His Stolen Sinner

I teach catechism at a parish in Jersey City and steal twenty dollars a week from the poor box to keep my mother on dialysis. I thought I was being careful. Capo Vincent Amato had known for two years. He let it run because her name was on a list his late wife gave him. When a rival crew robbed the parish safe to send him a message, his men got there before the police and found me in the sacristy with the window glass on my knuckles. He offered me the real books — the parish, the port, the diocese — and dialysis for my mother forever. I said yes. Four months later I heard a name in a confessional and gave it to him anyway. Now I'm testifying in civil court about a robbery, the man I love is going to see a rival alone, and I do not know which of us broke first. His Stolen Sinner is a capo age gap mafia romance with a heroine who keeps her faith, a don who keeps his patience, and a slow burn that finally holds hands in daylight.