“Jesus Christ,” Nora said. “You got shot by another cop? He didn’t recognize you?”

“All he saw was ‘black dude running.’ Good thing he’s a shit shot, or I’d be a dead man.”

“Fuck.”

She didn’t ask any stupid questions. Cyrus appreciated that. “Fuck” was the right response. At least she didn’t ask Did it hurt? like a lot of people did. Yeah, it hurt. Of course it hurt.

“Two weeks laid up in the hospital. Nobody but family came to see me. I had my phone. I let every girl on my list know their poor baby Cy had taken a bullet in the line of duty. I was waiting for my medal, waiting on some sympathy.”

“At least a sponge bath, right?”

“Not one of them showed up.”

“Not one?”

“They had me figured out.” Even as he said it, he remembered one person had shown up at the hospital to check on him, one of the girls on his list. Detective Katherine Naylor. She’d made the mistake of coming when his mom was there. He’d pretended like they were nothing but coworkers, and that had been the last of Katherine.

“Not even Paulina?”

“I hadn’t met her yet,” he said. “I did a couple weeks after I got out. I was staying with Mom while I was recovering. Her rule—you stay in her house, you go to Mass with her every Sunday.”

“Sounds like your mom and my mom went to the same Mom School.”

“Mom introduced me to Paulina at church. Love at first sight. For me. She looked at me like she’d been reading my internet search history.”

Nora laughed at that. She did have a good laugh. The kind of laugh that made a man stand up a little straighter in his seat.

“Took a long time to convince her to give me a chance. She’d heard enough horror stories from Mom in their prayer group to make me work for her. For three whole months I could only see Paulina at Mass. Lucky for me, she goes every day.”

“So you started going every day?”

“Every God damn day,” he said.

“Explains why your website says you only help out women and children. You’re doing penance.”

“Maybe so,” he said. “Maybe that’s what it is.”

“I think you’re more Catholic than I am.”

“Bad Catholic. Paulina was this close to joining the Ursulines in town.” He held up his hand, fingers a hair apart. “I stole her right out from under God’s nose. Might be going to hell for that.”

Nora said, “It’s okay. We’ll ride share.”

He laughed, couldn’t help it. The lady was fun. Fun enough to be a real friend? Time would tell maybe.

“You’re all right, Nora.”

She smiled. “Better reserve judgment there, buddy.” Nora hit the gas.

Chapter Thirteen

They arrived at St. Valentine’s, and Cyrus told her to park on the street near the back, close to the parish house.

When Nora turned off the car’s engine, that’s when Cyrus realized he didn’t quite know how to introduce her to Sister Margaret.