An Inner Darkness Book 5 Bay City paranormal

whatever I am to the boys.” Draping both arms over Bo’s shoulders, Sam kissed his brow. “I just hope I can actually help him.”
    “So do I.” Pressing closer, Bo rubbed his cheek against Sam’s. “The EMF at Janine and Lee’s house is high, even without the entertainment center leakage factored in. If Adrian really does have psychokinetic powers…” He didn’t finish the thought, but he didn’t need to. They both knew what the combination of high EMF and uncontrolled psychokinesis could do.
    Don’t forget what’s happened to most other people who can open the portals.
    A chill ran up Sam’s spine. In the very few portal cases he’d managed to dig up in his research, he’d only found one person besides himself who’d acted as a focus to open a portal and not ended up catatonic. Josephine Royce, who had opened a portal at Oleander House decades ago and lost her lover to the things on the other side. Her last words, scrawled on a sheet of paper stuck in a forgotten magazine, proclaimed her intention of following her love into the void. She was never heard from again, leaving Sam as the only living person able to open an interdimensional gateway and survive with his mind intact.
    The thing was, he still had no idea why he wasn’t currently a drooling vegetable in a nursing home somewhere. The thought of Adrian suffering that fate was unbearable.
    Knowing that Bo was thinking the same thing hurt Sam’s heart.
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    “Maybe we’re getting ahead of ourselves,” Sam said, stroking Bo’s hair. “I mean, I’m pretty sure he’s psychokinetic. But that doesn’t have to mean anything will ever happen other than the usual poltergeist-type activity.”

    “I know.” Bo let out a shaky breath. “At least he’s safe for the moment. At least we have a few hours to think. Maybe we can come up with some sort of plan before Janine finds out Adrian’s here and comes after him.”

    “That’s right.” Sam nuzzled Bo’s ear. “Don’t worry. We’ll figure it out. We’ll make sure nothing happens to the boys, or anyone else.” Bo nodded, his head coming to rest on Sam’s shoulder, but the tension in his body remained. Not that Sam blamed him. Sam didn’t entirely believe himself either. ***

    At four o’clock, Lee showed up with Sean in tow to retrieve Adrian. Bo barely got the door open before Sean threw himself at his father so hard Bo grunted. “Hi, Dad.”
    “Hi, son.” Smiling, Bo ruffled Sean’s hair. “How was school?” Sean scrunched up his face. “Boring. Adrian’s lucky he got to leave early.” “Not really. He’s in trouble.” Bo stopped Sean’s inevitable questions with a raised hand. “Not right now. I’ll explain it all later.” “’Kay.” Letting go of his dad, Sean crossed to the sofa and threw his book bag on it.
“Where’s Adrian?”
“In your bedroom,” Sam answered. “Bo, you want me to get him, or should he and Sean stay in their room for this?”
Lee frowned, looking puzzled. “For what?”
Pulling his braid over his shoulder, Bo tugged on the tail. “Lee, we need to talk. Do you have a minute?”
Lee’s gaze darted from Bo to Sam and back again. “Oh. Yes, of course.”
    “Good.” Bo turned to his youngest son, who had plopped onto the couch and was reaching for the TV remote. “Sean, I need you to go to your bedroom, okay? You and Adrian can watch TV in there.”
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“All right.” Leaping to his feet, Sean raced for the bedroom and flung the door open.
Adrian’s indignant protest floated from the room.
Lee waited until Sean had shut the door again before speaking up. “Okay. What did you want to talk about?”
Moving closer to Sam, Bo took his hand. “When will Janine be home?”
    “Late tonight. I’m not sure exactly what time.” Lee frowned. “What’s going on? I know Adrian’s been suspended, and trust me, Janine will discipline him for it. Is there something else happening that we should know about?” The muscle in Bo’s jaw tightened and relaxed. “Sam and I have both spoken with Adrian, and we believe the incident at the school is a bit more complex than it appears on the surface.”
    Lee shook his head. “I’m sorry, I don’t understand.” Bo glanced at Sam, who gave his hand an encouraging squeeze. They’d spent a couple of hours that afternoon talking about what to do before confronting Adrian with their decision. Surprisingly, Adrian