Helios Awakened (The Helios Chronicles #1)

by Tawa M. Witko

  Elias closed his eyes and took a deep breath. That was such a difficult time for them, and Elias had been so out of control with grief and rage. He knew that he had scared his son with his behavior. He was so thankful that the family was able to intervene and take care of Jayden. Suddenly Elias registered the other part of what Jayden said and his eyes shot open.

  “What do you mean Jimmy attacked her?” Elias needed clarification.

  Jayden sat up and wiped his eyes before telling them what Andrew had told him and that he had been on his way to talk to him so he could make sure Jimmy stayed in prison. He then told them how he started having a panic attack and that he didn’t think he could make it to Elias’s office so he came to Liam’s instead.

  “Do you think Jimmy is going to get out?” Jayden asked concerned.

  “I will make some calls and find out what’s going on. Son, I want you to go back to the house and rest, but go get Callie first. I don’t want you to be alone. Do you think Andrew will stay with Madison? Do I need to go see him?” Elias was already getting a plan together.

  Jayden shook his head. “No, he won’t leave her side but I should call his aunt and uncle to let them know what happened.”

  “No, I’ll do that,” Liam said. “You go get Callie and then have her make some of that tea we have in the cupboard. It will help you relax.”

  Jayden nodded and hugged both of his parents tightly, thankful to have such caring men as his fathers. He smiled at them both before getting up and walking towards the door. Once out of the room, Liam and Elias looked at each other and within seconds were in each other’s arms.

  “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.

  34 THE SENATOR’S SON

  “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.
<
br />   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.

  35 DECISIONS

  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 tha
t 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.”