She sighed. “Trust me, I won’t. And anyway, you were the one who brought me to Cape May to find my family, weren’t you?”

She was right about that. Mikey shrugged. “So? I was trying to do the right thing. The human thing. But maybe I don’t want to do the right thing anymore.” He couldn’t look at her as he said it, and he thought she’d be mad at him and launch into a long speech about the virtues of human compassion and thinking of others before yourself.

But instead she smiled and said, “I’ll make you a promise, Mikey. I promise that I’ll always be here for you … and I promise not to move on … until you do.” Then she leaned over and gave him a gentle kiss on the cheek.

He hoped she didn’t notice the slight lavender blush of his afterglow.

Allie had, in fact, noticed the faint color shift in Mikey’s afterglow several times before, and although she was usually quite smart about things, she missed all the cues on this one. She simply assumed it was some sort of remnant from his life as the McGill—the equivalent of a living-world scar that ached with changes in the weather. After all they’d been through, she cared for Mikey deeply—not as a boyfriend, though, because that was a living-world concept, and in the living world, boyfriends come and go. A hand held today would be slapping a face tomorrow. Mikey wasn’t like a brother to her either. Nick was the one she saw as a brother; connected forever, born into Everlost at the same moment, like ghostly twins.

What was Mikey, then? A soul mate? Perhaps. She couldn’t deny there was a sense of comfort in their relationship. They were perfect companions—a good fit for each other. Just being with him gave her a feeling of peace and belonging, but it lacked … excitement.

Sure, from time to time, when the moment called for it, she would kiss him, but an Everlost kiss was not the same as a living kiss. There was no heat to it, no beating heart, no adrenaline rush. There can be no way to find oneself breathless when one doesn’t really need to breathe. In the end, companions are all two Afterlights can ever be.

And now there was Milos.

Allie could understand why Mikey saw Milos as a threat—and she had to admit she enjoyed teasing Mikey about it—but only because she knew Mikey had nothing to worry about. She had no desire to abandon Mikey for someone else, and certainly not for Milos. So she entered into her friendship with Milos fully believing she had her eyes open and her mind set.

She was very wrong.

CHAPTER 10
Skinjacking for Fun and Profit