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“Lower you voice. Either talk to your sister respectfully, or we’ll be leaving.”

Desmond’s grim order must have taken Gilbert aback, having him hastily scan Desmond’s face to see if he was serious. Haley had to look for herself. She wasn’t used to anyone ever taking up for her, except for Nadia.

“The particulars of Haley’s and your relationship is none of my business, so I won’t go there. What is my business is how she is treated now, and any negativity toward her, I will take personally toward me. That you call Haley a wuss tells me that you don’t know your sister at all. Haley is a successful business woman who can manage accounts worth billions of dollars in the blink of an eye, including mine. She also co-manages a charity that has several big-named charities scrambling to copy their success. Instead of asking me for a job, you should be asking your sister for one. Maybe you could learn a thing or two, and you wouldn’t have to use your uncle for his connections to get a job you’re not qualified for and clearly just exhibited why the position wouldn’t be suitable for you.”

Haley’s eyes went wide. Was she falling in like with Desmond? Damn, his defense of her had the internal scale she used as a measure tilting his way. Usually, the men she worked for balanced the scale evenly. Only once before had that happened.

“Haley doesn’t share her success.” Her older sister, Candace, came to stand in front of their brother. “Don’t be taken in by her, Desmond. Haley loves to play the victim. When she was younger, it got to the point that Mom and Dad had to send her off to stay with our aunt. Any success Haley has found, I can guarantee it’s come at someone else’s expense.”

The caustic accusation had her hand going to her inhaler, gripping it in a death grip at the festering bitterness Candace was expressing in front of Desmond. Any effort she was going to attempt to breach the gulf between her and her brother and sisters was futile.

A sudden and profound sense of grief struck. Each word Candace had uttered had lashed at her soul that had craved that special bond between siblings. The chance to have that relationship was gone now, and alongside the grief was relief. Their toxicity was something best left behind before the insidiousness could work itself into her future.

“Ah …” Haley felt as if the monstrous weight she had been lugging around on her back had fallen off with a massive swish. “I’m sorry you feel that way, Candace. Gilbert and Audrey, do you share her sentiments?”

“Damn straight.” Audrey’s diminutive frame moved to stand next to Candace.

Gilbert clenched his hands at his sides. “I’m just as sick of your drama as they are.”

Without Desmond’s presence, she was sure Gilbert would have reacted the same way he had done in the past when he was annoyed with her. Haley could see the flashpoint temper glittering in his eyes.

“Go ahead. I dare you.” Her days of being afraid of Gilbert were gone, regardless of whether Desmond was there or not.

From the corner of her eye, she could see Desmond staring at her quizzically, wondering what she was daring Gilbert to do.

“What’s the hesitation, Gilbert? I know you’re dying to do it. Would it help if I promise Desmond won’t interfere?” She looked toward Gilbert’s wife, who was still in the water, watching their two boys. The overly large sunglasses shielding Leighton’s eyes gave Haley the knowledge that her brother beat her to a pulp. “Or did your wife become your go-to punching bag when I was no longer around?”

Gilbert took a step toward her. “Shut the fuck up!”

Fury gave her the courage to defend Leighton when Gilbert’s frustrations turned to violence.

“Do it,” she goaded him. “I can guarantee the days when you backhanded me are over. There will be consequences now, and we both know the family hates publicity. I’ll call the police in a heartbeat, but you won’t, will you?” She braced herself in case Gilbert did strike out. However, Gilbert took a step back at her threat. “Because, like all men who abuse women, they’re cowards. They strike, and they run.”

Disgusted at her brother’s behavior, and her sisters’ enabling, she stepped around her siblings to walk to the end of the pool and stare down at her sister-in-law. Then, crouching down, she lowered her voice. “When you’re ready, just call me. I can help find you and the boys a safe place to live. Leighton, you’re smarter than this. Get yourself and the boys out before it’s too late.”

Haley wanted to cry when she saw the sadness that crossed across Leighton’s face.

“It already is.”

“It’s never too late. You’ve been lucky so far with the boys. Do you think he’ll exercise the same restraint? He won’t. I can testify to that fact. If the child you’re carrying now is a girl, you need to protect her the way Aunt Julia did me. Get her the hell away from him.” Standing, Haley reached for her inhaler to take the puffs she needed. “My offer will be there when you’re ready. He’s powerless where I’m concerned, and I can accomplish the same for you.”