“It’s just warfare. No big deal,” she said, silently thanking Captain Waite for his philosophy. “Sometimes, I have to do what I have to do. I don’t mean to hurt anyone by my actions, but I’m starting to understand the costs and the benefits of letting the little things go.”
“Orion thinks that the Cooper curse…”
“Curse! Pah! I’m too strong to let something that someone devised - I wonder who that was by the way, who cursed we Coopers - take ahold of me. Yes, it’s quite possible that my first love was the very fallen I was engineered to kill. Funny thing about it, in this situation, the curse worked for me. Because of this, Abigor and I are inextricably interrelated. We don’t exist without the other. I’ve accepted that.”
“What about Murphy?”
“I think time will sort that out. Right now, I’m riding high on a win. A big win. Let me have this without worrying about another insecure male.”
Angelo studied Mia a moment. “I think you’ve grown.”
“I explained that two inches…”
“No, you’ve matured.”
“Thank you, Angelo. I think I have too. Maturity, though, will never stand in the way of me having fun. Remember that,” Mia said and hip-bumped him into a pile of horse manure.
He stepped out of the dung and looked around. Mia had already taken off and was flying back to the boat.
He laughed. It felt good to laugh.
Kevin and Fergus stumbled out of the harbor bar where they had spent the day and night trading stories with German ghosts. The immigrants had worked their way down from Canada and were killed when the wall of a hastily constructed hotel fell on them. Their bodies weren’t buried in a churchyard. The cheap foreman chucked them in the ground, and they just became part of the foundation. By the time they pulled themselves out, eighty years had gone by. The first thing they did was seek out refreshment, and they had been in that bar ever since. When they found out how Kevin and Fergus died, they felt they had met long lost brothers.
The drinks were served by a stalwart barman who had died on the job serving a group of tourists from Minsk who thought he had cheated them and tossed a knife into his heart. He was very happy to move through the living to bring on spectral ale and whiskies to the quartet. After a few rounds, Kevin remembered what they were supposed to be doing. He looked around and didn’t see any British soldiers, so he sat back down and considered his mission accomplished.
Mia and Ted were looking at the stars when she felt them board the boat. She looked over and smiled. “The inebriated souls have made it back safely. I can check them off my list.”
“You were worried about them?” Ted asked.
“With two pirate ships in the vicinity, I feared they would have gotten themselves conscripted.”
“They’re no Murphy when it comes to having your back.”
“No, but they are amusing,” Mia said.
“What are you going to do about Murphy?” Ted asked.
“He has a mind of his own, and I’ll leave that up to him,” Mia said.
“If he becomes too much for you, we can move,” Ted said.
“That’s very generous of you, Teddy Bear, but I love that farm. I want to raise our sons there. Cid will be next door, and we have the aerie there for our unusual guests. I don’t think Murphy hates me that much to evict us. I don’t really know what was in play to make him act that way. Maybe he’ll tell me one day. All I care about is being with you, sharing a life with you, being Mia Martin.”
“Mia Cooper Martin, Assassin,” Ted said, moving his hands out in front of him as if he were placing letters on a movie theater marquee.
“Don’t have my cards printed yet. I may not be called upon to use my abilities anymore.”
“Bummer.”
Mia hit him on the arm.
Ted retaliated with a bear hug, a Teddy Bear hug.
Chapter Thirty-six
Murphy saw the truck pull in and his father and Fergus topple out before Mia, Mason, and Ted did.
Kevin walked towards Stephen. “Son, I would like to have a word with you.”
“I’m working.”
“Cutting wood can wait. Let’s go for a walk.”
Murphy took a moment to stack the last pieces he’d quartered and followed his father into the woods.
“I can see why you love this place,” Kevin said. “The trees are so beautiful.”
“I’m sorry I was responsible for so many of them lost, but I needed them to build the farmhouse for Chastity.”
“You’ve replenished the forest. I don’t think Mother Nature is going to fault you for a few borrowed trees,” Kevin said.
Murphy smiled. “I guess not. How was your trip?”
“Stephen, it was an adventure. I hated the water - it made me sick - but I loved working with PEEPs. Such a great team. You’re a lucky fellow.”
“So, there wasn’t any infighting, power-struggle, or whatnot?”
“There was plenty of whatnot. It was fun. Fergus and I met quite a few ghosties.”
“I’m glad you had yourself a good time, Father.”
“You sound odd.”
“I do?”
“Normally, you’re gruff with me. Now you sound like one of them morning talk hosts, interviewing me.”
“I wasn’t aware I was,” Murphy said. “A lot of things have happened to me. I guess I’m still sorting them out.”
“About that, I saw how abysmally you treated Mia on the Devil’s Pride. You had no call to behave that way. Even if you felt she was acting different from how you would like her to behave. You’re a gentleman raised by a God-fearing woman. You’re not to ever degrade someone who is fighting for your soul that way again.”
“I’m not exactly proud of myself. I
