On the Scent: A laugh out loud pet detective rom com!

Chapter Seven (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Eight (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Nine (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Ten (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Eleven (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Twelve (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Thirteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Fourteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Fifteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Sixteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Seventeen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Eighteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Nineteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Twenty (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Twenty-One (#litres_trial_promo)

Epilogue (#litres_trial_promo)

BONUS MATERIAL (#litres_trial_promo)

Something Wicked (#litres_trial_promo)

About HarperImpulse (#litres_trial_promo)

About the Publisher (#litres_trial_promo)

About the Author (#u9e813188-5101-5b8c-b31f-ec03fcbc530f)

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!

Chapter One (#u9e813188-5101-5b8c-b31f-ec03fcbc530f)

“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.

“Sure, but—” Beside him, E.J. tugged at the necktie Zach had insisted he wear and shuffled on his feet. “The lady specifically asked for you and said she’d take her business elsewhere if you weren’t available.”

Slamming the phone back in the cradle, Zach stepped into the bathroom and splashed some water on his face before hurrying to change into his respectable white button-down shirt and black slacks. “Did she say why she wanted to see me?”

The young man scrunched his face. “Nah, man. Just said it was important.”

I’m-here-to-serve-you-papers important? He hoped not.

“Is she alone?” He ran a hand through his thick hair. Not too damp.

“There ain’t nobody with her, but—”

“Send her in.”

Deodorant. Where the hell was his deodorant? He splashed on a dash of cologne instead and hurried to his desk.

Zach’s name might headline the private security agency—hell, his name was the agency—but he took a hands-off approach to handling cases these days. He liked the easy ones. Ones that could be done behind a computer or with a phone call here and there. He’d lost his desire for adrenaline rushes six months ago, right after—

No. Don’t even think about it.