Closer: Bay City Paranormal Investigation, Book 4

revealed nothing, but the sudden apprehension in his eyes said he’d guessed what Sam was about to ask.
“I felt something last night,” Sam began. “Right before Bo passed out. It was a change in the fort’s energy field, and it felt a lot like a portal trying to open.”
Cecile’s face went dead white. “Oh, my God.”
“What did it feel like?” Andre asked, breaking the silence he’d kept most of the afternoon. “I mean, was it localized and controlled like the one at South Bay High, or more random like the one at Oleander House?”
Andre’s unflappable calm eased some of the tension which had knotted Sam’s insides all day. “It felt like it did at Oleander House more so than South Bay, although it wasn’t precisely like either one.” Sam paused, going over the event in his mind with what he hoped was a dispassionate eye. “It was sort of in between the two, I guess. It felt more controlled than at Oleander House, but without the intense focus I felt at South Bay. It seemed to be triggered by my anger—”
“Sam and I were arguing again,” Bo interjected, looking sheepish. “My fault, of course.”
“It takes two to fight.” Tilting Bo’s chin up, Sam brushed their lips together. “Anyway, I sort of equated it with the Oleander House portal because it felt to me like I triggered it. If that makes any sense.”
Cecile nodded. “It makes sense to me.”
“Me too.” Andre scratched his jaw, his expression thoughtful. “Anything else?”
“Not really. Of course whatever it was, it only lasted for a second. If it really was a portal, it never did open. So it’s sort of difficult to be sure of anything.”
“But you did feel as if whatever it was, was connected to your emotions in some way, right?” Bo curled a hand around Sam’s knee, thumb caressing the old scar from a childhood bicycle accident. “So if you and I stay here, everyone else should be able to finish the investigation without unnecessary risk.”
“Right.” Sam scowled. Even though he was relieved that he and Bo would be staying at the house, it was galling to be reminded that he could be a source of danger to the people who mattered most to him in the world. “Andre, I think we should talk to Joanne about this. If there’s even the slightest potential of a portal ever opening at the fort, they should know about the danger.”
“Yeah, you’re probably right.” Andre let out a deep sigh. “She’s not going to like it. She was hoping we could help her business, not hurt it.”
“Well, there’s no need to break the bad news just yet, is there?” Uncurling his legs from where he’d been sitting on the floor, David stretched out on his back with both hands behind his head. “I mean, we can see what comes up tonight, can’t we? The fort’s closed tomorrow anyhow. If we run into anything freaky tonight, we can call Joanne tomorrow and let her know.”
“Andre, you and I should probably do a thorough psychic run-through tonight.” Cecile brushed her bangs out of her eyes. “We both felt the energy of the potential portals at Oleander House and at South Bay. If there’s anything like that at Fort Medina, we should be able to sense it.”
“For that matter, we should’ve been able to sense it before, if the potential is there at all,” Andre pointed out. “But we weren’t really doing the full-out psychic sweep, so maybe we just missed it. We’ll plan on spending some time concentrating our attention on that tonight. If it’s there, you’re absolutely right, we should be able to pick up on it.”
“And if Sam’s not there, there’s no danger of the critters getting loose.” David shot an apologetic look at Sam. “No offense, man.”
“None taken.” Feeling morose and out of sorts now, Sam stood and headed toward the kitchen. “I think I’ll start dinner. What do y’all want?”
“Let’s get pizza,” Dean suggested. “There’s a place up the road that delivers. Kyle says it’s quick and really good.”
“Who’s Kyle?” Bo asked.
“Dean’s new boy-toy.” David grinned. “Speaking of which, Dean, you never did give us the scoop on the kid yesterday. Was he good?”
Dean smirked. “Sorry, David, I don’t suck and tell.”
“Oh my God,” David groaned. “I just had to ask.”
A grin tugged at Sam’s lips. Having Dean and David in the same room always felt like being in a buddy movie. Their teasing banter never failed to lift Sam’s spirits.
Sam reached for the phone book