Fight Dirty by CJ Lyons Read Free Book Online Page B

appreciated that Nick never lied, not even with his smiles.
    “Smells good,” he said, taking off his reading glasses and joining her on the couch. “Lorett a’s ?”
    “Pulled pork, corn bread, green beans with those little cherry tomatoes you like, and banana cream pudding for dessert.”
    “With the Nilla wafers?” His Virginia accent came out as he asked about his favorite dessert.
    “Of course.” She waited until h e’d made his way through most of his food—see, she could learn patience—before asking, “What do you know about juvenile residential treatment centers?”
    “Privately held or state run?”
    “This one is private. Connected with a church. ReNew.”
    He wiped barbecue sauce from his chin and thought. “Never heard of them. My work is with adults, but I’ve counseled a few parents who were considering placement for their kids.”
    “So you think they’re a good idea?” she challenged him, surprised by the emotion coloring her voice. His gaze snapped up to meet hers, obviously surprised as well.
    “It depends,” he said cautiously. “On the child. What they’re struggling with. On the center and its staff. I t’s like any treatment, you need the right fit. Wha t’s all this about?”
    She stood, abandoning the rest of her meal. “I don’t think i t’s right. Locking kids up when they haven’t broken the law, just because their parents think they aren’t perfect enough.”
    “Morgan, I’m sure the parents have good reasons, want wha t’s best—”
    “You tell me, Nick. What would your own daughter have to do in order for you to lock her up like that?”
    He pressed his hands against his knees as if getting ready to stand. She was surprised he didn’t. One of the few rules sh e’d agreed to was that his daughter was off-limits. But she wasn’t talking about Megan specifically; she truly wanted to know where a normal father would draw the line. Not like she had any experience with normal fathers.
    Nick sat for a moment in silence, considering. Another thing she liked about him; he wouldn’t give her the easy answer just to shut her up.
    “I don’t know,” he finally said. “I guess I’d have to have tried everything else first and still be afraid that they might hurt themselves or someone else.”
    Hurt themselves or someone els e . . . Bre e’s parents hadn’t seemed too concerned about that. Although Caren Greene had said Bree hit her, she didn’t seem afraid.
    Of course, now that Bree was dead, maybe there was nothing to be afraid of. Maybe the parents had acted in what they thought was Bre e’s best interest . . . maybe all they wanted now was forgiveness, some way to assuage their grief.
    Morgan stomped one foot in frustration. She just didn’t understand them. Sending their daughter away, locking her up behind bars to “get help,” acting now like nothing that had happened was their faul t . . . none of it.
    One thing she was certain of was that places like ReNew shouldn’t exist to begin with. Yeah, there were kids out there who were messed up. Violent. A danger to themselves and others—like Morgan. But they needed help from their parent s . . . access to professionals like Nick.
    Maybe some of them deserved to be behind bars—like Morgan. But that should be up to the justice system to decide, not parents.
    She tried to imagine a girl like Bree, someone without the defenses Morgan had built up, ripped from the only life sh e’d known, and locked awa y . . . for Bree, it must have been a fate worse than death.
    Deat h . . . why had Bree chosen death after sh e’d been released from ReNew?
    She turned back to Nick, who watched her with a studied gaze. “Why do kids kill themselves?”

CHAPTER 8
    N ick hid his smile at Morga n’s question. Morgan never identified herself as a child or teen. Sh e’d never been a “kid,” and she knew it. Knew herself and what she wanted and needed with more insight than any adult. He admired her for