Page 6 of Loving Her Enemy

“Even though I was right about that son of a…” He let the words trail off as he tried reining in his anger.

In his line of work, and amassing the amount of wealth he had built, Sloane had learned how to read people. He knew Owen was a creep the moment he’d met him. Shifty eyes, toothy smile, and the nauseating bullshit he spewed. Everything about the guy screamed crook.

“I knew he was shady, and I had to say something.”

Of course, Halayna hadn’t listened. Instead, she blamed Sloane for butting in, then later agreed to marry the bastard.

Before the relationship got too serious, Sloane went behind her back and had Hershel dig into Owen’s life. What they’d found wasn’t good. The man worked for a hedge fund, and though he was good at his job, in his personal life he was a snake. Going through women like some people went through socks, and Sloane feared he’d take advantage of Halayna.

When Sloane had mentioned his concerns to Bristol, she had asked him why he cared? What could he say? He couldn’t tell her he was attracted to her best friend. That would’ve been an awkward conversation to have with his little sister. Halayna was an adult, but it still would’ve felt like he was robbing the cradle.

“You might’ve been right, but Lanie didn’t want to hear anything bad about Owen. You should’ve let her find out what type of man he was on her own.” Bristol huffed out a breath. “She still hates you for saying anything about him. It might not have been so bad if Owen hadn’t overheard you, but then you doubled down on your opinion of the guy.”

“But I was right!” Sloane insisted.

“Fine, you were right! But you’re also an idiot,” she spat. “Not only did you insult her boyfriend, who eventually became her fiancé, but minutes ago you talked about her weight. What the heck is wrong with you?”

Sloane shook his head. “I messed that up. Like I said, I was sho—”

“Whatever,” Bristol snapped. “She already hated you. Now you’ve made it worse.”

“I agree. I could’ve handled the situation back then differently, but she should’ve listened to me.”

“She was in love, Sloane,” Bristol growled. “After you butted in, she was more determined than ever to make things work with Owen. Which was why she barely hung out with me—because of you! And it’s probably because of you she agreed to marry that loser.” Bristol lowered her voice, took a breath, and her shoulders slumped. “Even though she had doubts about him, she had to prove you wrong. She also wanted a family, especially after losing her dad. She had no one, Sloane, but Owen was the one right there, telling her what a great life they could have.”

The more Sloane heard, the madder he got. He hated Halayna had gone through any of it, and finding out from Bristol that today was the second anniversary of her father’s death only made this situation worse.

“I’ll admit, I didn’t like him for her,” Bristol continued. “But I supported my friend. Somebody had to look out for her, especially when Owen got all possessive and jealous. Making her think he couldn’t live without her.

“You don’t know this, but right before he asked her to marry him, he told her the only reason you didn’t approve of him was because you wanted her for yourself.”

Sloane cursed under his breath. He hated Owen even more now. Sloane could admit to there being some truth in the statement, but he had mainly wanted Halayna safe.

“Halayna’s in the west wing. Hopefully, if she sticks around, you two won’t run into each other,” Bristol said before heading to the back door of the house.

This time Sloane didn’t stop her. He was processing everything she’d shared, and now he understood why Halayna had that haunted look in her eyes. Sounded like she had one bad break after another and then to lose her job and get hit by a car on top of everything else.

He could help her in every way, but he already knew she wouldn’t accept his help no matter how desperate she might be.

“You could’ve given me a heads-up,” Sloane finally said to his long-time friend.

Hershel rolled his eyes. “Now that you’ve put your giant foot in your mouth, I wish I had told you.”

Most people thought Hershel just managed Sloane’s Georgia estate, but the retired Marine was an integral part of Sloane’s security team. He was also one of his best friends who he trusted with his life.

“Seriously, though, I thought you knew she was here.”

Sloane shook his head. “Nope, but I understand why Bristol didn’t tell me. She’s always been protective of Halayna. How long is Halayna staying?”

“I have no idea. Oh, and just so you know, she’s not aware I knew everything about her before she arrived,” Hershel continued. “But I have been keeping tabs on her and your sister. Though Bristol has been out and about, Halayna hasn’t left the house. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think she was hiding from someone. She arrived with all her belongings, which wasn’t a whole lot. If you want, I can dig into her life and see if something else is going on.”

Sloane rubbed the light scruff on his chin as he debated what to do. He had promised himself he’d stay out of Halayna’s life, but considering what he now knew, he couldn’t keep that promise.

He moved closer to Hershel to ensure his next words couldn’t be heard by anyone in the house. “Is there any chance she or Bristol know what I did regarding Owen?”

Knowing he couldn’t let Halayna marry Owen, Sloane had stepped in and ran interference. If Halayna ever found out…

“No,” Hershel said quickly. “No one but you and me knows about that.”