Xander’s eyes narrowed purposefully as he lifted that wrist before folding back some of the elasticated bandage to reveal the multicoloured bruising beneath.
Samantha immediately attempted to snatch her wrist out of his grasp. ‘Don’t!’
‘Who did this?’ Xander demanded with icy intensity, a red tide of anger washing over him as he recognised the bruises about the delicacy of Samantha’s wrist as being in the pattern of fingerprints. A man’s larger fingerprints, if he wasn’t mistaken. ‘Who did this to you, Samantha?’ he demanded harshly.
Tears glistened in her eyes, her lashes blinking, and her bottom lip trembling as she attempted to prevent those tears from falling. ‘I caught it on—’
‘Don’t even attempt to lie to me about this,’ he advised softly. ‘I assure you that you won’t like me when I’m angry,’ he added as he felt that red tide threatening to overwhelm and control him.
Samantha’s eyes were wide, her throat moving convulsively as she swallowed. As clear evidence that she also saw and recognised that anger? That it frightened her?
Well, damn it, it frightened Xander too!
It was exactly what he had been running away from facing these past few weeks. The reason he had begun to avoid other people. The reason he had distanced himself from his family. And hadn’t taken a woman to his bed. The very reason he had been so against Samantha and Daisy coming to live here with him in the first place.
Xander released Samantha abruptly before stepping away from her. ‘Who hurt you, Samantha?’ His gaze sharpened as a thought suddenly occurred to him. ‘It was him, wasn’t it? Your ex-husband,’ he stated flatly. ‘You saw him again this morning when you took Daisy to school. Did you arrange to meet him?’
‘No! Absolutely not. Never,’ Sam instantly denied the accusation, giving a shudder of distaste at the mere suggestion she would deliberately spend time with Malcolm ever again.
Except it was what she was thinking of doing now, wasn’t it? By giving in to Malcolm’s demands?
She dropped down onto one of the stools at the breakfast bar. Before her knees buckled beneath her and she fell down.
‘Samantha?’
‘Just give me a minute or two.’ She waved a hand dismissively in front of her face, head bent as she breathed in deeply.
‘Do you still love him?’
Sam’s gaze flew incredulously to the grimness of Xander’s face. ‘I absolutely do not!’
‘Obviously.’ Xander winced as he both heard and saw her obvious vehemence to the idea. ‘So why would you—?’ He paused, breathing softly. ‘You were obviously upset after seeing him again on Saturday evening. He physically hurt you this morning, as well as upset you again. You’re almost in tears now just talking about him.’ He studied Sam intently. ‘What hold does he have over you that you don’t just tell him to go to—? Daisy.’ Xander’s brow cleared as realisation dawned. ‘The bastard is threatening Daisy in some way.’
That red tide of anger rose even further at the thought of Samantha’s ex-husband daring to threaten Daisey’s happiness. In any way.
Bad enough that Samantha’s ex-husband had physically hurt her today, the man deserved to be horse-whipped for that alone, but the thought that he might also have threatened Daisy in some way was totally unacceptable.