6
JACE'S POV
"I want you to be my daughter's bodyguard."
Even though I was now in the small apartment I shared with my old mother and brother, the words of Enzo Romano still rang in my ears.
I turned on my bed, unable to sleep, my mind racing.
"Think about my offer. Take your time. But let me remind you that it won't be open forever. You'll have till the end of the week to decide if you still want to work for Christopher, or you deserve to be paid properly to do what you're good at."
I looked at the red coloured figures of the alarm clock next to my bed, then turned away.
By five o'clock, I was supposed to get ready for my shift at a restaurant where I worked halfway across the city.
But now, with such a tantalising offer and with twenty thousand dollars tucked safely in the closet below my bed, I found myself wondering if I would be able to get up from bed by five o'clock and do the necessary preparations in order to get to the restaurant where I worked on time.
Indeed, it was a lifetime opportunity.
One I might never see again in life.
A man like Enzo Romano wouldn't want to wait too long for an answer.
The money would go a long way. A better apartment for my mother and brother. Proper education for my brother who was a maths wizard and an excellent basketball player.
And yes, I would finally have to stop working so hard. Less stress, no more anxiety.
And most of all, a sick free mother, all I had ever wished for.
It was too mouth watering to refuse.
But at the same time, the disadvantages were limitless. The thought of what happened to Christopher happening to me made my stomach turn over in fear.
The fear of death, of being arrested was existent as well. And what about being arrested? Once you were a member of a mafia, there was no going back.
You were practically marked for life.
My head aching with worry, I turned again, and fell into a chaos filled sleep where I was back at the circle of death facing a bulked up Christopher.
*
"You came home in a car yesterday. A friend dropped you?"
I focused on the scrambled eggs in front of me, partially refusing to meet my mother's eyes. How was I going to tell her that one of the most notorious mafia lords in the city had dropped me at home the previous night with a proposal to work for him on my lap?
I sipped the coffee in the porcelain cup next to my plate, preferring the heat of the coffee to my mother's gaze.
"Jace?"
"One of the organizers dropped me, mum. I won yesterday, so it was only natural that he helped."
The stare my mother gave me was one of pity. Shortly after my father's death, she had taken ill.
Her tuberculosis had only seemed to get worse even with the constant treatment. In her stare, I could see her sympathy, and the constant anger that she couldn't take care of her children the way she wanted due to her severe illness.
"You've got to be careful, Jace. These fights are not good for you."
I looked away, knowing that she was going to launch into one of her tirades about how boxing had killed my father, and how I was supposed to avoid fighting as a whole.
But fighting was what I knew how to do best. How could I stop now?
"And you need to rest, mum. I can help Simon get ready for school every morning. All you need to do is get better. Take your drugs."
Dragging the chair, I stood, grabbing my plate and the now empty cup.
Simon, my younger brother, stuffed his food in his mouth as fast as he could. No matter how hard I tried to make him early in order to meet up with the bus, he would always find a way to eat late, running after the bus at the last moment.
He seemed to enjoy it.
"Simon, you're late. Hurry up."
I walked to my mother, who had been trying to eat something for the past few minutes but had achieved little to no success.
"I'll come back as soon as I have the chance. My shift ends by six, so I should have time to spend with you and Simon today."
I was about to turn when she grabbed my hand midway. When I looked at her, there were tears in her eyes.
"Thank you, Jace. Thank you."
She squeezed my hand, a gentle squeeze of appreciation, of her heartfelt gratitude.
And at that moment, I knew that I was coming close to making my decision.
Working with a mafia lord was way too dangerous. I was all my mother had. What if something happened to me in the process? Who was going to take care of her?
Who was going to watch over my brother?
"Simon! Come on, the bus will be here any minute."
Throwing his hands frustratedly in the air, he shook his head.
"One can't have breakfast in his house in peace anymore, huh?"
I eyed him angrily as I stole another glance at the clock on the wall. If Simon was late, that meant I was late.
I grabbed his backpack as I made my way out of the house, ushering him to walk faster.
Outside, as we waited for the school bus, I rubbed my hand in his hair, punching his shoulder playfully.
"Any problems in school so far? Anybody getting on your bad side?"
He smiled before proceeding to shake his head.
"They all know you. I've shown them your posters. They won't dare."
I smiled cheerfully, knowing that as long as my brother was alright, then I was fine as well.
High school bullies made life uncomfortable for younger children, and that was the last thing I wanted for my brother.
The bus came to an ease next to the sidewalk moments later.
"Later, Jace!"
I nodded as the bus went in the opposite direction and I turned the other way to walk to the restaurant where I worked.
There was no way I was going to accept Enzo Romano's offer. Not when I had a family that counted on me being alive for them to survive.
It was way too dangerous.