Page 24 of Protecting Bianca

I handed him the picture from the security camera inside Towers' foyer. “I ran it through some of my programs and got a hit.”

“Mmm…” said Khan, taking the picture from my hand. “I’m surprised you got anything with him wearing a mask. Are you sure it’s the same guy?”

“My programs are never wrong.”

Khan stared at me, and then his eyes roamed across my suit, landing on my Rolex watch. “Looks like the bodyguard business is more lucrative than I imagined. Does it finance all this tech you’ve got, too?”

“I do okay.”

“I think you do better than okay.”

“Perhaps.”

“Mmm…” I held his eyes and stood my ground. If these guys were going to keep me in the loop, I had to earn their respect.

“He has one arrest for marijuana possession, but the case was dropped. Other than that, I couldn’t even find a speeding ticket.”

“How—”

“My brothers and I have a good relationship with the Chief of Police. We’ve been given some liberties.”

He nodded but didn’t seem happy about it. But Khan had to know that I wasn’t someone he could toss aside.

“Are you going to bring him in for questioning?” I asked.

Khan shook his head. “I’m not sure. I guess I’ll know when I speak to him. I get a good read on people.”

I nodded, but wasn’t sure if I agreed with his tactic. But I’d let him lead this for now.

Detective Chaudhary nudged me. “Payne, is that him?”

Gregory walked out of the building and towards the back of the parking lot where the courier trucks were parked. “Yes.”

The two detectives quickly followed him, and I was right behind them.

Khan turned around, narrowing his eyes at me. I was sure he was about to tell me to wait back there, but he stayed silent. Perhaps I’d made a little headway with him earlier.

When Gregory noticed three men in suits approaching him, he jumped and looked around. “Hey, hey, what’s going on?”

“Are you Gregory Spencer?” Khan asked.

“Yeah, man. Who the fuck are you?”

“I’m Detective Khan and this is Detective Chaudhary. We are with the New York City Police Department.” Gregory looked behind them at me, but Khan didn’t explain who I was.

“Can you come with us, sir? We have some questions we’d like to ask you.”

“Am I under arrest?” he asked.

Khan hesitated, but replied, “No.”

“Then, I don’t want to go. I’ve got to get to work.”

Khan sighed and put his hands on his waist. “Did you deliver a package to Grapevine’s head office?”

“Who?”

“135 Trinity Place near Wall Street,” I added.

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