I was desperate. After seeing my mother and the condition Dante had left her in, I was afraid. Not just for her but for myself. I drove for hours not knowing where I was going or when I’d be back.

All those years, months, and days behind bars, I was sure that my mother had given up on me. She’d married Dante against my wishes. I couldn’t understand why she didn’t see him for the snake he really was.

My father had been a real man. With nothing he built his company and when he died, it was worth over one-hundred-and-twenty-three billion dollars. Not bad for a guy with nothing more than a high school education. But even with all that he was a man of the people. He was not too good to shake someone’s hand or roll up his sleeves to fix a toilet. I loved him. And I missed him now more than ever.

There were times when I was in jail that I felt rage bubble up inside and the thought of committing murder came to me. But there was always a reality that settled in to cool things. Getting sent back to jail, leaving my mother alone again, not to mention my final judgment that would leave me burning in hell for eternity. But I wanted to. I wanted to find Dante, wring his neck and watch his eyes bulge out of their sockets while he clawed at my hands and gasped for air.

My body began to tremble. The only thing that calmed me was the thought of Nova. I had to talk to her. I needed her. She held the key to my sanity at the moment. I don’t know how she got it or why but if I didn’t find her I was going to doom myself.

The dark thoughts plagued me as I drove back to my home.

“Alex, are you all right?” Tina asked me as she waddled out of the kitchen. “You don’t look good.”

“I saw Mother.” It was all I could say. I went into my office and slammed the door. Everything was as I’d left it. Taking a chance that maybe I still had access to the company files, I banged on the keyboard a couple of passwords and security questions and was greeted with the pop-up:

Welcome back, Mr. Ramsey

Joan did this. I don’t know why I didn’t ask her when I saw her but she would have been the person to have my access to the company files yanked. Either she’d conveniently forgotten or she’d really forgotten. Either way, a dozen roses were going to be arriving for her tomorrow.

As much as I wanted to dig through the financial files and reports, I needed something much more simple. The current list of employees.

It didn’t take long for me to find what I was looking for. Nova Lyons lived in a not so great part of town in an apartment building.

No one knew that we had spoken. Not yet. So I had no fear that her house was being watched or the possibility she’d be in any danger if I were seen going in. I started by trying to request her help. By the end I had poured my heart out to her about my mother, my time in prison and myself.

What was happening to me? I barely knew this woman but the memory of her face was burned into my mind. As much as I wanted to kill Dante Ross, I wanted to live for Nova Lyons. I finished the letter just as Tina rapped on the door.

“Mr. Ramsey? Are you all right?”

I got up from my desk, grabbed my car keys and went to the door. When I opened it and looked down, poor Tina was wringing her hands.

“Oh, Mr. Ramsey, you scared me. Please don’t lock the doors when you have a wild, crazy look in your eyes. It makes me nervous.” She waved her hand at me as if she were shooing a fly.

“I’m sorry.” I put my hand on her shoulder. “Mother is in trouble. I need to help her. I just needed a little time to digest what I’d learned and figure out what to do next.”

“I understand. When I need time to think I go to the kitchen and bake something. It’s the details of getting the oven heated, the measuring, the mixing that calms my mind enough to think.” She modeled her plump figure. “You can tell from my figure I’m a fucking genius.”

“You always know just what to say, Tina.” I had to laugh.

“I made you something to eat. Just some roast beef sandwiches, potato salad, and chocolate cake for dessert. Nothing fancy.” She smiled.

“My God, I haven’t eaten anything since I got out. That sounds like a banquet. Thank you.” I couldn’t tell her I had no appetite at the moment. “Look, take the day off tomorrow. I’m not even going to be here and if I have to I can get carry-out.”

“Are you sure?” She looked at me skeptically. “You’re not going to do anything crazy are you?”

“Me?”

She rolled her eyes and began to walk toward the closet where she kept her purse. “I’m going to have Carl check on you,” she called before leaving the apartment.

