“Do you need to go?” Madison asked.
Jacqueline sighed. “It seems like you have enough support, and, well, if I hurry I can meet with a potential buyer before the day is completely over. But, if you need me to stay I will.”
“It’s alright, Mom. Do what you got to do.”
Jacqueline stepped closer and kissed her cheek. “You call me with news. I really do want to know what’s happening.”
“Of course. Thank you for everything.”
Jacqueline smiled and turned. Madison watched her pull out her phone and start talking as she made her way down the street. Madison and Connor sat on the bench for what seemed like an insurmountable amount of time. Connor was antsy. He had never sat still for as long as he had but he was fearful of disturbing Madison, who he suspected was asleep.
“I better call Elias,” Madison finally said, breaking the silence.
“Yeah, that’s probably a good idea.”
Madison sat up and took out her phone. She flipped it in her hands, over and over. She was afraid to call. She hated delivering bad news. But she hated receiving it even more. There was a small naïve part within her that said if she didn’t actually call than it would all be okay. That Jayden would be fine, Andrew would be fine, and court would not happen. She frowned at her foolishness before scrolling through her phone.
“Madison. It’s good to hear your voice.”
“Hi, Elias. How’s Jayden?”
“There are no changes as of yet but it’s just at the 24-hour mark so hopefully something will happen soon. And Andrew? How is he?”
“I don’t know, Elias. They stopped the hemorrhaging he was having but in the process, they gave him morphine. They pulled him off of it but his blood pressure is running high.”
“Oh Christ!” He mumbled. “Why didn’t they consult with you? Don’t hospitals need to ask about things like that?”
“They asked me about allergies but that was it. I...” Madison looked down. The guilt washing over her again. “I didn’t think to tell them he couldn’t take morphine. I should have.”
“Madison, you were distraught. Please don’t blame yourself.”
“I’m trying not to.”
“Is Connor with you?”
“Yes, he is. Thank you for working your magic.”
Elias chuckled. “Well, you’re welcome. In all honesty, Jamal is actually just as concerned for you and Andrew as we are, so it didn’t take much convincing for him to give Connor a pass.”
“Ask about the hotel,” Connor said, nudging her. Madison smiled and nodded
“Hey, Elias.”
“Yes.”
“With everything going on, I was going to have Connor stay with me. Since he will be my shadow he won’t really need the hotel. Is it too late to cancel it?”
“I was wondering if he might do that. Don’t worry about it. I’ll take care of it.”
“Thank you. What do I do about Monday, Elias? I didn’t talk to anyone and,” she glanced at the time on her phone, “it’s already after 3pm on a Friday. Lawyers don’t meet new people on the weekends, do they?”
“No, generally not, but I spoke with two of the three I recommended and I’m waiting on a call back from the third.”
“Okay.”
“Will you be able to get away at all so you can meet with any of them?”
“I don’t know. Yeah, I guess. Now that Aaron and Olivia are here. Connor can come with me.”
“Okay, I will text you the information in the next thirty minutes. They are expecting a call back from me. I will work out a time that you can see them today.”
“Thank you for everything. I appreciate it.”
“It’s the least I can do. I really wish there was more I could do to help.”
“I know you do.” There was a moment of silence and then Madison remembered Nolan. “Nolan came to the hospital earlier. He said I needed to talk to him, that he could get me out of this.”
“Madison, do NOT meet with him. Do you understand?”
“Yes, of course, but...” Madison paused and ran her hand through her hair nervously. “I guess I’m wondering if maybe I should just find out what he has to say. I could bring Connor with me.”
“Madison, please don’t.”
“Okay. I’m sorry. It just... crossed my mind for a moment.”
“I understand but it would just be a bad decision.”
“I know, you’re right,” she replied with a sigh.
“I will call the hotel as well as the attorneys right now and arrange for an appointment. Will you stay where you’re at so that I can reach you?”
“Yes.”
“I’ll call you right back,” he said before hanging up.
