Page 121 of The Billion Heirs Boxed Set
He reaches out, leaving one hand on the wheel, to run his knuckles down my cheek. “Sweetheart, I had my fingers in your pussy last night. While I never take what’s not willingly offered, I have a good feeling about you and me and later tonight.”
He’s probably right. No, definitely right. No guy I’ve ever met in Montana is like Miles. Direct. Straightforward. I’m not saying local guys don’t want sex, but he’s…different.
“What about the bike you rode last night?” I ask.
“Bought that the other day. I’ll work on it and make her shine again, on top of projects from clients. I’ve got a bike in transit right now for one of my regulars.” He laughs. “You know the type. Rich investment bankers who like to pretend they’re bikers on the weekends.”
I join him in laughter.
He rests his arm on the center console, the tips of his fingers brushing my thigh. “But hey, I love the work, and these guys love their toys. I’m lucky I can do what I love for people who can afford to pay me for it.”
I look him over. “You don’t seem like a mechanic.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah. Your hands are too clean.”
He laughs again. “I wear latex gloves. The real mess is when I’m with my brothers. You should have seen them after Austin, Chance, and I broke up that dam on the property. I looked worse than the greasiest day in my shop. Besides the gloves, they make special soap for mechanics, Hopkins.”
“Right.”
I knew that of course. I’m babbling again. Clean hands. God.
“How’d you become a detective?” he asks. “Nancy Drew books?”
I have to smile that a big, rugged guy like him knows about one of my favorite childhood book series.
“It’s kind of a long story.”
He tears his gaze from the road and glances my way. “We’ve got a twenty-minute drive.”
I don’t talk about my decision a lot. It’s too painful and brings up so many regrets. But for some reason, I want to tell Miles. For him to understand me.
“You’re probably expecting me to say that one of my parents was a cop or something. That’s how most people get into it. But my mom is a hairdresser and my dad owns a construction company in Billings. They’re divorced.”
God, Sadie, stop with the babbling already! He asked why you became a cop, not for your parents’ life stories.
“So it wasn’t some kind of family legacy,” he says.
“No. I went to two years of college. My grades were good, but it wasn’t my thing. I couldn’t decide what I wanted to study, and then, about three years ago, my brother disappeared.”
Miles looks my way, his jaw clenching. Those fingertips that had been brushing my leg settle on it, give a little squeeze. “My God. I’m so sorry, Sadie.”
I shrug and look out the passenger window. “We weren’t that close. He was ten years older and was estranged from my mom and me. I was a little kid when he left home and rarely saw him. Anyway, the investigation trail dried up quickly.”
He reaches and turns the radio down slightly. “Wait. Are you saying your brother was murdered?”
I sigh. “We don’t really know. They never found a body and all investigations were called off within a month of his disappearance. He was hauling freight across the Canadian border last anyone heard, so it’s possible he decided to stay in Canada, make a new life, but…why would he do that? Staying in Canada wouldn’t be so bad, but why not reach out to us?”
“Jesus…”
I clear my throat. “Anyway, even though I didn’t really know my brother anymore, the whole thing got me interested in law enforcement, and specifically detective work. I felt like there was something more that the guys on my brother’s case weren’t seeing. So I enrolled in the police academy and somehow I ended up here in Bayfield. I originally thought I’d join the force in Billings, but there was an opening here, and I got it.”
“You’re young for a detective,” he comments.
“I’m twenty-eight. I was only in uniform for a year before they promoted me.”
“That’s pretty impressive.”
