What Hides Inside: Bay City Paranormal Investigations, Book 2

keys in the pocket, he headed out the door.
    The day had turned fine and breezy, the wind chilly enough to sting but not unbearably cold. A perfect day for wandering the shaded sidewalks, taking in the sights and sounds of the lovely old city. Sam strolled along through the growing crowd, face turned up to catch the afternoon sunshine. Just being outside eased some of the tightness inside him.
    He had no particular destination in mind, but it didn’t surprise him when he found himself standing in front of the Bay City Paranormal office. Walking up onto the front porch, he peered in through the bent spot in the window blind. The office was dark, which did surprise him a little. One or more of the BCPI team would frequently show up on Sundays, to get ahead of the week’s work.
    “Guess you didn’t really want to be alone after all,” he muttered as he unlocked the door and let himself inside. “And didn’t that work out well?”
    Just like everything else, he thought morosely, shutting the door behind him.
He hung up his jacket and looked around. The place seemed small and a little sad with no one in it. Sighing, Sam decided to go to the back room and dig out the video from South Bay High. Might as well get started on it.
He’d just booted up the laptop and started the video from camera one when he heard the front door open. Taking off his headphones and leaning back in his chair, he craned to see through the door into the office lobby. “Hello? Who’s there?”
“Sam, is that you?” Andre came into view as he rounded Cecile’s desk, a hulking silhouette against the brightness of the front window. “You following me?”
Sam grinned at the teasing tone in Andre’s voice. The big man must be feeling less down now, he realized with relief. “I got here first. So what’re you doing here?”
Grabbing a chair, Andre rolled it closer and sat down. “Got bored. Figured I’d come in and watch some of the video from the school. You?”
“Same. Obviously.” Sam gestured to the computer screen, where he’d paused the video. “I just got started on camera one, the one from the north end of the tunnel. Which one you want?”
“Guess I’ll take the south end. Might be a good thing to compare the two ends to each other, see if anything matches up.”
“Great idea.” Reaching for the box of cables and headphones, Sam snatched a pair of headphones and handed them to Andre. “Here. You want to watch the digital file or the tape?”
“Digital.” Rolling over to the desktop computer, Andre booted it up. “None of the files are copied to the other computers yet, are they?”
“Not unless someone else came in at a truly ungodly hour and took care of it.”
Andre’s laughter was cut short by a huge yawn. Sam knew how he felt. They’d all met back at the school at one a.m. to break down the equipment and take it back to the office. Between that, his restless thoughts and waking up before dawn, Sam doubted he’d gotten three whole hours of sleep. Andre looked like he hadn’t gotten any more than that himself.
“Nope,” Andre said, scrolling through the list of files on his computer. “They haven’t been copied. Send me the camera seven file.”
“Okay.” With a few clicks, Sam sent a copy of the video to Andre’s computer over the wireless network. “You think we should leave it until tomorrow? I’m pretty sure David hasn’t shown Dean any of this equipment yet.”
Andre shot him an amused look. “Dean’s got a degree in computer science. I think he can figure it out.”
Heat crept into Sam’s cheeks. He turned back to his computer screen, put his headphones on and started the video again, mortified that his attraction to Dean was so obvious. If they knew how Dean affected him, David and Cecile and possibly even Andre were sure to try to get them together.
Would that be so bad? the troublemaker in his head whispered. Dean’s hot, and he wants you.
But I can’t, Sam argued silently, frowning at the black-and-green picture on his monitor. I love Bo.
Of course you do . But what rule is there that says you can’t want anyone else? Bo will never feel about you the way you do for him. Why torture yourself?
Sam shook his head, forcing himself to concentrate on the video. He refused to listen to the seductive little voice in his head, telling him to give in to his physical needs and damn the consequences. He’d already hurt Bo enough. If they stood any chance at all as a couple, the one thing Sam