Page 106 of Dissolving Prejudice

“You don’t scare me.”

“See, that’s a mistake.” I clenched my fists together. “Because unlike you, I don’t just bark.”

The veins on his neck stood out. “You’re nothing but a low-life criminal who should have gotten the death penalty,” he rasped, so much passion carrying through his words.

I fucking love it.

“So aren’t I lucky California doesn’t have the death penalty?” I eyed him carefully to see if I could track the darkness that lay behind those jealous eyes of his. “But then again, you would have been happy if I was just locked in there for life, too, wouldn’t you? After all, it’s why you sobbed like a bitch on the stand, spitting out all those lies and trashing my name like you knew shit about me.”

“Everything I said there was the truth,” he shouted, his spit landing on my face.

I wiped it off.

“You abused Shay-Lee in one way or another. Like a demon, you seduced him in that filthy club you worked at. You’re the reason he was hurt in the first place.”

“A demon? What a wild imagination you have there,” I snorted.

“Stop laughing at me,” he snarled, jaw tensed.

“But you make it so easy.” I smirked before locking eyes with him. “You were always such a loser, you know that, right?”

Rather than answering me, he pressed his lips together like a fucking coward.

“Of course you do. I mean, otherwise, you wouldn’t go back to a man who never gave a damn about you.”

“That isn’t true.”

“Sure it is.” I scratched my chin. “Shay-Lee never loved you, and you know it. It’s why you hate me so much, isn’t it? Because deep down, you know he can’t live without me.”

Rage crossed his eyes before he shook his head. “That’s bullshit.” He turned to walk away when I went on.

“If it’s bullshit, why did you team up with Christian if not to get me out of your way?”

He stopped in his tracks, and I knew I’d got him.

“You have no idea what you’re talking about,” he hissed over his shoulder, and I noticed he was sweating.

“Yeah?” I crossed my arms. “So how about you explain to me what the fuck you were doing living at his dad’s house?” The mere thought of it turned all the alarms in my head, and furious, I went on. “Tell me why the fuck you lived with that monster, fully knowing what he did to Shay-Lee.”

“It was never proven!” he shouted while turning to face me.

“It was never… proven?” My brows pulled close. “What the fuck?”

Biting on his bottom lip, he swallowed hard. “Shay-Lee… what he said, he said it because he was on drugs.”

My eyes widened with horror because was I actually hearing correctly?

“What are you saying?”

Finally getting a hold of himself, Jordan took a deep breath and held my repulsed stare. “That he was fucked up on drugs the whole time, so he created stories in his mind. It wasn’t his fault but yours. You’re the one who gave him all those drugs. I know that you did.”

Truthfully, he was making no sense to the point of being delusional, so I wasn’t sure if punching him in the face was even a legit thing to do.

“Are you saying Shay-Lee lied about his abuse?”

Dread crossed Jordan’s eyes, and he took a step back. He looked dead-ass crazy right now, not that I was surprised. I’d known he was a loose cannon since high school.

“Some of it, yes?” He pressed his lips together as if he couldn’t believe himself. But then, the fucker went on. “H-he was high… it’s not his fault—he had a problem. A mental problem.”