The Dom on the Naughty List (15 page)

“If there’s something strange…in your neighborhood,” a soft voice sang behind her. “Who you
gonna call?”

“
Shh!” Sabrina scolded, laughing. “For the millionth time, I’m not a ghostbuster!”

“Ghostbuster, ghost hunter…” Q drawled
, pressing the button on the Trifield Meter hooked to Sabrina’s belt. “Same thing.”

She batted Q’s hand away. “I’m a paranormal investigator.” With an air of pride, she took out the badge she’d just received in the mail. It came with her online certification in investigating spectral disruptions to the real-world plane.

Q leaned in to take a closer look then arched a brow. “Where did you get that? Cheesy Gimmicks ‘R Us?”

Sabrina scowled at her best friend. She was so getting revenge next time they went to a heavy metal concert. Maybe she’d buy the purple punk tutu she’d seen on the fetish store website Q had left
open the other day. Her other one was black.

Q nudged her, jarring her from her diabolical thoughts. “Keep going. It’s getting late and super creepy out here.” She shivered and rubbed her arms.

Sabrina smirked. “Scared? Thought you didn’t believe in ghosts.”

“I don’t. But I do believe in serial killers and rapists.
And maybe zombies.” She gave her a little shove forward. “Hurry up.”

Sabrina pointed to the mansion, one house away. “It’s leading us there.”

To her amusement, Q stiffened then sighed. “Of course it is. It couldn’t take us to a cute, friendly-looking cottage, could it?”

Sabrina summoned a saucy smile. “Don’t worry Q. Lucky for you, Cheesy Gimmicks ‘R Us sells zombie repellent.” She held up a bottle of pepper spray.

“Smart ass.”

She chuckled then turned toward the house and crept along, grateful for the frequent streetlights. The house grew more ominous the closer they got. When they stood, staring up at it, mouths wide open, even Sabrina wondered if this was a bad idea.

“This is a bad idea,” Q whispered beside her.

She shook off the momentary lapse in courage. “Don’t be silly. Supernatural spirits can’t hurt us.”

“You say that, but that’s not how it works in the movies.”

Ignoring her friend, she studied the fence surrounding the property. About ten feet high and black iron, it appeared to run the length of the yard. She pushed on the gate door in front of them.
Locked.

She stared up at spikes lining the top of the gate and sighed, pushing back her trepidation. “We’ll have to climb it.” Careful not to jar anything, she began removing her equipment, setting each device carefully on the ground.

“What? You’re insane!”

Possibly.
“We’ll be fine. Just mind the spikes.” She placed one foot on the bottom rung and wrapped her hands around the bars.

Q stopped her with a hand on her arm. “Wait. There’s got to be another way.”

“There’s not. The fence runs the whole property. That’s how rich people protect their stupid stuff.” Sabrina pulled herself up one step.

“Wait!” Q tugged her back down. “Let me look before you go on this suicide mission.” Then she gave Sabrina that stubborn look she knew all too well. “Wait.
Right here. No climbing.”

Sabrina knew not to argue with her when she got like this. She rolled her eyes.
“Alright. But hurry up. We don’t want the cops to come this time.”

Q disappeared into the dark and Sabrina resumed her climb. Q would tackle her to the ground before she’d let her do something dangerous. And she just had to get over this fence.
Overprotective friend. She’d never known anybody who cared so deeply for her. They weren’t a couple, but something more than friends. It was strange, she admitted when she thought about it too closely. So she didn’t. We are what we are, she told herself countless times.

Sabrina made it to the top of one side then froze while she analyzed the iron spikes. If she could get one leg between the two spikes then she could straddle the fence without impaling her girly bits. She grimaced at the visual.

“What the fuck are you doing?” Q said from below.

“
Shh! I’m trying to concentrate!” Her muscles ached from holding her in the awkward position.

“Don’t fall!”

She rolled her eyes. “Yes, thank you. Whatever would I do without your genius advi-ahhh!” The foot holding most of her body weight slipped and she tumbled to the ground.

She landed mostly on her ass, but it knocked the wind out of her.

“Are you alright?” Q asked frantically, helping her up.

Miffed at the setback, Sabrina grumbled. “I’m fine.” A little soreness where she’d landed but it could’ve been worse.

Q sighed and turned her around, looking her over. “There’s dirt all over you. I told you this was a bad idea,” she scolded, brushing the dirt off her back and ass – a little too roughly. “What did you think was going to happen?”

“
Ow! Not so hard!”

Q held her still with hands on her upper arms. “I found a broken rung. We can squeeze through. But if we do this, you have to promise, nothing else dangerous.”

“Dangerous?” She smirked. “What could be dangerous about ghost hunting?”

Q gave her an exasperated look then released her.
“Smartass.”

“You already said that.” Sabrina collected her equipment off the ground.

“You go through life in a perpetual state of smartassery.”

Sabrina handed Q her photography gear, thankful her friend had experience and was willing, for the most part, to help her.
“Only for you, sexy.” She winked.

Grinning, Q shook her head. “What have I told you about flirting with bi chicks? One of these days you’ll get more than you bargained for.”

“I’m willing to chance it. Now show me where this broken rung is.”

They slid through the gate with very little trouble, both being on the slender side. The half moon didn’t provide much light and having moved away from the comfort of the street lights, Sabrina couldn’t stop the rapid
pitter patter of her heart. She grabbed the flashlight from one of the pockets on her cargo pants then shone it around them.

The ground was covered in dead, overgrown grass. A dilapidated shed sat behind and to the left of the house. Several garbage cans blocked the shed door and the quiet beeps of the equipment pointed straight toward it.
A dark entrance in the creepiest part of the creepiest yard of the creepiest house. This was shaping up to be a great beginning for a horror movie. Was she the character who survives or the screamer who dies first?

