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  Connor didn't finish. He couldn't see the look on her face, but sensed her mood. She had enough on her mind without being reminded her soul once belonged to a killer.

  "I'm gonna go," she said. "I'll see you in the morning."

  "Wait, don't. Stay here a while."

  "Huh?"

  He lay on his side and slid over, making room for her. He patted the mattress.

  Brooke laughed, and once again all was right in the world. She settled over his pillow. "This is how late night movies start."

  "Don't worry. I'm not gonna make any moves."

  "Aww, you're breaking my heart now."

  He smiled, and resisted the urge to reach out and touch her. He could only see her soul across from his face, but knew she was lying next to him, sprawled on his bed. His living friends would call him pathetic, maybe even strange that he had feelings for a soul, but he didn't care.

  "Did you find out anything, following those two guys?"

  "Their names are Max and Andy. They put the body in a warehouse on the other side of town. That's all I know."

  "Amber, she—"

  "I think I figured her story out all on my own."

  Connor was quiet a moment. "I don't think anyone can punish her more than herself."

  "That's not true. If I had real fists, believe me, I'd punish her."

  There was no quelling Brooke's anger, and he wouldn't try. He was simply glad she wasn't taking it out on him.

  "Okay, so, what's the next move?"

  "I was gonna go to the warehouse in the morning and check it out, but probably not."

  "Why not?"

  "There is no next move, Connor. I'm dead. I'm a soul. It's not like I can go to the police."

  "I can. I'll talk for you."

  "And they'll believe you?"

  "Well, I won't tell them the part about the lovely soul speaking to me. Tomorrow night, we'll both go to the warehouse together, take some pictures of whatever they've got going on there. The police will definitely believe us then."

  "No. You might get hurt, and I won't let that happen."

  "And I'm not gonna let the people that burned your apartment get away with it."

  "Connor, this is crazy. You know that, right?"

  "Probably."

  She rose from the bed and paced. "After this is all over, I'm gonna disappear for a while. Maybe see the world."

  "Finally tired of me?"

  "Whatever thing we've got going on, this play-with-each-other, flirting thing, you know it's not normal, right?"

  He stood up and crossed his arms, thankful he wore sweatpants to bed. "Says who?"

  "Oh, I don't know, says everybody else in the world who can't hear spirits."

  "It's a good thing I don't listen to everybody else."

  "You should be out hitting on women with real bodies, and I'm in the way of all that."

  He rolled his eyes and crawled back into bed. Brooke didn't move as he pulled a sleeping mask from the nightstand.

  "I haven't worn one of these in forever," he said, slipping the mask over his eyes. Again, he made room on the bed for Brooke.

  "I was gonna rest on the couch," she said, humor in her voice. Even through the mask, Connor could see her light moving, sliding into bed next to him.

  "Nah. Plenty of room. Now, I suck at this kind of stuff, but I've been trying to think of what to do for our next date."

  "You're not gonna take no for an answer, are you?"

  "Nope. Besides, real bodies are overrated."

  Brooke laughed, and he laughed along with her.

  *****

  Connor was calmer than he thought he'd be as he stood in the woods next to the warehouse. He went to work like he always did, and came home to meet Brooke. He gathered his camera and flashlight before joining her in his car. He followed her directions to the warehouse she trailed Max and Andy to the night before. Brooke tried to convince him to turn around a few times, but he pressed on. Part of him thought she had the right idea, to just drop it. He was afraid of what could happen, and didn't know if he did a good job of hiding it or not. But he couldn't let Brooke's killers run free. Besides, he'd spent the past few months helping spirits. What was one more?

  "Are you sure about your car?" Brooked asked, hovering next to him behind a tree.

  "Brooke, I parked four streets away, and you see there aren't any lights on in there. No one's gonna see my car."

  "Then why are we still standing here? We've been here an hour."

  "You can go in there now, if you want. But I'm waiting until it's completely dark."

