Risen (Haunted Series Book 22)

to go back now.”
“You too need some sleep.”
“I’m a ghost hunter; I’m used to being awake.”
“Don’t push it.  I don’t want to see you lying beside your wife,” she scolded.
“Yes, Doctor.”
Mason paced the small waiting room.  He caught sight of Ted and ran over.  “How is she?”
“She woke up briefly.  It’s her heart.  Too much stress evidently.  That thing in her back makes it impossible to do an MRI.”
“Kevin says she clutched her heart on the boat before she crossed the veil.  He has a theory, but you’re not going to like it.”
“Then don’t tell me.  Let me live in ignorance.”
“I can’t tell if it’s sarcasm or you really don’t want to know.”
Ted looked at Mason and wasn’t sure if he wanted to strangle him or hug him.  “Will it help Mia for me to know this?”
“Probably not.”
“Then don’t tell me.  I suspect it has a lot to do with Murphy not coming back, something he said to her before she left, and something she had to do to liberate the birdmen.”
“What?”
“Didn’t Fergus tell you?” Ted asked.  “Fergus saw three birdmen leave the Devil’s Pride just before they cruised out of sight of the ships.  Mia doesn’t even know yet. Her back was to them.”
“Well, I’d say that needs to be one of the first things she hears when she wakes up again,” Mason said.
“Want to come in?  Try not to unplug anything with those big feet,” Ted teased.
“I have normal size feet.  Yours, you could surf on,” he pointed out.
“Touché,” Ted said.
~
Cid picked up the phone and called Orion Stavros.
“Hello, Cid. Audrey and Sabine are upstairs giggling over clothes.  What can I help you with?”
“Mia’s in the hospital in St. Kitts.  She’s suffered a significant heart event.”
Orion was quiet.  “Tell me again.”
Cid told him all that Ted had related to him.  “Ted wants you to come down.  He can’t ask Judy.  She’s too close to her due date.  Oh, and you have to fly on a plane.  Evidently, the pirates are plucking you guys out of the sky.”
“I heard that.  I’ll get there as soon as I can.  How is she doing?”
“She’s weak but seems to be recovering.  Still, Ted’s worried, and Mason is convinced that Mia’s dying of a broken heart.”
“Murphy and she were pretty close,” Orion admitted.  “I’ll call Gerald and start cashing in a few favors.”
“Thanks, I’ll try to hold things together here,” Cid said.
“Call Audrey if you need anything,” Orion said.  “I’ll tell Sabine.”
Orion made his calls and then walked upstairs.  His wife was laughing with Sabine as she tried on some of Audrey’s more ridiculous outfits.  They looked up as he walked in the door.
“What?” Audrey asked with alarm, seeing his face.
“Mia’s had a heart attack."
“She’s too young!” Audrey exclaimed.
“Remember, she has had her heart jumped a few times by Murphy,” Orion said, holding on to his distraught wife.
“It’s all my fault,” Sabine said.  “If I hadn’t gone down there…”
“Sabine, if you hadn’t gone down there, we would have a flesh-eating monster on our hands and no way to contain it.”
Orion’s phone rang again.  He looked at the caller ID and said, “I’ve got to take this.  Audrey, don’t let her leave until I’ve talked to her,” Orion instructed.  He walked out of the room.  “Angelo, I really don’t have time for this…”
“The three missing couriers just showed up in Brazil, and they have a hell of a story to tell about a healer who set them free,” Angelo said.  “This was Mia, wasn’t it?”
“I assume so, but it’s taken its toll.  Mia’s had a heart attack.  Gerald’s got me on a charter that I have to catch in a half hour.  They can’t do an MRI because of the gargoyle steel fused in her spine.”
“Mia’s too strong to have a heart attack.  It’s got to be something else.  I’m going down there.”
“You won’t be welcomed,” Orion said.  “Ted’s not going to let you near her, and frankly, I don’t blame him.  This was your problem that Mia sorted by herself,” Orion said and hung up.
“Sabine, you’re riding with me to the airport.  Audrey, call and cancel her date.  I’ll explain everything on the way.”
Orion walked into the nursery and bent over and kissed the top of his napping son’s head.  “I’ll see you soon,” he promised.
~
Mike pulled the phone away and looked at it, taking in all Cid had to say.  Burt had mentioned that he, Mia, and Ted were going down to check on the treasure hunters, but that was the last communication he’d received.  “Ted did say that she was mending.”
“Yes, but I asked for Orion to come down just in case.  Mia’s got that hunk of gargoyle metal stuck in her spine, and they can’t give her an MRI. So they’re doing it old school.”
“What about the kids?”
“The little boys are out west with Charles, Amanda, Ralph, and Bernard.  I have Dieter with me.”
“Have the little ones been told?” Mike asked.
“I haven’t told the big ones yet,” Cid said.  You’re my second call.”
“I’ll fly out and tell them in person.  Maybe give them a hand with Brian.  He seems to settle down when I’m around,” Mike explained.  “Cid, it’s a broken heart.”
“She has Ted.  She loves Ted.  Hell, Mike, she loves all of us.”
“My grandmother died a day after my grandfather.  It didn’t mean she didn’t love her children and grandchildren.  It was just, Grandpa’s death was too much for her to bear.  I don’t even think it’s a conscious choice.  Murphy must have said something that devastated her.  If he wasn’t dead already, I’d kill him.”
“She probably can’t tell Ted what was said.  But she could tell you,” Cid said. “You too