Page 33 of The Rebel Billionaire

He needed a girlfriend, someone good enough for him whom he could take care of and watch over, maybe make babies with so he could drive them nuts and give the rest of us abreak.

If only I had someone to fix him upwith,I—

The attack came out ofnowhere.

My only warning was the slide of a shoe on the concrete sidewalk before a body hit me from the side and I went flying, losing my grip on my purse and my dinner, but not fast enough to catch my fall. A hand latched onto my hair, my scalp burning with a fiery pain as a chunk of hairtorefree.

I came down hard on the side of my face, twisting into my shoulder and slamming into the scrubby grass of myfrontyard.

I rolled and tried to come to my feet, looking around frantically to get my bearings. My yard was dark, shadows everywhere, and one of them was coming straightforme.

I couldn't make out much. My attacker could have been a man or a woman, taller than me but not as tall as Aiden. Definitely not as tall asLucas.

Its hands stretched toward me, the shadow came closer. I scuttled back, thinking fast. I had no idea who it was or what they wanted, but I knew this was not amugging.

My purse had flown out of my hands, but whoever jumped me wasn't going for mywallet.

They were coming straightforme.

My mind raced over my options as I slowly backed up on the unevengrass.

My phone was in my purse, which was somewhere in the dark yard. Or the street, or the sidewalk, or the bushes. I couldn't callforhelp.

Lucaswasn'thome.

And the locks on my doors weren't enough to keep out a determinedintruder.

I could run for it—I was fast—but I was wearing flip-flops and the sidewalk was too uneven to runbarefoot.

I was totally screwed, and the dark shadow of my attacker was coming closer with every second thatpassed.

I thought about the sledgehammer I'd neatly put away when I'd finished with the front porch, cursing my owntidiness.

A sledgehammer would've come inhandy.

Risking a quick look over my shoulder, I caught sight of a light at my neighbor's back door and more lights in the front of theirhouse.

I didn't know them, but it looked like theywerehome.

I was forming a vague plan of running next door and pounding on their door when a second shadow emerged from the darkness and launched itself at myattacker.

What the hell wasgoingon?

I teetered on the balls of my feet, ready to run but needing to know if I was going to be followed before I realized I should take advantage of my attacker's distractionandrun.

I spun and took off toward my neighbor'shouse.

It was a great plan right up until I stepped into a hole in the grass and pitchedforward.

A scream tore from me as I tumbled head over heels, landing on my back, the breath knocked out of mylungs.

Somewhere in the dark, I heard my name. I didn't answer, desperate to get my breath back, wishing I could sink into the grass and cursing myself for wearing a white T-shirt instead ofsomethingdark.

I was rolling over onto my side, propping myself up on my elbows, when I heard itagain.

"Charlie!" And then, "Goddammit."

A dark figure loomed out of the darkness, towering above me, dressed all in black except for the gleam of a whiteshirt.