“You’re going to pay for that, bitch!”
Before Madison could think of what else she could do to stop this from happening, the door swung open and two police officers were there. She didn’t have time to be surprised, she was only thankful for their presence. One of the officers pulled Jimmy off of her and threw him against the outside of the car while the other called for an ambulance. He then reached his hand in the car.
“Ma’am, are you alright?”
Madison nodded as the tears began to freely flow.
“I’m going to take these binds off, ma’am. I won’t hurt you,” he said kindly as he sat in the car. He first took the gag out of her mouth and then untied her hands.
“Thank you,” Madison stuttered through her tears.
“Get your hands off me,” Jimmy screeched as the police offer roughly turned him around and handcuffed him. “Do you know who my father is? He’ll have your badge for this.”
“You have the right to remain silent and I suggest you do so, sir,” the officer said as he started walking him to his cruiser. “Anything you say can and will be used...”
Madison didn't hear anything else as the distinct sound of a Harley approaching blocked out everything else. It was Andrew. She didn’t know how he found her but she was glad he did. Andrew screeched into the lot and turned off his bike, hopping off faster than he thought was humanly possible. He quickly scanned the scene before him. He saw paramedics approaching a car where a police officer was, he then saw another officer walking Jimmy to the cruiser. Andrew launched at Jimmy, yanking him out of the officer’s hands and punching him twice before he was pulled off of him.
“What did you do to her?” Andrew growled in a manner that would frighten anyone.
“Sir, back away or I will be forced to arrest you.”
“Andrew!” Madison screamed out for him and he turned abruptly. His face went from unbridled rage to heartbreak in a matter of seconds.
“Madison,” he whispered and ran over to where she was.
Madison reached out for him, tears streaming down her face. Andrew dropped to his knees and pulled her to him, cradling her in his arms as he leaned against the car, effectively pushing the medics away from her. She nuzzled against him, feeling safe in his arms.
“Sir, we need to check her out,” the EMT said, but Madison clung to Andrew.
“Madison, baby, are you...” he closed his eyes and it was clear to anyone that he was in dire pain. “Are you hurt?” he finally muttered.
Madison breathed in deeply. “He choked me,” she said so soft that she could barely be heard.
The police officer looked at the EMT. “Take her to the hospital. We need to have a rape kit completed on her.”
Andrew’s entire body stiffened and his heart started racing at an unnatural pace. Madison sat up quickly and shook her head, staring at Andrew’s face which was now contorted in a way that actually frightened her. He was no longer looking at her; he was glaring at the police car where Jimmy was. Madison grabbed Andrew’s face in her hands and forcibly moved it so that he was now facing her.
“Andrew,” Madison said softly.
Andrew closed his eyes tightly. The mere thought of Jimmy doing that to her was too much for him to bear. Images flashed through his brain that he was desperate to get rid of. He felt Madison touching his face gently, reassuringly.
“Helios, baby, he didn’t rape me. The police got here before he could do anything like that.”
Andrew opened his eyes. “But he touched you. I can tell,” he said with a pained expression on his face.
“Ma’am, I need to get your statement,” an officer stated. He looked at the EMT and continued, “Can you give us a minute?” They nodded and stepped back.
“Sir...”
“I’m not leaving,” Andrew said, shooting him a visceral glare that said the officer would have to arrest him before he left Madison’s side.
“Ma’am.”
“I want him to stay,” Madison said, gently stroking Andrew’s face, trying desperately to calm him down.
“Tell me what happened, ma’am,” the officer asked.
Madison proceeded to go into detail about what transpired. With each point she made, Andrew seemed to get more upset, feeling that, once again, he had not been there to protect her. Once the police officer was done, he walked over to the squad car and talked with the other officer while the EMT’s checked out Madison’s injuries and then told her they were taking her to the hospital since she hit her head and had felt dizzy. They wanted to ensure that she didn’t have a concussion.
“Baby,” Madison said, trying to draw Andrew’s attention away from the police car.
