Mike was released in 2008. He was forty-one, graying at the temples, but still as sharp as a razor. He went straight to see Sarah and Allison. Allison was ten now, a quiet girl with pigtails. She looked at Mike with serious eyes. “I’m Mike,” he said, kneeling down. “I was your dad’s best friend.” She shook his hand firmly. “Mom told me about you. You’re the one who helps us.” Mike nodded. “And I always will.”
Mike settled back into a quiet life. He did some consulting for the old crew, but he mostly stayed under the radar. His main focus was Allison. She was a brilliant student, and by 2010, she decided she wanted to be a nurse. Mike paid for every cent of her tuition. He told her it was her father’s “insurance policy.” Allison graduated at the top of her class in 2013. But that same year, tragedy struck again. Sarah was diagnosed with Stage IV stomach cancer.
Mike spared no expense. He got the best doctors, the best private rooms, the best meds. He sat with Sarah every day. Allison took a leave of absence from her new job to care for her mother. In October, Sarah called Mike to her bedside. “Promise me, Mike. She’ll be alone soon.” Mike took her hand. “She’s my daughter, Sarah. I’m not going anywhere.” Sarah passed away three days later. At the funeral, Allison leaned against Mike and sobbed. “I’m all alone now,” she whispered. “No,” Mike said firmly. “You have me.”
Allison went back to work as a surgical nurse. She was dedicated and tough. She lived in a small apartment near the hospital and refused most of Mike’s money, wanting to earn her own way. Mike respected that. But in 2017, Mike’s past caught up with him again. An old associate flipped, and Mike was tied to a money-laundering scheme from years prior. He was fifty-one. The judge gave him seven years. Mike took it like a man. He went back to Rockwood.
Allison wrote to him every week. She told him she was moving closer to the prison to be near him. Mike told her to live her life, but she was stubborn—just like Jim. In 2019, she sent him a letter that changed everything. She had taken a job as a nurse at Rockwood State Pen. The pay was better, and she could see him. Mike was terrified. A prison was no place for a young woman, especially one as beautiful as Allison. He told her to quit, but she ignored him.
A month later, he saw her in the infirmary during a routine check-up. She was in her white scrubs, looking professional and distant. “Name and number, inmate,” she said for the benefit of the guards. Mike gave them. She checked his blood pressure, her hands steady. “Everything looks normal. You’re cleared,” she said. Mike looked into her eyes, wanting to tell her to run, but he just nodded and left. For the next two years, they maintained that professional distance. Nobody knew she was the daughter of his best friend. It was safer that way.
In 2023, a new group of inmates arrived. Among them were two punks: “Frosty” and “Big Mack.” Frosty was a two-time loser for armed robbery, a guy with shifty eyes. Mack was a mountain of a man with a mean streak. They didn’t respect the old ways. They thought they ran the place. Mike watched them from a distance, unimpressed. They were “loudmouths,” the kind of guys who didn’t last long in the old days.
In March 2024, Mike had a bad cough and went to the infirmary. Allison treated him, but as he was leaving, Frosty and Mack pushed their way in. They didn’t have appointments; they just wanted to harass the “pretty new nurse.” Mike stepped out into the hall but lingered by the door. He heard Frosty’s oily voice. “Hey, gorgeous. Why so serious? We just want to get to know you.” Allison’s voice was ice. “The exam is over. Leave now, or I’ll call the COs.”
Mack laughed, a low, guttural sound. He blocked the door. “Don’t be like that, Annie. We could be friends. We’re the big shots around here.” Mike heard a scuffle—the sound of a chair sliding. Frosty had grabbed her arm. “Let go of me!” Allison snapped. Mike’s vision went red, but he forced himself to stay calm. He couldn’t hit them there, not with guards everywhere. He watched through the small window as Allison shoved Frosty back and walked out, her face pale but her head held high. The two punks just laughed.
