Sinful Longing (Sinful Nights, #3)(65)
*
The second the call came from Marcus, Colin pounced on it.
“Talk to me,” he said, then glanced at the time on his wrist. He needed to leave the office any second to make it to Ryan’s event.
“I went in early for my shift, and I found the video from the other week,” Marcus said. “I just played it on the work computer in the back office and shot a video of it with my cell. You should have it any minute. I emailed it.”
“Let me see if it’s here.” He switched to his email program on his laptop, clicked on the new message, and hit play. The video was black and white, and the conversation was barely audible.
“Do you know who he is? You think this is the guy who’s sending harassing notes to Elle?” Marcus asked.
“I don’t know for sure,” Colin said, then zoomed in on the guy’s hands. Lo and f*cking behold, there it was. The messed-up fingernail. A chill ran down his spine. “It has to be the same guy. The comments about the phone in his Instagram, then this stubbed fingernail, then the location. I just don’t know his name.” He crooked his head against the phone as he grabbed a screenshot and dropped it into a reverse image search. “But I’m going to call the detective after I plug this into a—”
His heart stopped beating. His blood froze. That last name. It echoed in his nightmares.
“You still there?” Marcus asked.
“Yes,” he whispered, his voice a hiss.
“What is it? Who is it? What did you find out?”
The photo had taken him to a Facebook page for Jerry Stefano’s teenage son. The photos matched the ones he’d found on Instagram.
“Lee Stefano. The shooter’s son. And it looks like he’s following in his father’s footsteps. He calls himself Wicked Jack, and he’s in the Royal Sinners.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
Sophie’s hand was adorned with the most gorgeous diamond Elle had ever seen. Brilliant and vintage cut, it was one hundred percent Sophie. Elle held her friend’s left hand and couldn’t stop oohing and ahhing at the beautiful bling. Nor could Shannon.
The women and the men gathered around the blue plush lounge chairs in one of the bars at New York-New York, having just surprised Sophie with the proposal celebration that Ryan had put together for her. Elle focused on the diamond and on Sophie’s happiness, letting it distract her from the inevitable turn her own life was taking.
This was antithesis of what she had to do later this evening, but for now, Elle wanted to soak in the romance. She wanted to savor all her friend’s happiness. Sniff it like a fine perfume she could enjoy but never own for herself.
“Tell us everything. Did he actually take out the ring at the top of the roller coaster, too?” Elle asked.
Sophie shook her head, her pretty platinum blonde curls bouncing. She looked windswept, and radiant, too. Not to mention like a total knockout in her pinup girl dress with a peach pattern on it. “As soon as we reached the top, the very second when the car just sort of hovers there on the track and you’re about to scream your lungs out, he shouted ‘Sophie, will you marry me?’”
Shannon clasped her hand on her mouth then dropped it just as quickly. “Oh my God, that is so perfect.”
“And what did you say?” Elle asked, making a rolling gesture with her hands, eager for Sophie to tell the rest of the tale. A Bruce Springsteen tune played in the background at the bar, while the men toasted to Ryan. Colin, Michael, and Sophie’s brother John—one of the most handsome detectives Elle had ever seen, with his dark blond hair and blue eyes—were all there. “Well, obviously you said yes,” Elle quickly supplied. “But how? Tell us, tell us.”
“I shouted yes! It was that simple,” Sophie said and her joy was infectious. Elle beamed as she listened. She couldn’t stop smiling. Not even the specter of the rest of her evening could cast a pall on this moment.
Ryan leaned in, draped an arm around Sophie, and raised his finger in the air. “Actually, to be precise, she said ‘Oh my God, yes, yes, yes.’”
Sophie swatted him on the elbow. “Ryan Sloan.”
“Sophie Sloan,” he countered.
He tugged her in for a kiss, and even though Elle’s chest ached with sadness, she clapped loudly and cheered them on. She couldn’t help it. This kind of bliss needed to be celebrated, even if a relationship like that was too risky for her. Even though love was biting her in the ass.
Oh, wait.
That was Colin grasping her rear. He brushed his lips to her ear. “You look beautiful tonight,” he whispered. “And I’ll be right back. I need to talk to John. But I have good news.”
She flashed him a smile. “Can’t wait,” she said, her eyes following him briefly as he walked into the casino with Sophie’s brother. But truth be told, she could wait, because she desperately needed the second-hand high she was getting from Sophie’s tale. The only good news would be that her stalker was arrested, and she doubted that was the case, so she opted to exist in this bubble of happiness for a few more minutes.
“Tell us the rest,” Elle demanded when Sophie and Ryan managed to pry their lips off each other.
“I need every single detail of how my brother finally got down on one knee,” Shannon added.
Sophie laced her fingers together and continued. “As soon as the cars stopped and everyone got off the rollercoaster, the attendant handed Ryan the box. Ryan didn’t want to have it on the ride, obviously, since it goes upside down. He stepped off the car, reached for my hand, dropped down on one knee, flipped open the box, and said…” Sophie stopped to clasp her hand on her heart. “‘You are the love of my life. And I have never wanted anything more than I want to marry you and spend the rest of my life with you.’”