Hounds Abound by Linda O. Johnston Read Free Book Online

keeping an eye on my unwanted investment,” he said. “The property isokay. I’m deciding what the best use for it is, after I get you evicted.”
    “I own this property! It’s mine. You can’t have it.”
    “You own it only as long as you make payments to the bank. When I get my money back, you’ll lose it.”
    I had approached behind Bella. Sammy stood at her side looking highly uneasy, obviously aware of his mistress’s rage.
    “You have no business here now,” I said over Bella’s shoulder. “You probably never will. It’s time for you to go.”
    “Oh, yes, you’re that woman who runs HotRescues. For the moment. Did you know that Dante DeFrancisco is a friend of mine?”
    I wondered how he knew who I was. No matter. The guy was obviously a liar. “I’ll ask him, but even if you know him I doubt that you’re friends. He’s an animal lover. You, apparently, are a creep who likes to make trouble.” I pulled my BlackBerry out of my pocket, where I’d just shoved it. “But I’ve got some friends in the LAPD. Let’s see if the cops are up to an arrest for trespassing this evening.”
    “Don’t bother.” Miles’s window rolled back up, but not before he called out, “Like our former governor used to say in the movies, ‘I’ll be back.’”
    “The hell of it is,” Bella said as he peeled out of the driveway, “he undoubtedly will be back.”
    “This isn’t his first time harassing you at night?”
    She shook her head.
    I lifted my phone again. “Then I will call the cops. You should at least report this. While we’re waiting, I’ll tell you all about EverySecurity, the company we use at HotRescues. It’s not the best—we’ve had problems with them inthe past—but they’ve improved. They work for Dante and cover most of his HotPets stores. Because they screwed up a while ago, I also have a former private investigator as our security director who supervises them, and she or her staff are around all the time at night. I’d suggest you do the same.”
    “I’ll think about it.” Bella’s tone seemed to say that she would drop the whole idea as soon as I left. “But I’ll be fine. As I said, this isn’t the first time. I’m sure he just wants to rattle me so I’ll give in. But that’s not going to happen.”
    I tried to stay a little longer, but I did need to leave. Once again, Bella promised she would be fine.
    I only hoped she was right.

Chapter 5

    Bella was okay the next time I talked to her, the following morning.
    I was at my breakfast table still in my robe, a cup of coffee in one hand and my BlackBerry in the other. Zoey sat beside me on the floor, hoping for a handout of cereal. “How about a biscuit instead?” I asked her and she wagged her tail as I complied.
    No, Miles hadn’t come back, Bella responded to my first, concerned question. She had kept an eye out for him while holding her cell phone until she had gone to bed. She had made sure that Sammy was loose in the house and ready to play watchdog, if necessary. He was good at that.
    “But I would love a break, Lauren,” she finished. “Once I’ve got my staff here and busy, would you mind if I visitedHotRescues? I’d enjoy seeing your facility and how you run it.”
    “Mind? I’d be delighted!”
    I quickly dressed in grubby clothes. “Ready, Zoey?” I asked at our front door, not that there was any question about her eagerness to go on our morning’s practice run. When we finished our course, I went inside and fed my sweet dog, who showed little indication of being out of breath. As Zoey ate, I showered, dressed, and put on a little makeup. Then we headed for HotRescues.
    Bev was behind the leopard-print welcome desk. “Nina’s in the back checking things out,” our senior volunteer said. “You’ll like these phone messages.” She handed me some papers on which she had written notes in her neat handwriting. A young couple and a family who had each been here before were coming back to fill out