Helios Renewed (The Helios Chronicles #3)

by Tawa M. Witko

  Soon her screen filled up with pages and pages of articles. At first, she panicked and then realized there should be lots of links between the two. She carefully started scrolling through the many articles she found on the two until she came across one that piqued her interest. She clicked on the link and was redirected to a government website where she began reading an article that was almost three years old.

  Senators Martine and Bowers join forces to address fiscal development in impoverished areas. Senator Bowers was quoted as saying, “If California is to remain fiscally strong we must be frugal with our expenses. There are many programs in lower income areas that struggle to keep above water, draining the state of important resources. With this new endeavor, we hope to change that. Programs deemed to be fiscally unsound will be given the opportunity to have federally appointed auditors go over their books at no cost, in an effort to find ways in which they can be viable. If that is not possible then these programs may be forced to shut down. It is a necessary evil in today's economy.” At this juncture, it is unclear how Senator Bowers and Martine will collaborate but Martine stated that he feels, “Confident that we can get the economy back on track. I am honored to be working side by side with Senator Bowers. His visionary program is just what our country needs.” According to the senators they have enlisted several local accounting agencies within the New York and California area to help with this pilot program. Please check their website for further information on Project STES. Time will tell if this program will be successful or if it too will be a casualty of the grandiose plans of a select few.

  Madison leaned back. “I wonder if Turner and Crawford are on that list.”

  She inherently knew the answer to that. She clicked on the link that brought her to a website where both Senator Martine and Senator Bowers were prominently featured. There were several tabs and links so she clicked on an outline of the Setting the Economy Straight Project that had been in effect for several years now. She wondered if that had been the project that Senator Martine had wanted her to work on two years ago. A project she realized went to Kurtis, who, in turn, worked directly for Nolan, who just so happened to now be in charge of the agency. She swallowed as she clicked on the link for local programs, and sure enough, Turner and Crawford were listed at the very top of the list. She frowned when she saw that only Nolan’s name was on there as the contact.

  “Well, you didn’t waste any time, asshole!”

  Madison clicked out of the program, disgusted, before she plugged in Project STES and Turner & Crawford, LLC, into the search engine. She came up with several articles. She began to peruse them, finding out that Turner and Crawford was the primary service used to manage the funds. She couldn’t find any mention of Grayson, per se, aside from the fact he was connected on occasion with Nolan’s name. By the time she got to page five, she saw a link that took her by surprise. She clicked on it but wasn’t able to go directly to the site as it appeared the link was no longer valid.

  “What the hell?”

  She stood up and almost ran out the door. She tried to be casual but she could tell she wasn’t pulling it off as Jaimie was watching her in confusion. Madison reached Liam’s office and found that his door was opened, indicating he wasn’t with anyone. She stuck her head inside and lightly tapped on the door.

  “Mr. Bennett, do you have a minute?”

  He smiled and motioned her inside. He started to say something funny about the Mr. Bennett comment, but seeing her anxious expression, merely quirked his brow. She closed the door and sat down nervously, tapping her foot.

  “What’s the matter, Madison?”

  She exhaled loudly, “Liam, did,” she scrunched her brows together before looking at him. “Did Natalie happen to mention anything about the company being involved in a law suit?”

  He breathed in deeply and then walked around the desk to sit next to her. “She mentioned it briefly.”

  “What …” Madison licked her now dry lips. “What did she say?”

  He shrugged. “She said that Grayson had been upset. He wouldn’t talk to her about it. She said she begged him to tell her but he didn’t want her involved. He told her he would handle it. She was very concerned about him, which is what led to the confrontation with Mr. Crawford at the funeral. She believed that Mr. Crawford was somehow involved in illegal activity which got Grayson killed.”

  “Did she have any proof of that?” Madison asked, chills running down her spine at the thought.

  “I don’t know, Madison. Why are you asking?”

  “Because,” she looked down, twisting her fingers together. “I’m listed in that suit.”

  “WHAT!”

  Madison looked up and nodded. “I don’t know how. I only briefly worked with Senator Martine and didn’t have anything to do with this thing he has going with Senator Bowers.”

  “Wait, what thing?”

  Madison breathed out and then told him what she had been doing all morning. How Grayson had sent her an email about six months ago asking about Senator Martine. She then told him how weird he had acted when she had called him back. She went into how she had tried to figure out why Grayson had asked her about Martine, looking for a connection. She told him everything she had found out about this joint project the senators were working on and how Grayson’s firm was the lead agency attached to it.

  “What exactly does the suit allege, Madison?”

  “I don’t know. I couldn’t get into the link to see the document but it listed, Grayson, Nolan, myself, and Kurtis, as well as this Project STES thing.”

  “You are probably only listed because you worked for the company during that specific time period. I don’t think it’s anything to be concerned about.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Of course.”

  Liam leaned back and crossed his legs. He wracked his brain trying to figure out what Grayson had gotten himself into. He had always been a righteous and honorable man. He couldn’t accept that he may have been involved in anything illegal. When Natalie had told him her suspicions about Mr. Crawford, he had reassured her that Grayson would never allow anything unscrupulous to happen under his watch. But now he had concerns that maybe Natalie had been correct all along. He turned to Madison, who looked visibly distressed.

