Warrior's Heart: Iron Portal Series (Paranormal Romance) by Laurie London Page B

of them. Munitions and firearms. Bingo.
    On the far side were items too big for crates. Dozens of work trucks and vehicles, including four brand new Mercedes, still with plastic on the windshields to protect the glass.
    Shane peered inside one of them. “Yes!” he said, rubbing his hands together. “The keys are in the ignition. Once the numbers are filed off, they’ll fetch a handsome price. Too bad we can’t take them all.”
    Vince remembered driving past this facility in the prison transport as these cars were being offloaded from the semi-trailer. Keetch had wondered what army VIPs were going to be driving them.
    Vince smiled now, hoping that the roadblocks had delayed their delivery.
    On the side window of each car was a sticker with the name and address of whom it belonged to. A colonel in Lakemont. A high-ranking official in Hunt’s Point. A commander in downtown New Seattle. Vince’s gut burned when he saw the name on the first car.
    A Dr. Uri Dobrynin with an address in Brewster Park.
    Pay dirt . He tore off the paper and shoved it into his pocket.
    “We’ll load a Merc and see what else we can fit,” Arlo said, chewing more furiously on his gum. “Shane, go get the van.”
    He’d only been gone for a minute when Arlo’s comm device beeped.
    “We’ve got trouble.” Shane’s tone was urgent. “Two guards are approaching your location in a golf cart.”
    Arlo cursed. “Have they seen you?”
    “I don’t think so,” Shane whispered. “I just got back to the alley.”
    “Good. Stay put for now.”
    Vince clenched his fists. He didn’t care what he needed to do; there was no way in hell he was going to get caught.
    He followed Arlo down a row of pallets and crouched so they had a clear view of the door they’d come through.
    Arlo cupped the comm device to shield his voice. “Where are they now? Can you see them?”
    “Parking the golf cart in front of the delivery bay.” There was a pause. “And now they’re walking toward the door we came in.”
    “Walking?” Vince asked, confused. “They’d be running if they thought they had a break in.”
    “Agreed,” Arlo replied.
    Maybe they were investigating the lack of a video feed.
    Vince glanced at the door. Damn. It was unlocked. He couldn’t remember if the latch was visible on the outside or if it was just a keyhole. Sprinting over there, he held his breath and turned the deadbolt as quietly as possible. It made a faint but very distinctive click.
    The sound of muffled voices could be heard through the steel door, and he thought he heard the word broken .
    A moment later the door handle jiggled. Vince’s heart banged in his chest. The lock held.
    Arlo tapped his temple. “Good thinking,” he mouthed. “But let’s get out of here. They’ll never know we were here.”
    “Without taking anything?” Vince glanced at Dr. Dobrynin’s soon-to-be-delivered new car.
    “We’ll come back another time, my friend. We must be patient and not do anything stupid.”
    But he couldn’t just walk away. It was like candy to a sugar-starved diabetic. No matter how much he tried to talk himself out of it, tell himself it was a fool’s errand, he couldn’t leave without the car.
    “Open the south delivery bay on your way out,” he told Arlo. “And the gate at the back.”
    The other man turned, flipping his hair out of his face. “What the hell?”
    “I’m getting even with an old friend. Remember the elementary school we passed on Old Smokey Point Way?”
    “Yes, but—”
    A key sounded in the lock. They were officially out of time.
    “Meet you behind the portables in ten. And have the van ready.”
    “You’re a fucking lunatic, bro,” Arlo said, shaking his head, “but I like your style.” Then the guy spun on his heel and beelined for the south entrance.
    Vince peeled off the plastic from the windshield of the doctor’s car just as the guards entered the warehouse. He carefully opened the door and slipped into the driver’s