Restitution (Haunted Series Book 17)

by Alexie Aaron

  “I could eat,” Cid said.

  “We want to give Mia and Ted some alone time, and we’d like to talk to you about a DIY project we have in mind.”

  “It would be a pleasure.”

  Ted liked the matter of fact way Amanda spoke. She didn’t waste time on chatter. He hoped that, one day, Mia could see that she really did have a very interesting mother. He pulled Brian out of the jumper and took him upstairs for his nap.

  This was the long nap, a time when Ted and Mia could be alone together. She had been looking at him with smoldering eyes since she returned. He didn’t need to hint to his in-laws; they were very perceptive people.

  Mia and Charles finished their dance. She smiled and thanked him. She looked around and was surprised to see Ted and Brian gone. Cid was heading out of the barn with a clean shirt on. Amanda and Charles were waiting by the car.

  “I sense a setup,” she said to herself. She walked upstairs to find Ted waiting for her.

  He undressed her and kissed her. “You are so beautiful.”

  “Thank you, my handsome husband,” she said, lying down on the bed. “I want you, Ted.”

  “I know,” he said, slowly taking her. He was careful, very aware of how fragile she could be. Mia responded with a slow sensual movement of her body. They moved together, letting nature take over until they lay spent and laughing on the bed.

  “I love you, Ted.”

  “I love you, Mia. Thank you for coming home to me.”

  “Why wouldn’t I?” she asked, rubbing up against his side.

  “Better offer.”

  “You’re the best there is,” Mia said, meaning it. “They know it. I know it. I’m waiting for you to know it. I’m being patient.”

  Ted laughed. He traced the tattoo on her chest. The beautiful colors seemed more vibrant somehow.

  “I thought that you would bind me with a bat signal,” Mia said honestly.

  “I’m not always Batman. But I am always yours,” he said.

  Mia looked into his eyes and put his hand on her jaw. “I will be yours forever. If I go first, I’ll be waiting for you. My love isn’t until death do us part. It will take us onto that starship and on forever, Ted.”

  He pulled his hand away. “What if we screw up?”

  “It doesn’t matter. We will fight and give Cid gray hair, but we will always find each other. I realized that marriage isn’t just a ceremony. It’s a choice. We may not like each other at times, but we will always love each other. I want Brian to have siblings. When we’re ready, I will petition the council. I want your children. I want to spend my life watching you. I want to grow old with you and care for you when you are ill. You have always cared for me. I’m changing, Ted. But with every change, my love for you is stronger.”

  “Mia, I hope I’m strong enough to be worthy of your love.”

  “It doesn’t matter. I will love you enough for the two of us.”

  Ted laughed.

  “Will you let me make love to you this way?” Mia asked, standing up and releasing her wings.

  Ted got up and moved his hands over the wings. He got excited when he saw the lotus flower and pulled her to him. She gasped and enjoyed as his hands reached under her wings and held her breasts as he loved her. After a while, he released her and lay on the bed while she made love to him. It was a special moment that no one would ever be able to take from them. When they had finished, Mia wrapped her wings around the two of them, and they fell into a dreamless sleep.

  Chapter Twenty-one

  Audrey rushed into the office. “I’m sorry I’m late. I wanted to check on a lead before I brought some new business to our attention.”

  “Well that sounds intriguing,” Burt said. “You’re not late. You’re just a wee bit early, which is late for Audrey McCarthy.”

  Cid laughed.

  “Where is everybody?” she asked.

  “Ted and Mia are dropping off Brian at Susan’s. Mike’s a few minutes out.”

  “How was your mini vacation?” Burt asked.

  “Wonderful,” she said with smiling eyes. “You’ll probably get your postcards next week. Did I miss anything while I was away?”

  “Mia’s parents came to visit,” Cid said. “I’m going to renovate their Chicago condo. They’ve purchased the condo below them, and they want to break through and join the two. Charles wants to have enough room for his grandson to come and visit. He’s planning on making him a White Sox fan.”

  “Mia’s a Cubs fan. I sense a future family drama,” Burt said.

