Page 83 of Love at First Rep

Unfortunately, now wasn’t the time to think about it.

Rafe adjusted the helmet on his head as he wandered through the warehouse while holding a clipboard with fake documents on it. He also had false identification in his wallet that declared him a member of OSHA checking on the building’s safety.

“Aren’t you done yet?” Miguel said over his earpiece.

“Dude, I’ve been in here for three minutes.” Rafe said through clenched teeth.

“Exactly, way too long.”

Rafe rolled his eyes as he perused the rows and rows of shipping containers, crates and boxes stretching endlessly through the warehouse. Workers wandered through the facility completing tasks. No one gave him a second glance. Taking advantage of that bit of luck, Rafe walked through the rows searching for a box or crate with an identifier code they picked up from the hard drive Rafe stole from Zlodei. He had a tracker in his pocket that he planned to attach to the crate, once he found it.

Rafe figured out how the containers were organized and headed in the right direction.

“It should be a decent-sized box,” Felicity, aka Carson, said in his ear. “We’re pretty sure they’re transporting the drugs disguised as bottles of vitamins. Looks like twelve cases are in each shipment.”

He reached the end of an aisle that should have held his crate. A voice interrupted his search.

“Excuse me, how can I help you?”

Rafe turned and spotted a young woman dressed similarly to the other workers he’d seen with a helmet, jeans and reflective vest.

“Morning, ma’am. I’m from OSHA. Here for a surprise inspection,” Rafe said as he pulled out his fake credentials, displaying them for her to read and putting them away quickly so she wouldn’t fixate on them. “I’m almost done with this warehouse, and then I’ll be moving to the other buildings in the terminal. So, don’t mind me. I’ll be in and out before you know it. I’ll follow up with an inspection review afterward.”

“Okay, I’m going to radio my supervisor to clear this,” she said as she pulled out a large walkie talkie. “I wasn’t told about any inspection today.”

“Of course not,” Rafe said, using a fake chuckle to soften his voice. “That’s the point of a surprise inspection. It would defeat the purpose if you knew we were coming. I don’t want to take up any more of your time, so I’ll continue with my work.”

The woman wasn’t as gullible as Rafe would have liked and called for her supervisor.

“I’m sure you won’t mind if I tag along until I get you cleared.”

“You’re more than welcome to join me, but I apologize in advance for any boredom you’ll face.”

Her smile told Rafe she wouldn’t let him get away with shit.

“You got this, babe,” Garrett’s voice sounded in his ear, enveloping him like a hug and cocooning him in its warmth.

As Rafe walked down the aisle of containers, the woman followed closely, but he stayed focused. He continued to scan the crates, checking for the right code, all while keeping his eyes peeled for anything he should note, like a real OSHA inspector.

About halfway down the aisle, the code jumped out at Rafe. He worked to keep his face blank. The box looked small enough for a person to carry, and it sat on the lowest shelf on a pallet. Now he needed a reason to get closer to it.

One of his favorite tricks was also one of his simplest. He covertly dipped a hand in his pocket, grabbing a tracker as well as a loop of fishing line. That line, hidden in his pants, connected to one of his shoelaces. As he pulled his hand from his pocket, he pulled the line with him, untying one of his shoes and making a great excuse for him to stop.

“Whoops, my shoe’s untied. That’s practically a violation itself,” he joked, but the woman only flattened her lips. Not interested in joking around. Got it.

Rafe walked to his target crate and settled his foot next to it on the pallet. As he tied his shoe, he planted the tiny tracker on the side of the box, concealing it with a piece of tape.

As he stood, he turned to the woman and said, “All good,” knowing she would think he was talking about his laces instead of talking to Carson through his earpiece and letting him know the tracker was in play.

“Copy that, tracker is up and running, and I have your location in the warehouse. Call incoming.”

Rafe took a step away as if continuing his inspection, but the ringing of his phone stopped him in his tracks.

“Excuse me a moment,” he said to the woman, who still regarded him with suspicion as he answered the phone. “Hello?”

“Honey, can you please come home?” Garrett’s voice teased him over the line, and he struggled to contain his smile. “It’s an emergency and I need you. Side note, the emergency is in my pants and you need to sort it out immediately.”

“Oh! Okay… Okay, I’m on— Yes, I’m leaving right now. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”