Three boys in a car. Two, hardened gangbangers, criminals well versed in violence. One, the youngest brother, creeping up on manhood, still unblooded. Qebhet was fast starting to suspect how the gun had gotten into Kaden's hands, why he had almost shot a woman against his will, and it left a sick taste in her mouth.
"It matters," she said softly, "because you made a choice in your heart. Somebody, I think, tried to steal that choice from you. They put a gun in your hand and they tried to force you to fire it. Kaden, what happened was truly terrible, but it wasn't your fault."