  “She’s handling the Chiefs thing,” Audrey said.

  “Actually, Susan is handling the Chiefs thing,” Burt corrected. “She already has Brian wanting to hear the Bears fight song before he lays down for his long nap.”

  “Ah, the long nap,” Cid said, rolling his eyes. “It’s a miracle the kid sleeps through the noise.”

  Audrey blushed. “I thought you soundproofed their room when they were on vacation.”

  “I did. Poor Murphy has to visit the north forty to keep his sanity. I have a new headset, compliments of Charles.”

  “They would be so embarrassed to know what we are talking about,” Audrey said.

  “I don’t think they care,” Burt said. “Ted’s proud, and Mia is Mia.”

  Their car pulled in, and Mia exited with a few bags of snacks. Ted brought in a case of beer.

  “Hello!” Mia said, kissing Burt on the cheek and hugging Audrey. She ruffled Cid’s hair before dropping a pie pumpkin in his lap.

  “I take it this is a hint,” Cid said.

  “Tis the time of the pumpkin,” Ted said, loading the refrigerator with beer. “I drew the line at pumpkin beer however.”

  Mia pulled out a box of pumpkin donuts and handed them to Burt. He seemed pleased. “I had to wrestle them out of Sheriff John Ryan’s hands.”

  Audrey watched Mia with interest. She seemed so much more confident and loving. She caught her looking at Ted a few times, and Ted seemed quite happy with the attention.

  Mia slid into her chair and whispered, “Is Orion back?”

  “He’s at Angelo’s place. He’s subletting it for a few months.”

  “Can he afford it?”

  “Angelo cut him a deal and threw in his housekeeper’s wages too.”

  “So have you…”

  “Not yet. He seems to be courting me though.”

  “So, do your parents know?”

  “They know he is a relative of yours, and my mom may be missing the doctor, but Orion is so charming, you wouldn’t know it.”

  Mike came through the door. His face had healed.

  “You look so young,” Mia said.

  “Hey, I’m loving it. Ted can punch me in the nose anytime,” he teased.

  Mike sat down next to Mia. The two of them fell back into their old patterns of bad behavior.

  Jake scanned an eye on all of them. Mia looked around and smiled. “Murphy is here,” she said.

  “Good, then let’s start,” Burt began. “Our first show of the season brought in some big numbers, thanks to the reissue of Mia’s poster for the returning college crowd and it being a good haunt. My book and videogame are going to be out next week. Thank you, Mia, for doing the voiceover.”

  “No problem.”

  “We paid Mike’s mother off.”

  “Woo hoo!” Cid exclaimed. “Does that mean we can dump Dupree now?”

  “Watch it, junior,” Mike said.

  “Mike’s here to stay. Get used to it. The rest of us had to,” Ted griped.

  “I like Mike,” Mia said. She received a fist bump from Mike as a reward.

  “Moving on. Sato and Kurosawa have agreed to run a PEEPs promo as payment for Ted and Cid fixing their game, and Jake has vowed to stay out of games in beta testing.”

  Marvin the Martian nodded his head.

  “We have the whole thing on tape if anyone is interested,” Burt informed them.

  “When you say the whole thing…�
�� Mia started

  “The whole thing. You’re busted, Mia,” Mike said.

  Murphy whistled.

  The table erupted in laughter. Mia looked over at Ted, and he winked.

  “Any more old business?” Burt asked.

  “How did the missing persons case end up?” Mia asked.

  “They treated it as an abduction case. Tom got credit for subduing the perp, who supposedly confessed and is now tucked away for life in a federal pen to be named later,” Burt read off. “Whitney appreciates our coming to the rescue. He promises to float us a case when he comes across one in the area. We got goodwill points.”

  Mia nodded.

  “Okay, new business…”

  Audrey’s hand shot up.

  “Audrey, take the floor,” Burt instructed.

  “I found them,” she said, looking at Mia.

  “Them?”

  “Lobo, Billy and Yann,” she replied.

  “How? Where?” Mia asked, grabbing Mike’s hand under the table for support.

