Angela Campbell - On the Scent - A laugh out loud pet detective rom com!

“Anything else?”

“Just basic background stuff.” E.J. rattled off details Zach already knew. Hannah’s birth mother had been a college exchange student from Ireland who stayed here after getting pregnant. Father unknown. Hannah had been twelve when her mother died. She was in and out of foster homes after that.

Zach listened. He already knew Hannah’s background, but there was a gap he didn’t know—spanning the last four years.

“Is that all you could find?”

“You want me to dig deeper?”

“Yes.” A nudge at the edge of his conscience almost had Zach taking back the word. Are your reasons for wanting to know personal or professional?

He told his conscience to shut the hell up.

“Find out what her finances were before she got lucky and inherited a rich cat and dog. Find out if there are any ex-boyfriends who might want to cause her trouble and see what you can find on them.” He looked away from Brian and lowered his voice as he lied through his teeth. “She mentioned a guy—Eric Meester. M-E-E-S-T-E-R. See what you can turn up on him.”

Ending his call with E.J., Zach glanced at Brian in the driver’s seat. “Why are we driving toward your place?”

Brian didn’t say a word. His sunglass-covered gaze briefly turned toward him. His mouth was pursed in stubborn conviction.

“Take me to get my car,” Zach ordered.

“You need to rest. You can get your car tomorrow.” Brian’s fingers gripped the steering wheel so tightly it squeaked. “You can help Jenny with Jessica while I’m gone, but you need to rest your head a while longer.”

“I’ve been resting. I want back on this case. Now. ”

“Why? Because of the money?”

A rush of frustrated air blew through Zach’s nostrils. He pointed at his face where a nasty bruise had already begun forming. “Because someone made this personal.”

This wasn’t going to be as easy as he’d hoped.

Driving past the police car that had been crawling through the neighborhood at different times over the last 24 hours, the man lifted a hand and waved so as not to seem too suspicious. His skin itched beneath the fake beard, and his head was sweating under the baseball cap. Behind cheap sunglasses, he did a quick survey of the situation.

They’d been so close to getting what they wanted yesterday before that idiot had interrupted them. The cat had been within arm’s reach and everything.

Zachary Collins. Yeah, he knew who the guy was. He’d done some research on the private investigator Hannah Dawson had hired yesterday. The guy’s agency had a solid reputation. Might be trouble.

In his rearview, he watched Collins and another guy approach in a SUV and pull into the driveway.

No opportunity. Gonna have to wait a little bit longer.

As if he hadn’t been waiting long enough.

His phone rang, and he answered it. “This is Fox. What do you got for me?” Fox wasn’t his real name, but he’d adopted it after getting out of prison.

“I talked to the buyer and explained you were now in charge. We still have to deliver the product by the third.”

That was three weeks away. Should give them plenty of time.

“Good job,” he told his newest partner. Too bad their partnership would be short-lived. He’d learned his lesson a long time ago. Partners were a liability. He’d disposed of one last night. Taken control since the old man wasn’t doing what needed to be done.

Once he had what he needed to make the drop, he’d tie up the rest of the loose ends, including his new prodigy. Then he’d find another. That’s what the old man had taught him. Take a job. Get the product. Keep moving.

In the meantime, he needed to regroup and come up with another plan.

That cat and dog were his. It was only a matter of time.

Hannah sank into the chair across from Zach and tried not to stare at the purple bruise beside his right eye. Butterfly bandages kept a gash closed above his eyebrow, reminding her of a boxer who’d fought one too many rounds. Guilt caused her face to warm.

“Are you sure you’re okay?”

“I’ll live,” he said, leaning forward. “I was worried about you.”

“You were?” His words induced an irrational, tiny shimmer of pleasure through her chest. Ridiculous. Of course he was worried about her. She was paying him to worry about her. She glanced at the man standing, arms crossed, beside Zach. Geez, Brian certainly could look intimidating. “You shouldn’t have. Brian looked after us—along with E.J.”

She’d been under someone’s supervision since the ambulance had taken Zach away yesterday. She supposed she’d pay for that now that she’d officially hired them all to protect her and the boys. Don’t panic at the cost. Remember. You can afford it now.

She released a slow breath of air at the surreal thought.

Zach glanced up at Brian, and a tense look passed between them before he spoke again. “We would have preferred for you to stay at the hotel a little longer. It’s bound to be safer there until we can determine who broke in here.” His blue gaze met hers again. “Did you see anyone before the police arrived? Maybe they tried to run out the back door after they knocked me out.”

She shook her head. “When I found you, the person was gone. The window was open, so I assumed they left that way.”

“You’re certain nothing was taken?”

“Positive. Brian helped me do an inventory.”

A glimpse of white and black movement alerted her to the fact Abbott had decided to join the conversation. Costello was already lying at Zach’s feet, glancing back and forth as if the dog was following the conversation, too.

Zach’s eyebrows drew together and he glanced down at the approaching cat with a strange expression. “Uh, so you didn’t—” He shifted in his seat. “I’m sorry, did you say something?”

She had to do a mental backtrack. “Only that nothing was missing.”

“Right.” He looked down at the cat again and shook his head. “Sorry.”

Brian stepped over to the window, pressed the curtain aside and glanced out. “The alarm was disabled again. We’re dealing with someone who knows what he’s doing.” He moved back to Zach’s side. “I believe it’s the same person who broke in the first time. Now the question we need to answer is why are they so persistent? What do they want?”

Zach gestured toward Abbott, who was busy licking his paw. “The person was trying to get the cat when I interrupted. I know there was also someone else in the room.” His finger brushed the injured side of his face. “We’re dealing with at least two suspects.”

“We have to assume they’re dangerous, and they’ll try again,” Brian said. “Hannah, I really wish you would take our advice and let us put you somewhere safe.”

Zach suddenly shot to his feet. “Did you hear that?”

She blinked and shrugged. “Yes, I heard what he said.” She took a deep breath. “I’m sorry, but my life has been disrupted enough lately. I don’t want to be relocated. This is my home now, and I—”

“Not that.” Zach held out his hand and glanced around. “Did you hear someone say ‘I want tuna for dinner’?”

A slow smile curved her lips. Was he pulling her leg or what? “I didn’t hear anyone say that.” She looked at the cat who’d decided to sprawl out on the rug and swish his tail. “But tuna is always Abbott’s food of choice.”

If Zach wanted her to think he was communicating with her animals, he really needed to come up with something more impressive. Sure, he’d spooked her the other night by knowing she had a Charlie Chaplin movie marathon planned. Only Abbott and Costello would have known how often she watched the silent film star’s movies. She tried to meet Zach’s gaze to determine if he was conning her or not, but his face was white and he kept looking around the room.