Read Keaton's Lessons [Brac Village 6] for Free Online Page A

wouldn’t listen. Not after ballistics came back and tied the gun to another crime.
    “We weren’t in Brac Village jurisdiction because I knew for a fact that Maverick would not have let that go down. But the city cops had answered the call.”
    Kade nearly strangled his own fingers as he glanced over at Keaton. “The justice system is sometimes fucked up, my friend. They don’t always get it right. I was young, stupid, and hadn’t fought as hard as I should have because I thought there was no way they could convict me of a crime that I committed in self-defense. I also thought I wouldn’t be convicted of the crime the gun was linked to.”
    Keaton moved closer, placing his hand over Kade’s, wishing he could go back fifteen years and beat the shit out of Kade’s friend.
    He knew that good guys didn’t always win and that life wasn’t black and white. There was a lot of grey area. What Kade had gone through and how he had defended himself and his friend was a big grey area. Keaton couldn’t begin to understand what Kade’s friend had gone through, but that gave him no right to blame an innocent man just because he was ashamed.
    Kade wrapped his hands around Keaton’s, his fingers skimming over the back of his hand. “The reason my errand took longer than expected was because I was meeting with Kota. He’s the mayor’s right-hand man. He told me the guy was coming to Brac Village where both his sons resided. That if I hadn’t killed him, there was no telling what would have happened.”
    Keaton was shocked. “Did his sons know what kind of monster he was?”
    Turning his head, Kade gazed into Keaton’s eyes. “They knew. He had molested the oldest one his entire life. Kota can only surmise that he was coming here to try and kidnap them. He never told Blair and Oliver what happened that fateful night. The two don’t know that their father is dead.”
    “Oliver Weston? My employee?” Keaton asked, once again stunned by what Kade was telling him. He thought about the Goth man and his stomach twisted thinking anyone could ever hurt such a nice guy. He had met Blair as well. The guy was a bit goofy, but enjoyable to be around.
    “He doesn’t want me telling them,” Kade said. “They’ve moved on with their lives and he fears what would happen to Blair and Oliver’s mental state if they knew what their father had done that night and what he had been planning to do.”
    “I don’t think that’s his call,” Keaton said. “Wait, if you’ve been locked up for that long, and just out of high school…” He rubbed his hand over his hair and then smiled at Kade. “You are so much older than me.” Keaton was trying his best to alleviate the tension that was thick in the room. He didn’t want to see Kade so hurt, so morose.
    “You have no idea.” Kade stood and headed toward the bedroom door. “I have to go running.”
    “Is it the whole leopard thing?” Keaton asked. He was a pretty open-minded guy, down to earth, and a free spirit. But what Kade had told him was a little too far-fetched even for Keaton’s way of thinking.
    Kade rested his hand on the doorknob, looking at Keaton uneasily. “You need time to adjust to what I’ve told you. I need time to get my head back in order. You’re welcome to stay, but I need to go right now.”
    The man was right. Keaton had a lot of thinking to do. Although he felt a connection to Kade, he had just met the man. He believed in love at first sight, but mating at first sight was a whole other kettle of fish.
     
    * * * *
     
    Kade stripped in the backyard, his skin feeling tight, itchy. He hadn’t shifted in so long that he was afraid he would forget how or that it would be truly painful. It had been so long since he had freed that a part of him, that Kade feared that once the leopard was free, it wouldn’t go back.
    He shook his hands out and rolled his neck, hearing his vertebrae crack. There was nothing to this. He had been shifting since he was a