Below are the first two chapters of Book 2, Lost & Found. If you want more you can get the whole book for free by signing up for my infrequent newsletter at http://www.subscribepage.com/lostandfound
CHAPTER ONE
Daisy Dunlop's nostrils filled with the salty tang of sweaty bodies. The deep bass of loud music assaulted her eardrums. She blew her damp hair out of her eyes, and concentrated on planting one foot in front of the other. Left. Right. Left. Right. The treadmill's timer revealed she'd been jogging for less than five minutes. The bloody thing had to be faulty. No one was paying her any attention, so she punched it, but it continued to tick over just as slowly.
Her heart raced. Each pump set off an echoing boom in her skull. Any second now, her blood pressure would reach maximum, and her head would shoot off her shoulders. She would become the UK's latest YouTube star. Shame she'd be too dead to enjoy it. She pounded her legs as fast as they could go, and yet she was barely keeping up with the speeding belt. She'd been parachuted into her own particular version of hell, with not so much as a fun-size chocolate bar to sustain her.
She dropped her chin toward her chest, and between sucking in lungfuls of air whispered, "Why the hell am I doing this?"
The Irish brogue of her business partner, Ronan Liffey, also known as Solomon, sounded through the device in her ear. "Because you look better in Lycra than I do."
"Bull...shit."
"I'm flattered you think I could rock the bike shorts, Princess."
Between gasps for air, she whispered, "That's a picture I don't need in my head." Solomon laughed. Sweat ran down her face and between her breasts. She glanced at the radio device hidden inside her top. Each breath was hard won and she struggled to speak, stopping between each word. "Are you sure this secret communication thing doesn't have a camera?"
"If it did, darlin', it would currently be giving me a great view of your ample cleavage."
Gasp. "Are you saying I'm fat?" Gasp. "Is that why I'm doing this circuit class?"
"You're doing the class because the instructor is unlikely to sexually harass me."
Sure her eyesight was failing due to lack of oxygen to her brain, she swiped a hand across her forehead to stop a dribble of sweat. Unbalanced, she wobbled and grabbed for the handrails to stop herself from taking a tumble. Once her legs were back in rhythm she took a deep breath and gasped out, "I thought you banned me from flirting with people?"
"Sometimes you have to work to your strengths."
"And pimping me out...dressed like...an oversized escapee...from a Miley Cyrus twerking video...is a strength?"
Laughter filled her ear, and she growled.
A hand gripped Daisy's upper arm. She squealed, and glanced over her shoulder at the mustached middle-aged gym instructor. His unique odor of liniment and sweat filled the air. "Who are you talking to?"
She fought back a shudder, before smiling and batting her eyelids seductively. "Um, no one." She sucked in a breath, and hit the button to slow the treadmill. "I'm singing along to my iPod." She dropped back to a walking pace, glad to be able to breathe more easily. "It's the new one by Ronan Keating. Have you heard it? It's called, 'My Partner's a Big Fat Irish Git.'"
"If you've got enough breath to sing, you aren't running fast enough, cupcake."
Before she could come up with a suitable response, he reached over and pressed the speed button with his large hairy hand. Daisy's legs felt like rubber, and she struggled to keep up, as the man wandered off to torment someone else.
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Lost Cause (A Daisy Dunlop Mystery ~ Book 1)
Mystery / ThrillerBritish female sleuth, Daisy Dunlop, thinks she's found her dream job. Too bad she has to work with her worst nightmare, private investigator Solomon Liffey. They've barely spoken since he took her husband's request to keep her safe far too literall...
