An Inner Darkness Book 5 Bay City paranormal

Closing his eyes, he gave himself up to its irresistible pull.
    ***
When he woke, the clock read four thirty a.m. and Bo’s side of the bed was empty.
Sam pulled on a clean T-shirt and went looking for him.
    He wasn’t surprised to find Bo in Adrian’s room, slouched in the single chair, watching his son sleep. Bo turned his head toward Sam when Sam entered the room.

    Even in the dark, Sam saw the forlorn look in Bo’s eyes. Carefully avoiding the squeaky spots in the floor, Sam crossed to where Bo sat and held out his hand. Bo took it and let himself be pulled to his feet.

    Knowing it was useless to take Bo back to bed right now, Sam led him into the living room and sat him down on the sofa. Sam switched on the TV, with the volume turned low. On screen, Humphrey Bogart wondered why, out of all the gin joints in all the 124
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world, Ingrid Bergman had to wander into his. The watery gray light from the mournful scene illuminated the dampness streaking Bo’s cheeks.
    Without a word, Sam wrapped both arms around Bo and pulled him close. Bo curled into his embrace, head resting in the curve of his neck and hands clutching his shirt with desperate strength.
    Eventually, Bo’s shoulders stopped shaking and the wetness dried from Sam’s neck.
Sam held his lover, cheek pressed to his hair and palms stroking his back, offering the only comfort he could.
Bo didn’t sleep again until the first morning sunlight bled through the curtains. Sam sat there, deep in thought, and didn’t sleep at all. www.samhainpublishing.com 125
Ally Blue

Chapter Eleven
    Shadows swirled within shadows, hovering on the edge of solidity for a tantalizing second before dissipating again. The sleeve of a jacket lifted and pulled sideways toward a whorl of blackness nestled in the dark spaces between hanging garments, an open toy box, shelves of books and shoes. Clothes, books, even the folding closet doors seemed to bend inward like water circling a drain.
    Frowning, Sam went back a few seconds in the video displayed on his computer monitor to replay the video of Adrian’s closet once again. It was the video taken Friday night in Adrian’s room, when he’d first seen the darkness coalesce like a living thing inside Adrian’s closet.
    He hadn’t yet reached the part after he’d turned the light on and Adrian had lost his temper. The part when he’d felt the things beyond the dimensional barrier trying to force their way through. He told himself he hadn’t moved on yet because he wanted to understand the first event before viewing the second, but the truth was both simpler and less palatable—he was afraid. Just plain fucking terrified to see what he knew he would see.
    Berating himself for his cowardice, Sam hit “play” and prepared to watch the next few seconds for about the tenth time. He leaned forward and stared hard at the maelstrom 126
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on the screen. The heart of it seemed at first glance to be empty, but Sam knew it wasn’t.
Not really. The harder he looked, the more alive the blackness seemed to be. It moved.
Pulsed. Reached inky pseudopods toward the dim golden glow of Adrian’s nightlight.
    When Sam’s digital self jumped up to turn on the light, he stopped the video and pressed the heels of his hands to his forehead. He had no idea why the evidence from Friday night was affecting him more than the other cases. Maybe it was because Adrian was Bo’s son, or because Sam had come to care for Adrian in his own right. Maybe it was because he hadn’t seen actual video of a portal trying to open since Oleander House, and the memories of that time still tortured him in his nightmares. He didn’t know.
    Whatever the reason, he didn’t think he could keep watching. Not right now.
A hand gripped his shoulder. Sam turned and looked up into Dean’s worried face.
“You okay?” Dean asked.
“Yeah.” Dean gave him a skeptical look, and Sam shook his head. “No. This video is freaking me out, to tell you the truth.” “Because it involves Adrian?”
    “I don’t know. But honestly, that’s probably it.” Reaching behind him, Dean rolled Danny’s chair over and plopped into it. “I can see that. So what’ve you found so far?”
    Sam looked around the office, which was empty except for himself and Dean. Bo and Andre were closeted in Bo’s office with the new client whose busy schedule was one reason they were here on a Saturday.