  "I'm not going in there without you. What do you think is in there?"

  "Well, at least one body, that's for sure."

  "Listen, we don't have to do this."

  "I know. I'm gonna climb the fence. Don't follow me, okay? Come in through the warehouse roof. There's gotta be a window or an open door I can get into."

  "What if there are attack dogs running around?"

  "I haven't seen any outside. If there are, you can teach me how to fly when I die."

  "That's not funny. I don't like this."

  He turned to face her. "If this place is empty, we'll forget about it all. But I can't just stay home and forget what's happened to you. And what about Amber?"

  "Screw Amber."

  "I know you don't like her right now, but she needs help, too. She doesn't want to do what she's doing."

  "Maybe she should have thought about that before she started selling stolen bodies."

  They waited for another ten minutes in silence. Connor's nerves were stretched thin, and Brooke's anxious pacing behind a few trees wasn't helping. He kept running through a mental checklist in his head. Get inside the warehouse, take some pictures, and get out. The whole adventure shouldn't last any more than fifteen minutes. It certainly sounded easy enough.

  "It's not gonna get any darker," Brooke said. "Are you ready?"

  "Yeah. I'll see you in there. If you happen to spot any open windows before I do, come and get me."

  "Okay. Be careful, you hear me?"

  "You worry too much."

  Brooke flew through the trees. Connor took a deep breath and shifted the backpack on his shoulder, just to feel the weight of the camera and flashlight. He kept low as he moved from the woods to the fence surrounding the warehouse, although there was no need. There were no houses around. There was only one road leading back into town. The warehouse was isolated.

  It was definitely a good place to hide something.

  He scaled the fence quickly, being especially careful when it came time to swing his legs over the top. No alarms went off, and no attack dogs appeared out of nowhere. He relaxed somewhat, walking straight for the front door next to the dock. The door was locked, and his heart sank. What if there simply wasn't a way inside?

  A light appeared behind him, followed by a voice.

  "Connor."

  He jumped slightly, whirling in place to face Brooke. "You scared the hell out of me."

  "Sorry. I think I found a window. Follow me."

  They walked around the side, Connor searching around nervously. It felt like they were alone, but he wouldn't be able to hide if someone spotted a bright soul and a man sneaking about.

  There were several windows scattered along the side of the warehouse, but Brooke led him to the first one, which was cracked open slightly. Connor pushed it up all the way and peered into the darkness inside. He fought a sense of uneasiness as he gripped the sill and jumped.

  "Can you climb up okay?"

  He gave her an amused glance. "Why wouldn't I be able to?"

  "Well, you know, I could put my hands on your ass and try to shove you up."

  "You could do that. Or you could hop inside there and give me some light."

  "Oh, sorry."

  "It's cool. We'll try the hands-on-the-ass thing later."

  Brooke moved through the wall into the office. Connor climbed inside, watching his footing carefully. He wasn't sure wh
at he expected, but the office took him by surprise.

  It looked like it was actually in use. Brooke's light was limited, but he could see the office was clean. The desk was free of clutter with a computer set up. There was a nice chair, and even some art on the walls. The monitor displayed a screen-saver of the ocean, which vanished as Connor moved the mouse. A desktop with only a few icons greeted him.

  Brooke moved away to the open door and stopped. Connor reached into his backpack for the flashlight.

  "Do you see anything out there?"

  "Just darkness," she said. "I don't see any other offices. Wait, we've got some switches here on the office wall."

  He joined Brooke and searched the wall with his light. The beam settled on a row of six switches. He flipped them upward, two at a time, and squinted as light rushed in to replace the darkness. One of the switches controlled the office, as it lit up as well.

  Brooke gasped next to him. "Oh my God."

  He turned slowly, almost afraid of what he'd see.

  The warehouse wasn't too large. Connor could see the front and rear loading doors from where he stood. There was only the one office directly behind them. Half of the warehouse was empty, but the other half was full of organized chaos. Connor didn't know where to look first.

