Thicker Than Water (Boston Syndicate)

Nolan Burke was never really a criminal.

He’d joined the Syndicate to learn how to be a man. Pissing off his socialite mother was just a bonus, as was hanging around South Boston with Bridget Monaghan and his best friend Will. But that was before Bridget dumped him without explanation. Forced to pick up the pieces, Nolan returned to law school and set about fulfilling the real purpose of someone of his station — making money.

Bridget Monaghan has never been ashamed of her working class upbringing.

She loves everything about Southie, loves living with her parents and brother in their small row house and knowing everyone she passes on the sidewalk. Going to night school to become a lawyer was a way to do something meaningful with her life, a way to make the world a better place. Then her brother was diagnosed with ALS and she was forced to make the most painful decision of her life — accept a secret payoff from Nolan's mother in exchange for ending her relationship with Nolan.

Four years later, the money has run out. Bridget is working as a lawyer for the Irish mob in order to continue covering her brother’s treatments when she finds herself in the crosshairs of a war between the Syndicate and a former I.R.A. operative running South Boston's criminal underground. When the Syndicate asks for Nolan’s help, he and Bridget are drawn into a deadly turf war that will force them to decide if they should save themselves — or risk everything for a second chance at love.

But even as old passions ignite, Bridget's secret threatens to destroy them. Will she have the courage to tell Nolan about the money she took to break his heart? Will she survive long enough to try?