“You’re not paying attention, Guiseppina,” my half sister says as she taps the side of my head.
“You’re such a bitch, Antoinette, you know that?” I snap back, bouncing on the balls of my toes as I raise my guard. She knows I hate my name. Everybody knows—but I don’t hate it nearly as much as Toni hates hers.
She laughs wickedly. “Oh, now you really pissed me off, kid.”
“Good, maybe you’ll actually bring me some heat this time,” I goad her as we circle the ring.
“Such big words for such a little girl. Big brothers aren’t here to protect you now though.”
“You’re such a bitch,” I say with a scowl.
“You already used that one, princess.” She jabs her left hook at me, but I duck out of the way. “Maybe you wish Max were here to protect you instead, huh?”
I launch forward, aiming my right hand at her jaw but she’s way too fast for me and dodges it easily.
“Oh, I do love pushing your buttons, kid.”
“Leave Max out of this,” I warn her, my eyes narrowed.
“Hmm.” She rolls her lips together. “No.”
“Toni!”
She aims a perfect right hook at my chin, but she doesn’t put any power behind it. My half sister is an MMA champion, and she would knock me on my ass if she hit me for real. Still, it grazes my face, making me shuffle back. “Remember what I taught you, Joey?” she says, all business again. “Someone comes at you like that, you duck and go for the nuts.”
“You don’t have any nuts.”
She smirks at me. “You hit someone in the pussy, it’s gonna hurt like hell too.”
Even the thought makes me wince. “Ouch.”
“Your mind is elsewhere today, Joey. I need you to focus, kid. I’m not giving up my time to have you half-ass it.”
“I know. I’m sorry. I’m all in now. Promise.”
“Good girl,” she says, but that only makes me think of Max and the way he says those same words and turns me into a puddle of goo. “Okay, playtime is over. I’m gonna hit you for real now, so if you don’t keep your guard up …”
“I know.” I shake my head, clearing it of all things Max. I actually love training with Toni, and I work just as hard for her as I did for Max. She’s the most badass woman I know, and I can’t believe our asshole father drove her away and deprived me of her influence growing up. Lorenzo wasn’t always her biggest fan. It bothers him that she was born only a few weeks after Dante, and he sees her existence as an insult to our mom. I guess he’s right about that, but it’s not Toni’s fault. At least he finally seems to be coming around.
Toni throws me a towel. She works my ass super hard, but I feel so good after our sessions—like I can take on the world.
She sits on the weight bench while I wipe away the sweat dripping down my face. “So, anything new with you?”
“Um, actually …” I bite my lip. Should I tell her about Max? I need to tell someone. I almost told Kat last night, but it would put her in a difficult position with Dante, so I kept quiet.
“Oh, Dante told me you were going to start working with him and Lorenzo,” she says with a wide smile before I can decide one way or the other. She probably thought that’s what my hesitation was about. She and Dante are super close. Would she feel disloyal to him if I told her about Max and me? “You must be excited. I told him you were too smart to be wasted sitting around this house all day.”
I frown. “You guys were talking about me?”
“Not in a bad way, just like in a you’re-our-sister-and-we-care-about-you way.” She gives me a reassuring pat on the shoulder. “Anyway, he was worried you were getting bored and lonely since you got back from Italy—”
“And he was worried I was going to get into some trouble if he didn’t give me something to do?” I ask, hand on my hip. “He’s unbelievable.”
“Well, smart people with not much else to do tend to get into trouble,” she says with a shrug. “But no, he was genuinely concerned that you needed more going in your life. Then earlier he told me you two had a chat and you’re interested in the casinos. I told him I thought you’d be a good fit.”
“Oh.” I can’t be mad at her when she’s complimenting me.
“Yeah. You’re sharp and you understand what makes people tick. You don’t take shit from anyone.” She winks. “And you’re hot, and that never hurts when you’re in a place that’s all about image.”
I blush at her open praise. “Toni!”
“You are. You got those Moretti genes,” she says, tossing her blond hair over her shoulder. Toni looks nothing like me or my brothers. She’s the spitting image of her mom, and she’s one of the most beautiful women I’ve ever seen.
“Anyway, tell me … is there anything new with you?” I ask, trying to steer the conversation away from me. “Have you seen your lawyer friend again? Emerald?”
“Her name is fucking Sapphire, Guiseppina,” she says, admonishing me good-naturedly.
“I know.” I bump my arm against hers. “I’m just playing with you.”
“Well, I haven’t seen her since I spent the night at her place. I think she’s ghosting me.”
“No?” My mouth drops open in horror. “Not the Toni Moretti being ghosted?” She scowls at me, and I laugh. She’s such a player—she’s usually the one to do the ghosting.
“Hey, I liked this one.” She frowns, and I feel a little bad for laughing.
I put my arm around her shoulder. “Then I’m sorry. I’m sure she’s just busy or something.”
“Or something,” she mutters. “Anyway, what are your plans for today?”
“I’m hoping to catch up with Dante. He had a meeting about the new casino last night and I was hoping to go along, but Anya wasn’t feeling well and asked me to watch her favorite movie, so …” I shrug. There will be plenty of casino deals and only a finite amount of time with Anya.
Toni gives my hand a gentle squeeze.
I change the subject. “I’m going to ask him to fill me in on what happened, then I’m going for lunch with some old high school friends.”
“Including Toby?” She waggles her eyebrows at me.
“Did Dante tell you about him too?”
“Maybe,” she says with a knowing smile. “So …?”
“Nothing, really. We’re friends, that’s all. I think he’d like to be something more but …”
“But little Joey Moretti’s in love with someone else.” She winks.
I blink at her. “W-what?”
She stands up, ignoring my question. “I need to take a shower. Catch you later, kid.” She walks out of the gym, leaving me to stare after her and wonder what the hell she meant by that.