Carl and Tina were the only family I had left. I felt I needed to protect them as much as I did my mother. I was afraid there was nothing Dante wouldn’t do to break me. Especially now.

With my letter in my hand, I left again and drove to Nova’s apartment. The block she lived on looked nice in the daytime. There were tall trees. Most of the apartment buildings appeared clean and halfway decent but there were no such things as doormen, security cameras that worked, or any kind of police presence like there was in my neighborhood.

Her building was a yellow brick structure with two round globe lights on either side of the door. My car stood out like a sore thumb, too. But I managed a spot at the end of the block. As I walked toward her place, the unsavory element started to appear, slowly at first but then with a little more gusto. It wasn’t often that a vintage Porsche parked in the area.

I saw a handful of men merge together at the end of the block, their pants hanging low with oversized t-shirts and gold chains around their necks. The idea of someone like Nova living here worried me. She didn’t seem like a girl who took unnecessary risks but this wasn’t the kind of place a lady like her should be.

And just where should she be, Alex?

The voice popped into my head like it had been waiting to contribute to the conversation. Of course, she should be with me. That was obvious.

I strolled up to the door but it was locked. As much as I wanted to hurry, I had to be patient and wait for someone to leave or come home. I watched as the men at the end of the block surveyed my car. There was a very good chance that I was going to be missing some hubcaps when I returned, maybe the entire car.

Finally, a man came running through the lobby pushing the door open without giving me a second glance. I slipped right in, confirmed Nova’s residence on the mailboxes, and took the stairs up four flights.

She was at the end of the hallway. I was going to knock but something stopped me. It was the guy next door.

“Are you looking for Nova?” he asked.

“Is that any of your business?” I replied. He was balding on top and had a bit of a pouch hanging over his sweat pants. His feet were bare. Part of me couldn’t blame the guy for being interested in Nova. But she’d made it clear she didn’t have a man in her life. And if she did, I can bet it wouldn’t be this guy.

“Well, I’m not sure how you got in the building. You don’t live here, do you?”

“You’ve got me there,” I said and took a step forward. “I need to get this to her.” I held up the envelope that held my letter.

The man reached for it as if I’d trust him to give it to her. I turned and slipped it beneath her door.

Her neighbor rocked back on his heels and folded his arms over his chest.

Without saying another word, I headed back toward the stairs. I could feel the man’s eyes on me. He didn’t look like he was in the best shape but I still didn’t need the trouble of someone trying to play tough guy with me. I was on parole. I had to keep my nose clean and that was going to be damn hard with everything that was going on.

Once I was out of view I listened. The neighbor’s door finally closed.

I left, hoping Nova would understand what I was saying. She was the only way in to RIT and if she didn’t help me get my hands on that letter, not only would I never be able to get the company out of Dante’s clutches, but my mother would die.

It wasn’t ever in my nature to beg, but in that letter I begged Nova to help me.

When I stepped back outside and walked toward my car, I saw the hubcaps were still intact. The windshield wasn’t cracked and there were no scratches on the side.

“Hey. That your car?” shouted a small boy about twelve years old who should have been in school.

“Yup,” I said.

“Man, that’s nice.” He stared.

“Thank you.” I climbed in and slowly rolled out of the neighborhood. The image of that little boy’s eyes watching my car made me pause for a minute. This was just a car. I’d give it up to know my mother would be all right. I’d give it all up to have Nova for just one night in my bed.

Now, all I could do was wait and see if she’d reply. I asked her to meet me at RIT on the second level of the parking garage in a week. That would allow me some time to study the company files and maybe have Carl follow Dante around. He might have known my driver before I went away but I doubt he’d recognize him now. Dante never had time for the little guys who worked for us.

Once I knew that Nova would help me, I’d kick my second plan into gear. Mother didn’t have that much time. Everything was going to have to move fast. This waiting would be the hardest part.