  “In my line of work, I visit a lot of old warehouses. I started keeping a listing of them along with any oddities. I had an idea of where the warehouse you stayed in used to stand. It’s gone now, but a hundred yards down the street there is an old slaughterhouse that has a reputation for late night shenanigans. The workers refuse to be in the building after eight at night. They come in the morning to find their stuff moved and strange things going missing. Like the E key on the secretary’s keyboard.”

  “Go on…” Mia prodded.

  “A few businesses in the surrounding area are also plagued with petty theft. All computer related. While I was inquiring, the manager of the slaughterhouse asked if we would like to do an investigation. He’s offered to pay us, and we can film it. His goal is to calm the rumors so he can put on a second shift.”

  Mia was silent.

  Burt asked, “Mia, what are your feelings on us doing this investigation?”

  “I’m concerned about the demon angle. I’d like to find out if they ever had the souls. They have not responded to my petition, so I’m at a loss.”

  “I say we leave it alone,” Mike said. “I’m worried, Mia, if we shine a light on this, that they will go after the trio to have some leverage over you.”

  “I’m with Mike on this one,” Ted said.

  “Audrey, let me ask a few discrete questions. If it turns out to be okay, how quickly can we form up to do this investigation?” Mia asked, looking at Burt.

  “I have nothing scheduled for the next two weeks,” Burt told her. “Halloween is upon us. We already have the Halloween episode in the can. We’re going to use the ski resort.”

  “I have two daytime assessments, but otherwise I’m free,” Audrey said.

  “Okay, let’s put this on hold until Mia can get back to me,” Burt said. “Any other new business?” Burt asked, looking around. “Let’s call this meeting closed. Murphy, if I could have a moment?” He looked at Cid and Ted and asked, “I need a translator.”

  Cid raised his hand.

  Mike turned his chair to face Mia. “I understand from Ted that you have had a nightmarish few days. Honey, we can pass on this. Audrey is just trying to give you closure. Sleep on it. Don’t make a decision right away.”

  Ted watched Mia and Mike. He couldn’t understand the connection between them. It wasn’t exactly sexual. They operated in plain sight, so there was no hanky-panky. He would just have to try to understand that Mia and Mike were wired differently.

  Mia nodded, patted his hand and got up. “We have some beer and snacks. Please stay and enjoy.”

  Mia walked into the barn and stared at nothing in particular. Ted, who followed her in, saw her hands shaking.

  She turned around. “What do I do?”

  “It might not be them.”

  “True.”

  “Do you know for sure that they didn’t cross over?” Ted asked.

  “Demon kills don’t cross.”

  “Is that a written rule?”

  “The light normally doesn’t come to where there is a high level of evil.”

  “Would you like me to talk to Wyatt?”

  “I think I owe him a visit. How can one person get herself in so much trouble?” Mia asked herself.

  “Are you reading my mind again?” Ted teased.

  Mia shook her head and smiled. “I can’t get past the numbers. Hell of a security system you have there.”

  Ted took her in his arms. He rubbed the lotus flower with his right hand, and Mia purred. Sariel may have put it there, but Ted considered it his. “I called Wyatt to report that you were back and then again to tell him you had regained your legs.”

  “That was kind of you.”

  “Do I get a reward for this?”

  “You get to select an item from Menu C.”

  “Menu C is my favorite,” he said, hugging her. “Let’s go in there and be friendly, and then kick them out, so I can collect before we bring Brian home.”

  Mia kissed him and took his hand. They walked back into the office. Ted snagged them two beers. Jake was entertaining everyone with his take on the news. Mia sat back, put her feet on the table and took a long pull from the beer.

  Audrey came over and squeezed her hand. “Your grandfather would like to talk to you soon.”

  “I’m available anytime to him,” Mia assured Audrey.

  “We were in Canada when this all happened.”

  “It’s not anyone’s fault but my own,” Mia said. “Angelo and Sariel hunted down a dragon to cure me. That was so cool. To see both of them together, and not glaring at each other, was very special.”

  “Why did Angelo leave, Mia?” Audrey asked.

