"Did you know that when you . . . killed him?" The word 'killed' came out strangled, but at least I'd said it.
"No. I knew he'd infiltrated our organization, and he was caught before he could feed them anything important. We set him up with false information as a test, and he failed."
I took a deep breath. "So they tried to kill you?"
"Yes, me and Logan. After all their talk about wanting peace at any cost, they sent men to kill me." He shrugged. "They had to be dealt with."
Pressing my hands to a stomach that wanted to revolt, I took slow, deep breaths. "God."
He cupped my cheek. "Are you okay?"
"I think so."
"Part of the reason I'm not fully honest with you is the nature of the business. You have no place in that part of my world."
"What if I did?"
Dropping his hand, he stared at me as though I'd grown another head. "What if you did what?"
I swallowed the lump in my throat. "If I had a place in your world?"
His expression made it clear he thought I was crazy. "The mafia underworld? The one filled with illegal activity, death threats, and bloodshed?"
"Yes, that one."
Never had he said he loved me. Never had he said he simply couldn't live without my presence in his life. He wanted Finn—his heir to the empire—and he wanted to keep me for his pleasure. Sweet Burke wouldn't come out every hour of the day, and I had to remember that. But maybe I could find my place with him after all, a place by his side running the business.
Assuming I could keep my stomach out of my toes when he spoke of blood and death instead of stock prices and sales figures.
"Are you sure you're feeling okay?"
"I'm not an idiot, Burke. I can help you."
He shook his head. "Don't take this personally, but I don't think your mind is devious enough to help me."
"We'll see." Backing up, I moved toward the door as he stood and followed me.
"We will?"
I shrugged. "Either I lose you to the demons, or I join you in fighting them."
"Neither of those are options." He reached for me, but I evaded him.
"Yes, they are. I know your schedule is erratic. You can't be a nine-to-five guy, even if you wanted to."
In the middle of the hall, he stopped walking. "We have a baby, Kinsley. He needs you."
"He sleeps most of the day, and I can help you when he's sleeping. Or revisit the nanny idea."
"You said you don't want him raised by someone else."
Clearly, he was trying very hard to talk me out of my crazy idea. "Not raised by, but looked after. What if it was Maddie?"
"Maddie has a job."
"She hates it, though. She was thinking of getting into interior design, but she doesn't have the credentials. If we pay her to be our part-time nanny, she can afford to open her own business."
Stepping closer to me, he took my chin in his long fingers. "When did you figure all this out?"
