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

So what had happened? How did he fix this?

He scanned the neighborhood as he walked to his car, remembering Brian’s words from the hospital.

“I didn’t tell Hannah, but there was someone following her today.”

He’d promised Brian he’d keep her safe.

And he’d blown it.

“What the hell do I do now?” Zach shook his head as he lifted his hand to start the ignition, but something—a gut feeling—gave him pause. The hair on the back of his neck tickled as it lifted. Goosebumps rose on his arms.

He felt like he was being watched.

Why the blazes was there a SUV in her driveway?

Hannah hesitated on the doorstep when she spotted the unfamiliar vehicle. She instinctively jerked Costello’s leash to rein him in, but he pulled ahead with the strength of a freight train.

Never mind calling the cops, Costello. For all we know there’s a knife-wielding maniac waiting to jump out and grab us, but go on. Trudge ahead. I’m right behind you.

She stumbled along after him as Costello yanked over to the grass and hiked his leg. She kept her gaze on the car, trying to decipher the huddled figure slumped behind the steering wheel and leaning against the truck’s window.

Was that Zachary Collins?

Surely he hadn’t stayed here all night. Why would he have?

She led Costello closer. Yep, it was Zach alright. When she tapped on the driver’s side window, the man gave a start.

“Shit,” he muttered, loud enough for her to hear through the glass.

He blinked several times as he glanced around. He reached forward, toyed with the ignition and rolled the power window down.

“Everything okay?” she asked, wondering if he had some weird health problem that had caused him to pass out in her driveway.

“Fine.” He ran a hand over his face and nodded. “Good morning.”

Costello jerked forward and almost tugged her down. She caught herself with one foot braced in front of the other. “Good morning.”

“This probably seems kind of strange.” His lips curved up in a boyish grin. “I didn’t plan to fall asleep in your driveway. Sorry.” He took a look at his watch. “I must have nodded off a half hour ago.”

Only a half hour ago?

His eyes were blood-shot. Geez. Did the guy have a drinking problem? Drugs? Narcolepsy?

She said nothing, just played tug of war with Costello’s leash and waited for Zach to either explain himself or leave.

It had been hard enough sending him away last night. There was something about Zach that drew her to him the way Costello was drawn to human legs, and she’d been worried she was making the wrong decision again.

Zach oozed charisma. She was attracted to him in a way she didn’t want to be, and she didn’t trust him for that reason alone. Smooth-talking, handsome men—especially those who’d been on TV—had a reputation for inflated egos. Only cared about themselves. Been there. Done that. Once was a mistake. Twice was a choice, and she’d be darned if she made the same one again.

She took a deep breath and reminded herself she had a representative from another private security firm coming over this afternoon. Besides, she’d finally broken down and told Sarah everything, and her best friend was now hell-bent on coming over to assess the situation herself. And if Hannah knew Sarah, her friend would be bringing at least one of her very huge, very intimidating brothers with her as a precaution.

Zach pulled the key from his ignition and opened the door. “Mind if I use your restroom?”

She stepped back and shrugged. “Of course not.” She tilted her head toward the dog that was now munching on grass. She reached for the house key that was attached at her neck by a lanyard. “I’ve got to take him for our morning walk. Let yourself in. Please make sure Abbott doesn’t get out.”

He looked at her hand, but he didn’t take the key. “How about I walk with you first? There’s something I’d like to discuss.”

What the hell? Getting away from him obviously wasn’t going to be as easy as she’d hoped. And why did she feel so guilty about calling one of his competitors?

“Okay.” She sighed and allowed the forty-pound dog to lead the way. As soon as Costello realized she wasn’t holding him back, he stopped trying to drag her behind him like a ragdoll. Slowing her steps, Hannah spared a quick look at the disheveled man beside her.

A morning beard darkened his chin, and his hair was ruffled.

Whew. He was hot. Sexy.

Trouble.

“Are you going to tell me why you spent the night in my driveway?” She focused on Costello, who’d slowed down and was backing up to do his morning business on her neighbor’s lawn. Hannah snatched a small bag out of her pocket and waited for the dog to finish, and the man to answer.

Zach scanned the street in front of them with hawk-eye precision. “Someone was following you yesterday. Last night your house was being watched.”

Worry zinged through her brain until she shook herself free of the useless emotion. Had someone been following her, or had Zach invented it as a convenient excuse to scare her into retaining his services? She opted to believe the second, if only because the alternative was too terrifying.

She turned to him and forced a smile. “Thank you for staying, but I did make it clear your services aren’t required.”

“I’m not kidding, Hannah.”

“Neither am I.”

His fingers gripped her arm, forcing her to turn and look at him. “You could be in real danger. Let me help you.”

“How do you know my house was being watched?” Costello hauled on the leash, demanding to be walked, so she gave in and hoped Zach would follow. “Did you actually see someone? What did they look like?”

He ran a hand through his hair as he casually matched her pace. His jaw clenched. “I didn’t see anyone. I felt it.”

“Like a psychic thing?”

He shook his head. “Call it a gut reaction. I’ve been doing this a long time. Trust me, I know when my instincts are dead on, and I know when I’m being watched.”

Hannah had no idea how his psychic abilities worked—or if he was even psychic, for that matter—but she could hear the sincerity in his voice.

His fingers gripped her upper arm tight again, bringing her to another stop. His wide-eyed expression was serious—and a little alarming. “Who’s watching the cat?”

“No one,” she admitted. “I—” She stopped her words when Zach yanked the lanyard from her hand and sprinted back the way they came. Costello bounded after him, jerking her arm almost out of its socket and nearly dragging her to the ground. “Wait a minute!”

Then she remembered Zach’s question, and she ran like hell to catch up to him, too.

His gut churned in a familiar way that told Zach something bad was about to happen. He might not be psychic, but he hadn’t been lying when he told Hannah his instincts rarely led him wrong.

A few minutes ago, the thought to trigger that gut churning had been, the damn cat is a sitting duck right now .

He didn’t see anything suspicious as he hurried up the steps to Hannah’s house, but he still opened the front door carefully.

The house was eerily quiet. He scanned the room and saw nothing unusual—not even the cat. He took a step inside, and that’s when it hit him. The pungent smell of cigarette smoke lingered in the air, as if someone who smoked often had been in the room.

“What on earth?” Hannah said, coming up behind him fast.

The dog’s paws shoved against the back of his knees, and Zach almost fell face-first into the carpet. He stumbled forward and caught himself against the wall as Costello raced around him and bounced into the room.