Nothing But the Truth by Kara Lennox Read Free Book Online Page B

said Beth, “if you won’t look at the folder, that’s your business. But I’m going to check it out.”
    Raleigh knew she wouldn’t dissuade her friend, so she didn’t argue further. In truth, she was curious about the contents of that folder.
    Getting Griffin to leave her apartment hadn’t been easy, but evicting him from her mind was proving impossible. She kept seeing him as he’d looked, large and masculine and utterly out of place in her feminine living room. Her stomach swooped every time that image jumped into her consciousness.
    His presence had felt exciting and dangerous, representing everything she tried to avoid in her life. Part of her had wanted to grab a broom and sweep him out into the hallway; another part had almost invited him to have dinner with her. She loved to cook, yet how long had it been since she’d done more than toss a frozen dinner into the microwave?
    She and Beth headed for Lancer and got a booth in the back with a bit of privacy. After ordering, Beth opened the folder with obvious anticipation and began sifting through the contents, scanning pages that interested her.
    “Seems the journalist has been the subject of more than a few interviews,” she said.
    Raleigh put her fingers in her ears. “La la la, I’m not listening.” But of course, she was.
    “Born and raised in Houston,” Beth said as she scanned one of the articles, which looked to have been copied from the internet. “Humble beginnings, broken home, rags to riches…wow, he really overcame some tough odds to get where he is.”
    “If that’s even true. He could have made it all up. Not all reporters check their facts.”
    “He went to University of Texas on a scholarship. Good for him. Oh, look, his college transcript. Almost straight A’s.”
    That was a little surprising. Raleigh would have pegged him as the kind who partied his way through college.
    “Graduate school, University of Oklahoma,” Beth continued. “I wouldn’t have guessed he was the academic type.”
    “I wouldn’t, either.” Raleigh was getting sucked in, despite herself.
    “He’s not all about books and classrooms, though. He has a black belt in judo.”
    “Now that doesn’t surprise me.” The way he moved, so decisively but at the same time with grace, suggested some type of athletic training.
    “Seems he paid his dues, working at small papers, stringing for the wire services, freelancing for magazines, including—” Beth smiled “— Soldier of Fortune. ”
    “A magazine for mercenaries and assorted gun nuts. Nice.”
    “Then the Telegram hired him. That’s when he started to make a name for himself—oh, look at this. A copy of his driver’s license. He lives on The Heights Boulevard. Cool neighborhood.”
    His address put him squarely inside the Loop. The Heights was an up-and-coming area with plenty of young professionals and lots of parks for them to play in on the weekends.
    “Here’s the ‘Most Eligible Bachelors’ story. Want to read it? That’s totally available to anyone, no invasion of privacy.”
    “I’m not interested,” Raleigh said flatly as she copped a peek at the color printout of the story, which featured a large picture of Griffin leaning against a brick wall, looking tough and slightly cynical—and heart-stoppingly gorgeous.
    Beth sifted through a few more photos. “Seems he was into the club scene for a bit—pretty models hanging on him. He doesn’t look particularly happy.”
    Which gave Raleigh a perverse sense of satisfaction. From her ivory tower, she liked to think that no one in the club scene was happy, filling their empty lives with drinking and drugs and meaningless banter.
    “Poor guy,” she said. “Rough life having to hang with gorgeous women.”
    “The boy likes to drive fast. Look at all these speeding tickets. His car insurance rates must be through the roof.”
    “Beth, enough.”
    “Wait—oh, hmm. Interesting.”
    The waitress chose that moment to bring their salads