Page 21 of On The Beach

"Mick, can you tell him that we were only borrowing the flag? We were gonna give it back.Promise."

"Yeah, yeah, I'm sure you were." I was struggling to hide my amusement.

But Ray wasn't entertained. He crossed his arms, looking down his nose at me. "No chance she's getting out tonight. I'll be booking her in for a night in the tank."

"Aw, come on, Jenkins. She's a tourist. You don't wanna put tourists in jail. It's gonna piss the mayor off."

Jenkins face went ruddy. The mayor had given him an earful when he'd arrestedanotheracquaintance of mine who turned out to be a Telenovela actress with a rather large TikTok following.

"Castillo videotaped her running with the flag in one hand and a bottle of tequila in the other."

He showed me the video, and I let a laugh out. I couldn't imaginethisBelle being a serious scientist.

"I have evidence."

I let out a deep breath. "She stays the night. You delete that video. You don't put anything on her record.And…fuck, I will ask RiRi to lift the ban on Gigi."

Gigi was his wife who was not allowed into Coral Cove after she'd fucked the place up drunk. It was a sore subject for the couple as all the good stuff happened at the Cove.

The chief cocked an eyebrow.

"RiRi owes me a few favors," I explained.

He nodded. "Fine. I'll let her out tomorrow morning."

"No," Belle wailed. "Mick, I can't stay here all night. It's dark and cold and there's a strange guy here who keeps telling me I have nice tits,"—fuck me, a tear rolled down her cheek—"I'm scared."

On cue, Donny, a local and career drunk hollered, "The best boobies I've ever seen. Come on, gal, lift that dress and show me the goods."

I ran a hand through my hair. "Christ! Guess I'll be staying, too."

Ray clenched his jaw, looking like he might punch something. "I oughta throw you in for good. But go ahead. Let her enjoy the company of Reef Harbor's finest asshole."

He tossed open the door to the holding cell, shoving me inside with a rough push before locking us both in.

Inside, the jail cells were separated by iron bars. One cell for women and one for men. The men's side was a sweltering mess of sweaty, rum-soaked locals, passed out or singing snatches of old island songs off-key. Tony was stretched across one bench, snoring like a busted engine, while Old Frank and Jerome were deep into an argument about who'd won the lastfishing contest that had happened two years ago. And Donny was watching Belle with intense concentration as if she'd drop her clothes any second now, and he didn't wanna miss a thing.

"Donny, you stop looking at my girl, or I'm gonna make sure you lose a few more teeth."

Donny grinned wide for me to see he was missing a top front tooth. "Just tell me this, does she have good tits?"

"The best," I confirmed and pulled Belle away from the bars and onto the wooden bench, away from the men's cell.

"You think I have the best tits?" she asked, and I knew I'd been had. She wasn't scared, she was cheeky.

"Yeah. Absolutely the finest ever."

Belle looked around, grinning as she slid down next to me. "Well, this is cozy."

I shook my head. "You aren't scared."

"Well, I didn't want to be alone here with Donny."

"You ain't alone, gal, we were with you," Jerome interjected.

"See what I mean?" Belle rolled her eyes and raised her feet onto the bench and hugged herself. She rested her cheek on her knees and looked at me. "This is unexpectedly nice."

"Glad you're comfortable." I chuckled. "What exactly were you thinkin'?"

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