  “I’ll see if El can get access to the suit and see what it’s about. See if there is anything we need to do here to protect ourselves.”

  Madison nodded and felt Liam place his hand on her shoulder.

  “Don’t worry. It could have already been settled for all we know.”

  Madison tried to smile but it came out forced. “I’ll, ummm, get back to work. Thank you, Liam.”

  “You’re welcome, Madison.”

  ~*~

  Madison was cooking in the kitchen while Andrew sat on the couch, sketching. It had been two weeks since she found her name associated with a lawsuit. Elias wasn’t able to get any information, stating that when his sources checked there were no lawsuits pending against Turner and Crawford. He also agreed with Liam that her name was listed as a lawyer tactic. He said that it’s common to list anyone associated with a case. This reassured her and eased her mind. That being said, things had gotten back to normal as far as Madison could see. The knock on the door startled her.

  “Helios, can you get that?”

  “Yeah,” he replied, setting his sketch pad down.

  “Is Madison Ellis here?”

  “Hold on,” he said and turned to Madison. “Baby, it’s for you.”

  Madison wiped her hands off and moved the pot from the flame before walking to the door. She stared at the man before her. He didn’t look familiar.

  “Madison Ellis?”

  “Yes.”

  He smiled and handed her a manila envelope with no return address. She looked up but the man had turned around and was already walking away. Madison opened the envelope and took out an official document from the State of New York.

  “What is it?” Andrew aske
d concerned.

  “It’s a grand jury summons. I’m being asked to come to New York for questioning.”

  “What does that mean?” Andrew asked with a mixture of fear and anger.

  Madison shook her head. “I... I don’t know. Let me, ummm, read the summons better.”

  She walked in a trance-like state to the sofa and sat down. She was trying to focus on what the document in her hand said but was having difficulty wrapping her head around the words on the page. Without delay, Andrew snatched the phone off the receiver and dialed the familiar number. Madison looked up when she heard his angry tone.

  “You need to come over here! Madison just got a summons to go to New York.”

  There was a brief moment of silence as his brow furrowed. He was upset. She understood that. She was as well. She didn’t think people were summoned to the grand jury for a simple lawsuit but admitted she didn’t know the law very well. She swallowed thickly as she heard him barking angrily on the phone.

  “No, I don’t know what it says. She’s reading it right now. You said it was nothing. You said it was fine. That we didn’t need to worry about it!” Andrew fumed.

  Madison exhaled as she watched him begin to pace furiously. The vein she loved so much during sex was now pulsing on his forehead in vehemence. His anger was clearly getting the best of him. He always worried her when he got like this as she never knew what he would do, what he was capable of. Suddenly, he stopped pacing and ran his hand through his hair uneasily. His eyes closed and he took several deep breaths.

  “I’m sorry. I know it’s not your fault. Look, please, I know it’s dinner, but shit! I can’t,” Andrew stopped talking only to glance at Madison’s troubled expression. “I won’t let anything happen to her so you need to tell me what I need to do to fix this.”

  Madison closed her eyes. She could feel the tears prickling under the surface, wanting to come out. She wouldn’t let them. She needed to keep her emotions in check. She couldn’t believe that she was being forced to go back to New York. That somehow she was needed for questioning. There was minimal information listed on the summons, only that charges were being brought against Turner and Crawford and that she was named as a participant. For the life of her she couldn’t figure out how. She looked up when she heard Andrew’s voice again, this time softer and more in control.

  “Alright, see you in a few.”

  Andrew hung up and walked over to Madison, sitting down next to her. He carefully lifted her left hand in his and let his thumb trace over her engagement ring. Madison watched him with interest, wondering what was circling in his brain at the moment. Finally, after several minutes had passed, he looked up at her and gazed intently in her eyes.

  “It’s going to be okay. Elias is on his way over. He’ll help us figure it out.”

  “You were talking to Elias like that?”

  He sighed. “I know. I feel bad about that. I told him I was sorry though.”

  “Andrew,” she licked her lips uneasily. Her brows furrowed in discomfort. “I didn’t do anything. I don’t even know what this is about.”

  “This has something to do with that asshole, Nolan!”

  “Why would he involve me in something?”

  Andrew stared at her in disbelief. She was being so naïve about this. It was obvious to Andrew that Nolan, and probably Jimmy’s father, were behind all of this. He wasn’t exactly sure why, but he felt it all along. He had never wrapped his head around the senator’s visit to their shop on Halloween. Andrew knew that it was likely to get a rise out of him, but he hadn’t figured out why. What did he have to gain by doing that? Andrew often wondered, but never said. Now though, he pondered if it was mainly a way to get him out of the picture so Madison would be unprotected. He would never let that occur.

  “I, ummm, better take care of that food,” Madison stated distractedly, a feeling of unease was upon her.

  He touched her face gently. “I’m going to protect you, Madison.” She nodded and kissed him. His forehead rested against hers as his brows furrowed. “I won’t let anything happen to you.”

