Billionaire Ghost Tour - Stephanie Fowers Page 0,25

“My uncle’s a fireman, said he saw a shadow against the flames when the food court burned down twenty years ago. That was a day before he fell down a flight of stairs and broke his arm. He says things would’ve been worse if he hadn’t been on the lookout.”

Okay, she’d set this up as much as she could. Janson didn’t seem convinced, but if there was anything that the ghost tours taught her, people hid their fear. She studied the Horn Section sculpture hanging over the pond, her eyes running over an abandoned hose propped into the handle of a trombone. A Sawtooth leaf floated over the algae-covered waters that mirrored the flicker of the lamplights across the street and a wall enrobed in decaying cobbles.

“The Wanderer doesn’t like anything that reminds him of the war,” she said. “So the trumpet here is especially offensive. He doesn’t like it when people touch it...” She stretched her fingers further and further out.

A bright flash blinded her. Old Finn had set it up that way with a motion detector light that would scare away trespassers. It worked too well. A low guttural sound of terror followed the sudden light. One second, Mollie was leaning over the pond and the next she was falling into the cold water with Janson on top of her.

The frigid water gladly consumed her body and clothes, then her hair, her face. She closed her eyes against the dirty water, feeling it bubble against her ears. Her hand was around Janson’s neck. She couldn’t believe this was really happening. Janson hadn’t seemed scared at all. She felt his arms around her, gathering her out of the water so that they were both sitting up. A frigid breeze hit her face. She choked on the water she’d swallowed. Janson squeezed her arm. “Are you okay?”

Yes, but what had happened? Her knees in her black tights poked out of the water and she arranged her skirt to where it was supposed to be. His hulking bodyguard stood above them, looking a little sheepish. “Sorry, I... thought I’d help you out.”

“Dwayne!” Janson sputtered.

That’s why they’d gone in—the bodyguard must’ve been so terrified that he’d gone berserk and thrown everybody into the water who was in his way. Beside the wildly blushing bodyguard, the shorter one was snickering; so was Janson. That hint of a smile she’d seen over his lips had now split across his entire face and he was shaking with laughter. He didn’t let her go either, and even more surprisingly, Mollie didn’t mind. In fact, she liked his warm arms around her a lot. She smelled that expensive sandalwood cologne of his—maybe deodorant—and she leaned closer. He somehow took that as a hint to get her out of the water and stood, lifting her effortlessly up with him. Dirty water streamed from them as more of her skin met the brisk October air.

That’s when she discovered she was freezing. She let out a shiver. “Oh, you poor thing.” Janson pressed her against his chest so that she molded into him—they actually fit really well together. She’d never met a man who had. She gulped as his arms slid down her back and he tried to warm her up that way. “No more scary stories from you, Red.”

That forced a giggle out of her. “I didn’t know that I’d get such a good reaction.”

“I guess we all learned our lesson.” He pulled back, his lips almost touching hers as he studied her face. “I’ll leave Dwayne home next time we go out.”

Next time?

“Uh oh.” He abruptly let her go to search the pockets of his slick bomber jacket until he found the famous Molinero ring. The emerald wings glittered against old Finn’s motion detector spotlight. “I thought I lost it.” His hands found hers and he slipped it onto her wet finger. “I need you to wear this so I don’t.”

She gaped. “Wait, no!” It had been on Rosa’s finger only a half an hour ago. No way was she about to be his next conquest, but he wasn’t listening. Was the Molinero ring actually on her finger? Her heart lurched as she stared at the beautiful thing weighing down her hand. His carelessness towards the expensive piece of jewelry was a glaring reminder of the differences of their social status. “You sure you trust me with it?” she asked.

He shrugged. “If you try to take it, I’ll have to hunt you down and make you pay for