“You’re gonna do great this time, man.”

“I hear you’re busy too these days.” Colin wiggled his eyebrows. “Getting it on with some new lady.”

Ryan swiveled around to face Shannon. She held up her hands. “Ryan, you had me get her a dress. It’s not a state secret that you’re seeing someone. But I don’t even know her name.”

“I really don’t want to talk about it,” he said, cutting this conversation off at the knees. He missed Sophie like a hungry man misses food, and it had been less than twenty-four hours since he’d seen her. He missed every single thing about her, from her clever banter, to her sexy winks, to her giving heart, to her beautiful body that he wanted to ravage. He’d spent the morning burying himself in work, then in Frisbee time with his dog, then in a long swim in his pool. Now he had some of his favorite people to help keep his mind off the woman who’d nabbed center seat in his brain and his heart.

A picture of Sophie in her black cherry dress and white sunglasses, inviting him to the gala, popped into his head then, unbidden.

Tempting and tantalizing, the image of her was like a summons. And he wanted to do nothing more than appear before her. Tell her how he felt. Tell her he wanted her in his life, not out of it. But he was no good at talking. Despite what his grandma had said, he was no more skilled at opening his heart to a woman this morning than he had been last night.

He desperately needed the diversion of this game. “Colin, grab a cue and join us. You’re on Brent’s team. Shan, you’re on mine.”

Shannon arched an eyebrow. “You must really want to win, Ryan. You know I can beat the two of you blindfolded.” She did have a knack for the game. Their dad had been a bit of a pool shark and had taught all of them to play at a young age. Maybe Shannon would help him regain his mojo.

Shannon handed Colin the remaining beer bottle, the non-alcoholic kind, then she grabbed a stick, leaned over the table, narrowed her eyes, and assessed the best angle for the break shot. She pulled back the cue, snapped it seamlessly, and sent the top of the table into motion, balls scattering, with an orange one landing easily in a corner pocket.

“Nice,” Brent said with an appreciative whistle. “Can’t even get annoyed because that was such a perfect shot.”

Ryan pointed his beer bottle at Brent. “Sucking up to the opposing team—I approve only because it involves my sister, and you should always compliment her.”

“And I always do,” Brent said with a laugh as he held his beer in an air toast. Ryan lined up the next shot and then proceeded to whack the purple ball neatly across the table, sinking it easily. Shannon held up a hand to high-five him, and they smacked palms. Ryan turned to Colin as Shannon set up another shot.

“Hey Colin, I heard your firm is one of the sponsors for the big fundraiser for the community center. I knew you were a volunteer, but I had no idea you were putting your money where your mouth is too. That’s awesome. Another one of your quiet give back projects?”

His brother nodded. “Yup. They do great work, and Elle, the director, is passionate about helping. Some of the kids there have had rough childhoods, so the center is all about giving them a place to hang out, and, man, do they ever need the help to refurbish that place.”

Ryan tipped his chin. “Proud of you, bro.”

“Hey,” Brent cut in, setting down his beer. “That reminds me. I heard from my friend Mindy earlier today. I already told Shan, but I wanted you both to know, too. Remember the guy I saw hanging outside her house a month ago?”

The pool game ceased and all eyes turned to Brent. After the murder case was reopened, Brent had mentioned spotting a guy in a Buick idling outside Shannon’s old condo. He’d snapped a photo at the time, and while the guy in the car hadn’t done anything suspicious, he’d spent far too long doing a whole lot of nothing in the car while staring at her building. Turned out Shannon had seen him at another time too. Shannon was living with Brent now, so she felt safer. Still, Ryan and his siblings all wanted to know more about the guy in the Buick, in case he’d been watching Shannon for some reason.

“Mindy talked to her friends on the force. Asked them if the ink on his arms looked familiar.” Ryan flashed back to Luke’s comments about the Royal Sinners, and the tattoos that bore their mantra, as Brent continued. “The picture I had of him wasn’t perfect, but we zoomed in as close as we could and it looks like one of the tattoos says ‘Protect.’”

Ryan’s blood chilled. Protect our own. “That’s the ink of the Royal Sinners,” he said, dread laced through his voice.

Shannon moved closer to Brent, visibly shivering, and he draped an arm around his wife. “Are you serious?” she asked.

Ryan nodded. “You need to be careful, Shan. I’m going to get you a security detail right away.”

“I can take care of her,” Brent said protectively.

“I know you can, man. I don’t doubt it for a second. But I’m talking about when you’re not with her,” Ryan added. “And you need to make sure you’re carrying, Shan.”

“Ryan,” she said, chiding.

“These guys don’t fuck around. Stefano has friends on the outside. And he had a kid at the time he went to prison. I heard the kid’s been getting into some trouble. What if this guy watching us is Stefano’s son? He looks young enough. We need to be careful,” he said firmly, in a tone that brooked no argument, then turned to Colin. “Same goes for you.”

“You’re getting me a bodyguard?”

“If you want one, I will.”

Colin shot him a look that said hell no. “Let me see the picture,” he said, and Brent called it up on his phone and passed it to Colin.

He stroked his chin and appeared deep in thought.

“What is it, Colin?” Shannon asked.

“This is going to sound strange, but I think I’ve seen this guy shooting hoops at the community center.” He tapped the screen and spoke to Brent. “Send me this picture. Let me do a little more digging.”

Brent swiped the screen a few times then said, “Done. And listen, we haven’t seen him around in a month, so my thought is maybe he was just trying to keep an eye on Shan before the case got reopened?”

Luke’s warning rang in Ryan’s ears.

You bump into a guy like Stefano on the street and you run the other way.

But he didn’t need that man’s words about the Royal Sinners to take the threat seriously. His father in the ground, courtesy of a gangland shooter, was all Ryan needed to make sure he did everything to keep his family safe. “We’re not taking any chances, because we don’t know what’s going on. That’s the issue. We don’t know everything that’s happening with the investigation. The only one who knows is the damn detective.”

They speculated more on the case while finishing the round of pool. When Shannon landed the winning shot, she declared victory for the two of them. Then she raised her cue, tapped Ryan on the shoulder from across the table, and poked him with it. “Now, fess up. What’s the story with the woman you had me buy the dress for? I want to know.”

“She’s pissed at me,” he said, heavily. He hadn’t heard a word from her since last night, so that was probably the end of Miss Peach Pie. A black cloud engulfed him at the prospect of never seeing her again.

“What did you do wrong?” Brent asked as he knocked back some of his beer.

Ryan parked his hands on his hips. “Now, why do you assume it was me who did something wrong?”

Brent nearly spat out his beer. “Dude. You just said you did. You said she’s pissed at you.”

“It’s a long story,” he muttered. “I don’t even know if she wants to hear from me again.”

Shannon hung up her cue, marched over to Ryan, and stared at him, her eyes saying we’re waiting.

Ryan gritted his teeth, pressing them hard together, locking up his words, and shutting the details in his head.