9
JACE'S POV
"I'm sorry Mr. Wilder, but you don't have insurance. The cost of the surgery is quite staggering, and I'm concerned about the financial strain this would put on you."
In the office of the doctor, I felt small, like a speck in the huge office filled with books and furniture.
"I honestly don't know how to put this, but you'll have to foot the bill without insurance, Mr Wilder. Here is a fully itemized list which includes everything from the anaesthesia down to the surgeon's fee."
I collected the piece of paper the doctor held out with trembling hands.
The amount at the end of the sheet stared me in the face, the cost of saving a life. This was what I was supposed to part with if I wanted my mother to leave the hospital whole, better than she had come in.
Twenty five thousand dollars.
I blinked tiredly, in disbelief even.
At that moment, I remembered the twenty thousand dollars that had been seized from Christopher last night by Enzo Romano. The twenty thousand in a case in my closet.
The money I had wanted to use for groceries. The cash I had wanted to use to make Simon smile when I got him the pair of sneakers he had always wanted. The same money I wanted to use to settle the accumulating bills that had been on my neck for months now. The same money that I was supposed to share with Xander who was waiting outside the doctor's office.
That money was gone.
All the plans had gone down the drain. It was either my mother or the plans I had made, and I had already made my choice even before the bill had been handed over to me.
"I have twenty thousand in cash, doctor. I can rush back home, get it and pay as soon as possible. The remainder will be settled before the month runs out."
I spoke with so much confidence, confidence that had no origin.
Where was I going to get the remainder of the money from? My mother would have to eat, surely. There were bills to settle after the surgery. Simon's fees.
My mind was a walking time bomb.
The doctor raised an eyebrow in surprise after I spoke.
"Oh, the twenty thousand will do just fine, Mr Wilder. Thank you for your cooperation."
"No, thank you, doc." I muttered as I stood up from the chair, shaking his hand. "You saved my mother's life. I owe you everything."
When I left the office, Xander was sitting on one of the waiting chairs in the hallway, peering at his phone worriedly.
I knew at that moment that he was supposed to be at work. He had already done more than enough as it stood.
"You're supposed to be at work, right?"
"I've not used my sick leave for the month. I think I might just turn it in today."
I shook my head, patting him on the shoulder as I slouched on the chair next to him.
"No, you go. You've done enough, man."
"What did the doctor say?" Xander asked, then grabbed the bill when I gave it to him as a form of reply.
"Twenty five grand? Where are you going to get such an amount from?"
I raised an eyebrow at him, wondering how he had forgotten so quickly. It was when he saw the smirk on my face that he seemed to remember.
"The profit from Christopher?"
"Twenty grand on the dot, Xander. With some change, if I did my calculations right this morning. I know we're supposed to split it, but…"
Xander shook his head with brute force.
"Your mother needs all the help she can get, Jace. Use it. Get her well again. She doesn't deserve this illness, she needs to be free."
I nodded, thankful for his words and most of all, his agreement to sacrifice his share of the money for my mother's cause.
"I promise I'll pay you back, Xander. I'll find a way…"
Xander stood up, still checking his phone, a smile on his lips.
"Oh, you won't, man. You're the fighter, I just tag along. You do all the work in there. You deserve every bit of that cash for all the times that fat bastard has cheated you."
I smiled at the way his fist curled up as he spoke, and the anger that resonated in his voice.
Xander had never been a fighter, but I knew that he would lay his life on the line for me if it came to that. He was one hell of a friend.
"Will you be going back to the circle of death? Do you still work for him?"
I shook my head firmly before replying.
"That's adding gasoline to an already burning flame. Christopher wants my head. Working for him will only make him hate me even more. He's already sick of me as it stands. I can't go back there."
Xander nodded.
"We'll find another organizer and promoter, Jace. Worry less. Focus on your mother's health. I have to run along now. I'll see you tomorrow as soon as my shift ends."
"Thank you, man." I called after him, watching him run through the hallway.
I retrieved my phone from my pocket, smiling sadly.
I wasn't going back to another fighting ring or another promoter. No type of fight was going to give me the amount of money I needed to take care of my mother and sort the piling bills.
A job offer was presented to me last night. One I had been reluctant to accept.
Now, at the moment, I knew I had no other choice.
I was going to work for Enzo Romano if I wanted my mother to survive.
I searched my phone book until I found the number he had told me to take down in the car the previous night, before proceeding to dial it.
"Good evening, sir. It's Jace Wilder."
"Jace Wilder. It was high time you called. Do we have an answer yet?"
I paused, my heart slamming in my chest as I considered the weight of what I was about to do. At the same moment, the image of my sick, frail mother on the bed floated into my mind.
Whatever I was doing, I was doing for her.
"Yes, sir. I will work for you. I will be your daughter's bodyguard."