He turned slowly to her, his face hard and dangerous.
“Can you go get Stella for me?” Madison asked softly.
Completely on its own accord, the corners of Andrew’s lip quirked up ever so slightly. “You want me to drive your car?”
She arched her brow. “Yes, I do.”
“You must have a concussion,” he said with a soft chuckle.
Madison grinned, and slapped his shoulder lightly. He finally smiled and kissed her softly on the lips before cradling her head against his chest. She breathed into him, feeling safe in his embrace.
“I need to call my grans too. She’s probably worried about me.”
He nodded. “She’s the one that called me. She said she tried to call you and got worried when you didn’t pick up. I got worried myself and decided to look for you. I retraced your steps and found the car at the grocery store. I asked some worker if he’d seen you and he said you left with Jimmy. I heard the sirens and followed them. That’s how I was able to find you.”
Frowning, Madison pulled away from Andrew and reached in her back pocket for her phone and car keys, which she handed to Andrew. He leaned down and kissed her on the forehead before cupping her cheek, telling her he would be back with her car. He then started walking towards his bike, thinking that driving her home in the car is a better and safer bet anyway. If she was hurting even a little bit, he didn’t want her on his bike. As he walked past the squad car, Jimmy turned to him and smiled. Andrew took a step towards the car just as the officer looked at him. Andrew sighed and changed directions, thinking that they better not let him go.
33 RELIVING THE PAST
“Sir, I need to ask you to wait outsi...” the nurse started to say but stopped when Andrew shot her a lethal glare.
“I’m not leaving her,” he growled out menacingly.
“I understand that, sir, but...” She paused and motioned for him to step away from Madison's bed. “She needs a CAT scan and the social worker also has to visit with her. In my experience, she will be more comfortable talking about what happened without you standing next to her.”
He frowned but nodded. “I’ll just have a cigarette and get some fresh air.”
The nurse nodded at him. “We’ll take good care of her.”
He walked back to the bed Madison was in and kissed her lightly on the forehead. “They are kicking me out for a little bit. I’m just going to smoke outside. I won’t be far.”
“You’re not leaving are you?” she asked, with rising panic.
“Never,” he replied, touching his lips to hers.
She nodded and he could see the tears pooling in her eyes. It took all the strength he had inside of him to walk away. The minute he stepped outside, he began pacing like a caged animal. He wanted Jimmy dead, he wanted him gone and he wanted it to be slow and painful. Andrew knew that Jimmy was going to jail but he worried that his rich father would get him out. Andrew ran his hands through his hair and practically sprinted to the payphone.
“Hello?”
“Hey Jay, it's Andrew.”
“What’s up, dude? What number are you calling from? I don’t recognize it?”
“I’m at the hospital with Madison. Jimmy fucking grabbed her from the store. He tried to...” Andrew let out a sharp intake of breath. He couldn’t eve
n say the words. “Can you come over here? I swear I want to hunt him down and...”
Andrew tugged on his hair, trying to fight the urge to do something just so he could get picked up and put in the same cell with Jimmy.
“Please... I...” Andrew stammered.
He never asked for help before but he remembered how Jayden had calmed him down the last time he was angry and he desperately needed to calm down.
“I’m on my way,” Jayden said, hanging up.
Andrew walked outside and began smoking, nonstop, and within fifteen minutes Jayden was walking up to him, a determined look on his face.
“Are you alright?” he asked, touching his shoulder.
Andrew shook his head. “He tried to rape her. He choked her and tied her up. When I got there the police already had Jimmy in custody.”
Jayden looked pissed. “What the fuck!”
