Page 104 of Xander

Just one. I cracked open an eye, and two pink lines reached my gaze.

Oh no, I thought. Oh fuck.

What was I supposed to do?

Now, Xander would use the conservatorship to force me into being with him for good, and our baby would be just as much a prisoner as me. What would stop him from leveraging it, too?

The old Xander would never use a child as a pawn for personal gain. But the man he had become was not the old Xander.

This man reminded me of Henry.

A crueler, more competent version of Henry who had gotten me to care about him in a way that I never had with the original Henry.

A Henry who had made me hope for something better.

My phone buzzed from the table I’d left it on in my haste. Wiping my eyes clear of the tears that had formed, I looked at the message.

There was no point in calling for help, I thought miserably. Now that Xander had resorted to Henry’s old tricks and started monitoring my phone, anyone I messaged could be used against me. I thought back to a moment early in my marriage when I had spoken to a colleague about some of my concerns about my “husband.” She had been sympathetic and invited me for a chat, not knowing that our texts were being routed to Henry.

He had taken me aside and said, “You sound a little paranoid, Jordan. Be careful how you speak to others. You’ve come so far, and it would be a shame if you ended up back where you started.”

Needless to say, I ended up blowing off that woman. She was probably still wondering what my problem was, and I felt really bad about that.

Unknown: Jordan, it’s Michelle. There are some flowers here for you. I’ve notified Xander, but he isn’t responding. They want you to sign for them.

Had Xander tried to buy me off with flowers? Another piece of my heart flaked off at this classic Henry move. Of course, his father’s favorite attempt at bribery had been jewelry, but I supposed it was only a matter of time.

I kicked my nightstand, causing the replacement lamp to rattle. Then I composed myself and went downstairs to receive my wonderful apology flowers, leaving my phone on the table.

The men were still arguing in the living room. Xander was shouting over the low rumble of Joe’s voice. They would likely be at it for at least an hour, I thought, feeling a shard of pity for Jasper. This had to be traumatic for him, having grown up dealing with these exact kinds of shouting matches with his father.

Xander had always been so careful and thoughtful about his brother and his triggers. Protective. There had been a time when he had always stepped in between his younger brother and his father, cushioning him from the brunt of his father’s wrath as if he were the father shielding his child.

Now, he was putting Jasper through the same kind of hell, and he could not see it.

Fuck, I was going to cry again.

I walked right past them toward the door, stepping out into the garden. There was a crisp, cold breeze scented with flowers. What bloomed in winter? I wasn’t sure. Grass, hay. I shook my head, stepping under the shadow of the Japanese maple that towered over the drive.

I couldn’t even be surprised this was happening to me.

I hadn’t thought Henry would hit me, either. Or kick me.

Every betrayal from every man in my life had always started in a slow cascade. You didn’t see the avalanche for what it really was until you were nearly buried and couldn’t breathe.

Why should this be any different?

My eyes lifted to regard the property and the spacious driveway, just as another car rolled down the street. A gunmetal-colored Mustang. Was that the flower truck? Didn’t they normally come in a delivery van?

I eyed it warily, wondering if it was more security detail. When Xander had assigned guards to me, they had often arrived and departed in cars like this. Perhaps he had ordered more in anticipation of keeping me here.

Maybe his new intention was to hold me in this house under armed guard.

God, I couldn’t tell him about the baby. If he suspected, even for a moment, that I was pregnant, there was no way he would ever let me go. Not after what he’d said before, and the hunger in his eyes when he’d told me that he hoped I’d gotten pregnant.

I glanced at the car again, wondering if I ought to go to them for help. But would a crazed woman running out into the road be a check in my favor when it came to the fight for my own sanity? Probably not. Xander said the staff had my institution on speed dial. For all I knew, he’d gotten his neighbors involved in my “care.”

Just as I’d dismissed the idling vehicle, the car stopped, and a man swung out. A man so familiar, and yet so out of place in this current context, that I blinked rapidly, unable at first to place him here.