  There were wires all over the floor. Some were thick, heavy cables, while others were no thicker than telephone wire. There were what looked like cryo-tubes along the far wall, at least ten of them. They stood upright with casters locked in place, wires running from each of them. Only the last two were empty and open.

  "Holy crap," Connor said. He'd never even seen a cryo-tube up close. The only way to see inside was through a glass panel near the top. A chill ran down his spine as he waded through the cables on the floor and peered inside the first tube he came to. An attractive young man lay perfectly still, as if he were asleep, but Connor knew the man had no soul, no life. "It's like I'm watching the Discovery Channel all over again."

  "Connor, look at this."

  Brooke hovered near a gurney on the other side of the warehouse, on the opposite side of the office. A beautiful woman lay motionless, covered by a blue sheet. Wires ran from under the sheet, joining the mess of cables on the floor, with several running through a hole into the office.

  "They're doing resurrections, right here."

  Connor snapped a few pictures with his camera as he joined Brooke. He could imagine the body that Lisa Starkley now owned laying on the same gurney just days ago.

  "Unreal," he said. "So, what are we looking at? Illegal soul resurrections?"

  "Lisa was blind," Brooke said. "You saw the news report. Was she old?"

  "Didn't look like it to me."

  "Then she traded one body for another, so she could see."

  Connor winced at the thought. "Seriously? Someone would do that?"

  "You'd be surprised at some of the questions we get."

  He studied the warehouse, still trying to take the entire scene in. "The police will have a fun time with this place."

  He went quiet at the sound of a car door slamming. Brooke rose a few feet and flew across the warehouse toward the loading dock door. She passed through and was gone only a second.

  "Hide. Now."

  Reinforcing her warning was the sound of a muffled conversation.

  Connor ran for the switches on the wall, nearly tripping twice. He killed the lights and ducked into the office. He barely managed to squeeze under the desk when he heard a door open.

  "You want to get something to eat after this?"

  "Sure. There's that Chinese place by the station."

  "I got sick there last time."

  "That's because they don't like you."

  "Hey, check it out. A soul."

  "Connor, I'm staying out here," Brooke called. "I'll stay away from you."

  The lights went on once again. He shifted as quietly as he could under the desk, trying not to make a sound. He could hear them moving and stepping over wires only twenty feet away. The open window beckoned to him, almost teasing him, but there was no way he could climb out quickly.

  "We've got a tube ready over there?"

  "You see it's empty, don't you? Give me a hand."

  "I am, just give me a second."

  "What the hell are you doing? Are you seriously eyeballing that woman on the gurney?"

  "Give me a break. My wife doesn't strip for me anymore."

  "That's funny. She strips for me all the time."

  "You're not gonna believe this," Brooke said, defeat in her voice. "They're cops. One of them is lifting the sheet covering the woman. Pig."

  Connor wished he could get just one picture of them, but a terrifying thought struck him. If cops were involved, were they safe going to the police?

  "Would you get away from her and get over here?"

  "Alright, alright. You've gotta admit, she's gorgeous, and just how I like them. No soul."

  "Careful now. You might offend our little guest up there."

  "Go to Hell," Brooke said.

  "Wouldn't it be easier to roll the tube to the van? They're on wheels, you know."

  "What's the matter? Getting weak in your old age?"

  "More like getting smarter."

  "Shut your mouth, wise-one, and help me with the body. I'm not pushing that heavy-ass tube to the van."

  They didn't talk as they worked. Connor wished he could see what was happening. Brooke was quiet, but he could tell she was moving. The shadows on the office wall next to him moved as she changed direction. He heard them straining, cursing as they nearly tripped once, followed by the sound of a cryo-tube closing.

  "You are getting weaker."

  "Hey, they're heavy. Should we leave the lights on?"

  "Why?"

  "He's stopping by later, showing the place to a client or something."

