An Inner Darkness Book 5 Bay City paranormal

but it’s escalating fast. The boys are getting scared. Can you help us?” Bo sighed. “You haven’t spoken with Janine about this yet.” It wasn’t a question.
    Lee shook his head. “No. That’s one of the things I wanted to discuss with you. How do we talk Janine into allowing BCPI to investigate our house?” 26
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An Inner Darkness
    “Let me talk to her,” Andre volunteered. “Bo, I know you’ll want to go, but I think having me there to act as a buffer between you would be good. Maybe she’ll be more willing to listen that way.”

    Bo nodded. “Yes, she probably would. Good thinking.”
    “Why BCPI?” Sam blurted out. Three pairs of eyes turned to Sam in surprise. “There are a couple of other paranormal investigation firms within reasonable driving distance,” he explained. “Wouldn’t it be better to hire one of them, considering how Janine feels about us? About me in particular?”
    “No, I don’t think so. Janine will object regardless, and I don’t believe any other company will handle this situation with the sensitivity it needs.” Bo frowned. “I’m not sure what you mean.”
    Hunching his shoulders, Lee stared at the coffee stain on Bo’s desk. “What’s happening seems to be affecting Adrian in a really negative way. I mean it’s frightening both of the kids, but it’s hitting Adrian particularly hard. Not that he talks about it. He hasn’t said a word. But he’s been unusually restless and distracted lately. And what happened to me last night really upset him.”
    Sam raised his eyebrows. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but I was under the impression that Adrian didn’t like you much more than he likes me.”
    “He doesn’t,” Lee confirmed. “He wasn’t solicitous or openly concerned about my wellbeing. He seemed angry, actually, but terrified at the same time. I heard him last night, pacing the living room, and he was up before dawn this morning. It was pretty obvious he didn’t sleep much, if at all. Something about what’s happening at the house is affecting him in a deeply personal way, and he won’t let me close enough to figure out what it is.”
    “And Janine scoffs at the whole idea of any sort of phenomena outside of current scientific understanding. She always has, even when we were together. Adrian won’t be likely to turn to her for help.” Bo drummed his fingers on the desktop. “I think I see why you want us to do this. If Adrian won’t trust you or Janine with what’s bothering him, maybe he’ll trust me, since obviously I’ll listen to what he has to say and hopefully be www.samhainpublishing.com 27
    Ally Blue
able to give him some sort of understanding of what’s happening at your home and how to cope with it.”
“That was my thought exactly.” Lee glanced from Bo to Sam, his expression cautious but hopeful. “So, will you take the case?”
    “Of course we will,” Bo answered without hesitation. Standing, he stretched his open hand across the desk. “I’m glad you came to us.” Clearly relieved, Lee rose to his feet and shook Bo’s hand. “Me too. Thank you.”

    “We’ll need a few more details about the case, and you’ll need to set up a time for Andre and me to go with you and talk to Janine.” Bo let go of Lee’s hand and turned to Andre. “Andre, do you have time to talk with Lee for a few minutes and get that information?”
    “Sure.” Andre pushed out of his chair. “Lee, is now good for you or do you need to come back later?”
“Now’s fine.”
    “Okay, good. We can sit down in the back room, it’s a little more private.” Andre headed for the door, gesturing for Lee to follow. “Come on.” Lee nodded to Sam and Bo as he trailed Andre out of the office. The minute they were gone, Bo strode over and shut the door, then threw his arms around Sam’s neck.
    Taken by surprise, Sam held Bo close, cheek pressed to his hair. Bo’s body shook in his arms. “Bo? You okay?”
“No.”
    Bo’s voice was muffled against Sam’s neck, but Sam heard the tremor in it. He rubbed a hand up and down Bo’s back. “Are you worried about the boys?”

    “Yes.” Bo drew back enough to meet Sam’s gaze. “I hate not being able to see them but every other weekend. And now they’re experiencing things that have to be terrifying to them, and their own mother doesn’t even believe it’s real. I should be there for them, especially now, and it kills me that I can’t. It fucking hurts