Ring of Truth (Devlin Security Force Book 2) Read Free Page A

him her report on Cortez Jones.
    Devlin read the half page before his laser stare settled again on her. “Released from prison eight years ago. Steady job in Maine. Keeps his nose clean. Is this all?”
    “Everything I could find.” On a sigh, she added, “Maybe I should just put it all behind me and move on.”
    “The truth will come out someday. But if you want to pursue this lead, go ahead but be careful you don’t get in over your head.” He set the paper on her desk and turned to leave.
    Mara thanked him and swiveled her chair away, too moved to say more. Whoa. Not only didn’t he rap her knuckles, his warning included the implication she could continue to use DSF resources.
    If there was a chance to prove once and for all that her father didn’t conspire with Leon Jones, she ought to take it. The authorities, including Global Insurance, looked only at the surface, at how his seemingly friendly relationship with Leon Jones implicated him in a cover-up after the actual robbery.
    They hadn’t grown up in a household with him instilling integrity into the very corn kernels he used to pop for family movie night. This was the man who never cheated at solitaire even when Mara secretly watched. The man who pored through every receipt to make sure he was absolutely honest with his taxes. The man whose disappointment at her youthful lapses had cut her to the bone. And the man who doted on his wife and daughters even when his wife didn’t love him. That little fact, Mara had gradually realized, was the source of unhappiness and increasing distance in their marriage.
    She shook away her mother’s calculating view. Not the sort of marriage she intended to have. True love between her and her future mate, that was for her.
    She owed her dad. Her love for him demanded she prove his innocence. She’d let it go too long. To hell with her sister’s sensitivities. And Mom? Well, she’d deal. Clearing her dad could force Global Insurance to reinstate the pension Mom needed. Finding the truth was worth risking more hurt.
    She picked up her cell from the desk, hesitated, her finger hovering over the keypad. To hell with caution. She tapped in the number Jones had left on her voice mail.
     
    ***
     
    On Friday night Cort left his truck in a garage on New Hampshire Avenue and walked from Dupont Circle to the bar where he was meeting Mara. Neutral territory.
    She wanted to talk to him. Wherever she wanted to meet worked for him. He rolled one shoulder, then the other to dislodge the tension. And exhaustion. He’d driven straight through—twelve hours.
    Inside Sean and Tony’s Pub, the sounds and scents of a neighborhood establishment washed over him—conversation punctuated with laughter and argument, aromas of ale and wine and fried food. Over the bar the TV showed a silent pre-season baseball game while stereo speakers played “Glory Days.” The walls were lined with souvenirs from Ireland along with autographed sports posters—Orioles and Nationals banners hung beside Blarney Castle and the Ring of Kerry.
    In spite of his tension, Cort smiled as he surveyed the packed room. A slender woman sat in a back booth. Her dark hair draped her face as her thumbs skated across her cell phone, but he knew her instantly. Mara Marton.
    When she saw him, she scooped her hair back. It fell around her shoulders like a curtain. Would it feel like silk? She dropped the phone in her sweater pocket and lifted one hand in a tentative wave.
    “Thanks for meeting with me,” he said, caught by her unexpected soft smile and the keen intelligence in her eyes. He seated himself opposite her. Felt calmer already. “Why the change of heart?”
    “Mr. Fox called to vouch for you.” Color matching her hot pink blouse bloomed in her cheeks. “And I checked up on you. Where you live, your job. Research is what I do.”
    No big surprise. He’d expected as much. Hoped for it. “So you decided I’m clean?”
    “Clean enough for more