Helios Awakened (The Helios Chronicles #1) (33 page)

“Are you okay?” Elias asked kissing him lightly.

He nodded. “What are you going to do, El?” he asked, running his fingers through Elias’s hair.

“I’m going to pay the senator a visit,” he said coolly, watching Liam close his eyes. “Baby, he needs to know what will happen if he tries to bail out his kid. I won't let him...”

Liam sat up on his knees and wrapped both of his hands in Elias’s hair tightly, looking at him with an intensity that startled Elias and made him stop speaking.

“That man is evil, El. Don’t get wrapped up in that, trying to show him who is more powerful. Sometimes it takes greater strength to walk away then to let that kind of maliciousness invade our lives.” He paused and in almost a whisper he continued to speak, “Because in the end, it doesn’t matter how many wicked people you stand up against, it won’t change what happened in Texas.”

Elias’ eyes closed and his body slouched. Liam did not let go of his hair though and forced him to look at him.

“You did the right thing back then. Jayden’s life has always been more important than either of us. I have never blamed you for what happened. Don’t you think it’s time you forgave yourself?” Liam stated intently. “I love you so much, you are a wonderful father and partner and I don’t regret a single moment with you,” Liam continued as he leaned down closer to his face, looking into his deep and thoughtful eyes. “But, Mr. Bowers is sick and there is wickedness in him that makes my skin crawl. I don’t want you around that.” Liam brought his mouth to his. “Please, El, let it go.”

“I thought you wanted me to help Andrew. To help Madison. I can’t do that if I do nothing,” Elias stated concerned.

Liam closed his eyes and breathed in deeply. “I don’t want to lose you.”

“You won’t,” Elias said with the smile that Liam could never resist.

Liam grinned as he rested his head against his chest. “Promise me you won’t get into a pissing contest with that man,” he said, trying to lighten the general aura surrounding the situation.

“I promise,” Elias said before kissing him deeply.

~*~

Madison’s grandmother kept watching her, checking to make sure she was okay. Madison and Andrew had picked up take out since Madison was late getting home. Andrew had eaten with them, unable to leave her side. When she said she wanted to take a shower he watched her walk back towards the bathroom.

“Is she really okay, Andrew?” Grandmother Downing asked, forcing Andrew to turn back around.

“They said she was physically okay.” He turned back towards the hall. “But I don’t know about emotionally.”

“You stay with her, Andrew. I don’t want her alone.”

“Yes ma’am,” he said, continuing to look in the direction Madison had gone.

In the bathroom, Madison stripped and stared at herself in the mirror. She pulled her hair back and could see the marks on her neck where Jimmy had choked her. She traced her fingers along them and frowned. She then looked at her wrists which were red and sore from the binds Jimmy had placed on her. She leaned closer to the mirror and could see that there was also some bruising on her forehead. It wasn’t bad right now but tomorrow it would look worse. She shook her head. She was banged up pretty badly, worse than she initially thought. She let out a soft breath and got in the shower, turning on the hot water.

Andrew had heard the shower go on and felt a little at ease, thinking that she would feel better afterwards but it had gone off several minutes ago and he was anxiously waiting for her to return to the living room. After ten minutes had passed, he went in search of her, finding her sitting on the edge of the bed. She was still wrapped in a towel and looking off in the distance.

“Madison?” Andrew called to her.

She didn’t respond or look up at him. Concerned, he sat down beside her and gently ran his hand down her hair and then her back. He laid a soft kiss on her shoulder. Madison leaned against him, allowing his strong arms to encompass her.

“Are you alright?”

She didn’t feel scared or nervous and she wasn’t sad or even numb. She remembered everything that the social worker had said but those feelings didn’t apply to her. Perhaps that would come later, but for now, what she felt was angry, angry that Jimmy’s words were whispering to her. She wanted to feel close to Andrew, she needed him. She wanted to prove Jimmy wrong, that he would never take residence in her head, that she would always only desire Andrew and nothing would change that. She turned and lay on the bed pulling Andrew on top of her. He pulled back hesitantly.

“Madison, maybe we shouldn’t...” he started to say but was cut off when Madison kissed him.

Madison was not taking no for an answer. She needed him to wipe out the ugliness that Jimmy had tried to cause. She wanted to feel Andrew’s gentle touch and caress. She wanted to feel his love and to show him that she was his, completely. What she didn’t want was for what happened with Jimmy to change any of that.

