An Inner Darkness Book 5 Bay City paranormal

and his son would’ve been enough to send Sam around the bend.

    Unfortunately—to Sam’s mind, at least—the two-mile trip was a short one, even with the weather slowing them down. Sam pulled into their assigned parking space and killed the engine, part of him wishing he could hide in the car during the coming confrontation between Bo and Adrian.
    “There’s a poncho under your seat,” Bo told the boy, his voice cool. “You can wear it.”
“I don’t need a poncho, ” Adrian sneered. “I’m not a baby.” Bo closed his eyes. Sam watched him, worried. Maybe Adrian didn’t realize how close Bo was to exploding, but Sam did. He touched Bo’s knee, silently begging him to stay in control. Yelling at Adrian right now would only make things worse.
    Opening his eyes, Bo gave Sam a tiny smile and a nod, then turned to fix Adrian with a stern look. “Fine. Put it over your book bag, though. You might not melt, but your books and papers will.”

    Silence. Adrian’s anger filled the air like an electric charge, making Sam’s skin itch.

    Seized by a sudden need to escape, he undid his seat belt, opened the car door and stepped out into the storm. The shock of cold felt good. He lifted his face, savoring the sting of the rain on his skin.

    A few seconds later, Bo and Adrian climbed out of the car. Adrian’s backpack formed a hump beneath the yellow poncho. The hood didn’t quite cover his murderous expression.

    Sam followed Bo and Adrian up the front porch steps. Bo unlocked the front door, and the three of them trudged inside. A young woman in blue sweats emerged from the nearest apartment, umbrella in hand. She gave them a nod on her way out, brown ponytail bobbing. They didn’t meet anyone else as they trudged up the stairs to their apartment. Sam knew it was just his nerves which made the silence seem so eerie—nearly all of their www.samhainpublishing.com 55
    Ally Blue
neighbors worked or attended school during the week, so of course the place was quiet—
    but knowing that didn’t make him any less jumpy. He wondered if the parenting stuff would ever get any easier, or if he was fated to suffer this overwhelming sense of approaching doom every time he had to help Bo deal with discipline issues.

    Inside the apartment, Sam flipped the switch to turn on the two standing lamps in the living area. Adrian tore off the poncho and threw it on the floor, then dropped his backpack beside it.

    Bo took his son firmly by the shoulders and steered him to the sofa before he could stomp off to his room. “Sit,” Bo ordered. “I want to talk to you.” The glare Adrian shot at his father burned with rebellion, but he did as he was told.
    Sam curled into the chair opposite the couch, hoping he’d be able to keep out of whatever was about to happen.
“I already told you I didn’t do it,” Adrian muttered.
    “Yes, I know what you said.” Bo sat beside Adrian, studying his face. “Son, I’d like to believe you. But according to your teacher, you were the only student sitting close enough to the bookshelf to knock those books off it. And she said she saw you throw that pencil at her.”
    Scowling, Adrian crossed his arms and attempted to stare a hole in the floor. “I don’t care what she thinks she saw. I didn’t do it.” “Then who did?”
“I don’t know! It just happened, okay?”
“Books don’t go flying off a shelf all by themselves, and pencils certainly don’t throw themselves at people.”
    In his memory, Sam saw Lee’s worried face as he told them about the strange happenings at his and Janine’s house—shadows, noises, objects moving by themselves. A disturbing suspicion began to take root in Sam’s mind.
    “Well, I guess someone else did it then, didn’t they?” Adrian spat.
Bo didn’t comment on the caustic tone in the child’s voice. Turning sideways, he tucked one leg beneath him. “Adrian, look at me.” 56 www.samhainpublishing.com
An Inner Darkness
    The boy cut his eyes sideways to meet his father’s gaze with a defiant glare. Bo sighed. “We all make mistakes, son. We all do things we know are wrong. You can’t change what’s already happened, but you can take responsibility for your actions.” Adrian’s jaw clenched just like Bo’s did when he was angry and trying to hold it in.
    “I didn’t do it.”
Bo’s dark eyes sparked with frustration. “Adrian, don’t lie to me.”
“I’m not lying! I didn’t do it !”
    Before Sam could wonder why the air in