“Sometimes a person has to hit rock bottom. Losing Piper and Skylar was mine. I stopped gambling after that, and cut all ties with them until a couple of years ago.”
He stared off into the distance at nothing in particular, remembering the day his ex-wife had called him, hysterically crying, with the news of their daughter’s diagnosis. The world had stopped in those moments as a horror he’d never felt before took root. The terror had only grown as he watched his child fight for her life.
“What made you get involved with them again?”
“Skylar got sick.”
“Sick? Skylar was sick?”
“Leukemia.”
Kelsey pressed her hand to her mouth. “Oh my God. I can’t even imagine how you and Piper felt.”
“Scared shitless, especially after the treatments didn’t work and the only option left was a new drug our insurance refused to cover.” He still felt fury over that. While his daughter was struggling to beat a disease that had taken over her little body, some jerk in an office was stamping a rejection on their claim. “I tried all the traditional ways to get the money, but was denied.”
Understanding dawned on Kelsey’s face as she sat up straighter. “You went to the McNealys. That’s the money you owe them.”
He nodded. “They gave me a hundred and twenty thousand dollars. Honestly, I think the only reason they gave it to me was because Mitch lost a sister to cancer and he had a very rare moment of compassion. Not that they were completely generous. The interest rate is insane and they are making a nice profit off this, but I didn’t have a choice. We set up a payment plan. I’ve spent the last two and half years paying them back. Things were fine up until the day you found us in the alley.”
“What happened?”
“The McNealy’s were being the McNealys. They decided to make a change to our agreement. I either agreed to fight for them, or I owed the remaining balance in full within twenty-four hours.”
A derisive laugh shot out of her as she shook her head. “Those assholes. What a shitty way to back someone into a corner.” She paused, her gaze searching his. “It’s time for both of us to walk away.”
There was a plea in her voice. It was the second time today she’d asked him to leave the McNealys behind. And for the second time today, he’d have to disappoint her.
“I can’t. I owe them that money. If they hadn’t given it to me, Skylar probably wouldn’t have recovered. No matter how I feel about them, I owe them.”
She studied him for a long moment. “How much do you still have to go?”
“After winning tonight, I still owe them just shy of thirty thousand dollars.”
Shock rounded her eyes, then she shook her head. “I’m not sure why I’m so surprised by that number. I’m a doctor. I know how much treatments can cost.” She chewed on her lip. “I respect you for wanting to honor your debt, but you can’t continue fighting the way you are. Nobody can fight like that and not have serious health consequences.”
And here they went again. Even though what she said was true, it didn’t change the fact it was the only choice he had. She may no longer be afraid of what the McNealys would to do, but he was. He had a daughter to think about, and if he just told the cousins to fuck off, he could be putting Skylar, Piper…hell, even Kelsey…in danger. “I just need to win a few more.”
She swept her hand at him. “Look at yourself. I know you don’t want to hear this, but your body can’t handle much more of this abuse. I’ve known you barely a month and you’ve fought seven times that I know of. Something bad is going to happen. You’re going to break something, or rupture something, or worse. My God, the amount of hits you’ve been taking could lead to brain damage.” She chewed on her lip again then inhaled deeply. “What if I paid the remaining balance off?”
“Fuck no.” He shot to his feet, then groaned as his body protested. He didn’t want her money. If he’d known this would’ve been the outcome of sharing his story, he would’ve kept his mouth shut. “This is my debt and I’ll repay it. No one else.”
“Then pay me back.”
“I will not be in debt to the woman I’m—” He snapped his mouth closed.
Kelsey tilted her head at him. “The woman you’re what, Lance?”
Falling in love with.
The realization hit him with the power of a heavyweight’s fist, leaving him slightly dazed. Fuck, he was starting to fall for this woman. That’s why he’d been so frantic to get to her tonight, to make her understand. Why her judgment had hurt so fucking much.
And what had she done?
She’d offered to save him. To fix his problems for him. The fact she had that money available bothered the shit out of him. She was a well-established doctor, and he was a blue-collar worker who was on the final days of a fighting career. She deserved better than that.
“I won’t take your money,” he said, ignoring her question.
“Lance—”
“No. End of discussion.”