“Madison, are you sure baby?”

“Andrew, please,” she kissed him once again.

This time he didn’t hold back. If she needed me he would not deny her. He wasn’t sure it was the best course of action but whatever worked for her is what he would do. He was gentle and loving, worshipping her and making sure that she knew without a doubt that he loved her and would never leave her side.

“I want to call my father,” Jimmy said angrily as they placed him in a holding cell. “I have a fucking right to a phone call.”

“I was told that he’s already on his way,” the guard replied as he closed the door. “I will inform you when he arrives.”

“Good,” Jimmy said sitting down on the cot.

He lay back on the makeshift bed, waiting for his father to arrive. He didn’t want to worry, but he was. He wasn’t exactly sure how much trouble he was in but thought it was likely a lot. He sighed as he thought back to yesterday after the trial.

Mr. Bowers hadn’t said anything yet. This could go one of two ways for his son. He would be angry or, wait, that was probably his only reaction. Jimmy just wished he would say something so he would know what to expect. He hated not knowing. As they pulled up to the house, Mr. Bowers stepped out of the vehicle and waited for Jimmy to get out as well.

“Follow me, son,” he said coolly.

This wasn’t going to be good. Jimmy followed him out back and behind the large shed they had. Why he was taking him there, Jimmy didn’t know. The minute they get behind it he backhanded Jimmy so hard that he stumbled back, the shed breaking his fall. Jimmy looked up at him and saw that his eyes were cold as he hit his son again and this time Jimmy actually fell to the ground. Mr. Bowers kneeled down next to him and Jimmy immediately cowered away from him, which was exactly what his father wanted.

“You will not ruin my chances of getting into the White House.”

“It’s not my fault this happened. It’s that fucker De Luca for letting that faggot beat him,” Jimmy replied, running his hand over his jaw, which now hurt like hell.

“I am sending you to your aunt and uncles in Maine.”

“WHAT! No, I’m an adult. You can’t ma...”

Jimmy stopped speaking when he saw the look on his father’s face. Mr. Bowers grabbed Jimmy’s jaw in his hand and pulled him up slightly so that Jimmy could look into his cold and calculating eyes.

“You will go. This is an election year and I can’t have you here, you can’t control yourself.”

He let go of his face and pushed him back so that he fell to the ground with a thud. Jimmy stared at him with concern, worried that his father was going to hit him again.

“Honestly, James, threatening that Ellis girl and then not even going to apologize to her like I told you to do. Bennett is too smart to not take advantage of that and I can’t buy his silence,” he seethed as he stood up and brushed his pants off before straightening his tie.

“I don’t want to leave,” Jimmy stated quietly.

“It’s not your decision to make. You’re leaving tomorrow night,” he said and Jimmy could hear the disgust in his voice. “You stay the fuck away from the Ellis girl. Do you hear me, James?” His face turned ugly again.

Jimmy stood up. “Yeah, whatever. Anything else, sir?”

Mr. Bowers stared at him for a long minute and Jimmy began to think that maybe he might actually hit him again but he doesn’t. Instead, he turned around and started walking towards the house. Jimmy brushed off his clothes and reluctantly followed as well, hating his life.

The cell door opening startled Jimmy out of his memory. He was suddenly extremely frightened about his father’s reaction to what just happened. But he decided that it didn’t matter. His father was sending him to Maine anyway so he figured that it couldn’t get much worse than that. The guard handcuffed him and took him to the small room where his father was waiting. The guard then released him and stepped out while Jimmy walked to the table and sat down across from the angry looking senator.

“I’m sorry,” Jimmy said, figuring he might as well try to lessen the inevitable blow.

“Sorry?” Senator Bowers replied crisply. “Didn’t I tell you to stay away from her?”

Jimmy sighed. “Yes, but...”

His father stood quickly and slammed his hand on the table with a force that shook it. “There is no but, James,” he said with a lethal glare. “I had a bad feeling that you would try to defy me. You’re lucky I had you followed before you actually did anything.”

Now Jimmy stood. “Wait! You called the cops on me?”

“You’re damn right I did.”

“What the hell is wrong with you? I can’t believe this,” Jimmy said as he started to pace the small room.

