Page 61 of Sinful Bargains

Enzo glanced at me and then back at Coach Artie, letting out a sharp breath and muttered, “Yeah. My bad. You know I got this bad arm.”

Michael pressed his lips together, trying not to laugh, while Coach Artie just shook his head. “Watch your aim next time, Enzo. Antonio, you’re done for the day. Go home and get some ice on that.”

“I’m fine, coach,” I tried, but he wasn’t having it.

“Not up for debate. You’re done for the day,” he said firmly.

As he walked towards the field, Michael leaned in, smirking. “Enzo and his bad arm?”

Enzo grumbled under his breath. “Next time, I’ll make sure my damn bad arm gets Giovanni’s face instead.”

When I walked into the house and dropped my backpack near the door, I spotted Ma standing by the stove, swaying to theElvisvinyl spinning in the living room, a wooden spoon in hand as she stirred the pot. She turned mid-spin, her smile fading the second her eyes landed on mine. The spoon clattered onto the counter as she rushed over, her hands instantly cupping my face.

“What happened to you?” she gasped, eyes locked on the bruise blooming across my cheek. Her fingers brushing the tender skin, as if her touch could make it disappear.

“It’s nothing, Ma,” I muttered, slipping out of her grasp and heading toward the fridge. “I’ll ice it. It’ll be fine in a few days.”

“Nothing?” she repeated, following close behind. Her arms were crossed now. “What happened, Antonio?”

I grabbed a bag of frozen peas and pressed them to my face, wincing at the cold. “It’s nothing,” I said again. “I had baseball practice, okay? The ball hit me in the face. It happens.”

She was silent for a moment, and I dared to glance over at her. Her sharp, brown eyes scanned my face like she was trying to read between my lies. “It was an accident?” she asked.

“Yeah, Ma,” I lied. “A bad throw. I wasn’t paying attention, and it clipped me. That’s all.”

She wasn’t buying it. I could feel her gaze boring into the side of my face, but I kept my focus on the bag of peas like it was the most interesting thing in the world.

“Antonio,” she said. “If someone hurt you—if this wasn’t an accident—you need to tell me.”

I turned to her, trying to force a half-smile despite the throbbing in my cheek. “It was practice, Ma. A bad throw.”

She reached out and ran her fingers through my hair. “Alright,” she said. “But if I find out you’re lying to me, Antonio, we’re going to have a problem.”

There was no way I was going to admit that Giovanni did this on purpose. The moment Ma found out, she’d fly into a rage and march straight over to confront Renee. And I just couldn’t imagine what the repercussions of that would be at this rate.

ANTONIO

Ifinished my paper route, the early spring air cool against my face. Half of it was swollen and bruised in ugly shades of purple and yellow. I ignored the dull ache as I rode up to Vincent’s place, dropping my bike at the curb.

The front door was cracked open slightly. But as I reached for the handle, a voice stopped me in my tracks.

Awoman’svoice.

Not just any woman.Renee.

My jaw tightened. The last thing I wanted was to see her, not after what her son had done to me. I turned on my heel. But then I heard her say, “You should’ve done something about Joey thesecondhe got out. He'sinsufferable,and I don’t know how long I can keep up this act. We are practically at each other’s throats.”

“You’ll stay until I have what I need. Joey will slip up—it’s only a matter of time. And when he does, I’ll take care of him.”

Renee huffed, but there was a pause before she spoke again. “He’s not going to feed me any information. He’s practically never home. Can’t you do something about the fact that he’sembarrassingme by flaunting Adriana in my face?”

“The more he believes he’s untouchable, thesloppierhe gets. And when that happens, I’ll haveexactlywhat I need. Adriana is the best thing to happen. She doesn’t even know she’s going to be the reason he unravels. She’s making the job easier for me.”

My heart pounded so hard I could feel it in my throat. My hands were clammy as I turned away from the door, my pulse thrumming in my ears. Renee wasn’t just playing the part of Joey’s girlfriend—she was out for him, and he hadnoidea.

I backed away slowly, careful not to make a sound, but my chest felt tight. The second I reached my bike, fear overtook me. I jumped on, my hands shaking as I gripped the handlebars, and pedaled as fast as possible.

Joey needed to know. But telling him meant revealing that I had been listening. And if Vincent found out, I didn’t even want to think about what he’d do.

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