Madison pocketed her phone again and leaned back, contemplating. She hated the thought of meeting with another attorney. Especially since she had no idea what exactly she was being accused of. Well, that wasn’t entirely true. She did know from her meeting with the agency’s attorneys that they were under investigation for fraud. But what that had to do with her she had yet to discover.
21 Something’s Gotta Give
Madison and Connor sat in Mr. Walker’s waiting room. This was the second attorney they had been to in the span of two hours. The first one, Mr. Russell, had been disinterested in the case. He let her spend twenty minutes explaining what was going on and then indicated he didn’t have the time to take on her case. Madison knew that was a lie or he would have simply told Elias that when he set up the appointment. Having seen Elias in action, she could imagine it would be difficult to tell him no, but for crying out loud, the guy could have been honest. At least the third attorney told Elias straight up that he wouldn’t meet with her as he couldn’t take on any new cases.
Madison glanced at Connor, who looked nervous. After the first debacle with Mr. Russell, they stopped by the hotel to drop off Connor’s bag and relax for a little bit before the next appointment. They hadn’t stayed long in the room, which was good, because Madison had already started to feel overwhelmed being in there as everywhere she looked she saw Andrew.
Madison sighed and considered the waiting room they were in. It wasn’t much to look at. It was nice but not nearly what Mr. Russell’s office was earlier. His waiting room had been impeccable and, in a way, Madison had hoped he would say no because she had a sneaking suspicion that she wouldn’t have been able to afford his fee. But looking around now, Walker’s seemed more in range for some reason. Although, as she sat waiting for him, she wasn’t feeling overly optimistic.
“Ms. Ellis?” A medium built man with a receding hairline stated.
Madison stood up. “Yes, that’s me.”
“Come on back.”
Madison began walking and waved for Connor, who quickly came to her side. Connor had not liked Mr. Russell at all and as Madison glanced at him she could see that he was keeping a watchful eye on Mr. Walker. Connor would be assessing him as much as Mr. Walker was assessing them. They stepped through the small but nice office and took a seat in the chairs before his desk. Mr. Walker sat behind his desk and flipped to a clean page on a notepad.
“Thank you for meeting with us,” Madison began.
He smiled. “I understand that your attorney, Mr. Bennett, is detained in California and cannot represent you.”
“Yes.”
“He didn’t provide me with very many details.”
Madison smiled. “No, I would imagine not.”
“To be honest, if it weren’t for his exemplary reputation, you wouldn’t be sitting here. I do have a few cases going to trial next week but my understanding is this is for a preliminary hearing and that Mr. Bennett is expecting to come here for the actual trial?”
“I hope there’s not an actual trial, but yes, I believe that is the plan.”
“And what is the nature of the hearing?”
“My former employer is being accused of fraud and my name has been attached, although I am still unclear what they deem my role to be in
this.”
He was jotting notes down. “And the agency’s name?”
“Turner and Crawford.”
“Tell me what you know.”
Madison relayed as much information as she could about the situation and who the players were, including Senators Bowers and Martine and what she perceived their roles to be. When their names were brought up, she noticed that his eyes lifted from his notepad, but Madison continued. She told how Nolan and Kurtis had been following her, how there was an accident in California and then finally ended with Andrew being hospitalized. As she told the tale, for the second time that day, it seemed so grand and unbelievable. When she was finished, Mr. Walker sat behind his desk watching her. She couldn’t tell what he was thinking.
“I know that it all seems a bit...” Madison paused, trying to think of the right word.
“Absurd?”
Madison frowned. “Well, that’s not the word I was going to use.”
“Ms. Ellis, it’s not that I don’t believe you,” he said carefully, watching her reaction. “It’s actually not my place to say whether something is implausible or not, but it is my place to try and prove that something actually is plausible.”
“And you don’t think you can prove that I’m not some nut job trying to get out of taking responsibility for some wrong deed by proposing some elaborate conspiracy theory involving a couple of senators.”