“I’m not bailing you out, James. You’re going to have to stay inside until the hearing. Too many people know what you did. If I pull strings to get you out it will look bad for me.” Senator Bowers leaned back and watched his son. “Versus, making you take responsibility for your actions.”

Jimmy started laughing, hysterically. “You want me to take responsibility.” He shot his father a glare that said he wanted him dead. “How about you, Dad? You gonna take responsibility too?”

The senator gave him a slight smile. “I will arrange that you not be put in general population but that’s the best I can do.” He then gave Jimmy one of the smiles he reserved for the cameras and the fundraisers. “Keep your mouth shut.”

The senator turned and started walking towards the door. He would need to meet with his advisers later today to decide the best way to handle this situation, but, for now, he felt that Jimmy needed to learn that there were consequences. Not for the Ellis girl, per se, as he didn’t care about that, but there were consequences for defying him. The senator had been very clear when he told his son to avoid that girl and now he was in a mess that would not be easy to fix. The senator knocked on the door, indicating he was done and a sense of panic overwhelmed Jimmy as he realized that his father was really going to leave him in jail.

“Dad, wait, please. I’m sorry. I’ll go to Maine. I will serve on your campaign, anything,” Jimmy begged. “I...” Jimmy paused as he tried not to cry. “Dad, please don’t leave me here.”

His father glanced at him over his shoulder. “Well, maybe you should have thought about that before you purposefully did something I forbade you from doing.”

Jimmy stared at him incredulously. He now realized that this was his dad’s punishment and, as such, he may leave him in there indefinitely. The door opened and the senator stepped out just as Jimmy sat on the ground, tears falling from his eyes.

Andrew watched Madison as she slept. His mind was unable to shut off the images of what could have happened if the police had not arrived when they did. He wondered how they knew she was there but had been so focused on Madison that he hadn’t bothered to ask. She seemed okay, but was she really? He wasn’t sure. She had tossed and turned last night, finally settling down several hours after they fell asleep. She rolled over and opened her sleepy eyes, giving him a soft smile as she stretched.

“What time is it?” she asked with a yawn.

“9:00, sleepy head.”

“Grans is going to be upset with you, Andrew,” she said with furrowed brows, not wanting to jeopardize his ability to spend the night with her.

“She told me to watch over you.”

Madison sat up and looked around. Andrew was dressed already. “When did you talk to her?”

“Well, she told me that last night but I did talk to her this morning. I made her breakfast so you could sleep. She told me to stay with you.”

“You made my grans breakfast?” she asked incredulously.

Andrew smirked and kissed her softly. “I’m not saying it was the best breakfast around but it was food.”

Madison laughed and touched his face lightly. “I love you.”

He kissed the tip of her nose. “I love you too. Now get up. I can’t be certain but I think Callie is on her way over.”

Madison gave him a questioning look, wondering how the hell that had happened. He smiled at the look on her face. She probably hated the idea that she was not in the know about events surrounding her. He touched her cheek softly.

“Jay is bringing my bike over.” When she looked more confused he added, “I called him yesterday when you were in the hospital. I asked him to bring the bike over in the morning. I just assume Callie will come with him.”

Madison’s eyes looked down as she remembered everything that had happened the day before. Her hand gently moved over her neck which was still sore. She lay back down and closed her eyes, feeling Andrew wrap his entire body around her in a protective manner.

“Madison, do you want to talk about what happened?” he whispered coarsely, unsure he wanted to hear anymore but wanting her to feel that she could talk to him about anything.

“I was just scared. I thought I could protect myself and I let my guard down.”

“You shouldn’t have to have it up,” he said, kissing her shoulder. “I’m sorry I didn’t protect you.”

She looked up at him, an angry expression on her face. “Andrew...”

He quickly kissed her, knowing that she was going to tell him that it wasn’t his fault, but he didn’t believe that. He knew inherently that her being with him had caused this to happen. When he pulled away from her, her face was flushed and her lips seemed to be begging for more. He kissed her once more lightly on the lips and then her forehead.

“Go shower, baby,” he said in a tender voice.

She nodded and headed for the bathroom. The shower felt amazing, but she was only going through the motions, trying desperately to forget what had almost happened. As Madison made her way back into the room, she saw that Andrew had brought in the rest of the bags from the car. He was lying down with his eyes closed, sleeping peacefully. Madison grinned as she lay down next to him, wrapping her leg around his legs and draping her arm over his chest.

