What Hides Inside: Bay City Paranormal Investigations, Book 2

squeezed. “We’ll take good care of him.”
“I know.” He felt like he should say something else, but he didn’t know what to say. Whirling around, he shoved the door open.
The elevator was empty, for which Sam was profoundly grateful. He was shaking all over, his emotions out of control, and he didn’t feel like facing a bunch of strangers. As he stepped out into the first floor hallway, he nearly ran right into Dean, who was walking past the elevator door at that moment.
“Sam. Cecile and I just got back, I was heading to the soda machine and—” Dean stopped short, eyes going wide when he saw Sam’s face. Grabbing Sam’s hand, he dragged him into a small alcove containing drink and snack machines. “What happened? What’s wrong?”
Sam swallowed, trying to find his voice. “He was awake, he was talking to me, and then…he, he just…he started shaking, and he wouldn’t respond to me. The nurse said he had a seizure, that…that it was probably his fever.”
“What? But Andre told me the doctor said he was stable.”
“He was, the nurse said his fever was down right after the surgery, but now…” Squeezing his eyes shut, Sam fought back tears. “What if he doesn’t make it, Dean? I can’t live with that. I can’t.”
“God, Sam. Come here.” Dean put his arms around Sam’s shoulders and pulled him close. Sam leaned against him, clutching his shirt. He couldn’t cry, not here. But it felt good to be held.
After a couple of minutes, Sam felt sufficiently in control to face the rest of the group. Pulling out of Dean’s embrace, Sam gave him a wan smile. “I found out how to get in touch with Janine and the boys. The number’s in Bo’s cell phone, in the SUV glove compartment.”
Dean pressed his hand. “Great. Let’s go find it. Andre can make the call.”
As they walked across the lobby, Sam felt his composure returning, the old habit of hiding his emotions kicking in automatically. By the time he and Dean entered the room where their friends waited, he’d schooled his face into a blank mask. It wasn’t perfect, but it was the best he could do. At least he wasn’t screaming.
Chapter Fourteen
    “Dammit.” Snapping Bo’s cell phone closed, Andre glowered at it before shoving it back in his jacket pocket. “Where the hell are they?”
    With a sigh, Cecile shifted in her seat, leaning her head on David’s shoulder. “You’ve left five messages. All we can do is keep trying.”
    “Yeah, I know.” Andre rubbed a hand across his eyes. “I’m just afraid that…”
There was no need to finish the thought. They all knew what he was afraid of.
Andre had been trying to call Bo’s in-laws for almost eight hours. So far he’d gotten the answering machine every time. As time ticked away and Bo’s condition continued to deteriorate, they’d all begun to fear Bo’s children wouldn’t make it back in time to see their father before…
Don’t think of it. That’s not going to happen. Bo’s not going to die. He’s going to make it.
That mantra had repeated itself in Sam’s head over and over ever since Bo had been bitten. At first it had helped. Soothed away some of his dread. But as the hours passed, a niggling voice in the back of his mind whispered that his hope was nothing but a lie. That he was going to lose the first person he’d ever truly loved.
The last visit to Bo’s bedside, nearly four hours ago, had made the icy lump in Sam’s belly a permanent fixture. Bo was unconscious, cheeks red and hot with a fever that refused to abate, his body twitching now and then. An oxygen mask was strapped to his face. Marlene had grimly informed them that if the oxygen level in his blood continued to drop, the next step would be a ventilator to breathe for him.
The whole group had gone to see him that time, by special permission from Dr. Shore. When they left, they were silent, but Sam saw his own fear reflected in their faces.
Glancing at the clock on the wall of the ICU waiting room, Sam realized it was nearly time for the next visiting period. He rose and stretched. On the other side of the room, the phone at the volunteer desk rang. “It’s time, y’all,” Sam said. “Who all’s coming?”
“I’ll stay here,” Andre offered. “In case Janine calls back. Cell phones aren’t allowed in the ICU and I don’t want to miss a call.”
What Andre said was true, but Sam suspected the man’s willingness to stay behind had more to do with painful memories than anything