Page 83 of Unofficial

Landry doesn't move for the door. Instead, he steps into the living room and stands directly in front of Jess. "You deserve everything he puts you through. Remember that when you're sobbing on the bathroom floor, wishing you would've chosen me."

"Whether or not he leaves me sobbing on the bathroom floor, I will never wish I chose you, Landry. This person seems to be the real you, and I don't like him. No matter what, walking away from you was the best decision I ever made."

"You're going to regret that thought one day, baby," he says, getting closer still.

Kade can't take it any longer, and he steps in, pushing the man back. "Back off. Or better yet, get the hell out."

"Don't touch me again, man. If you do, it's not going to end well for you," Landry says.

"You weren't invited here, and you're not with her anymore. It's obvious why she wants to be free of you, and she is. Just accept it and walk away like a man."

"A man? You're telling me how to be a man?"

Clenching his fists again, Kade glares at him. "I'm not going to keep warning you. Either you walk away, or you get carried away."

"Is that right?"

"You crossed a line getting in her face like that. You may be able to intimidate a woman half a foot shorter than you, but you can't intimidate me. Your actions have her flinching like someone might hit her, and that's never okay. You can be mad all you want, but the moment you make a woman question whether or not your anger will get physical with her, you've gone too far."

"You think she's scared of me? No, she's scared of you."

He can see Jess looking between them in his peripheral vision, but Kade never takes his eyes off Landry. Landry, however, breaks eye contact to look at Jess.

"If he scares you, Jess, you don't have to be afraid. I'll kick his ass for you."

"And what would you expect to be the reward?" she asks. "I'm not scared of Kade. And, for the most part, I'm not scared of you. But when you get angry, there's no telling what you'll do. You need to get some help, Landry, because one day, you're going to snap, and my worry for you is that it's going to be something you can't easily come back from."

"You're worried about me? I'm worried I should go to the clinic to get tested for whatever it is you may have passed along from him or any other sleazeball you were seeing. I just pray it's curable with medication."

Jess nods and looks at the floor. "Okay, Landry."

"That's all you have to say? Is that your way of saying you gave me something? Were you out whoring around the entire time we were together?"

"Back off-"

Jess puts her hand on Kade's bicep. "I'm done engaging with you, Landry. You obviously want a fight, and I don't want to be part of it. You need to leave."

"And you need to pull your head out of your ass and see he's playing you for a fool!" Landry shouts. "Or maybe that's what you want. Maybe you get off on the pain of being cheated on."

"If that were the case, she'd still be with you," Kade says. "She told you to leave, so you need to get the hell out of here."

Landry laughs. "She deserves a man like you. The playboy and the naïve princess, who will live nothing but a life of misery and pain."

"Then let us live it," Jess says. "For the love of God, just leave."

"God, I can't believe how I missed it before."

Kade cracks his knuckles. If this man doesn't get out of Jess's house in the next thirty seconds, he may not be fully in control of his actions. Knocking his ass out will feel great.

"Great. Door. There. Use it," Jess says.

"You're just a bitch who strung me along like he strung you along. And you get away with it because you're pretty, but the truth is, you're not that pretty. The fact you have perky tits and keep the goodies under lock and key makes you seem more attractive than you are, but your personality makes you ugly. You used to be a solid six on a good night, but now I can see you're nothing more than a three. I'm a solid nine, and while naked, you're at least a seven, it's not worth it anymore."

His words have the intended effect because Jess lets out a silent chuckle, and her face can't hide the pain.

"Coming from the man who told me she was an emerald in a sea of diamonds? You're just trying to hurt her now," Kade says. "And that's over the line. You have thirty seconds to get out of here."

"I was trying to rub it in your face that I got the girl you can't have anymore. She's a dime a dozen, and she's not worth the spit it takes to lube her up."

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