Barry shook his head in confusion.“You’re not making any sense.I need a reason to want to help you?”
Yes, because she didn’t trust him.She didn’t trust anyone.“Why did you follow me?”
“I already told you.”
“No, you said Jacques gave you the coordinates.You must have said something or offered something for him to do that.He doesn’t do anything for free.”
“I was worried about you.”
“Or are you working for Miles to keep me off the trail?”she asked, narrowing her eyes into slits.It made sense.He’d immediately sought her out as soon as he’d arrived on the island.He was traveling alone and had no plans to see anything.Too many things weren’t adding up about him.
“Do you hear yourself?Talk about paranoid.”Barry scoffed, looking offended at the mere suggestion that he worked for Miles.
Deflection and avoiding the question.Mac knew he was doing it because she used to do it with her sister and now with Burt when he asked probing questions she didn’t want to answer.“There’s something you aren’t telling me, Barry.I hardly know you, and you’re trying to convince me it’s not Miles, and then in the next breath, you’re all like ‘I’ll help you,’” she said in a deep voice, trying to mimic his.
“One, I don’t sound like that.”Mac rolled her eyes.“And two, I do want to help you.”He ticked off his fingers.“If only so you have the answer whether it is him or something else and not put yourself in danger.”
“Why do you care?Tell me the truth.”She crossed her arms over her chest, glaring at him.She wasn’t going to accept his help until she knew the reason.It was one thing to trust him with her body.It was another thing to trust him with her sharks’ lives.
“Because it’s important to you.”
“And why do you care that sharks are important to me?Because we’re sleeping together?”That was a poor reason.
“No.”
“Then why are you here?”Because she knew it wasn’t for a vacation to get away from things.He was here for a reason.
Barry scowled, looking more agitated at himself than anything else.He probably hadn’t expected her to be so perceptive and see through his ruse of a vacation to spy on her.“Your sister sent me.She was worried about you, and I volunteered to come.”
“Emma sent you?”Mac questioned hollowly, her mind reeling that her sister was behind this.
Barry nodded, looking sullen.“She mentioned you might be in trouble, and I volunteered to come and check in on you.”
“Was sleeping with me part of the plan?”
“No.”Barry moved toward her, but Mac stepped back out of reach.She didn’t want him touching her right now.She felt violated on so many levels.
Barry had lied to her; her sister was spying on her.Even Burt and Jacques had ratted her out.Could she trust anyone anymore?
“I had planned to stay in the shadows and only make myself known if you were in trouble, but from the moment I saw you, I wanted to be close to you.”
Mac snorted, not believing a word he said any longer.
“It’s the truth,” he insisted venomously.
“I don’t know what to believe.”
Barry reached for her again, gripping her biceps.“Believe I will do all in my power to keep you alive.I’ve been doing my own research on Miles.”
Mac shrugged off his touch and moved toward the wheel of the boat to turn it on and hit the button to raise the anchor.“And?”
“I can’t find anything concrete about the sharks, but there is something off about him.”
“I could have told you that.”
“He’s not a man you want to cross.”
“I don’t care about crossing him.I’m trying to prove he’s killing my sharks.”
