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About eight seconds too late, Willow Anastasia Nelson realized there was a massive flaw in her plan

She’d driven over to Todd Aston the Third’s eood weasel a piece of her mind But she’d never actually met the man, so she didn’t knohat, exactly, he looked like

She had an idea, of course, sort of Tallish, handsomeish, rich But wasn’t his hair dark and weren’t his eyes brown? Why hadn’t she thought to look hie of "JerksMonthly com"

And if Todd Aston defined the whole tall, dark and yucky scenario, then as the blond hunk and a half standing in front of her?

"Oh, hi," she said, s she didn’t look as out of place as she felt "I was hoping to have a ith Todd This is his house, right? My sister roaned That hadn’t coroupie

"My sister knows hiuy didn’t step aside to let her in, although he did fold his arot her attention The --really muscled, but not in a too-buff, action hero kind of way This guy looked powerful, like a jaguar She would bet he could snap her forearreen and kind of catlike, she thought absently, continuing the whole "powerful cat" analogy He had a good face--handso about him He could be…She shook her head She had to focus on her mission

"Look," she said as forcefully as she could, deteruy’s presence "I need to talk to Todd I’d like to do s up forturned out in the end, but what if it hadn’t? I get so mad when I think about it, I just want to pop his pointy little head And that’s the least of it"

The man in the doorway raised one eyebrow, then pushed aside the front of his suit jacket Willow felt all the blood rush out of her head--no doubt fleeing to soun

She could see it just inside his coat, tucked under his arm in some kind of holster It was almost like in the movies, except for the cold knot of terror in her stomach

"What is your business with Mr Aston?" thedown her spine

So he wasn’t Todd She’d sort of guessed that, but now she knew for sure "I, ah, he…"

The smartest et shot But some stubborn streak made her plant her feet more firmly on the oversize and pillared porch

"I think you’re overreacting," she un, back to the , but intiet paid to overreact"

"Has weasel-man already left for the office?" she asked sweetly "I’ll catch hi him anywhere Who are you and what do you ith Mr Aston?" As he spoke, he reached out to grab her arh school for the cheerleading squad But in a world of amazons, she’d been too short Noher in the lineupand turning and ducking

The skills came back to her now as she faked a spin to the left, instead went to the right, then ducked under the big guy’s arm Suddenly she was inside the house

Elation filled her If Todd was here, she would find him Then she would yell at hihts

She sprinted down the wide entryway, Mr Big Gun and Cranky right behind her, then ran through huge roos This place was ht as she raced through what looked like a study and caun running behind her She was fairly confident he wouldn’t actually shoot her, but just in case, she wove back and forth and kept close to walls

"Todd," she yelled as she ran "Are you ho, sliht toYou should know better"

Perhaps not words to put fear into his heart, but they would have to do

She heard footsteps closing in and righteous anger gave her a burst of speed Unfortunately that burst led her into a rooized her She spun quickly, looking for a door, a big , anything Then she stared at the floor to ceiling drapes and headed in that direction

Victory! A French door that led onto a patio as big as her elelanced around

The grounds were stunning The patio led to stairs that flowed into a terraced garden that rerounds around Versailles Beyond them was a forest of trees

Didn’t Todd knoas in the eles?

"Stop," Burly Guy demanded as he ran out of the house after her "Stop, or I’ll make you stop!"

Ha! He hadn’t been able to stop her yet, had he? But had he already called the police? Willow didn’t wait to ask She bolted for the trees

Unfortunately the open ground gave her pursuer the advantage, er than hers That combined with her erratic coular exercise progra down for ive her speed, or slow hi left Her breath came in pants, the sound of her rapid heartbeat filled her ears, and she felt the chilling fingers of defeat reaching for her

"I will not be taken alive," she gasped as she surged forward, straining to reach the trees Once there, shetaken alive, okay, yeah, she had a slight dramatic streak

She felt him reach for her and darted to the left, where a tree root jutted out of sorasses She tripped over it, lost her balance and started to go down

As she did, several things happened at once There was an awful sensation of pain froray and white and furry in a hollowed-out base of the tree, and what felt like a tank plowed into her froround, all the air rushed out of her lungs, and there were actual spinning lights where the rest of the world should have been

She resurfaced to so her to take a breath

Breath? She couldn’t breathe She really was not going to get out of here alive Oh, God--she’d been kidding She didn’t want to die here Now Like this

"Take a breath," the man repeated "You’re fine"

How did he know that? How could he be sure?

Willow opened her ain and again until the lights faded and she could focus on everything around her

Gun Guy sat next to her He’d reood neas she could see he was all un was totally exposed and she couldn’t pretend it wasn’t there

"Who are you?" he asked "Soirlfriend? I usually know them, but every now and then…"

Willow raised herself up on one elbow "Ex-girlfriend? No way I wouldn’t date Todd if the continuation of the entire planet depended on it Well, okay, if it would save soered species, maybe We all have to do our part It’s important for us to realize that for the planet to continue to be a renewable resource, there are some basic rules we need to follow"

He held up his hands in the shape of a T "Tiain