Nolan by Kathi S. Barton Read Free Book Online

pretty
sure she would hurt him if he did. “I’m sorry. You don’t like small
endearments? I will have to remember that in the future.”
    Micah laughed. It was loud and without boundaries,
and he smiled at his older brother. That was when he noticed that his grandda
was seemingly tucked in the corner and having just as much fun as Micah was.
    “That man…that thing over there wanted to
know why Shane had hurt the little shit that cut him up so badly that he needed
thirty-seven stitches. And when I asked him where this…this other man was hurt,
he said that it was none of my business. None of my business. Like it’s all
right for him to accuse my nephew of this heinous crime, but I can’t know what
it is he supposedly did to him?” She looked as if she might go after the
officer again when Nolan stepped in front of him. “So help me, if you tell me
to calm down I’m going to tear you up. I don’t care what you are.”
    “I wasn’t going to. I, like you, have a
reason to live for a bit longer. I was actually saving the man behind me. You
look like you could take him on without any trouble, but then we’d have to
explain to his alpha why he was killed—and that’s a lot of paperwork.” She
backed up but looked no less pissed. Nolan turned to Joey. “What does this
other person say happened?”
    “As I was getting ready to tell these two
when the shit hit the fan, we have several witnesses that state that Mr.
Simpson had been harassing Shane, as well as quite a few other boys, for months
now. And my client didn’t do anything more than defend himself.” Joey tried to
hide a grin but wasn’t very successful at it. “Mr. Simpson’s father is saying
that young Shane here is the cause of all of this. And that, and I quote here, ‘He
should be stoned, then put to death.’ I’m thinking that if we were in the dark
ages, a stoning would kill him anyway. What do you think?”
    “I am not the cause of anything. He tried to
take my money. It wasn’t much, but it was mine.” Nolan looked at Shane and he
flushed, his voice lower as he continued. “I was going to get Aunt Rylee a cake
at the bakery on my way home. She’s been so stressed out, and I wanted to get
her one. But he took my money and then beat me up too. But I hit him this time.
I was mad. But the knife, he never had one of those before, and he cut me with
it.”
    “Of course you were mad.” Grandda moved to
the bed and patted Shane on the shoulder as he nodded, his voice full of
compassion and love for the boy already. “I’d have beaten him to a pulp too had
he tried that crap with me when treats were involved. What did you do to him,
son? How is he thinking you hurt him as badly as he did you?”
    “I hit him like Aunt Rylee did the man next
door to us. It worked too.” Shane grinned, then looked at his aunt and frowned.
“I know you said that violence doesn’t get you nothing but violence, but he was
hurting me.”
    “What did she do?” Everyone turned to Micah
when he asked, his voice harsh from trying not to laugh. “I heard this boy is
about six-two and a good two fifty in weight. What did you do to make him run
back to his daddy and tell on you?”
    “I first popped him in the head with my
forehead. That really hurt by the way, and I don’t know how you did it to Mr.
Packer without needing to lay down afterwards. Then I gave him the knee.” Shane
laughed. “Never seen a man go down so slow in my life. I had to…I might should
have backed off a little when I did it, but I was so mad at him that I gave it
all I had.”
    Joey turned to Nolan, his face bright with humor,
and Nolan was having a hard time containing himself. When Joey turned to the
cops, both of them standing there with their arms over their chests, Nolan
thought he was going to tell them something funny. But in a heartbeat Joey’s face
changed to his game face, and Nolan felt sorry for the cops.
    “As of right now my client is going to get a
guard outside this