Andrew nodded, those were his thoughts exactly. “Her grans called me because Madison wasn’t home yet so I went looking for her. Her car was in the parking lot at Safemart and the guy who does the carts told me he saw her with Jimmy.” Andrew took a long drag of his cigarette, trying to calm down. “I heard a bunch of cop cars and an ambulance speed past the store and followed them,” he said blowing out smoke. “Madison said he didn’t rape her but he hit her head against the roof of the car so she was disoriented and couldn’t get away, then he...” Andrew took another long drag, beginning to pace again. He looked over at Jayden who was watching him intently. “He choked her. I can see his fucking hand prints on her neck. I swear to God I am hoping his dad bails him out because I am going to fucking kill him. And I am going to savor it; he will know it was me. I am going to fucking torture that asshole for what he did.”
Andrew’s face displayed exactly the kind of raw rage that Jayden had seen only once before. Although Jayden could understand how Andrew felt, he also knew he needed to calm him down. There was a part of him that wanted to help Andrew find Jimmy and pummel him to death but the larger part knew that wasn’t a good solution. The reality was Andrew didn’t need to go to prison, that wasn’t in anyone’s best interest. Jayden walked over to him and set his hands on his shoulders.
“Andrew, I know that you want to go after him.” Andrew looked at him like he was insane but Jayden didn’t stop, “When my dad was beat up, my other dad was so angry. I had never seen my father like that. He was talking crazy.” Jayden arched his brow. “I'm talking murder crazy.” Andrew’s eyes widened. “My grandmother started yelling at him and told him that going to prison would leave me and my dad alone and that he needed to take care of us and not to do something foolish.” Jayden looked down and then back up, his eyes wet. “That was the only time I saw my father break down.”
Andrew dropped his head, trying to wrap his mind around everything that was going on. He really wanted to go after Jimmy but he could understand what Jayden was saying. Madison had told him before that she didn’t think she could handle him getting sent away. Andrew had no idea what he was supposed to do.
“Madison needs you here, Andrew. She doesn’t need you sent to prison for murder,” Jayden said with emotion.
Andrew looked up at him, tears pooling in his eyes as he nodded.
“Do you trust me, Andrew?” Jayden asked, gripping his shoulders.
“Yes,” Andrew choked out, standing tall, and wiping his eyes.
“You take care of Madison, okay? I will make sure Jimmy never gets out.” Andrew looked at him confused. “A real man protects the people he cares about. Your responsibility is in there, protecting Madison,” Jayden said, pointing to the ER. “Mine is elsewhere, protecting my friends.”
Andrew swallowed and nodded. He took a deep breath and then dug into his pocket, handing Jayden his keys.
“Can you get my Harley for me? I’m in Madison’s car.”
“Of course, I’ll bring it by the house later.”
Andrew started shaking his head. “No, her grans doesn’t want it parked overnight because she doesn’t want the neighbors to know I spend the night and I have no intention of leaving Madison at all once I can check her out.”
Jayden nodded. “How about in the morning, would that be alright?”
“Yeah, that would be better,” he said, leaning against the wall. “Thank you, Jay.”
Jayden smiled. “Not a problem, man.”
“I’m going back in, see if they will let me be with her again,” Andrew said with a half-smile and turned to walk away.
Jayden closed his eyes and ran his hand through his hair and started walking back to his truck. He would go see his dad. His dad Elias would be able to find out if Jimmy was in jail, if he was going to be let out anytime soon, what judge was assigned the case. He would know what they needed to do to make sure that Jimmy never saw the light of day outside of a prison cell. Jimmy had gone too far this time and he needed to pay. Jayden unlocked his truck and opened the door, getting ready to get inside when a feeling of panic began to envelope him.
“El, take care of Jayden!”
Jayden’s knees buckled and his heart skipped. He could feel it coming. He needed to get to his dads before it really hit. He contemplated for only a moment realizing that his dad Liam was a lot closer and in a smaller office. Besides, usually when the panic hit he would not be okay until he knew his dad Liam was alright. He also recognized in his hazy state that there wouldn’t be a whole reception area of people watching him have a full blown panic attack. He tried his best to slow his breathing as he scrambled into his truck and started the engine.
“Faggots shouldn't have kids!”
