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Ritchie’s warehouse was in a commercial area that was quiet after dark, making it easier for them to avoid detection. Kieran had sketched the layout of the structure from memory. Then they used Google to pick the perfect spot to get eyes on the back of the building, where the garage doors were located. Tall fences topped with barbed wire surrounded all the storage facilities in the area. The only way in was through code-protected gates, and Ritchie’s gate was at the front of his warehouse. They didn’t need to see someone pull in through the gate; they wanted to see the cars pull into the warehouse.
From their vantage point behind a medical equipment supplier, Kieran scoped out Ritchie’s building through binoculars while Finley adjusted the camera lens until he was happy. The only thing separating them was Finley’s equipment bag on the bench seat between them. The only thing keeping him from reaching for Finley and drawing him near was the last shred of decency he clung to, but he was barely hanging on. They’d spent nearly every waking hour together over the past two weeks, and Kieran had never met anyone he admired more than Finley Ashe.
He was compassionate, intelligent, quick-witted, and competent in everything he did. Finley was the most gorgeous person he’d ever met—inside and out. No matter where Kieran landed after he left Redemption Ridge, he’d be a better man for knowing Finley, who’d filled his waking hours with sunshine and his dreams with sultry images. Kieran had nearly used all the Monkey Grease and was trying to figure out how to get more without letting on that he’d used the bottle meant for Finley. Resisting temptation had become especially hard when breathing in his woodsy, masculine scent in close quarters. It reminded him of pine trees and citrus groves and something that was uniquely Finley. It wasn’t lost on Kieran that his attention had veered way off course the past few weeks, but he struggled to find remorse or the whim to steer it back.
His cohort reached over and nudged him. “You didn’t hear a thing I said, did you? Already tired of my prattling?”
“Nah. I was just going over everything I remembered about the warehouse. There are two entrances besides the three garage doors at the back. You can see one entrance at the rear and the other is at the front. Ritchie never gave me the front entrance code, and I don’t think he ever used it. I had numbers for the rear door and the gate.”
“What are the chances the codes for the gate and back door are still the same?” Finley asked.
“Not likely, and we won’t find out.”
Finley chuckled and nudged him again. “I wasn’t about to suggest we try. There are security cameras all around the building.”
Kieran did a sweep with his binoculars and counted at least four cameras on the rectangular building. “What did I miss when I zoned out?”
“Oh,” Finley said as if he’d already forgotten. “Do you think it’s likely someone other than Ritchie is pulling the strings?”
Kieran worked to keep his breathing steady. “I do actually.”
He wouldn’t confess to suspecting Cash, the man Finley admired more than any other. Hell, even Kieran struggled to believe it after his brief time living on the ranch. He’d suspected the operation was a way to groom men for Cash’s and Ritchie’s illegal operations, but he’d found no proof of that. Then again, he’d spent all his free time with Finley when he should have been trying to find a way into Cash’s home office. The rancher seemed sincere and invested in how Kieran was getting by, but he wouldn’t be the first or last man to hide a sinister soul behind a handsome face and kind countenance. If Kieran was right, bringing Cash down would have serious repercussions for the good people who depended on him. They’d all turn on Kieran, but he couldn’t let that sway him.
“Any idea who?” Finley asked, breaking into his thoughts.
“Not really. I’m not even sure how I’ll figure it out yet. I guess we start by seeing who is delivering the vehicles to the warehouse and document the vehicles moving in and out of storage.”
They went back to scoping out their surroundings in quiet, but the conversation didn’t lull for long.
“Macaroni and cheese,” Finley said a few minutes later.
Kieran smiled but kept his gaze trained at the end of the building, where visitors would first appear as they drove around. “Side dish.”
“You have no imagination,” Finley replied.
Kieran snorted. If Finley knew the things he fantasized about, he would take that back. Kieran had imagined taking him in every position and in every location on the ranch. “How do you figure macaroni and cheese as a meal? Just because you can make yourself sick on it doesn’t make it a main course.”
“Haven’t you ever heard of lobster macaroni and cheese? Chicken, bacon, ranch macaroni and cheese? Buffalo chicken macaroni and cheese? Pulled pork macaroni and cheese? If it combines meat and macaroni, it’s a main course.”
Kieran lowered the binoculars and looked at him, but Finley kept the camera trained on the building. “You didn’t specify any of those types of macaroni and cheese, or I would have said they were a meal. I win by default.”
Finley smiled, teeth flashing white in the dark truck cab. “It’s not a contest.”
“I’ve been keeping score,” Kieran admitted.
Finley peeked away from the viewfinder for a moment before looking back through it. “Who’s on top?”
Kieran swallowed hard. The other man could make everything sound dirty. “We’re tied after the macaroni misfire.”
Finley darted a glance at him. “I assure you I never misfire, but I’m willing to hear the arguments you think I lost.” Before Kieran could respond, Finley held up a hand. “I think we’ve got movement.”
Kieran looked back through the binoculars. The corner of the building was lit up brighter than it had been just a few seconds ago. The flood light on the corner had turned on. “Those are the motion-sensor security lights I told you about. Ritchie always said they seemed like overkill with the barbed-wire fence and coded gate. Since he leased the building, he wasn’t able to make modifications. Now I know why he didn’t like them. Those security lights shine right on his illicit activities for anyone watching. Until now, no one took a closer look at what was going on at the warehouse.”
A moment later, a Mercedes SUV eased around the corner of the building and stopped outside the first garage bay. Finley’s camera clicked and whirred as he took several images of the vehicle.
“I got the license plate,” Finley said. “Windows are tinted, so I couldn’t get a shot of the driver as he came around the side of the building.”
“You’ll get your chance,” Kieran assured him. “Those big garage doors aren’t connected to automatic openers. Ritchie had wanted to install them and even offered to pay for the upgrades himself, but no dice. I guess Ritchie could’ve convinced the landlord since then, but I doubt it.” A moment later, the driver’s side door opened. “Here we go.”