He smiled involuntarily. “Senator Martine is beloved in New York. He has helped many people in this community and you’re basically saying he is a crook.”
Madison shrugged. “I don’t know if he is. I worked with him only briefly, but I know that Senator Bowers is.”
Mr. Walker didn’t reply right away. Instead, he turned to his note pad and allowed his pen to trace down the notes he had made as if he were rereading the words there. Madison wasn’t sure what he was doing, perhaps trying to decide if she was lying or not. It was possible that he thought her case was a no win situation that would mess up his whole win loss ratio. She knew many attorneys paid attention to things like that. Finally, he set the pen down and crossed his hands over the notepad.
“I’m sorry, Ms. Ellis, but this would not be a good case for our firm to take on.”
Connor snorted out angrily and mumbled several choice words under his breath while Madison narrowed her eyes at him. Her hands were holding on tightly to the arms of the chair.
“So basically I’m screwed because you don’t have the balls to go against a senator.”
Mr. Walker ignored her comment and began speaking, “This is a preliminary hearing. It means they will present their case to a grand jury who will decide if it will go to trial. Your best bet would be to plead the fifth on everything, do not incriminate yourself, and make them prove why they think you are attached to this.”
He flipped his notepad to a clean page and began scribbling on it. He then tore off the sheet of paper and stood, walking to the front of the desk. He handed it to her. Madison let her eyes glance over it. It was a list of names.
“Once the grand jury meets, you will know what you’re up against. After that, you will be able to defend yourself. One of those attorneys may be able to represent you if Mr. Bennett is detained longer than anticipated. I would suggest calling Monday afternoon.”
Madison exhaled deeply and stood up. “Thanks for the advice,” she stated with attitude.
“Good luck, Ms. Ellis.”
Madison stared at him. She opened her mouth to say something else but closed it immediately. She turned and marched out of the room followed closely by Connor. Once outside the office building, she screamed into her hands as loud as she possibly could. Connor stared at her with wide eyes while others stopped for only a moment to observe what was happening and just as quickly returned to their own journeys.
“Madison, shit, are you okay? You’re freaking me out,” Connor stated in a near panic.
Madison took a deep breath and looked at him, seeing the alarm in his eyes. “I’m so screwed, Connor. No one is going to help me. They’re all scared of Bowers.” Her voice cracked slightly. “Elias was the only one not afraid of him and look what happened. His son got hurt.” Madison began to cry. “What am I supposed to do? I can’t go to jail.”
“You’re not going to jail, Madison.”
“If Bowers has his way, I am.”
“Okay, that guy in there was a jerk but that last bit was sound advice. Don’t say anything in court. Plead the fifth and let 'em tell you why they think you’re guilty and not these jerks out here. I mean how the heck are you supposed to be involved with all this when you weren’t even living out here?”
Madison shrugged, defeated.
“It’s impossible because you’re innocent.”
Madison sniffed and nodded. She felt completely out of sorts. Everything was out of control. Jayden was hurt, Andrew was hurt, she was appearing before a grand jury on a charge she was innocent of and now she couldn’t get an attorney to represent her. All she could think about was getting back to the hospital and checking on Andrew. She had been away for too long and dread began to envelop her.
“Let’s go back to the hospital, Connor. I need to be with Andrew.”
Meanwhile in California
Callie gently stroked Jayden’s hand. She had not left his side but for a few moments to change clothes and freshen up. She decided that when Jayden awoke she wanted to look her best. It was a simple thing, she knew that, but it was the only way she could deal with the enormity of the situation. She wanted to talk to Madison but recognized that wasn’t feasible considering what was happening in New York. Callie closed her eyes and shook her head. She would not think of that. Jayden was enough to worry about. She couldn’t let her mind drift to what was happening out there. In fact, she had almost wished that Elias hadn’t told her.
“Callie, Ellie wants her mama,” Elias said peeking in the doorway.
