by Ally Blue
Sam wasn’t sure he believed Bo’s promise, but what choice did he have? Bo believed it, Sam was certain of that. He would just have to trust his lover and hope for the best.
Slipping his hand up to cup the back of Bo’s head, Sam tilted Bo’s head for a kiss. “Come on. I’ll wash you off.”
They headed for the bathroom with their arms around each other. Sam nuzzled Bo’s hair and tried not to think of what the next day might bring.
Chapter Three
Sam wasn’t sure whose idea it had been to take the road to Fort Medina for their morning run. He thought maybe Bo had first brought it up, pointing out that the road was more heavily shaded in that direction. At seven a.m. the day had already promised to be fine and hot, so running in the shade sounded like a good plan.
However, Sam himself was the one who’d suggested taking a look at the fort as long as they were headed in that direction. Bo had eagerly agreed, and now here they stood, the locked gate in front of them and a stretch of deserted road and pine forest behind them, staring across the empty parking lot at the entrance to the old brick structure.
“Dean was right,” Sam said, hooking his fingers in the chainlink fence. “It looks spooky, even in daylight.”
“Yeah. I wonder what it must be like at night, with no one here and everything pitch dark?” Bo grinned, eyes sparkling. “It would be fun to come out with the group tonight, just for a little while.”
Sam shot Bo a stern look. “No. You promised.”
“I promised not to get involved in the investigation.” Bo shrugged, his gaze fixed on the fort’s arched entryway. “I was just thinking it would be interesting to see the place at night, that’s all. We certainly don’t have to.”
“Damn right we don’t.” Turning away from Bo’s wistful expression, Sam studied the high walls of weathered brick.
It really is a cool place, the insatiably curious investigator in his brain prodded. So much history here. So much to see, and to learn. What sorts of ghosts must haunt this place? Don’t you want to find out?
Sam scowled, irritated with himself. The rest of the team would gladly fill Bo and himself in on what they found during the investigation. Why, Sam wondered, couldn’t his adventurous streak just calm the fuck down and leave him alone?
Bo’s hand cupped his ass and squeezed, bringing him out of his thoughts. “Come on, Sam. Let’s head back. I’ll fix omelets for breakfast.”
“Okay.” Snaking an arm around Bo’s waist, Sam pulled him close for a quick, sweat-tinged kiss. “I love you.”
Laughing, Bo kissed Sam again and nuzzled his cheek. “I love you too. Now come on. We have a lot of swimming and lying in the sun to do, and we’re falling behind schedule.”
Sam shook his head as they drew apart. “You and your schedules.”
“What can I say, I’m anal like that.”
“You’re anal lots of ways.”
Bo arched an eyebrow at him and started jogging back down the road without another word. With one last glance over his shoulder at the fort, Sam followed. Soon enough the fence and the parking lot were out of sight behind them.
***
“Did you bring the thermal imaging camera?”
“Yes, Dean’s got it.”
“What about the new power cable for the laptop? You know the old one won’t stay plugged in anymore.”
“It’s with the laptop.”
“Well what about—”
“Okay, stop it.” Setting the bag full of flashlights and extra batteries in the back of the SUV, Andre turned and aimed a glare at Bo, who stood behind him. “We have everything we need, Bo. We didn’t forget anything, and believe it or not we know what to do without you instructing us every step of the way.”
It was eight forty-five, and the team was preparing to leave for the fort. For the past couple of hours, Bo had been following Andre around peppering him with questions about their plans for the evening. Sam had watched Andre’s irritation at Bo grow, wondering when he’d finally explode.
Andre’s level of control was impressive. Hopefully Bo would stop while he was ahead.
“I know that.” Bo sidestepped Andre, leaned into the SUV and opened one of the bags. “This doesn’t look like enough cord to me. The fort’s a big place.”
Andre shook his head and turned a pleading look to Sam. “Can’t you do anything with him?”
Sam snorted. “What makes you think he’ll listen to me?”
“’Cause you’re fucking him, my man,” David supplied, coming around the back of the SUV at that moment with a bulky duffle bag slung over one shoulder. “Sex is a powerful motivator.”
