s compound.

  “Gabby, what do you know about his home? Does he have guards? Dogs? Things of that nature?”

  “No dogs that I’m aware of. We went horseback riding and I didn’t see any.”

  “Armed guards?”

  “I didn’t see any armed but I saw men roaming around.”

  He turns to his other men and says, “They’re armed.”

  “Quite the showplace,” Huff remarks.

  “Uh, yeah. It’s huge.”

  “Does he have an office in the house?” Drexel asks.

  “Yes, first floor, straight down the main hall to the left.”

  Then he asks, “Can you give us a rudimentary layout of the house?”

  He hands me a sketchpad and I go to work. When I’m finished, I tear off a sheet, hand it to him, and keep drawing. When I’m done, I say, “This is the basement, where the wine cellar is located.”

  He arches his brows.

  “It’s also where the cages and rooms are located. You know, where Langston did all his abuse to the three boys when they were young. I’d like to get evidence of this when I’m there. I want to nail him for this.”

  “Gabby, it would be nice to nail him for every infraction but the main thing is to get him for the worst ones while we can.”

  “Drexel, you don’t understand. I’m a victim of abuse myself. For years I was raped by Danny Martinelli, while my parents stood by and did nothing. I kept that dirty little secret to myself up until I met Kolson. I guess since I’ve been a victim, much like Kolson, I want to make Langston pay for what he did to those men when they were little boys.”

  Drexel’s nostrils flare and he says, “That motherfucker.” He’s silent for a period and I can hear him breathing. Then he says, “I understand how important this is to you and that you want revenge. And I’ll make sure he pays for his crimes. It may not be the way in which you want, but he’ll get the message loud and clear.”

  “Okay.” I’m not sure what all he means, but I’m not going to argue.

  “Gabby, this is going to take the better part of the day. We need you to tell us every tiny detail you possibly can on what you know about Langston Hart. You may think it’s nothing, but we’ll be the judge of that.”

  So I do. They record everything I said. They ask me questions to trigger memories of things Kolson has said. I recount what happened at the house party where we spent the night. The visit Langston paid to me at the office, my first visit to his home. Every encounter I’ve had with him, Kestrel, and Sylvia and in the most specific detail I can manage. I wrack my brain for anything I can remember, from the storm where Kolson freaked out to little things he’s said to me that I’ve filed away from early in our relationship.

  It’s a tedious process, but necessary if they’re going to do their job successfully.

  By the time we’re done, I’m mentally and emotionally drained. Gemini walks me over to a door and enters a code. We walk into a studio apartment.

  “This is where you’ll be staying tonight.”

  “Oh.” I look around in surprise. “I thought I’d be in a hotel.”

  “We put our high-level clients in here. It’s safer that way. Then you don’t leave a credit card trail.”

  “I see. Is that why you handled the cost of my plane ticket?”

  “Exactly. I’ll leave you now so you can relax for a bit. I’ll come get you around seven for dinner. Make yourself at home and feel free to call anyone, but keep in mind that though our lines are secure, whoever you call, theirs may not be.”

  Relaxing is the last thing on my mind. I find myself thinking about what Drexel Wolfe told me about himself. He’s an interesting man. Scary. Tough. Someone I wouldn’t want to cross. And I’m glad I came here. I don’t see him backing down to anyone. And the way he interacts with Gemini. Their relationship has me curious. She’s strong and dynamic. I can see how they would butt heads, but it would take a strong woman to stand up to him. He doesn’t appear to be someone who would do relationships well. He would railroad most women. Hell, he’d railroad most men with one look. But not her. His entire demeanor changes when he approaches her. Dinner should prove interesting.

  A couple of hours later, Gemini collects me and I follow her to yet another part of the floor. She leads me through a set of double doors, but this time we go into an office where two matching desks await at the end of the room. There is a cream-colored couch dotted with colorful pillows, two matching chairs, and a coffee table plus a small dining table with four chairs. A small bar with four stools sits along another wall and what looks like possibly a bathroom behind it. Lovely artwork adorns the walls and beautiful Persian rugs in blues and grays are scattered across the floor. It’s all very posh with an entire wall of glass that looks out over the city. It’s dark now, but the lights are twinkling, the view spectacular.

  Drexel is seated at one of the desks. He stands as I walk in. “We hope you don’t mind delivery tonight. We’ve been doing some work on your case so we thought we would just eat here.”

  “No, that’s fine with me.”

  They offer me a drink, but I opt for water instead.

  Gemini passes out menus for us to pick from. “This is my favorite Italian restaurant, though you’ll probably disagree since you’re from New York,” she says.

  “Honestly, I’m not picky. And Italian is my favorite.” I think of Kolson and the first time we went to Giuseppe’s.

  Once dinner is ordered, Drexel reviews everything we discussed earlier. Then he informs me they’ve established a preliminary plan for me, but he won’t tell me anything about it.

  “Why not?”

  “Because that’s how I operate. The less you know, the better. The only thing I ask is that you keep Kolson and Case out of this. Clear?”

  “Yes. That was my intention from the beginning.”

  “Good. The fewer people involved, the better. One other thing. If we get enough to take him down, I would like to deliver this evidence to the FBI.”

  “As long as it doesn’t incriminate Kolson or his brothers.”

  “Fine. But Gabby, I should also tell you from what we’ve surmised, we think you’re in a very precarious situation,” D
rexel says.

  “What do you mean?”

  “Langston Hart does not like to be played a fool. Right now, we think that’s what he believes you’re doing. You need to take great care. You have a bodyguard at all times. One may not be enough. A team is what we’d recommend.”

  “Shit.” This is not what I expected.

  Gemini looks at Drexel and he nods. “Gabby, I was wanted by terrorists not that long ago and an entire team of bodyguards was taken down, including big guy over here. It can happen. So what we’re saying is you need to take serious precautions here. Langston Hart has lots of connections and you don’t want to overlook anything. On your next communication with Kolson, you need to make him aware of this too.”

  “Terrorists?” I ask.

  “Long story. Drex and I met in unusual circumstances, you might say.” She chuckles.

  “Jesus. And I thought my story was crazy.”

  “We can outdo crazy any day of the week, can’t we, Drex?”

  He half grins and agrees. Gemini’s phone rings and she happily informs us, “Food’s here. I’ll go get it.”

  “You stay. I’ll get it,” Drex says.

  She snorts a little when he leaves. “He’s not very talkative around strangers. But you get used to him after a while. One thing, though, he takes this business very seriously and going after bad guys is something he loves to do. So if he says he’ll get Langston Hart, he’ll get Langston Hart. He still has the military thing going where failure is not an option.”

  The food is very good and when we’re through, Drexel says, “Gabby, you’ll hear from me hours before this thing goes off. Just be ready to move when you do. You’re positive you want to do this? Once the wheels are in motion, there’s no stopping it. Understand?”

  “I’m sure. I will derive great pleasure in taking this man down.”

  “Someone will knock on your door in the morning at six to take you to the airport. And remember what we recommend as far as bodyguards are concerned. Please consider that.”

  “I will, and thanks.”

  Gemini walks me back to my suite and tells me before she leaves that the security on this level is activated and I shouldn’t leave this unit unless there is an emergency. If I do, alarms will go off and wake the dead from here to LA.