Cold. That’s how the visitation area felt as Alex and I sat there, speaking more with our eyes than our mouths. As I cut my eyes at the stocky guard standing a short distance away, I added impersonal to my list of definitions for the place.

“You talked to your dad?” Alex asked at one point, a flicker of hope in his voice.

“Yeah, but he’s not budging. I’m so frustrated with him, I don’t know what to do.”

“Remember way back before any of this got started, I told you to fill him in?” Alex’s tone had a hard edge to it.

“Yeah, I know, but we got past that. He’s just acting janky, and I don’t like it. He has the power to end this whole thing—without me having to use that thing.”

“We use that and the snake doesn’t get smoked out of the hole,” Alex added, softening his tone.

I nodded in agreement, but it didn’t make me feel any better. Not having Alex around for the last three months had been hard on everyone, especially Starlet. She put on her game face for us, but it didn’t take much to see that this whole ordeal was wearing her down.

Even Alex’s team was growing impatient. While they weren’t saying much, their eyes said it all. Alex was their foundation. Most of what they did, they did for him and their loyalty to him. Who knew what would happen, if this dragged out much longer.

“Red came by yesterday,” Alex said, his eyes dark and sullen. “He’s really adapting well to his new role.”

“That he is. Sometimes I think too much. But, then, he could be Mason,” I said, drawing in a deep breath.

Alex chuckled, lightening the mood. “Is it that bad?”

“You have no idea. It’s like having another version of you running around . . . if you excuse the fact that he bumbles everything I give him to do. And let’s not talk about your team. They cringe just having him in the same room. It’s like they already know he’s going to screw something up—to their detriment.”

Alex laughed. “Don’t be so hard on Mase. His heart is in the right place.”

“Too bad his skills don’t measure up to it. I’ll let Jeff tell you about the latest fiasco, when he comes by this week. No matter where Mason’s heart is, our line of work isn’t a good fit.”

“Some people just aren’t cut out for certain things,” Alex agreed. “He’ll find his niche, sooner or later.”

“I’m hoping for sooner. He helped move Terry’s things into my place the other day and ended up knocking out a window pane in the door. Please don’t ask how.”

“OK, I won’t, but it damn sure sounds like it would be funny as hell. How is Terry, by the way?”

“She’s actually doing pretty good. I finally got her out of that crime- and roach-infested apartment complex of hers. She’ll be staying with me, until we find her a place closer to Blogsome College.”

“Wow! Sounds like you two are really working this thing out.”

“It’s still strange to me, but I figure if I do things differently than my mother did, we might be able to have a real mother/daughter relationship.”

“Just don’t try to do too much too quickly,” he advised.

“I know. I keep reminding myself of that, and when I don’t, Mason is happy to do so. I think he might even be a little jealous.”

“Jealous? Nah, I don’t think so. I’d say he’s just being Mase.”

“You have a point. He’s so here, there and everywhere, I don’t know what’s on his mind these days. I do know he and his mother are at each other’s throat like nobody’s business. And don’t let Rain drop in then we’re right back to square one, with Mason walking around in a huff, acting like a little bitch.”

I laughed. Alex didn’t. He seemed to be thinking deeply on something. “What’s wrong?” I asked.

“I don’t know. I guess I just thought we’d have this resolved by now. You heard anything about the bail?”

“Not a peek. That’s what me and daddy-o been fighting about. I keep telling him that Sheldon is around. He keeps telling me that all the signs point to him being deceased. Until he gets some new information, he’s not playing ball.”

“Yanni, I don’t look good in green.”

“And that’s why I’m working my ass off to get you out of here. Sheldon’s a smart man. There’s no way he’s gone too far from the scene. He’s sitting somewhere close by, watching things unfold. Probably laughing his ass off at the turn of events.”

“Well, I wish he’d show his ass, so I can get home and take care of my family,” Alex growled. “I’m not supposed to be in this position. He’s the one that took out my family.” Alex slammed his fist against the table, causing it to bounce up before landing on the concrete floor with a hard metallic thud.

“Alex, calm down,” I whispered, glancing in the direction of the guard. “Everybody’s a potential witness, remember? That’s how you got here in the first place.”

Clearly frustrated, Alex placed his head in his hands, his shoulders heaving up and down. I reached out to touch him, at the same time giving the guard a look that said, “don’t fuck with me about no rules.” Getting the message, he cast his eyes in another direction.

“Alex, everything’s going to be all right,” I said, speaking softly. “This is us. We get through it all, baby. All of it.”

“I don’t know this time, Yanni. Doing time ain’t something I’m good at. If it weren’t for Starlet and AJ, it would have never gone down like this.” He looked up at me, his eyes hard, black orbs.

I knew exactly what he meant. I also knew that I had to keep his spirits up, one way or the other. Too many people were depending on him to come home. It was my job to make sure that he did.

I gazed down at my friend of fifteen years. In those few seconds, I thought back to all the years I’d known Alex. How he’d never let me down. How he told me the truth when nobody else would. How he placed his life on the line for me too many times to count.

I owed him. I owed him big. And I was going to pay exactly what I owed.

“Before you know it, it’s going to be over,” I said to him. “You’ll be home with Starlet and AJ again—I promise you that.”

“I hope so,” Alex muttered. “I really hope so.”

I hugged him close. “You don’t have to hope anymore,” I whispered, an image of Sheldon flashing through my mind. “I’ll be bringing you that snake real soon.”