Bo paled, then flushed crimson. “Okay. Well. Good luck tonight, Andre. Tell us all about it tomorrow, okay?”
Andre nodded. “Sure thing.” He reached out and laid a hand on Bo’s arm. “Hey, Bo—”
“I’m, uh, just going to finish cleaning up the kitchen. See y’all tomorrow.” Turning on his heel, Bo strode back toward the house, braid swinging. His tension showed clear as day in his hunched shoulders and stiff back.
Sam shook his head. It could’ve gone worse. At least Bo would probably be back to normal once everyone else left.
With a deep sigh, Andre turned to David. “You and your big mouth. Why’d you have to say that?”
“Oh come on, how long’s he known me? If he hasn’t figured out I’m a smartass by now he’s not nearly as bright as I’d always thought.” David hefted the bag into the rear of the vehicle and mopped the sweat from his forehead with the bottom of his T-shirt. “That’s the last of the equipment.”
“Okay.” Andre glanced at his watch. “I’ll round up the rest of the crew and we’ll go.” He poked David in the chest with one thick finger. “And for God’s sake, think before you talk next time, huh?”
Andre stalked off, grumbling under his breath. David scowled at his back. “Yessir, your highness. Geez.”
Sam shut the SUV’s tailgate and leaned against it. “Don’t let him bug you. Bo’s been a real pain in the ass tonight, asking questions and poking his nose in where he promised he wouldn’t. It’s getting on Andre’s nerves.”
“Yeah, I couldn’t help noticing that. The old ‘kick the dog’ syndrome. And what fun it is to be the fucking dog.” With a quick look around, David leaned closer and lowered his voice. “You don’t think I really upset Bo, do you? I didn’t mean to.”
Chuckling, Sam patted David on the back. “Don’t worry about it, he’s fine. He just hates being reminded that everyone knows we’re having sex.”
David pretended to gag. “I’d rather not be reminded either, if it’s all the same to you.”
“Maybe you shouldn’t bring it up, then.” Sam looked up at the sound of the front door opening. Andre walked out into the yellow glow of the front porch light, followed by Cecile and Dean. Sam pushed away from the SUV. “Here comes the rest of the crew. Y’all have fun tonight.”
“We will. And you do what you have to to improve the boss’s mood, yeah?”
“Will do.” Sam saluted, and David laughed.
After a flurry of goodbyes and promises to discuss their findings the next day, the group piled into the SUV and started down the drive. Sam stood at the edge of the driveway and watched the taillights disappear into the darkness. Part of him wished he was going with them, and not just because it sounded like an interesting case. Bo had been moody all day, and Sam didn’t feel like facing it.
As if in answer to his thought, the front door opened and closed behind him. He heard the sound of bare feet through thin grass, then arms slipped around his waist and warm lips brushed the back of his neck.
“Hi, Bo,” Sam said, laying his hands over Bo’s where they rested on his stomach.
“Hi.” Bo pressed his cheek to Sam’s shoulder. “I’m sorry.”
“For what?” Turning one of Bo’s hands over, Sam stroked a thumb across his palm.
“For my attitude tonight. For driving Andre and everyone else to distract
ion over the case when I’d promised I wouldn’t get involved.”
“You were kind of irritating. But it’s okay.” Sam patted Bo’s hand. “We all know you can’t help yourself.”
Bo’s arms tightened around Sam’s waist, but he didn’t argue. “Want to go for a walk on the beach? It’s a beautiful night.” He bit Sam’s shoulder, then soothed the sting with his tongue. “It’s almost a full moon. Very romantic.”
Turning in Bo’s arms, Sam framed Bo’s face in his hands and kissed him. “I’d love a romantic walk on the beach with you.”
Bo smiled, brown eyes shining in the lamplight. “I love being here with you, Sam. It’s nice to be able to kiss you or hold you whenever I want, and not have to worry about people seeing.”
Sam squashed the swift flare of resentment. In the last few months, Bo had learned to relax and express his affection for Sam around the people they loved and trusted. It shouldn’t matter that Bo still didn’t feel comfortable holding hands when they walked down the street together, or greeting Sam with a kiss in public.
