Because Of A Girl. Janice Kay Johnson

And then there was Emily. Whatever she knew or didn’t, she was scared, just as her mother had said. At her age, she should believe in easy explanations. There were a lot of logical reasons for a teenager to go AWOL. Happened all the time. But Emily had known from the minute Sabra disappeared that she was in trouble.

      Mulling it over, he decided Emily Harper’s fear had been the most contagious of all.

      And part of what had him on edge? Teenagers would do a lot to protect a friend, a boyfriend. But despite their natural desire to pull back from parents, that loyalty ran deepest of all. Emily would be most likely to keep her mouth shut if she knew or feared something bad about her mother. She was angry at her mom, no question. Could be normal teenage rebellion. But what if her anger had a different cause?

      If that was the case, breaking down her resistance wouldn’t be easy. Even abused kids wouldn’t speak out against a parent. The fear of the unknown was too great. In Emily’s case...he didn’t know if she had anyone else. Was her father in the picture? Aunts, uncles, grandparents? He’d have to find out.

      Jack pulled into the lot behind the police station, parked and then sat there for a long time, frustrated and confused, uncomfortably aware he was stumbling over his own preconceptions when it came to Meg Harper—when he wasn’t imagining her naked instead. And he liked that even less, given the root of those preconceptions.

      Groaning, he bumped his head a couple of times against the headrest.

      So, okay. He knew what was eating at him. That meant he could adjust accordingly. Starting now.

      Jack got out, locked his vehicle and, as he hunched his shoulders against a chill that did not feel like spring, tried to figure out what came next.