wait around here on our account. Zara should be here in half an hour or so.?
After eating and waving goodbye to Anna on the doorstep, Lauren found her trainers and wandered outside for some air and a final look at the stables. She felt a lump in her throat as she imagined the excited puppies sitting in the backs of cars and vans, smelling of disinfectant as they headed for sanctuary.
She also felt proud. Sher worked hard, sher been part of a great team and there were no doubts in her mind that rescuing the dogs was the right thing to do. Even if stealing animals was against the law, and even if some animal experiments were for important medical research, there was never an excuse for forcing animals to live in their own filth.
As she headed back towards the house, Lauren heard a high-pitched noise. She stood still for a couple of seconds while she convinced herself that it was one of the stable doors creaking in the wind. But as she headed away, she heard it again and this time it sounded uncannily like a whimpering puppy.
Nello??Lauren said loudly, then realised she was being daft. It wasn't as if the dog was going to start a conversation.
She considered running back to the house and fetching Ryan, but the dog was close by and she didn't want to lose it. In fact she could see thirty metres clear in all directions, so the dog had to be inside one of the stables.
The stable doors were split into two halves so that horses could poke their heads out. Lauren opened the top part of one door and leaned inside to flip on the light switch.
Look at you,?Lauren giggled, as she saw a tiny dog cowering on the bare concrete floor near the back wall. Did they leave you behind??
She pushed the bottom part of the door open and stepped inside. The brown-faced pupt only previous human encounters had been with kennel hands, vets and people intent on dunking its head in a bowl of disinfectant, so it was less than delighted to see Lauren and made this clear by baring its teeth.
T won't hurt you,?Lauren said softly, as the dog backed into the corner.
As Lauren bent to grab the growling dog, her giant shorts slid down her legs and the pup dashed for the stable door, which sher carelessly left ajar.
By the time sher yanked up her shorts, the pup was out on the stable yard.
ć… yan,?Lauren screamed frantically, as the dog belted along the gravel path leading to the paddock.
She was desperate to get hold of the pup before it reached the trees, because sher never find it once it got tangled up in the undergrowth. Fortunately, the dog had spent its entire life in a cage and hadn't got the knack of running. As Lauren closed in, with one hand holding up her shorts and the other ready to scoop up the dog, it stumbled over its own front legs and flipped head over heels on to its back.
But the little thing rolled out of Laurent grasp and headed back along the courtyard towards Ryan, whor raced away from the washing-up to investigate the yelping. He stood in the middle of the path, spreading himself out wide to grab the puppy belting towards him as Lauren charged after it.
Ryan got his hand on fur, but the dog turned its body around and wriggled free.
Eod,?Ryan yelled, as Lauren carried on the chase.
The pup was tiring and sher almost caught up by the time it cut down the side of the house towards the road. It was barely two metres ahead of Lauren when it reached the gravel driveway at the front of the house. She heard a noise and looked up, taking her eyes off the dog just in time to see Zarat giant blue people carrier bearing down on her.
Lauren experienced blind terror as the vehicle closed her down. Time froze and her eyes fixed on Zarat sunglasses and gaping mouth inside the car. She was running flat out and had too much momentum to stop. All she could do was put her arms in front of her face to cushion the inevitable blow.
Fortunately, Zara already had her foot over the brake and by the time Lauren clattered into the front of the vehicle it had stopped moving. Her elbow made a hollow thud on the windscreen, catching a nerve and sending a painful spasm towards her hand.
But Lauren