“Do you feel better?”

“Yes.” She leaned up and kissed his chin. “Thanks for bringing my stuff in.”

“Madison, are you sure you’re okay?” Andrew asked again.

Madison sighed and got up, kissing him gently before walking to the dresser and putting her things away. Andrew watched her and quirked his brow when she pulled out all of the newspapers, setting them on top of her dresser. She then turned to him, holding a Los Angeles Dodger’s baseball cap. She walked over to him and he sat up, grinning at her expression.

“I got this for you,” she said, placing it on his head.

“You bought me a baseball cap?” Andrew asked with a grin.

“I wanted to get you a Yankees hat but I thought Grans might disown me or something,” she said with a chuckle. “Baseball caps are very sexy, Helios.” She wagged her brows suggestively.

He moved it so the bill was in the back and kissed her.

“Thank you.” He then motioned to the stack of papers. “So are you opening a newsstand or is it so boring here that it requires several newspapers to keep up with what’s happening in the world?” he asked with a laugh.

“No, silly.” She ran her tongue along her lips and thought this was as good a time as any. “I’ve decided to quit my job in New York and stay here, so I figured I should start looking at what’s available.”

She took his hand in hers and began playing with his fingers. Andrew sat there dumbfounded. He never even considered that she would need to go back to New York. He had been so wrapped up in her that he hadn’t considered the possibility that she would leave. But now she was saying she was staying. His heart leapt at that as he could only imagine the hell his life would be without her.

“Andrew, you okay?”

“Yes, I guess I just never thought you might leave. I don’t know why. I should have.” He furrowed his brows. “You’re really going to quit your job?”

She shrugged. “Yeah. I am still on leave so I will give them notice next month. I’ll have to see about putting my stuff in storage and see if I can buy my way out of my lease. My mom will be pissed, so that’s kind of a bonus.” Madison grinned and then her lips twisted to the side as she contemplated out loud the things she would need to do.

Andrew watched her, faced with the stark realization that she had a life in New York. She had a home and a job, probably friends and also her mother. She was giving all of that up for him, yet what did he have to offer her in return? He couldn’t find work, in town or anywhere else. He couldn’t even rent an apartment because people would deny him based on his sex offender status.

“Wait!” He heard himself say.

Madison stopped talking and gave him a curious look.

“I’m not sure that I’m okay with this,” he said, his heart racing at the implication of what he was saying.

“What do you mean?” Madison tried to force down the knot in her throat.

“I have nothing to offer you, Madison, yet you are going to give up everything...” He started to say but stopped when he saw Madison’s expression.

“You don't want me to stay?” Madison asked shakily.

“Of course I do,” he said, grabbing her and cradling her in his arms. “I’m just scared you’re giving up too much,” he said, kissing the top of her head. “I’m such an idiot for not even playing this scenario out in my head, Madison.” He held her even tighter against his chest. “I love you so much and don’t want a life without you, but at the same time I don’t want you to give up everything you already have for me.” He growled into her hair. “I don’t know what I’m saying anymore. Can we...” Before Andrew could finish his thought he heard his Harley approaching. “Let's talk about this more tonight, okay?” he asked, looking into her eyes.

Madison nodded. This was not how she had imagined it would go. She thought he would be ecstatic about her staying but he seemed almost upset about it. He got out of the bed and gave her one of his brilliant smiles, which confused her even more. He reached his hand to her and she took it readily, determined not to be upset at this unusual turn of events.

“Hey Jay, Callie,” Madison said at the door.

Callie immediately embraced Madison. “Are you okay?” Madison nodded against her.

“So, any word?” Andrew asked Jayden.

“Yeah, let’s sit for a minute.” As they all sat down, Jayden began, “He had a bail hearing this morning and apparently Mr. Bowers didn’t bail him out so he’s sitting in jail until the hearing in a couple of weeks.”

Madison and Andrew looked at each other, both shocked.

“He’s being charged with attempted rape, kidnapping, and assault.”

Andrew pulled Madison closer to him, having felt her tense up. “I won’t have to testify, will I?” Madison asked in a panic.

“I don’t know, Madison. My dad said it depends on how the prosecution pursues it. Dad said Jimmy’s attorney is really good, so it could go a lot of different ways. He said he will see what he can find out. Dad tried to get in touch with Jimmy’s dad yesterday but he was in DC already. He didn’t even come to the bail hearing.”

