An Inner Darkness Book 5 Bay City paranormal

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case and hit print. It was the last of the work before they shut down for the holiday.
    Normally they worked the day after Thanksgiving. Sam didn’t mind, since he didn’t spend time with his mother or sister, but this time he was glad Bo had decided not to open on Friday. His eyes felt gritty, his lids lead-weighted. He’d never been more ready for a break in his life. Something nudged his arm. He looked up to meet Cecile’s concerned gaze. “Here,” she said, holding out a steaming mug full of coffee that smelled like pumpkin pie spice.
    “Thought you could use some caffeine.”
He took the mug with a grateful smile. “You thought right. Thanks.” He blew on the hot liquid and took a sip. “Mm. Good.” She patted his shoulder. “You look worn out.”
    “Almost as worn out as Bo.” Danny swiveled around to arch an eyebrow at him. “I do hope the two of you are planning to relax over the next few days.”

    “Yeah, it’s just…” Sam trailed off, tracing the rim of his mug with his thumb. They hadn’t told anyone at the office about the latest incident with Adrian, and Sam had no idea how to explain how much stress he and Bo were under without that fairly vital piece of information. “The kids,” Andre guessed, emerging from the back room. “Bo’s worried about the kids, isn’t he? Since their house is showing potential for portal formation.”
    “Yeah, exactly.” Sam glanced toward Bo’s office, where Bo was holed up finishing some financial spreadsheet or other. “I think Bo’s only doing the accounting to distract him from thinking about the boys and what might be happening there.” David laughed. “No way. He’s way too much of a control freak to let go of the money stuff, even though we all know Danny would be better at it.”
    “Thank you,” Danny said, smiling. “But I believe Bo manages quite well.” Closing the PhotoShop document he’d been working on for the BCPI website, Dean spun around in his chair. “Has anything else happened at the house since we were out there?”
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    “Not that we know of. But of course Janine doesn’t talk to us if she doesn’t have to, so who knows. Though I think Lee would’ve called if anything major happened.” Sam didn’t mention Bo’s belief that even though Lee might call if he knew something had happened, Adrian was just as likely to keep any events to himself as to tell Lee.
    Cecile frowned. “Maybe this is a silly question, but if nothing’s happened, why is Bo so worried? He looks like he hasn’t slept for a week, and frankly, Sam, you don’t look much better. Is something else going on?”

    Sam hesitated, unsure of how to answer. He took a swallow of coffee. “Well—” Before he could continue, the front door swung open and a petite woman in a mail carrier’s uniform walked in. Sam smiled at her. “Hi, Kathryn.”
    “Hi, Sam.” She looked around. “Where’s Bo? I have a certified letter for him. He needs to sign for it.”
“He’s in his office.” Danny stood and started to Bo’s door. “I’ll get him for you.”
“Great, thanks.”
Danny knocked on Bo’s door. “Bo, can you come out here for a moment? You need to sign for a certified letter.”
    The door swung open. Walking out, he approached the mail carrier with a strained smile. He scribbled his name on the form and took the letter. “Thanks, Kathryn.”
    “Sure. See y’all.” She left with a wave, the door squeaking shut behind her.
Bo glanced at the envelope. A scowl twisted his features. “Shit. It’s from Janine’s lawyer.”
Cecile gasped. “What? Why would he be sending you a certified letter?”
“I don’t know.” Bo snatched the letter opener from Danny’s desk and slit open the envelope.
Setting down his coffee, Sam walked around to stand beside Bo as he pulled out the single sheet of paper. “What’s it say?”
    Bo scanned the paper, and all the color drained from his face. “Fuck. Oh, fuck. No.” Alarmed, Sam slipped his arm around Bo’s waist. “What? What is it?” 144
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Bo turned to Sam, his face gray with shock. “Janine’s trying to take away my visitation.”
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Chapter Twelve
    Sam snatched the paper out of Bo’s unresisting hand. Four paragraphs of stilted legalese boiled down to what Bo had already