  "Maybe. But he might want them off. You know, to do one of those grand introduction things."

  "Whatever, just turn them off, and let's get some food."

  Connor didn't budge from under the desk even after he heard them drive away. He waited for Brooke to come get him, to officially give the all-clear. When she didn't, he pulled himself from the uncomfortable position and rejoined Brooke in the warehouse.

  She was floating in the center between the woman on the gurney and the cryo-tubes. He could only imagine the look on her face, the emotions she was feeling.

  "Brooke?"

  "Cops. The police were involved in my death."

  "We'd better go. Did you hear those guys? Someone's coming tonight, and I'd rather not be here. I've got pictures. Let's drop them off—"

  "Where? At the police? That was the police."

  "I know. But they can't all be bad."

  Brooke said nothing as she flew near the cryo-tubes, stopping near the glass window of each one. She shot past him and hovered over the gurney.

  "We need to take this body to my boss, Wesley. He'll be able to find out where it came from, if it didn't come from Soul-Ful. He knows people. He'll know what to do."

  Connor frowned. "Brooke, my car's not exactly close. And rolling a body through the streets—"

  "Who said anything about rolling?"

  She passed through the wall into the office, and Connor's eyes grew wide as he realized her plan.

  "Brooke—"

  "Come in here. I need you to check out this computer."

  He walked in the office and followed Brooke's direction. She had him navigate through an installed program. It looked like a foreign language to him, but she only laughed.

  "This is just like our system at work. Just click where I tell you."

  "What are we really doing here?" he said as he went deeper into the menu system.

  "I'm gonna get my life back, what they stole from me," she said. "And I'm gonna use my new body to put away the people that killed me. I wonder if Amber would call this spontaneous."

  "Is this safe? That body, we don't know anything about it."

/>   "It's prepped and ready for resurrection, and it's female. Trust me, Connor."

  "This isn't gonna work."

  "Yeah, it will. I've seen it done a million times at work. Just press F1, and let it sit at that screen."

  "No, I mean—" Brooke flew through the wall once again. Connor jogged out of the office to see her hovering over the gurney. "Brooke, are you telling me you're gonna do a soul resurrection, and then go to your boss?"

  "Exactly."

  "Well, that's nuts."

  "I know. Amber used to tell me all the time I never did anything crazy."

  "It's not that, it's just…." Connor trailed off, his thoughts a jumbled mess. He never expected to be part of a soul resurrection. The fact that it was illegal, with stolen bodies, with a woman he cared about only added to the confusion in his head. "You don't like me."

  She flew away from the gurney and floated in front of him closely. "Connor, you know that's not true. I don't think you know how much I care—"

  "No," he said, shaking his head. "Before you died, you didn't like me. You didn't even believe I could hear souls until after. You're gonna wake up on that gurney, and not have any idea how you got there. You'll forget this past month."

  A wave of sadness overcame him. The past month was one of the best of his life.

  "I didn't think about that," she said. "You're just gonna have to remind me."

  "I don't know—"

  "Connor, whatever happens, promise me you'll keep me in your life. This is gonna sound weird, but I've never felt more alive than when I'm with you."

  A smile crossed his face. "I'll lay on all the charm I can."

  She floated closer. He closed his eyes, and knew it was impossible, but thought he felt his lips grow warm. Her light pulled away, and he opened his eyes to see Brooke halfway in the body's chest through the sheet.

  "Just keep smiling at me. That's what does it for me," she said, then laughed. "This is crazy. Never thought I'd see soul resurrection from this side. Just hit F2 on the keyboard."

  "Are you sure about this?"

  "No. Go hit it."

  Connor went into the office and struck the F2 key. The computer beeped, and the lights immediately dimmed.

  "Whoa," Brooke said.

  "Are you okay?" Connor ran out just in time to see the body twitch. As it settled back onto the gurney, Brooke's soul seemed to dim somewhat.