What Hides Inside: Bay City Paranormal Investigations, Book 2

to the dirty dishes in the sink.
A few minutes later, he settled into the chair by the window with a huge mug of lethally strong coffee. Outside, the faint light revealed a gray and dreary sky. It fit Sam’s mood. Whatever happened, Sam knew he had no one to blame but himself. He accepted that. But it didn’t make it any easier to face the possibility of losing his last chance with Bo.
Sam nearly jumped out of his skin when someone banged on his door, rattling it in its frame. Cursing under his breath, he glanced at the clock and frowned. Who the fuck shows up at six in the morning on
    Thanksgiving? He set his coffee mug on the windowsill and hurried to the door.
    Peering through the peephole, Sam was startled to see Bo standing in the hall, lips pressed into a thin line and dark eyes shooting sparks. Sam’s stomach plummeted into his feet. “Oh shit,” he whispered as Bo raised a fist and started pounding on the door again.
    “I know you’re in there, Sam!” Bo shouted. “Open this fucking door right now.”
For a second, Sam seriously debated whether letting Bo in would be wise. The man was clearly furious, and Sam didn’t relish being on the receiving end of Bo’s anger. He knew from experience Bo packed a powerful punch.
If he wants to hit you, he sure as hell has a right to, after what you did. Licking his suddenly dry lips, Sam slid back the deadbolt and swung the door open. “Bo, I—”
“Shut up.” Pushing past Sam, Bo swept into the apartment and turned to Sam with a dangerous fire in his eyes. “Did you?”
Sam saw no point in delaying the inevitable by pretending he didn’t know what Bo meant. “Yes,” he said softly as he shut the door. “It was a huge mistake. I’m sorry.”
“You’re sorry?” Bo let out a harsh laugh. “You’re sorry. You told me it wasn’t about sex, no, not at all, it was about us being together openly. And yet the minute I call it off, you fuck the first guy who’ll have you. And you’re sorry. ”
“I am.” Sam kept himself still, his voice carefully calm. “You have every right to be angry with me.”
“Do I?” Shaking his head, Bo started pacing in a tight circle. “I don’t know. I broke up with you, after all. Hell, I told you to go out with Dean. But I am angry, whether I have a right to be or not. I just can’t stand the thought of you with someone else.”
“Neither can I.” Taking a cautious step forward, Sam brushed his fingers against Bo’s upper arm. “What happened with Dean just proved to me that I don’t want anyone else but you.”
Bo jerked away from Sam’s touch. He resumed pacing, gaze locked on the floor. Swallowing his hurt, Sam backed up and leaned against the wall, waiting for whatever Bo would do next.
“I had a feeling, you know?” Bo said, his voice low and ragged. “Just the way you looked at each other yesterday. I wanted to know. That’s why I asked him to stay. So I could find out.”
“You asked him?”
“No. I wanted to. But I couldn’t. So I made up some bullshit about wanting to know how he thought he was doing so far in his job.” Bo shook his head, his lips curling into a sad smile. “He saw right through that. Said he knew what was going on, that you and he had…” Bo’s voice faltered. “He said that he was only a substitute for me. That I was the one you wanted, not him.”
Sam stared, at a loss for words. He wanted to be angry with Dean, but couldn’t find it in himself to feel anything but gratitude. Dean, he realized, must have told Bo in order to force the man into drastic action. It sure as hell worked.
“He’s right,” Sam confessed, watching Bo closely. “I used him, because I didn’t know what else to do. I wanted to be with you, and I couldn’t. I needed to forget you right then, so I took Dean to bed. But it didn’t work. It didn’t make me forget you, it just made me want you more.”
Bo twirled the end of his braid around one finger. “I can’t believe Dean wasn’t angry with you.”
“He knew what I was doing even before I did. And he told me if I loved you, I should fight for you.” Sam deliberately left out the part about Bo loving him back. If it was true, he wanted Bo to say it.
“You said you loved me before,” Bo whispered. “Do you?”
“Yes,” Sam answered without hesitation. “I won’t ask you the same. But, Bo, can you forgive me? Can we try again?”
Bo stood silently staring at the floor, and Sam’s heart sank. He couldn’t blame Bo for not