“He went to Andrew’s hearing but he doesn’t go to his son’s, that’s just...” Madison closed her eyes and shook her head.

“I don’t think he’s going to help him, Madison,” Jayden interjected.

“Really?” Andrew asked, waiting for the catch.

Jayden started shaking his head and chuckled lightly. “Jimmy looked messed up. Not beat up or anything but like he had been crying all night. He was looking around the courtroom for his dad but the only faces he knew were mine and my dad’s,” he said with a grin. “But even when he saw us he didn’t give us that disgusted look he usually does. He just turned around.”

“I can’t believe his dad wasn’t there. That’s crazy,” Madison said, squeezing onto Andrew.

“Well, that James Bowers has always been bad news so it doesn’t surprise me one bit. You know, your grandfather nearly killed him one night,” Grandmother Downing said casually.

Everyone turned to her and Madison sat up. “What are you talking about, Grans? You know Jimmy’s dad?”

“I met him once. He took your mother on one date and when she returned she was crying and upset. He was a few years older than her. He was a senior and she was a freshman. She was infatuated with him, begged us to let her date him. So we finally gave in. Turns out he took her to a party at the lake and when she wouldn’t...” she paused and raised her eyebrows, not wanting to say the words. Madison put her hand over her mouth.

“He tried to rape her?” she uttered in almost a gasp.

Grandmother Downing nodded. “He got angry and left her there, told her to find her own way home and took off with another girl.” She turned to Andrew. “Your uncle was there and found her crying. He brought her home to us. He made sure she was safe and then he left.” Grans turned back to Madison. “Your grandfather was irate, dug out his shotgun and wanted to go to the lake to find him. I had to threaten your grandfather with a divorce if he went after that Bowers boy.” She looked down at her hands as her fingers worked nervously against one another. “That whole family is sick! Your mother was fine, but I suppose in hindsight if we had done something then...” she paused again. “Every time I see one of his campaign commercials I want to throw something at the TV but then I wouldn’t be able to see my Dodgers.”

Madison let out a nervous laugh and touched the palm of her hand to her forehead as she absorbed what her grans had said. Her mom had never told her anything about this. Maybe it would have changed things, changed their relationship. Madison remembered how her father had worshipped her mother; they always looked at each other with such love and adoration. She imagined that for her mom having had an experience like she did with Jimmy’s father and then meeting her dad must have been like a godsend. Madison was suddenly getting a clearer picture of why her mother turned into such a bitch when her dad died. An evil and awful man ascends to greatness while a loving and caring man succumbs to addiction. The world was clearly not fair.

“I can’t believe his wife still stands by him,” Callie said, gripping Jayden’s hand.

“I don’t understand it either, baby. Over the years I have learned that there are some sick and twisted people out there and those people always have someone who believes in them, a wife or a girlfriend that doesn’t think they would ever do something awful. Look at all those serial killers that have these women that help them bury the bodies.”

“It’s crazy,” Madison muttered to herself.

“That it is,” Jayden agreed.

Jayden and Callie stayed for another few hours, visiting and watching soap operas with her grans. They all laughed and tried not to think about Jimmy or what could happen. After they left, things were quiet for a while which was nice. It wasn’t until after dinner that they got some more unexpected visitors.

“Boy, I suddenly feel very popular,” Grans said with a chuckle.

“Olivia, Aaron, come in,” Madison said, clearly confused by their presence and not really wanting to talk about what happened anymore.

Olivia gave her a hug and then handed a bag to Andrew, who had gotten up from the couch to walk over to them. “I know that right now you need to stay with Madison but I thought you might need a few things.”

He smiled widely and hugged her. “Thank you, Auntie.”

“Aaron, thank you,” Madison said out of the blue. Aaron looked at her confused so Madison continued, “Grans told us how you helped my mom when Mr. Bowers tried to hurt her.”

Aaron looked to the ground and scrunched his brows. “I should have done more,” he said, looking up. “I went back to the lake to confront him but he ended up getting away scot-free. I swear that man sold his soul to the devil.”

“I never knew you went back there,” Grans said with concern as she motioned for the two of them to sit down.

Aaron took Olivia’s hand and they walked to the couch.