Elias entered the room. Elias and Liam had been taking turns visiting so that Callie didn’t have to leave, which had worked real well. Elias walked over to her and Callie smiled at her little girl. She took her from him as he took a seat next to the bed. His hand immediately went to Jayden’s hair, moving it out of his eyes.
“How did you do it?”
“Do what?”
“When Liam was hurt. How did you take care of Jayden?”
Elias sighed. “Unfortunately, I didn’t do that very well. I was a horrible father. I couldn’t think straight,” he said, tracing his fingers along Jayden’s forehead. “My mother was so angry at me. She said I was neglecting him and wanted to take him to Corpus Christi, but I couldn’t have him so far away from me,” he said with almost a sigh.
“What did you do?” Callie asked walking up to the bed.
“His Godparents, Bobby and Amelia. They took over.”
Callie looked down, a tear escaping her eyes. “Is it selfish that I wish Madison and Andrew were here to help me like that?”
“No, of course not.”
She looked up, tears were now streaking her face. “And at the same time I’m so angry that Jay and I can’t be there for them. That’s ... mental, isn’t it?”
Elias stood and brought her to the chair. He then kneeled down in front of her. “I don’t think it’s mental at all. You love them as they do you and Jayden. But now all we can do is pray for them just as I’m sure they are praying for us.”
Callie nodded and then wiped her eyes. She looked up and saw Liam in the doorway. She briefly wondered how long he had been there before waving for him to come in.
“I didn’t mean to disturb you both.”
“No, it’s fine,” Callie said, shifting Ellie to her other hip. “Can you guys stay in here for a minute? I need to get some coffee.”
“Take your time, Callie,” Elias said as Liam took a seat.
As Callie got to the door, all three of them heard movement coming from the bed. Callie turned and ran back, holding Ellie tightly. Liam stood and took Ellie from h
er as she took his place in the chair. Jayden started moaning softly, turning his head to and fro.
“Jayden, can you hear me, baby?” Callie asked.
He moved his fingers slightly and she took his hand as his eyes finally opened. Twenty-nine hours later.
“Is Connor okay?” he croaked out.
“Yes, baby, yes, he is,” Callie cried.
“Don’t cry, sweetheart,” he whispered lovingly.
She immediately wrapped her arm over his chest and he gingerly started to move his left hand when he felt pain shoot up his side. He screamed out and froze.
“Son,” Liam and Elias said in unison seeing his face twist.
“My side hurts,” he said flinching.
“You were burned there. It needs to heal,” Liam replied gently, stroking his hair.
Jayden nodded and made eye contact with Elias. “Dad, why aren’t you in New York?”
Elias dropped to the side of Jayden’s bed and shook his head. He had tears in his eyes. “I couldn’t leave you.”
Jayden nodded. “Where’s Ellie?”
Liam brought her up so Jayden could see her. He teared up as he gazed upon his beautiful daughter. She was perfect. He looked at his fathers. Both strong men, but they looked weary and worn out. He then turned to his Callie. There was a point where he thought he would never see her again. But, as much as he loved them all, he needed to make sure his dad boarded a plane to New York. He didn’t know why, but he was extremely worried about his friends.
“Dad, I love you,” he turned from one to the other, “both of you.” He then focused on Elias. “I have a really bad feeling about New York. I think you need to get out there.”
All three of them looked down. They didn’t want to tell him about Andrew. He had just awoken and they were all afraid of how he would respond to the news.
“Hold on, what happened when I was out of it?”
Back in New York
“Madison, I love you.”
Madison’s eyes shot open. She immediately looked at Andrew but he was still unmoving. She sighed, having realized she had been dreaming. She heard snoring in the room and turned to see Connor, curled in a ball in the other chair that they had brought in for him. She grinned. He had sweet talked one of the nurses, convinced her that he needed to watch over Madison. That he was like her bodyguard. The nurse initially said no but Connor’s persistence paid off. That and his boyish good looks. Madison turned back to Andrew. He was still very pale and sickly. His blood pressure was not going down like the doctors had hoped but there wasn’t a lot they could do with his medication restrictions.
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