I scooped up Finn, kissing his cheeks and holding him close to my chest. "We're okay."
"Maddie," Burke began. "Something happened earlier, but I asked Caden to wait to tell you until I could be certain all was well with Kinsley and the rest of our men."
I settled on the floor, pleased when Burke joined us and reached for Finn.
"The Whites only pretended to be okay with our marriage," I said.
Caden took Maddie's hand. "But they're not."
Her expression made it clear she knew the news was dire. "What did they do?"
"They sent men after us," Burke answered. "They shot at the car we rode in and the SUV Caden drove."
Maddie gasped, whipping her head in Caden's direction. "What the fuck?"
"Maddie, you know this is a part of my life." Caden pulled her against him. "That's why we're so careful."
"Oh, my God."
I touched Maddie's shoulder. "It freaked me out, but I'm okay now. No one was hurt. The cars are bulletproof."
"You're okay now? Well, that's just great. The man I love and one of my dearest friends were nearly killed, but it's all fine now."
"Maddie." We all recognized the authority in Burke's voice. "It's scary, and you're shocked, but don't panic."
"I'm not panicking." The words were right, but she practically climbed onto Caden's lap and held him around the neck.
"Babe, I know," he murmured. "We have plans in place for this sort of thing, and we were careful. It was always a possibility they wouldn't forgive what they thought was an insult, so we were on high alert."
We heard the sounds of Maddie sobbing, and Burke and I took Finn, leaving the room to give them privacy.
"I know how she feels," I murmured. "One minute, death is just a vague thought, and then the next minute it's shoved in your face."
"She'll need you to be strong for her," Burke said, kissing the top of his son's head.
"Imagine me needing to help the strongest woman I know."
"You're the strongest woman I know, Kinsley."
I stopped in my tracks at the top of the stairs. "Are you kidding me? I fell apart today."
Burke stopped beside me. "No, you didn't. You wanted to, and you almost did. But you held your own."
It hadn't occurred to me that he might see me that way. "I cried."
"So? That's not a sign of weakness." With Finn between us, he wrapped his arms around me. "You made me proud today in more ways than one."
Tears sprang to my eyes. "Thank you."
Leaning over Finn's head, I kissed Burke, then kissed Finn. In a way, it felt like I'd passed my first major test.
32
Burke
There was no doubt we had to formulate a plan to exact revenge on the Whites. It wouldn't be as easy as what we'd done with the Peraltas, either, because it needed to be entirely original. Inside the stupid fortress those people lived in, they were nearly impossible to reach.
Caden doodled a drawing of the house on a pad of paper. "Do we need a man who can get inside?"
