Page 54 of On The Beach

"Why?" I cocked an eyebrow. "You think you're the first person to come looking for me? You manipulated my mother into getting her to tell you where I was. There's a reason no one knows. Did you think that my privacy meant nothing?"

Okay, so maybe that was the wrong approach to take because she looked stricken. But I was cornered, and what did a rabid animal do when that happened? It attacked.

"You knew why I needed you."

I laughed without humor. "And you think you're the first pharma executive to chase me down? Newsflash, Babycakes—you're not the first corporate climber to try to use me to benefit their career."

"I'mnota corporate climber," she breathed. Her arms tightened around her waist as if she couldn't believe this was happening.

Well, hell, woman, neither the fuck can I.

"Really?" I mocked.

Stop it, Mick. Just because you got caught doesn't mean you have to be an asshole.This came from the guy with the horns on my shoulder. When your evil subconscious is telling you that you're being a dick, then you're really far gone. I was.

"You didn't have to pretend to be…. You didn't." She looked adorably sad and broken, and all I wanted to do was hold her and tell her it was going to be alright. But I was a practical man, and I knew that shit wasn't true, so I took the easy pathagain.

"Yeah, well, it seemed like that was the version of me you wanted, Belle. Come on, don't tell me you didn't enjoy your little island fling with a beach bum?" And then, because I was indeed an asshole, I added with a leer, "You came here to use me…I just let you use medifferently."

She recoiled, her eyes filled with a pain that cut deeper than I wanted to admit. "Use you? Mick, I didn't come here touseyou. I came to find someone who could help me make a difference, who could save lives."

"You forget, I know your type. Hell, I was your type. But even I didn't go chasing someone to put a notch on my professional bedpost to a fucking Caribbean island at the ass end of nowhere. I wasneverthat desperate."

She swallowed.

Stop it, Mick. You're hurting her.

"I told you what I was trying to do, and you let me go on, day after day, thinking I was chasing a ghost," she protested, her voice low.

"Because Iwasa ghost, Belle! You wanted Dr. Augustus for whatever little piece of scientific fame you were after. Don't act like it's some big charity mission when it's really just your shot at a published paper and a plaque on your wall."

She shook her head, biting back tears. "You don't understand. This isn't about fame for me. This is about saving kids' lives, about giving them a chance that no one else can?—"

"Right. And it just happens to be good for your career, too," I cut in, my voice hard, merciless. "Don't pretend this is all some selfless crusade. You're exactly like I was. Chasing awards, papers, that next title in front of your name. You've been ticking boxes since you got here, checking offfind the reclusive scientistandsave the day. But let me tell you something,Lady Freeze: you're not saving anyone here, least of all me."

I heard Franco hiss, and I realized he was standing behind me.

"Hey, Mick, why don't you and I go for a walk?" Franco suggested, his hand on my arm.

I shrugged him off.

The hurt in Belle's eyes was so raw that it almost made me stop.Almost. But I couldn't let her in, couldn't let her tear open all those pieces of my past I'd worked so damn hard to bury.

"I thought…" She choked on her words, her voice so soft I almost missed it. "I thought you cared. I thought…this was real."

I laughed, though it tasted bitter. "Real? What the fuck are you talking about? You came to find me, and I decided to have a little fun with it. No harm, no foul."

"Mick," RiRi said sharply. "Get da fuck out of my bar.Now."

I turned around. "What? You all knew what was going on and?—"

"Shut the fuck up, Mick," Cato said, his voice hard. "You're being cruel, and you're gonna get an ass-kicking if you don't shut your pie hole."

"Fuck this!" I threw my arms up in the air and then turned to look at Belle. "I'm signing fucking nothing. Got it? And don't you fucking dare tell anyone where I am and ruin mypeace of mind and my life. If you do, I still have a name in the industry, and I'll blackball you."

She took a step back at that.

What the fuck was I doing?

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