Page 26 of Protecting Bianca

“Bowling? He took you bowling? You hate bowling.”

She smiled. “I don’t hate it. I just like playing pool better. I can still rack them like I used to.”

My grin grew along with hers. “I bet you can. Do you still call all your shots?”

Her lips curled slightly. “If I didn’t, that’d make me a pussy.”

I laughed. God, I couldn’t remember the last time I’d laughed like that. Spontaneously and without any effort.

“Payne, is that you?” Mr. Towers shouted.

She nodded toward Towers’ office. “Don’t keep him waiting. He hates that.”

“So do you, as I recall.”

She raised her eyebrows in appreciation. “Yes, I do.”

She bit her lip and walked away.

Damn. Had she done that on purpose? She knew how much it drove me crazy.

“Payne?”

I sighed and turned toward Towers’ door. “Good morning.”

“Why are you late?”

“I’m not late. I’ve been working all night.”

“Really? What’s going on?”

“I tracked the delivery guy who dropped off the knife.”

“Is he our guy?”

“No, he’s not. But he gave up a description of the man who hired him. He’s a white male, about 5’8, with long hair.”

“That’s it? Well, that could be half of Manhattan.” I thought it statistically impossible that white males with long hair would make up fifty percent of the population, but I understood his frustration.

“We’re getting closer, and that’s what’s important. We’ve also managed to stop any additional deliveries, so our strategy is working. I need you to be patient. We’ll get this guy.”

He dropped his head back. “I know. It’s just not easy when there’s a lunatic out there after you. And being stuck here isn’t helping. I think Bianca is right. We should do that event. Walsh thinks so, too. He says we should send a message that I’m not hiding here in my office.”

“With all due respect, leave the security details to me. They’re working. I don’t want to mess that up now.”

He ground his teeth. “Fine. But I won’t do it for much longer.”

“Give me two more weeks. Then I’ll have the infrastructure in place to screen the people you’re meeting with.”

“Two weeks. Then will I get back to normal?”

I nodded, but I didn’t understand his rush. Why put himself out there when there was someone out there wanting to hurt him, or at the very least, scare him?

I walked over to Bianca’s office to get more information.

She sat at her desk with her glasses on. She’d tied her hair into a messy bun with a pencil sticking through it.

“Hey,” I called.

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