No One But You (Silver Springs #2)(104)

He felt a familiar rush of adrenaline as he parked behind the BMW, got out and approached the driver side. It bothered him that Monty hadn’t automatically rolled down his window, however. Sly had to wait while he found the button.

“Something wrong, Officer?” The boy looked bewildered—and none too pleased.

That he could be irritated by getting pulled over, instead of frightened, made Sly eager to put the fear of God in him. Who did he think he was, anyway? His father? Someone who mattered in the world?

“Driver’s license, registration and proof of insurance, please.”

Monty gaped at him. “What for?”

Sly didn’t answer, simply held out his hand to show that he could demand whatever he wanted without an explanation.

Monty sighed and reached over to the glove box. He handed Sly his registration and insurance card while he dug his wallet out of his back pocket so he could produce his driver’s license.

“Are you going to tell me what this is about?” he asked.

Sly fixed the documents to his clipboard and used his flashlight to study them. “I’ll be right back,” he said and returned to his cruiser to run the boy’s information through the computer. He was hoping to find something he could legitimately cite Monty for—expired registration, lack of current insurance, even an unpaid parking ticket, if not something bigger—but everything seemed to be in order. No doubt his rich daddy had seen to that.

Still, this little jerk wasn’t going to drive off without some sort of citation, not with his disrespectful attitude.

After taking a few moments to jot down the boy’s name, address and other information, Sly walked back to Monty and handed him his registration, insurance card and license. “Here you are.”

The boy seemed confused. “So...can I go?”

Sly took his time filling out the rest of the ticket. “Not quite yet.”

Monty removed his hand from the gearshift, where he’d put it when he briefly thought he was free to leave. “Why not?”

“Why do you think?”

“I have no clue, man. I haven’t done anything wrong.”

Sly eyed him with a measure of disdain. “You ran a stoplight back there.”

His eyes flared wide. “What are you talking about? I didn’t run any stoplight!”

“You sure did. Just after you came out of the gas station.”

“That’s not true. I saw you. I wouldn’t have been stupid enough to run a stoplight. I wasn’t speeding, either.”

Hearing such umbrage in the young man’s voice made Sly feel a bit better. “I saw you.”

“You couldn’t have seen me, because I didn’t run anything,” he argued. “I’m not going to take a ticket. I’ll fight it.”

“Feel free. But it’ll be a waste of time.” Sly smiled. “What judge is going to take your word over mine?”

Monty’s mouth dropped open. “Especially out here in the boondocks. Is that it?”

“Are you saying our judges are corrupt? I’ll make a note of your opinion, in case I see you in court.” Sly handed him the clipboard with the ticket attached. “Sign here.”

“I’m not going to sign that!”

“Would you rather I take you down to the station?”

“I can’t believe this,” he muttered. “What’d I do? Nothing!”

“You’re not admitting guilt by signing. You can always take it up with the judge, if you want.”

“Sure I can,” he grumbled and scribbled an “X” on the signature line.

“Have a nice evening,” Sly said and gave him the ticket before returning to his cruiser, where he slid behind the wheel. God, he loved his job. He was about to swing around and head back into town, to see if he couldn’t find someone else who deserved a little reminder of the power of the local police, when his cell phone rang. He hoped it would be Sadie. He always hoped it would be Sadie, but he wanted to hear from her now more than ever. He was still holding out hope that she’d plead with him not to take Jayden this weekend, or show some other sign that she’d rather he didn’t. Having Jayden for so long would only be fun if it bothered her.

It wasn’t Sadie, however. It was Dixie Gilbert, the only woman on the police force. She’d been calling him recently, wanting to hang out. He’d gone over there once and let her give him a blow job. She had a thing for him, had made that clear in the past few months, but he wasn’t interested in her. Although he didn’t mind letting her get him off when he didn’t have a better option, he couldn’t be seen with someone so overweight and unattractive. He could do better—much better.

“Hello?”

“Hey,” she said, her voice artificially husky. She was striving for sexy, but he found the affectation annoying.

“I’m on duty tonight,” he told her. “What’s up?”

Taken aback by the brusqueness of his response, she hesitated. “Sorry, I didn’t realize you were busy. It’s not like there’s a lot going on in this town even when you are on duty. What, did I interrupt your doughnut break?”

“Is there a reason you called?” he asked.

He expected her to invite him over. She’d offered to make him dinner on three different occasions. So far, he’d only accepted her invitation to watch a movie late at night, and he’d parked down the street so no one would see his car. If the guys on the force thought he was sleeping with her, they’d tease him mercilessly. It wasn’t as if he’d stayed long, anyway. He’d had her blow him as soon as he possibly could, said he was too tired to stay longer and left. “No. I don’t want to upset you. Never mind.”