4
JACE'S POV
Enzo Romano.
The leader of the Romano syndicate, one of the biggest mafia bosses in Kentucky.
As a teenager, I had seen his pictures countless times on the news. He was always one of the men suspected for a crime, but was hardly convicted for anything.
Enzo Romano was so slick that you could never catch him unprepared. That was one of the reasons why he had never been arrested, no matter how many times he had been on the radar of the local police and FBI.
The Romano syndicate, on the other hand, was a strong, prestigious family that was rumored to even have branches in Europe.
I swallowed hard, staring at the legend of a man who was known to be one of the ruthless men in the underworld streets of Kentucky.
What was he doing here?
His dark leather jacket seemed to glisten in the darkness, and his eyes seemed to see through me, those eyes that I had seen countless times on the news but never believed would look at me one day.
"Jace Wilder."
I stared at him, my mind racing, unable to find the right words to serve as a reply.
"The people's champion. That's what you are, right?"
I looked away from his face to the face of the man standing next to him, unflinching, his hand in his jacket. Aware of what was beneath his jacket, I knew I didn't need to be told that I should answer his boss.
"Yes sir."
He laughed, as he placed his hand on my shoulder.
"We'll deal with that term later. Nobody calls me sir." He looked at Xander, who looked as though he wanted to be anywhere else in the world apart from where he was at that moment.
"And this is your friend, right? The one who served as a coach?"
I nodded, my eyes not leaving his face.
"Good, good. You fought really well, Jace."
I nodded, struggling to hide the curiosity in my eyes, wondering where the conversation was headed.
"Come on, I'd like to drop the both of you off. But first things first, I'd like to speak to you, Jace. Come on, get in the car with me. Your friend can get in the other car. You," he pointed to me, "are my personal guest."
I nodded, torn between the decision of leaving my friend and entering the car of a man whom I knew to be extremely notorious.
Xander, eyes wide with fear, spoke almost immediately.
"I can order an Uber, sir…"
"Nonsense. Get in the car."
We didn't need to be told twice.
The door of the car was opened by the unsmiling guard, and I climbed in, aware of the shiny leather of the car and how good it seemed to smell.
Enzo Romano entered just after me, a smile on his face.
He lit a joint moments later, and offered me one, which I refused politely.
"How much do you earn here after a night of fighting?"
I scratched the back of my neck, my mind working overtime to find out why I was being asked such a specific question by a mafia lord.
"On good nights, five hundred…"
"And today was a good night, wasn't it?"
I was suddenly filled with anger as I remembered the stunt Christopher had pulled in his office. Anybody who watched that fight knew that it was basically a huge paycheck for me.
But the lying bastard that called himself the organizer of the fights decided he knew better.
"Yes it is supposed to be, but tonight, the organizer of the fight changed the terms. We normally do fifty-fifty, but he changed it to seventy-thirty. Apparently, he had to settle the cops and promote the fights."
I finished speaking, waiting for Enzo's reply.
He took a deep drag from his joint, then glanced at me. At that moment, I was aware of the massive change that his face had undergone.
His once dancing eyes had turned to stone, and the smile on his lips had dried up.
This was a different man, the mafia lord I knew.
"How much were you given tonight?"
"Two five hundred, sir."
"That fat bastard cheated you, Jace. Are you aware of that?"
I nodded, unable to speak or breathe properly because of the extent of smoke in the car.
"The guts to cheat you after such a successful night. Fred?" Through the rearview mirror, he glanced at the man in the driver's seat who had opened the door for him earlier.
"Go back into that building and come out with the fat man and his bag of money. Go along with the men from the other car if you have to."
Fred, the guard who had been watching him nodded, then left the car in a robot-like state, his jaw forward with determination.
The silence that ensued was uncomfortable. I adjusted uneasily, my mind racing.
What did one say to the lord of a well known notorious mafia group? And why was he helping me? What was he going to do with Christopher?
The questions remained unanswered until he spoke, his huge baritone breaking the nervy silence.
"Where did you learn to fight, Jace?"
I looked down at my feet before replying.
"My father used to be a boxer. I accompanied him to his training sessions and most of his fights."
"Ahh, I see where you get the stance from. He taught you well. How's he now?"
"He died in the ring shortly before I left high school."
I stared at Enzo Romano through the smoke, and even though his voice and reply was way quieter than usual, there was no remorse or pity in his eyes when he spoke.
"That's sad. A child doesn't have to lose his father at such a young age…"
At that moment, we were interrupted by the sound of two thunderous gunshots.
Goosebumps filled my flesh as I tried to wrap my head around what had just happened. Who had been shot? What was going on?
The next sound I heard made my blood run cold.