It shouldn’t matter. But it did. Sam wished with all his heart that it didn’t. More than that, he wished he could rid himself of the nagging fear of what it might mean—that he wasn’t as important to Bo as Bo was to him.
Shaking off the unwelcome bitterness, Sam stepped out of Bo’s arms and took his hand. “Do you have the house key?”
“Right here.” Bo patted the back pocket of his shorts with his free hand. “The doors are already locked.”
Sam laughed as they started down the path running through the pines down to the beach. “Pretty sure of me, weren’t you?”
“You’re a romantic at heart.” Bo squeezed Sam’s fingers. “I like that.”
Sam didn’t answer, just pulled Bo to him and wound an arm around his shoulders. They followed the path in silence, for which Sam was grateful. A deserted moonlit beach awaited them, and he hated to ruin the mood with the things he was afraid he might say.
***
Sam woke from a dream of blackness and lung-crushing terror to find the other side of the bed empty.
He lay in the dense darkness, his heart hammering against his ribs and his right arm flung across the spot where Bo should be, and tried to get his bearings. To his left, the night sky showed as a star-pricked square in the glass doors between the partially open curtains. To his right, the clock radio on the bedside table told him it was three fifty-seven a.m. Light bled around the closed door leading to the upstairs hallway. Across the room, the bathroom door stood half open. It was dark inside.
“Bo?” he called softly. Maybe Bo had gotten up to go to the bathroom and had left the light off to keep from waking him. “You in there?”
No answer. Sam frowned at the dark blur of the ceiling fan. Where could Bo possibly have gone at almost four in the morning? He’d never had trouble sleeping before.
Wide awake and a little worried, Sam kicked free of the tangled covers and slipped out of bed. Groping on the chair next the bed, he found his boxers and pulled them on, then started feeling his way to the door. He tripped over the sandals he’d left in the middle of the floor and nearly fell. Cursing under his breath, he stumbled to the door, opened it and shuffled into the hall. He squinted against the sudden brightness.
A faint murmur of voices drifted from downstairs. Bo must’ve heard the rest of the group returning from the investigation and gone to talk to them.
For a moment Sam stood there, leaning against the doorframe and thinking. Wondering if he should join Bo and the others downstairs, or just go back to bed. He was angry. Angrier than he had any right to be, really. After all, was it so bad that Bo had woken up and wanted to know how the first night of the investigation went? Sam couldn’t say for sure that he wouldn’t have done the same himself if he’d been the one to wake up first.
Bo’s voice rose above the others in a soft, excited laugh that melted some of Sam’s anger. He loved that sound. The sound of Bo discovering something.
Before he’d consciously decided to, he found himself walking down the stairs. He stepped into the foyer, turned the corner into the living room and nearly walked right into Bo’s back. Bo stood at Dean’s right shoulder, peering at the thermal imaging camera.
Andre nodded from his spot perched on one of the tall chairs at the bar between the living room and kitchen. “Hey, Sam.”
Turning, Bo took Sam’s arm and pulled him close. “Sam. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you.” He tilted his head up to kiss Sam’s lips. The gentle touch went a long way toward dispelling the resentment Sam still felt toward Bo for letting work get in the way of their private time.
Sam summoned a smile. “You didn’t wake me. I just…” He stopped, his stomach curdling at the memory of the nightmare that had woken him. He couldn’t recall details, but he remembered the horrible, paralyzing fear, and blackness that seemed almost alive. Describing it didn’t even seem possible, and he didn’t feel like trying. “I had to pee.”
David, sprawled on the sofa beside Cecile, wrinkled his nose. “TMI, man.”
Sam flipped him off and turned back to Bo, ignoring David’s laughter. “So, what’re y’all watching?”
“I got something interesting on the thermal.” Dean insinuated himself between Sam and Bo and rewound the thermal video a few seconds. “Check it out.”
Sam peered over Dean’s shoulder at the video screen. Dean hit play. The blur of blue gray on the display resolved itself into what looked like a smooth wall and a rather rough floor.