The air temperature gauge, attached by Velcro around her upper arm, lit up bright red. She froze and Q bumped into her back.

“What the –”

“
Shh!” Sabrina ripped off the meter and studied it. “There’s something by the shed. Behind the garbage cans.”

“Something?” she squeaked. “Fuck.”

Something that scanned the body temperature of a person. But that couldn’t be right. Ghosts didn’t register the same temperature as humans. “Stay here if you want. I’m going closer.”

Q grabbed her shirt sleeve. “I’m not letting you go alone.”

They walked, slowly, Q holding onto Sabrina’s shirt sleeve, toward the cluster of cans.

“Your weird beeping shit is going crazy,” Q whispered.

“I know. I’ve never had this much activity before.” Ever. And it scared the hell out of her. Almost as much as it thrilled her. Maybe if she had proof she could detect something otherworldly, she could actually charge people money to do this.

A few more feet to the garbage cans.
Closer. Closer…

A dark figure leapt toward them from behind the cans and growled.

Sabrina’s heart jumped to her throat and she screamed. Q’s fingernails dug into her arm and she screamed too.

A human male chuckle rose up over their screams. She stopped.
Human? She looked toward the tall figure but couldn’t make out any details. Where was her flashlight? She must’ve dropped it in the chaos. She reached down, her fingers scrabbling frantically until she found it. Cold dancing up her spine, hands shaking, she clicked on the light then swung it in the direction of the laugh.

“Whoa!” a deep voice rumbled. “Get that out of my eyes.”

A man. Young. Handsome – trim blond hair and high cheek bones. But now was not the time to remark on such things. The shit had scared the hell out of them. Her heart was still thudding like a stampede in her throat.

“Calm down,” he said, gentler, shielding his eyes with his hands. “Put the light down.”

Calm down? In a fit of anger she chucked the flashlight at his head. “What the hell is wrong with you?” she yelled. A second later she was aghast at her move. She’d just assaulted a stranger?

He’d caught the flashlight – thank god – then he turned toward the shed and picked his way through the debris on the ground toward the door.

“Hey!” Sabrina called after him. “That’s my flashlight!” He ignored her and she spun on Q. “What is he doing?”

“You shouldn’t have thrown it at him. And
we’re
the ones trespassing. Just apologize and let’s get out of here.”

A light above the shed flickered then turned on, illuminating the area where they stood. Heavy steps came from the side of the shed. The man who came out of the darkness wore a wife beater, a frown, and a set of biceps she could sink her teeth into.

He held out her flashlight.

She grabbed it rudely.

“Thank you,” he said, ignoring her glare. “That was very helpful. Now, what are you doing sneaking around on my property?”

“We’re very sorry,” Q said. “We had no idea –”

“
Your
property?” Sabrina eyed him up and down. He didn’t seem the type to own a run-down mansion. “How could anybody live here? There aren’t even any lights on.”

“I’m renting it for the summer and a fuse blew.” He returned her stare. “Not that I need to explain anything to you. Just because it appears that nobody lives somewhere doesn’t mean you can do what you want to the place.”

“We weren’t going to
do
anything to it –”

“We’re sorry,” Q jumped in. “We didn’t mean any harm. Sabrina, apologize to the nice man so we can be on our way.”

“Sabrina,” he said evenly. “A pretty name. For a criminal.”

“So sweet.”
She rolled her eyes. “And you are…”

“Still wondering what you’re doing in my yard.”

Maybe if she explained, he’d let her continue the investigation. She did have a way of convincing people to do what she wanted.

“I detected signs of paranormal activity. It happens frequently with these old houses. I just know there’s something here. All I need is a few hours. This house is probably rich with history –”

“Oh, I know all about the history of this house,” he said.

Her chest tightened with excitement and she took an involuntary step closer. “You do?”

He nodded.

“Then you’ll let me come back and do a full invest –”

“No.”

She stepped back, puzzled.
“Why not?”

“Because I’m not interested.”
He crossed his arms and stared down at her, mimicking Q’s stubborn expression.

“But…it won’t take long.” She gave him her best smile – the one that always worked on her father. “I won’t even charge you.”

His brows shot up. “Oh, you won’t charge me? That changes everything.”

“It does?”

“No.” His voice grew stern. “Now go home before you get yourselves shot by someone who thinks you’re a burglar.”

Asshole! Sabrina had never been known for her mild temper. “It won’t hurt you any, why are you being such a d –
ow!” Something had pinched her ass. Q?

“I apologize for my friend,” Q said with a sincere smile. “She’s just very…”

“Persistent?”

“Passionate.
About ghost hunting.”

“Paranormal investigating!”
Sabrina corrected.

“Not now, Sabrina,” Q gritted between her teeth. “Sorry for any inconvenience. We’ll be going now.” She grabbed Sabrina’s arm and tugged her through the yard, back the way they’d come.

Sabrina followed, reluctantly. Disappointment filled her and her shoulders sagged.

“Wait,” he said.

They turned.

He rubbed his face and mumbled, “I can’t believe I’m doing this. Do you have a card, little Miss Ghostbuster?”

Sabrina grinned. “Of course!” As a graphic artist, the first thing she’d made after becoming a paranormal investigator was a business card.

She yanked out of Q’s grip, walked back to the stranger, and handed him the card with her name and phone number.

One brow arched as he looked it over. “Sabrina Romano. Paranormal detective, otherworld investigator, and spirit guide.”

His gaze went to Q as if in question. She shrugged.