Page 73 of The Millionaire's Mechanic

The memory of those shattered hazel eyes was too powerful. Wherever Georgia was, she needed him. Mack was clearly coercing her somehow—maybe even blackmailing her.

Another thought occurred to him, and he nearly slapped his own face.

If Mack had tried to force Georgia to help him, he would fail. But expecting her to take Rainer’s side over the man she had loved as a brother her entire life might also be a bridge too far. Which left only one other viable possibility.

Stuck between two terrible choices, Georgia would run.

Fuck. Rational thought flew as anger took over. Where the hell had George gotten the idea that she could run away from him?

Chest heaving, he almost tore his jacket removing his phone from the inner pocket.

“Powell, it’s me,” he growled, his throat too tight to sound normal. “Where is she?”

CHAPTERTHIRTY-SIX

Rainer stared straight ahead as Waters drove them through the nearly empty streets. In half an hour or so, the morning traffic would pick up. Another twenty and these streets would be packed almost to the point of gridlock.

But it didn’t look as if Georgia were making a break for the airport. The train station was still a possibility. Perhaps his misguided lover thought she could hide in L.A. Or San Francisco.

Well, if she were foolish enough to believe that, he’d soon teach her otherwise. Rainer wasn’t about to let Georgia go.

They turned a corner a bit sharply, jostling Rainer against the door of the town car. Next to him, Powell turned to check that his men were still following along behind them. His head of security was still convinced Georgia was leading them to the kidnapper’s den. Rainer knew better, but he wasn’t about to send the other men home. He might need them in case Georgia managed to board a train like a brokenhearted little hobo.

At least I’m retaining my sense of whimsy.And George had better be prepared to be tied up to his bed again—this time permanently.

Well, if she were exceptionally good, he might parole her in a few months. She did have a new business to start. But for the near future, she’d be running it from the basement garage of their secure building.

Powell stirred. “The tracker on Georgia’s phone has stopped.”

The use of her first name should have been a clue. “Is she at the train station?”

His head of security shook his head. “No. And she’s not at the airport either, but we need to stop her now before she turns this into a clusterfuck.”

* * *

Rainer could hear the sound of Georgia weeping from ten feet away. His sweet girl was crying her heart out as quietly as possible, but the force of her emotions was too much to do it in silence.

Several uniformed police officers were eyeballing her as they passed the bench she sat on. But most were young men who didn’t stop to ask her what was wrong.

Or the sight of a woman sobbing in front of a police station is a common one.Which was a fucking depressing thought, but probably a correct one.

Standing a few feet behind her, Rainer fought the urge to sweep her up in his arms and carry her off. The cops inside the building might think he was abducting the weeping girl, and he had no desire to be shot by a trigger-happy rookie.

To that end, Powell and his men waited an unobtrusive distance away. Since he was out in the open, they weren’t about to stand down, not completely.

His head of security had just shown him the garbled text Georgia had sent him telling him about her brother Mack and his suspected involvement in Rainer’s kidnapping.

The confession had broken whatever was left of the barrier he had built around his heart after the Eileen fiasco.

He loved her…and he was going to take her home and tie her to his bed until she agreed to never scare him like this again.

Then he watched Georgia fumble through her pockets for her phone. She pressed the screen a few times before putting it to her ear with shaky hands.

“Rainer…it’s me. I have to do something important right now. I don’t know how long it will take—well, Mr. Powell will tell you all about it.”

She shuddered, wiping a few stray tears off her face. Her voice was husky, and a touch ragged after all the crying. “We can talk about it later,” she added in a whisper.

“Or we could talk about it now.” Rainer didn’t remember moving, but he was pressed against her now, his hands covering her shoulders.

---