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Erica said, looking at Gennifer. “You think I'm too skinny, right? I'm too weak.”
    “ I didn't say that,” Gennifer said. “If you want to fight, you can fight.”
    “ Good,” Erica said, turning back to Hector. “So you'll teach me?”
    “ He'll teach you just like he taught me,” Gennifer said with a smile, and Hector shot her another look. “Are you in the market for a nose job, Erica?”
    “ Ignore her, she's been hit on the head too many times,” Hector said. Erica laughed, looking between the two of them as if Gennifer was going to tell the story. Snorting out a laugh, Gennifer turned and jogged down the stairs toward the locker room, leaving Hector to explain. She needed to get back on track with her workout. She wasn't going to get hung up on Hector's love life. Besides, she doubted Erica would last longer than a week at House of Pain.
    Only time would tell.
    After tossing her bag in her locker, Gennifer slipped her earbuds back in and cranked her music before she headed out to the gym floor. She knew Donny would have some idiotic words for her and she preferred not to hear them. He was still bouncing around the ring, although his workout would be over soon, thankfully. Turning her back to him, she strapped on her gloves and stretched out her arms. Mikhail was still nowhere to be seen, so Gennifer put him out of her mind.
    She made her way to an empty bag and squared off. She took a breath, rolled her shoulders, and hopped from foot to foot to get the blood flowing. She focused her gaze on the center of the bag, and began jabbing at the point. She focused on putting more and more power behind her movements, feeling the blood rush through her muscles. She loved fighting. She loved the power she felt. She loved the rush. She loved the technique. She loved it all. She gritted her teeth to suppress a smile. She was a tough chick, but she couldn't deny the giddy happiness she felt, knowing that she was going to get a chance to prove herself in the ring, finally. After all the years of arguing with Big J and stealing time in the ring here and there, she was going to kick ass at Bout It.
    With or without Mikhail's help.
    Breathing hard and sweating, Gennifer finally stopped when she felt someone's eyes on her. She glanced to the side, seeing Donny leaning against the ropes. But he wasn't looking at her, he was staring down at his phone. Hector and Erica were nowhere to be seen, and she wondered if the girl had even brought proper clothes to work out in. She caught Tate's eye as he finished wiping at his face with the bottom hem of his T-shirt. A handsome mix of ethnicities, Tate was almost six foot five, with shoulders as broad as a steel beam, but he was like a big teddy bear. He had been quiet as long as Gennifer had known him, rarely speaking unless he had something absolutely important to say. He sent her a nod as he passed, running a hand through his short, dirty-blond hair. She winked at him, which earned her a smile. Tate had always been cool with her, although they weren't the closest foster kids at Big J's. She'd always been closest with Hector. For awhile, she was close to Donny, but that was neither here nor there.
    “Dinner on Sunday?” Tate asked, his voice a low grumble.
    “ Wouldn't miss those tamales for the world,” Gennifer replied. He nodded and headed toward the locker rooms. She smiled to herself, thinking of her ever-growing family. Big Jimmy and Maria had taken her in when she was twelve, and she stayed with them until she'd aged out of the foster system. They'd helped her with college and she owed everything to them. Like Hector and Tate and a lot of the foster kids that Big J took in, she'd never really left, even after she was out of their house. They were her real family now.
    Her mouth was still curved in a smile when she turned back to the bag and she found Mikhail standing there, leaning against the weight bench like he owned the place. A hot rush of excitement fluttered