  “Some things are out of your control, out of my control.” She looked up at him, touching his distraught face. “Look at what happened to you. You got sent to prison for something you didn’t do,” she muttered.

  He winced at the mere thought of her going to prison. Andrew’s mind began flashing to the time he spent behind bars. Guards who abused inmates because they could, the men who tried to rape him, fighting, fighting, and more fighting. It had been almost as horrific as his childhood. He assumed it was equally as traumatic on the women’s side. There was no way he’d ever let her experience that. No way in hell.

  “I’d never let you go through that.”

  She looked up at him and he could see the tears in her eyes. “I don’t think you could stop it, Helios.”

  It was then that he saw it. He saw her fear. He saw that she had actually weighed the possibility that she would be sent to prison for something she had no part of. The optimism she always shared for him was not present for herself, which broke his heart. Her brows furrowed and her voice cracked as she spoke again.

  “I’m not strong like you. I... I couldn’t survive it.” Her forehead creased as her eyes dropped.

  Madison wasn’t sure what would ensue, but she knew that she would never endure being sent to prison. It would break her. It nearly broke her knowing that Andrew had been there. She felt Andrew pull her to him. She began to cry, it was all too much to bear. There was no reason for her to be involved in any of this. His hands continued to caress her back, trying desperately to ease her discomfort. Neither kept track of how long they sat holding one another but it was long enough for the food to become cold and for Elias to arrive. Andrew hesitantly got up to answer the door.

  “Come in,” Andrew said to Elias.

  Elias stepped inside, followed by Liam. Liam immediately surveyed the situation. Madison was clearly distressed. Andrew had already returned to her side and was holding her hand while Elias had taken a seat in front of them. He watched as Elias withdrew his reading glasses and began looking over the summons. Liam turned to the kitchen and saw a pot on the stove and an open flame going. He frowned and walked in there to turn it off, only to find that the meal Madison was preparing was not completed. He turned the fire off and inspected what looked like stir fry or at least that’s what it would have looked like had it not been sitting in the pan for so long. He stole one more glance at the three of them before deciding he would finish making their supper. He and Elias had eaten before they came over, but it was obvious that Andrew and Madison had been interrupted before that could transpire for them. He needed to do something, this was the least he could do.

  “I thought there was no suit?” Madison asked quietly.

  Elias set the document down and removed his glasses. “There isn’t. This is something else. It looks like they’re fishing.”

  “For what?” Andrew asked.

  “I’m not sure,” Elias replied and watched Madison. “It’s been, what, almost two years since you left New York?” Madison nodded, not sure where he was going. “Have you been in contact with anyone out there?”

  “Just Monique on occasion and Grayson once.”

  “Who’s Monique?”

  “An office assistant, she used to work for Grayson.”

  “Is she trustworthy?”

  Madison frowned. “Yes, I believe so.”

  He leaned back and crossed his legs, tapping his glasses on his knee. The whole situation had him perplexed. He had no idea what this could be about. He didn’t have the heart to tell Liam that he suspected that Grayson had been involved in something unscrupulous. The one time he posed the question as a possibility, Liam had become livid. But now that Madison was being summoned, he had concerns that he had been right all along. Liam hadn’t said anything on the way over but he knew that his mind was working on that possibility as well.

  “Should I contact my old office?
I could check with Nolan and find out what’s going on,” Madison asked, pulling Elias out of his thoughts.

  Elias was actually drawn to Andrew, who had a sudden scowl on his face. His body had tensed and he looked as if he was ready to attack someone. Elias turned to Madison, who had her eyes fixed on Andrew as well.

  “No, I’ll make a call on Monday,” Elias offered.

  Madison turned to him and nodded.

  “Madison, I’m not going to sugar coat anything. It’s not my style. This is serious.” He waved the summons slightly. Both Andrew and Madison followed the movement. “It will be hard to determine what they’re investigating until you get to New York. I would recommend that you get an attorney,” he hesitated when he saw Madison’s eyes widen. “I’m swamped right now so I don’t think that I...” he stopped talking, feeling Liam’s piercing gaze on him.

  He turned to the kitchen and could see Liam staring in his direction. He was carrying the expression that said he was disappointed. He hated that look but he wasn’t sure what else he could do. He didn’t have the time to research this like he should, let alone take the necessary steps to represent her in New York should that be what needed to happen. He couldn’t drop everything for this one case.

  “You... You can’t help me?” Madison asked meekly.

  Elias closed his eyes before turning to her. “I’ll do what I can, Madison.”

  He heard sounds in the kitchen and glanced that way again. He could see that Liam was still upset. Elias hated when they disagreed. Liam was just as passionate about the things he believed in as Elias and would often argue his point as well as any lawyer Elias ever faced in court. He watched Liam plating Madison and Andrew’s dinner. Elias turned back to the couple on the couch to see that they were watching him intently.

  “How about you two eat and I will do some digging. Come by my office Monday and we can go over what I find out.”

  Both Madison and Andrew breathed out a sigh of relief that he would be helping them. They weren’t sure how much, but anything would be good. They then glanced in the kitchen and saw that Liam was setting plates of food on the table for them. Madison smiled slightly, thankful.