Page 86 of The Millionaire's Mechanic

For Samantha, that included Vasyl Kolesnik, the Ukrainian gangster with ambitions of becoming more. Kolesnik spent a lot of money on Sam, trying to impress her. Even though he wasn’t the big fish she was trying to land, Sam cultivated the connection, effectively grooming him while he thought he was using her.

Once she had him in her thrall, she whispered in his ear about Elite’s biggest, richest client.

But Kolesnik didn’t know how to pull off the kidnapping for ransom. He was effectively a lackey for bigger criminals who used brute force and intimidation to make their way in the world. So, it was Sam who had to put the plan together. The original idea had been to set up some sort of honey trap, throwing Ukrainian prostitutes in Rainer’s path until he took the bait, something he never did.

“Good thing there aren’t a lot of hot black Ukrainian prostitutes,” Georgia had grumbled.

Rainer had patted her ass consolingly, assuring her it wouldn’t have worked. Especially since his social life had come to a grinding halt after the Elaine incident.

The honey trap stalled, Sam had brought Mack into the inner circle, somehow convincing Kolesnik that they needed him to figure out a new path because Mack was a genius when it came to strategy.

Mack’s idea was much simpler—watch Rainer until the right opportunity presented itself. After learning what bank he did business with, it wasn’t difficult for Sam to make friends with one of the bank receptionists. Dishing about the handsome multi-millionaire was a favorite pastime for single females everywhere he went.

But Kolesnik didn’t like the idea of being edged out by another man. Aware he’d sooner get a bullet in the back of the head than a dime of the ransom money, Mack decided to bow out early. Sam was more than willing to pretend she had killed him because he was a loose end, and as a show of loyalty to Kolesnik.

The gangster was so pleased with Sam that he was more than willing to follow her lead for the rest of the plan. That included demanding any ransom be sent to a Cayman bank account. Kolesnik had no idea Mack had set up the account, or that all the funds would automatically be transferred to another bank in Switzerland once Sam had safely ditched him. Then Mack and Sam would split the money fifty-fifty.

But Georgia had ruined everything for them by warning Rainer.

Aware something had gone wrong after the men they had following Rainer ended up at Ephraim’s house, Sam had decided to call things off, especially after Powell had tracked down and arrested Kolesnik.

Then Judy confirmed something Sam suspected—that Georgia and Rainer were together. A few weeks later, they were engaged. The fact that grease-monkey Georgia had succeeded where she had failed had pissed Sam off enough to resurrect her plan, only now there was no need to kidnap Rainer.

They had a far more accessible target.

“You mean Sam was there to grabme?” Georgia asked incredulously when Powell broke the news a week after she returned home from the hospital. “I assumed they took me only because they couldn’t get to Rainer.”

They were curled up on the couch at home while Powell sat in one of the armchairs to their left.

“The tranquilizer dart was filled with a mix of ketamine and zylaxine—a potent sedative,” his security chief explained. “But the dosage wasn’t high enough for someone of Rainer’s size. It was calibrated for a much smaller person.”

Georgia’s mouth twisted. “Then why did she wait until Rainer had come home?”

Powell lifted a hand. “In a word—Waters. We think she knew there would be a guard with you. She slipped the same drugs into his drink—the camera footage has her offering Water’s a coffee after she prepared one for herself during her chat with you. The camera angle was off so we don’t have a recording of her spiking it, but that’s the only time she could have drugged it. You were under the Corvette at the time and missed the exchange.”

She scowled. “I remember hearing the coffee machine going off a few times, but my mind was on my work. I was only half-listening to her. Tell Waters I’m sorry. I’m the one who told her to help herself when she saw the machine and mentioned needing a pick-me-up.”

Powell’s shoulders straightened. “Waters is resigning.”

Georgia gasped, leaning forward. “But it wasn’t his fault!”

Rainer pursed his lips, but didn’t argue when Powell shook his head. “He knew better than to accept a drink from a possible suspect. As it stands, Samantha couldn’t have known the guard would be Waters. He is the largest member of the team. The drugs she slipped into the drink didn’t work fast enough for someone of his muscle mass.”

“He is hulk-sized,” Georgia added morosely.

Powell’s lip twitched, but he merely nodded. “Samantha must have been waiting for Waters to pass out to force you out of the garage. But because she miscalculated the dosage, Rainer had enough time to get home before the sedative kicked in. I think she meant to be long gone before he arrived, bringing the rest of the security detail with him.”

“Then I stopped to socialize and Waters finally passed out, giving her away. Once that happened, she was angry enough to switch targets back to me.”

Rainer wrapped his arm around her. “It wasn’t the smart move. My lawyers would have given her the run-around while cooperating with the authorities. It would have been much easier for her to get the ransom if she’d taken you instead because I wouldn’t have done that. To get you back, I would have given her anything, no argument.”

“Aww.” Georgia curled into his side, her hand flattening against his chest right over his heart. “But I still don’t think Waters should lose his job.”

“It’s his decision to leave, and I respect it,” Powell said, not adding what he’d told Rainer earlier—a guard who second-guessed himself was not one you wanted watching your back.

“Don’t worry about Waters,” Rainer added. “There is no need for concern. He has other opportunities he can pursue.”

She turned to him. “Like what?”

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