Page 69 of The Millionaire's Mechanic

CHAPTERTHIRTY-THREE

“Georgia.”

Swallowing hard, Georgia closed her eyes and shook her head. The death grip she had on the steering wheel was making her fingers ache. But her brain told her that this was real. She wasn’t imagining it. Because that wasn’t some crazy man determined to assault her.

That was Mack’s voice.

“Georgia, please look at me.”

A hand reached out, touching her shoulders.

“No,” she yelled, her voice shrill. “You are not here. You’redead.”

The touch came again. It broke something in her head. Suddenly, she wasn’t there anymore. Georgia’s only clear thought was to get away.

But the man with Mack’s voice was restraining her. He had hold of her shirt and though she was pulling away, scrabbling for the door handle, she couldn’t break free.

“Georgia, stop,” he said. “And damn it, look at me.”

Her breath was coming fast and ragged. Georgia’s body was wracked by tremors, but, at the same time, she was so stiff that it hurt her neck to turn around.

Mack’s hair was shorter, buzzed close to his head. It made his face look broader and harder; the sharp planes of his face unsoftened by the floppy, boyish haircuts he used to wear.

Bile rose in her throat. Swallowing hard, she took a shaky breath and pointed at him. “D-do you have any idea what you did to Ephraim, tome? How could you let us think you were dead?What the hell is going on?”

Her voice shook almost as badly as her hands.

Mack pursed his lips. Guilt flared in his eyes, but it was doused quickly. “Things are going on that you don’t know about. I needed to leave. I shouldn’t be here now—but you fucked up, and I had to warn you. Because I still care about you.”

Georgia blinked, her mind struggling to process his words. “I don’t understand.”

“Yeah, I know.” Mack snorted, shaking his head. “But it will be okay. You still trust me, right?”

A little bit of her soul shriveled. It was a familiar question. When he’d been pressuring her into a romantic relationship, he’d asked her that often, subtly implying that he was older and wiser without actually saying it.

Stomach twisting, she shook her head.

Mack’s face darkened, but she could see the shock in his expression. Despite breaking off their relationship, he hadn’t expected her to deny him. Not over something this fundamental and long-standing.

That was because he blamed Diamond and Ephraim for their break-up, her mind supplied. It was why he had railed so viciously against them, especially Ephraim. All this time and he still didn’t believe that it was Georgia who had wanted out. Her love was for her brother, not the man who wanted them to be lovers.

His fingers on her shoulder tightened, pressing and giving her a single sharp shake. “Fuck, Georgia, you need to listen to me. I don’t know how you got mixed up with him, but you need to stay away from Rainer Torsten—get away from him now.”

“Why?”

“It doesn’t matter,” he snapped, and she could feel his anger now.

It was a tangible force, beating at her. Georgia flinched, the reeling sensation sending her back to the scared teenager she’d been. But the desire to fix it for him—that was gone.

Mack swore. “Just get out of his house. Don’t see him. Don’t take his calls.”

“You’re part of it—the kidnapping plot.” The words were choked out, but it wasn’t just fear. Her anger was there too.

“Damn it, Georgia, you’re not supposed to know anything about that.”

“Then maybe you should have had your partners in crime plan it in the bathroom at work,” she shouted.

Mack cocked his head to the side as if processing that. But he didn’t respond. Narrowing his eyes, he gave her a firm look.

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