“This is one of the old weapons bunkers,” Dean explained as the image panned slowly to the right to reveal a corner of the room. “There’s only one door into the room, and it’s behind me at this point. Cecile’s standing just outside the door, taking video of the hallway. Now watch.”
Something small and bright red darted across the bottom of the picture. “That’s just a rat or something,” Sam said, gesturing at the display. “You must’ve heard it.”
“Yeah, we did. That’s not it. Just wait—” Dean pointed at the far left side of the screen. “There. Look.”
Sam looked. On the wall to the left of the corner was the light blue figure of a man in a uniform. An old-fashioned musket was slung over his shoulder. He turned his head, seeming to stare right at the camera, though the cap he wore hid his face. As Sam watched, the figure faded and vanished.
“Wow.” Reaching around Dean’s arm, Sam rewound the video and started it again. “That’s amazing.”
“Isn’t it?” Bo rested his chin on Sam’s shoulder, watching with him. “It’s clearly a human figure, in what looks like a Confederate soldier’s uniform, but the heat signature indicates that it’s not much warmer than the wall.”
“Dean and I tested to see if it might be his own body heat reflecting off the wall,” Cecile chimed in from the sofa. “But it didn’t work. Even his reflection was hotter than whatever this was.”
“And I had to get really close to the wall to make it reflect me at all,” Dean added. “Way closer than I was standing when I was filming. The walls at the fort are all stone or brick, so they don’t reflect well. This one was actually one of the smoother ones, because it had been painted at one point.”
“Pretty impressive.” Halting the video again, Sam glanced over at Andre. “Did y’all get anything else?”
Andre shrugged. “Hopefully. We had a few personal experiences, but we won’t know if we caught anything else concrete until we review the rest of the video and audio.”
“Which we’re going to have to start doing in a few hours.” Rising to his feet, David held a hand down for Cecile and hauled her up. “We’re off to bed. See y’all this afternoon.”
David and Cecile exited amid a chorus of good nights. Cecile squeezed Sam’s arm as she passed, and Sam gave her a smile in return.
Yawning, Sam laid an arm around Bo’s shoulders. “I’m going back to bed, Bo, you coming?”
Bo hesitated. The desire to start watching vide
os right away was clear as day on his face, and Sam’s heart plummeted to his feet.
Sam let his arm slip from around Bo and stepped back. “Okay. Guess I’ll see you later today.”
Sam turned and walked away without looking back. He was torn between fury and sorrow, and didn’t understand why either emotion was so strong. Evidence as good as Dean’s thermal video was rare, and Sam knew how excited Bo got about those things. Hell, they all did, Sam himself no less than any of the others. So why was he so upset about Bo wanting to go ahead and delve into the data from the night’s work?
Because he’d rather do that than come back to bed with you, that’s why.
Grimacing, Sam started up the stairs. He wished he could stop feeling so resentful of work. He loved his job. He’d loved it ever since he’d first arrived at Oleander House all those months ago for his first case with Bay City Paranormal. Bo felt the same, and Sam knew that. Their mutual love for their work was one of the things which had drawn them together in the first place. He hated that the business had begun to come between him and Bo.
No. That wasn’t right. The business hadn’t come between them. He’d let it come between them, for no reason at all other than his childish need to be first in Bo’s heart.
“Fuck, Sam,” he sighed, walking into the bedroom and kicking the door shut. He flopped on top of the wadded-up covers. “Why can’t you just grow up? Why are you pouting like some stupid kid?”
Having no answer for that, he fell into bed and willed his body to relax.
He’d begun to doze off when the bedroom door opened. A shirtless silhouette in battered denim shorts slipped inside. Sam heard the sound of a zipper, then a muffled thump of fabric hitting the floor. Seconds later, the mattress dipped and a warm naked body molded itself to his. Bo laid his head on Sam’s chest, and Sam wrapped an arm around him.
“Find anything else?” Sam asked, resting his cheek against Bo’s hair.
“I don’t know. I didn’t stay to see.”
“You didn’t?”