Page 56 of Loving Her Enemy

“Her room is at the end of the hall,” Hershel said, keeping step with Sloane.

He was glad to see Conner and another guard were standing outside the door as he requested. After what had happened to Halayna at the mall, Sloane would never make the mistake of not having her protected again.

As he neared the door, a doctor stepped out of Halayna’s room.

“How is she? How’s my wife?” Sloane asked, the words running together as he struggled to catch his breath.

After introducing himself, the doctor, who was a few inches shorter than Sloane and had startling gray eyes and short salt and pepper hair, pushed his wire-rim glasses high on his nose.

“Your wife was very lucky. She hit her left temple on a metal stand at the store and had a deep gash that required five stitches. After doing a physical exam, we also did a head CT scan. Her skull bone is normal, and she has no fracture and no internal bleeding. Her temporal lobe is slightly bruised, but her memory and speech, so far, seem fine.

“We’d like to keep her for at least a few more hours for observation. Depending on how that goes, she might be able to go home today. Either way, she’s going to need to be monitored for at least forty-eight hours.

“I’m optimistic that she’ll make a full recovery, but with head injuries, we can never be too careful. Monitoring her for a few days is paramount.”

“Understood. Thank you,” Sloane said, shaking the man’s hand and feeling a little better that she was going to be okay.

But guilt twisted around his heart, and it felt as if a two-ton boulder was lying on his chest, suffocating him. This was his fault. There’s no way she should’ve been floating around town without security with her, especially since that article came out. Yes, he could blame this situation on Marcella and her sharing their news before he was ready, but ultimately, he was to blame.

Halayna was new to this world, and it was his responsibility to prepare her for what was to come. Her life would never be the same. Gone were the days she could walk around without having protection.

“You can go on in and see her,” the doctor said, snapping Sloane out of his thoughts, before he walked away.

Sloane sucked in a breath and released it slowly before pushing the hospital room door open. The moment he stepped into the room, fear twisted around his heart at the sight of his wife lying in the bed unmoving.

My God. He knew what the doctor said, that she should be okay, but she didn’t look like she was all right. Between the irritating beeping from the machine she was hooked up to, the white bandage wrapped around her head, and the grayish tint to her skin, she didn’t look okay.

A suffocating sensation settled over him, and it felt as if his heart was going to beat right out of his chest. He had to get himself together. He released a shaky sigh and ran his hand over his mouth, as if that would help him get his emotions under control.

Bristol, who’d been sitting in a chair near the bed with her head down glanced over her shoulder. “Sloane.”

She lunged out of her seat and ran into his arms. They held on to each other for a moment until Bristol stepped back and dabbed at her eyes with the heel of her hand.

“I’m sorry, Sloane. I never would’ve taken her to the mall if I had known that was going to happen.”

“It’s not your fault those bastards ambushed her. Tell me exactly what happened? Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine, but it was so scary. I’m so used to living my life with very few people recognizing me unless I’m with you. It never occurred to me that Halayna couldn’t walk around like that.”

Bristol recapped what she knew about the situation at the store but admitted that, by the time she reached Halayna, it had been too late. She’d been unconscious.

“When she regained consciousness, she was inconsolable, and it didn’t help that there was so much blood. She was a little out of it and didn’t want anyone to touch her. I could tell she was in a lot of pain, and she kept asking for you.”

Sloane’s gaze went to the bed, and his heart constricted. He hadn’t protected his wife. He rubbed the back of his neck, trying to work out some of the tension that settled there.

“I messed up. I should’ve had someone assigned to her the moment we got engaged, but… Since no one knew we were married, it just didn’t…”

He hated to admit it hadn’t crossed his mind. At least not until he saw that article, and for that, he’d never forgive himself.

“I should’ve better prepared her for this life.”

“Yeah, being married to you, she’s no longer a regular person. She won’t be able to just up and go to the mall with me whenever she wants to get out of the house,” Bristol said, disappointment in her tone. “I should’ve known better.”

“Sloane.”

Sloane jerked to attention when Halayna called out, and he rushed to the bed.

“I’ll give you two some privacy,” Bristol said.