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

Angela Campbell

A division of HarperCollins Publishers

www.harpercollins.co.uk

HarperImpulse an imprint of

HarperCollins Publishers Ltd

1 London Bridge Street

London SE1 9GF

www.harpercollins.co.uk

First published in Great Britain by HarperImpulse 2013

Copyright © Angela Campbell 2013

Cover Photographs © shutterstock.com

Angela Campbell asserts the moral right

to be identified as the author of this work.

A catalogue record for this book is

available from the British Library

This novel is entirely a work of fiction.

The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are

the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to

actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is

entirely coincidental.

All rights reserved under International

and Pan-American Copyright Conventions.

By payment of the required fees, you have been granted

the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access

and read the text of this e-book on screen.

No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted,

downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or

stored in or introduced into any information storage and

retrieval system, in any form or by any means,

whether electronic or mechanical, now known or

hereinafter invented, without the express

written permission of HarperCollins.

Ebook Edition © July 2013

ISBN:9780007543052

Version 2017-09-28

Digital eFirst: Automatically produced by Atomik ePublisher from Easypress.

Title Page On the Scent Angela Campbell A division of HarperCollins Publishers www.harpercollins.co.uk

Copyright HarperImpulse an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers Ltd 1 London Bridge Street London SE1 9GF www.harpercollins.co.uk First published in Great Britain by HarperImpulse 2013 Copyright © Angela Campbell 2013 Cover Photographs © shutterstock.com Angela Campbell asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins. Ebook Edition © July 2013 ISBN:9780007543052 Version 2017-09-28 Digital eFirst: Automatically produced by Atomik ePublisher from Easypress.

Angela Campbell: About the Author About the Author Angela Campbell I read my first romance at 16 and immediately attempted to write one, too. Many attempts (and a couple of decades) later, I finally published my first novel. A mild-mannered newspaper reporter with more than 15 years experience as a general assignment reporter, features editor and graphic designer, I have also worked as a production assistant in TV and film. I now live in the Southeast with my rescue cat. Learn more about my books at www.angelacampbellonline.com.

Dedication Thank you to my BFF, Cindy, for encouraging me to follow my dreams. Thank you to my best friends in fur, Dusti, Valentino, Sunny and Ginger, for inspiring the characters who stole this story. Thank you to my amazing critique partners, Jennifer, Pamela and Cynthia, and the many beta readers who offered me their time and feedback. Finally, thank you to Charlotte Ledger for recognizing the potential in this story and helping me bring it to the world. For the rest of you, please remember to spay and neuter your pets. There are lots of homeless animals at shelters in need of good homes. Please consider adopting one!

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty-One

Epilogue

BONUS MATERIAL

Something Wicked

About HarperImpulse

About the Publisher

Angela Campbell

I read my first romance at 16 and immediately attempted to write one, too. Many attempts (and a couple of decades) later, I finally published my first novel. A mild-mannered newspaper reporter with more than 15 years experience as a general assignment reporter, features editor and graphic designer, I have also worked as a production assistant in TV and film. I now live in the Southeast with my rescue cat. Learn more about my books at www.angelacampbellonline.com.

Thank you to my BFF, Cindy, for encouraging me to follow my dreams. Thank you to my best friends in fur, Dusti, Valentino, Sunny and Ginger, for inspiring the characters who stole this story. Thank you to my amazing critique partners, Jennifer, Pamela and Cynthia, and the many beta readers who offered me their time and feedback. Finally, thank you to Charlotte Ledger for recognizing the potential in this story and helping me bring it to the world.

For the rest of you, please remember to spay and neuter your pets. There are lots of homeless animals at shelters in need of good homes. Please consider adopting one!

“Check this out, bro.” E.J. lowered his voice as he stepped closer. “There’s a real dog out here to see you.”

Zachary Collins paused mid pull-up and clenched his jaw. Dammit, didn’t E.J. know anything about office etiquette? Last thing they needed was a complaint about rude employees to the Better Business Bureau.

“Not appropriate, E.J.” Zach huffed as he lifted his chin up over the bar he’d mounted in the doorway to his office’s private bathroom. His left arm began to tremble beneath the strain. “What’s she want?”

Nine.

Ten.

Done.

He dropped to the floor, shook the slight tingle out of his left hand, and reached for the towel draped across his chair. E.J. leaned back against the closed door and shrugged. “Dunno. She just asked for you.”

He’d known putting E.J. at the reception desk was a bad idea. The kid was too rough around the edges. Too ignorant of the job.

Wiping the sweat from his neck, Zach made his way to his desk. The security monitor on his computer screen showed him the side profile of a dark-haired woman sitting in the waiting room.

Dog? Not from what he could see.

As though she sensed she was being watched, she shifted and looked directly into the corner camera mounted in the lobby. She stared for a minute before she looked down at her hands, clenching and unclenching in her lap.

Shit.

It was her .

Zach swore and pounded a fist on his desk. He reached for his phone. “Isn’t Brian around? Kellan?” He punched in his partner’s extension, only to get Brian’s voicemail.