Read Online Muzzled by June Whyte - Free Book Online Page A

else, I nodded.
    In the mad rush for the door I’d dropped my flashlight, probably glowing inside one of the Cujo’s stomachs by now, and in the stifling darkness I could barely see Tanya’s shadowy figure. It was bad enough we were trespassing in Jack Lantana’s house. It was bad enough we had no way of getting out without being eaten. But I was damn sure I wasn’t going to stand here shivering and gasping in the dark one moment longer. Chest wheezing, bum on fire, I pried Tanya’s claw-like fingers one by one from my arm and searched for the light switch.
    Eyes huge in her pale face, Tanya stared back at me. “Shit!” she breathed, blinking in the sudden light. “That was close!”
    Tanya Ashton: the master of understatement.
    The tuna patties I’d eaten for dinner warred with nerves so tightly strained I wouldn’t be surprised if they unraveled and left me limper than a rag doll. Shaking, I burrowed my fingers into my back pocket and pulled out my mobile. “I’m going to ring Ben.”
    “Not a good idea,” advised Tanya with a small shake of her head. “Ben thinks he’s indestructible. Tell him we’re in trouble and he’ll come galloping over here like a knight in shining armor instead of torn jeans and checked flannel shirt. And what do you reckon the guard dogs will do to him? Lick his face and play ball? I don’t think so.”
    She was right. Cujo1 and Cujo2 would turn Ben into chopped liver and then spit out the bones. We needed plan B. I rammed my mobile into my pocket and tore at a hang nail with my teeth. “If we had some juicy lamb chops we could toss them through one of the back windows and escape while the dogs were eating.”
    “Wouldn’t work. We’d need to empty a butcher shop to keep those two eating long enough for us to reach the front gate.”
    “Well, do you have a better idea?”
    “How about we shoot ’em?”
    I blinked. Gave her a duh look. “Shoot them with what? A slingshot made out of knicker elastic and a bag of frozen peas as ammunition?”
    “Sorry.” Clearly on edge, Tanya threw back her head and let out a pent up breath. “I’m nervous. I can’t think straight when I’m nervous.” She raked both hands through her hair which made it stand on end. “I need alcohol.”
    “Alcohol? Tanya, this isn’t a hotel.”
    “No worries, I’ll go check out Lantana’s fridge, see if he’s got any booze, and while I’m there, with any luck, I’ll find a couple of sheep for the dogs stashed in the meat container.”
    Another crashing thump shook the front door. My heart, already stressed to the max gave a plaintive bleat and attempted to batter its way out of my chest.
    Tanya, who hadn’t felt the deadly scrape of canine teeth on her backside, merely scowled at the door then picked up and brandished a big ugly statue of what looked like an overweight vampire with bloodshot eyes. When the door stopped shaking she placed her weapon back on the hall stand and shrugged. “At least we don’t have to worry about Jack Lantana popping out of his bedroom. He’s definitely not home. Only the dead could sleep through that noise.” She swiveled on one foot and set off down the passageway. “Which means we only have the dogs to worry about—unless, of course, Lantana shows up and finds us stuck in here.”
    I set up a mental force field and refused to allow her last throwaway comment to filter into my already overtaxed brain.
    While my PMT affected friend went hunting for booze and red meat, I decided to have a quick snoop around. Okay, I was no Kinsey Millhone and never would be, but who knows… I might be lucky enough to fall over a clue that explained why Lantana was so dead keen on stealing my dogs.
    The first room I came to appeared to be set up as a study or an office. The desktop computer was turned on, and a colorful screensaver featuring a dancing naked woman with breasts the size of basketball hoops provided the entertainment. Newspapers, greyhound racing magazines