Jayden’s breath hitched and he started sweating profusely. His heart was already beating incredibly fast and all he could hear were the sounds of fists and screams and cursing. Jayden didn’t remember actually driving to his dad’s office but as he screeched into the parking lot he was thankful that he had made it. He practically fell out of his truck and ran haphazardly into the office. He barely heard Maggie ask him if he was okay before he flung himself into his dad’s office, not even making it to one of his chairs before falling to his knees.
“JAYDEN!” Liam jumped up and ran to him.
“What’s wrong with him, Mr. Bennett?” Maggie asked, in tears.
Liam turned to her with a stern face. “Close the door, he’ll be fine.”
She reluctantly closed the door and Liam immediately started rubbing Jayden’s back soothingly. He placed one hand over his heart while his other hand continued to caress his back. Jayden’s heart was beating rapidly and he was wheezing from lack of air in his lungs. It had been a long time since Jayden had gotten this way, but Liam knew he needed to calm him down before he would be able to find out what led to this. Liam sat on the floor and brought Jayden’s head onto his lap.
“Lay down, son,” Liam said softly. “It’s going to be okay.”
He continued to move his hand along Jayden’s back before going into his hair, massaging his scalp softly. Jayden felt completely out of control. His heart continued to race, his breathing was unbearably difficult and he felt as if he were suffocating. His body curled into a fetal position as images of the worst day of his life began flashing across his mind. He squeezed his eyes as tight as possible, willing the images to go away and for his body to stop shaking.
“Close your eyes, son, and cover your ears,” Elias said in the strict voice he used when he was being serious about something important. “Son, I won’t let anyone hurt you,” he whispered to Jayden in a softer voice.
Jayden didn’t listen to his father’s advice about not looking and snuck a peek around him. He knew he should do what his father said but his eyes couldn’t look away. He saw that there were two men holding his dad Liam while the other two were hitting and kicking him. Jayden immediately started to cry as he tugged on his dad Elias’ shirt.
“Go help him, please.”
“Yeah, daddy,” the man in front of them said with a laugh. “I'll watch your boy for you. Hell, if he’s gonna
be raised by faggots he might as well become one.”
Elias’ arms moved behind him as he protectively grabbed Jayden’s shoulders, pulling him closer to him while he took a couple of steps back. Jayden let his eyes glance around his father and saw that there were now three people kicking his Dad Liam. Jayden looked up to his Dad Elias and his dad had an expression on his face that Jayden had never seen before. His face was contorted and he was breathing strangely and when Jayden looked back he saw that his Dad Liam wasn't moving.
“NO!” Elias yelled.
“You’re safe, son,” Liam said soothingly, with tears streaking his face.
He started humming softly to him, like he used to when he was younger and would wake up screaming in terror. Liam could feel his son’s irregular heart rate and rapid breathing. This episode was lasting longer than they normally did. He wondered what had brought this on. He turned when the door opened. Elias walked in and sat next to Liam. Elias replaced Liam’s hands in Jayden’s hair while Liam continued to massage his back. Elias lay on the ground so that he could kiss the top of Jayden’s head and get close to him. He worked his fingers through his son’s hair and began whispering in his ear, telling him that he loved him and would always protect him.
“Mijo, todo va a estar bien. Te amo y siempre lo protegerá”
Elias looked up at Liam, who had his eyes closed, but Elias could see that his cheeks were wet. Elias lifted one of his hands and cupped Liam’s face lovingly before bringing it back down to Jayden. After another few minutes they heard Jayden take a deep breath in and out. After several moments, Jayden’s breathing seemed to regulate and his heart rate began to steady. Both fathers continued to care for their son until they were sure the worst was over.
“Son, what happened?” Elias asked; his voice full of concern.
“Jimmy attacked Madison but the cops got there in time. Andrew called me and when I got there he was...” Jayden took another deep breath and rolled over, facing Elias. “He was like you when dad was hurt. It made me remember when we were in the hospital and you were so angry,” he said with tears in his eyes.
Helios Awakened (The Helios Chronicles #1) Page 32
