Risen (Haunted Series Book 22)

talking about Burt and…”
“I’m just going to kill you now.  Where is my sword?” Mia said, getting out of bed.  She turned around and asked, “What brought all this on?”
“During the hurricane, Murphy, the Callens, Burt, and I were stuck in a cabin together and…”
“Oh my god.  While I was cooling my heels in a cell, you guys were discussing me.  Come here,” Mia said.
“Don’t kill me.”
“No, I want those memories,” she said, crawling up the bed.
“Mia Cooper Martin, that’s off limits,” Ted said.
“Who says so?” she asked.
“Well…”
Mia planted her hands on either side of Ted’s head and entered his mind.  Ted’s head was a series of white and blackboards that moved up and down and side to side.  His memories were in code.
Mia gave up.  “Fucking mathematician,” she said, lying back down.
“It wouldn’t do any of your friendships any good to hear all that was said.  Except Mason, he’s one of us.  Anyway, what I guess you should know is Murphy cracked. He screamed at Burt.”
“Really? It doesn’t sound like him.”
“I’m sure it was because of the storm, the proximity, you leaving him behind, and the stress of what may be happening to you where he couldn’t help you.  Murphy starts yelling, ‘You took her from me.’  I thought he was directing his anger at me, but it was Burt.  Patrick stepped in and, in his irritating way, mediated.”
“How are things now between the two?”
“Fine, I guess, but I think it made me rather nervous.”
“You shouldn’t be, but I don’t make things too easy, do I?”
“There are a lot of handsome, rich, desirable men out there, Mia, who would love to take care of you.  And yes, there are some broke ones who want you to take care of them.”
“Would you write the names of the rich ones down?  Maybe I’ll consider them for spares,” Mia teased.
“Speaking of rich, who gave you the gold chain in your hair?  That has to be at least eighteen maybe twenty-four karats.”
“These beautiful concubines who washed and styled my hair for me, they braided it in.  I forgot I had it.  I knew I had the uniform, but the gold?  Do you think I should send it back?”
“Whose concubines?”
“Abigor’s.”
“Keep it.  He’s got tons of money.  And, if memory serves me, he’s a little afraid of you.  Something about… about being an assassin!  Mia, I have a feeling you need to tell me what happened to you.  I didn’t want to pry.  Let me draw a nice warm bath, and you can tell me everything.  I’ll even wash your hair.”
“Like a concubine?”
“Oh yes, one of my specialties.”
Ted wrapped a towel around Mia.  They had sat in the warm jacuzzi tub while Mia told Ted about the demon-with-no-name, the pit, the cell, the concubines, Sticks, Altair, and the court of the five generals.
“And when I had killed Ruax, I knew that the programing was still in me.  I couldn’t look away.  Ruax had turned to ash.  He wasn’t there anymore, and I didn’t care.”
“Mia, you had been training hard with Nicholai.  He and you developed your body so it would perform this way.  You yourself said you used the maneuver that had you eating mud for weeks when you failed.”
“Yes.  But still I was frozen. I couldn’t move.”
“What happened?”
“He hugged me.”
“Sticks?”
“No, although I think that would have been better.  A lot less freaky.”
“Altair wouldn’t freak you out.  It wasn’t…”
“It was.”
“Lucifer, the Prince of Darkness, hugged my wife, again,” Ted said, pulling one of his clean t-shirts over Mia’s head.  “Did it help?”
“It shocked me out of the shock,” Mia said.  “I’m very frightened of him.”
“We all are.  Why didn’t he just kill Ruax?”
“I’ve had time to think about it.  I bet he was torturing Altair and the other generals.  Ruax knew something that would change things forever.  Altair said he could destroy them.”
“So, not just physically?”
“I got the idea it was something he read in their minds.”
“Very intriguing.  So, you, Mia Cooper Martin, had a battle with a being that all the generals of Hell were afraid of.  You won the fight.  You won it without a scratch.  You won it by yourself.  No one came to your aid.  Altair didn’t finish it for you.  Angelo didn’t have to catch you.  Roumain didn’t have to slow time.  You did it all by yourself.  I could not be prouder.”
Mia smiled wide.  “This is why you should never doubt that you’re the best man for me, Ted.  Anyone else would have missed the whole point of the adventure.  I know why Victor went away.  He knew that I would fall back and be dependent upon his strength in a fight.  He sent me the greatest teacher.  They saw something in me that I couldn’t see.  Too much baggage and self-doubt clouded my eyes.  But no longer.”
“You can breathe easy.  You can protect Varden and the rest of us.  You can live without the fear that you need an army on call to help us when the paranormal tribes come a calling.  I’ll do my best to have an arsenal at hand.  We’ll be the most dynamic duo every imagined.”
Mia laughed as she wrapped her arms around Ted.  “I don’t mind a cape, but I draw the line on tights.”
Ted broke out in laughter.
“I don’t think I have felt this happy in my life.  This moment, I’m with the man I love, and he loves me.  I feel safe and strong.  Ted, this is the bliss I’ve been searching for.  If I have to have wings and freaky gargoyle metal on my back to have it, so be it.  The bonus is being your wife, having our kids, and enjoying a life of adventure.  I’m going to stop complaining