  “It was his choice. I’m not exactly sure. I was out of it for a while. But he assures me that he needs time away from me. I must have done something while I was in a fugue state. When I do something stupid in front of Mike, he laughs it off. Angelo takes it seriously. He asked me to not call on him anymore. Instead, I’ll call Orion when I need advice.”

  “I think Angelo is in love with you, Mia.”

  “I can’t help that. Just because someone likes you, you don’t have to like them back. Angelo had his opportunity. I’m with Ted forever more. I couldn’t be more pleased. I love him, Audrey. He’s my world. He says that he’s going to try to be more tolerant of my slipups. He knows my heart, Audrey. I can’t say anyone has ever given me more than he has. And so, Angelo is out. I thought we could be friends. Hell, Burt and I are friends, and we had sex. A lot of sex. Good, great, wonderful sex. And he doesn’t look at me like I’ve betrayed him somehow by loving my husband. I don’t think I’m making too much sense right now,” Mia apologized.

  “For the record, Orion is happy this happened. He says that Angelo needs to get his head back in the game,” Audrey reported.

  “How do you feel?” Mia asked her.

  “I think you lost someone you could depend on. Now you have to go it pretty much alone.”

  “That’s not true. I have Ted and you guys. Sariel and I still have an agreement, and I have a new crazy uncle to consider. My mother wants to relocate to Chicago to be closer to her grandchild. My world is a bit screwy right now,” Mia said. “How is yours?”

  Audrey and Mia shared girl secrets until Burt came back in, and Murphy motioned to Mia that he wanted to see her outside.

  “Excuse me, Murph wants my attention.”

  Mia walked out with Murphy. He stopped at the picnic table.

  “Burt asked me if I wanted to be head of PEEPs security.”

  “Wow, that’s a surprise. What did you tell him?”

  “That I wanted to talk to you first.”

  “Me? Why?”

  “You’ve been doing the job longer than I have.”

  “Is that what I do?” Mia asked. “I think you would be a wonderful head of security. It would take some pressure away from Ted. You could use the bots… What do you want?”

  “I’d like to do it,”
Murphy said.

  “Then do so with my seal of approval. I guess that means you’re my boss.”

  “Quite a change up,” Murphy said.

  “Wait, I’ve never been your boss.”

  “You act like it.”

  “Being bossy and being your boss are two different things.”

  Murphy nodded.

  “Go for it, and I’ll do my best to listen to you, unless you’re wrong.”

  “Mia, if I take this job, you have to respect me.”

  “K. If you take this job, then you have to stop hitting on me,” she countered.

  Ted walked up to Cid. “So what are you listening to?”

  “The strangest negotiation I’ve ever heard. Burt offered Murphy the head of security position.”

  “Isn’t that what Mia does?”

  “Yes, which Murphy pointed out.”

  “I wonder why Burt didn’t offer it to her?”

  “You’d have to ask him that. Aren’t you a partner?”

  “Yup, but I don’t handle stuff like this. What did Mia say?”

  “She was happy for him until Murphy told her that she’d have to listen to him.”

  “Uh oh,” Ted said.

  “She said she would if he was right.”

  “That must have stuck in his craw.”

  “Oh, the word respect was tossed about, and Mia told him he’d have to stop hitting on her since he was her boss. And then you walked up.”

  “There seems to be a lot of waving of hands. Shit, Mia just punched him,” Ted said and ran over.

  Cid followed him, laughing.

  Ted pulled Mia off the ghost and ordered her into the house to cool off.

  Ted offered Murphy a hand up. He took it reluctantly. “Sorry, Murphy, Mia’s running pretty high on nerves today. Do I want to know why you got punched?”

  “No.”

  “Okay. Mia’s not going to listen to anyone if she knows inside that we could get hurt by following the wrong advice. I’ll get her to talk privately to you first before she acts out, but she is what she is, and damn it, if I don’t love her that way. Take the job. You’ll be great at it. I’ll adapt a terminal for you to use. I’ll go and calm her down.”

  Mia was upstairs. She was looking in their closet.

  “Whatcha doing, Mighty Mouse?”