Chapter 1
Look inside Kade's Downfall - The Satan Kings MC
Chapter One
EDEN
“Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to youuuuu—”
“Fern,” I hiss, grabbing her hand as we weave through the dark car park, “shhh! You’ll wake the guys and then they’ll know what time we really got home.”
“Sorry,” she whispers, then immediately sings softer, “Happy birthday dear Edennnn—”
The security light snaps on, blinding us both. I throw an arm over my eyes. Fern ducks, as if that’s going to help, and as the clubhouse door swings open, she loses her balance and lands on her arse, giggling.
“Four hours ago!” Kade bellows.
Oh, shit. He sounds furious.
Fern lifts her wrist, squinting at her watch like she’s working out long division. “That would’ve been one a.m.” She grins up at him proudly.
Kade does not grin back.
He fills the doorway, all muscles and tension, his arms folding over his chest in that way that makes every vein stand out.
Intimidating? Sure. Scary? Not to me. I know exactly how this will go.
Give him ten minutes, and he’ll have me pinned against our bedroom wall, muttering about how reckless I am while he fucks the attitude out of me.
I catch my bottom lip between my teeth to hide the way that thought makes me shiver.
“That,” he growls, “would have been when the others came home. Where the hell have you been for four hours?”
I grab Fern’s hand and haul her upright. “We were having a good time,” I say, shrugging like this is absolutely not a big deal.
“A good time?” Diesel echoes, appearing behind Kade. Kade moves aside just enough for him to storm out. “A good time with who?”
Fern rolls her eyes. She’s never been scared of her old man. “Relax, D. We just know how to party. It’s not our fault the others are boring.”
“I tried to call,” Diesel snaps.
She touches his arm, and he jerks it away, stomping inside. She tosses me an apologetic smile, then kisses my cheek. “Love you, girl. Best night ever. Happy birthday.”
“Love you too.” She disappears through the doorway after him.
I turn to Kade. “Are we going to stand out here all night?”
“Depends,” he mutters, eyes still dark, jaw tight enough to crack.
I arch a brow and drag my fingertips slowly across his chest. “You fancy a little exposure?” His clenched expression falters—melts in a way that tells me I’ve got him. I grin. “Then follow me, big boy.”
I throw him a cheeky wink and saunter around the back of the club, feeling his heat and his hunger right behind me.
I met Kade three years ago. Back then, I didn’t know a damn thing about club life—only that he walked into my world like a storm I didn’t want to outrun.
His father was still President at the time, a hard man with a presence that filled every room, but not long after I showed up, his health dropped fast. Six months later, he was gone.
Six months.
That’s all it took for everything to change.
For the club to shift.
For Kade to look at me like he’d already made up his mind.
He asked me to be his old lady the night after the funeral, telling me life was too short to waste time pretending we weren’t already tied together. And I didn’t hesitate—not for a heartbeat.
That was over two years ago.
And I’ve been at his side ever since, through every storm that’s followed.
“My ol’ lady is thirty,” he drawls behind me, pretending to sound horrified. “Should I start shopping for a younger model? Maggie swears everything starts falling apart from here.”
I snort because if Maggie said it, the guys would absolutely think it’s law.
Maggie’s the mother hen of the whole damn club—loud, nosy, loyal, and respected in a way only a woman who’s survived thirty-something years in biker life can be.
She was married to one of the originals back when the club still had blood under its nails.
He got killed in those dark-circle days, long before the clean-up.
These days? Things are different.
Kade’s father made sure of that. He yanked the club out of the mud before he died, and we’ve been living under that legacy ever since. Charity runs, community events… the kind of “trouble” that barely counts.
Kade stops suddenly, tugging my hand and pulling me flush against him. That look he gives me, yeah, he’s not staying mad. He never can.
“I heard thirty is the new twenty,” I tease.
He chuckles, brushing his thumb along my cheek. “From what you’ve told me; you were crazy in your twenties.”
“I know.” I grin as I pop his belt open. “So, sit back and enjoy the ride.”
But before I can go any further, there’s a noise. Boots on gravel. A heavy step. Sharp enough that Kade instantly stiffens, his fingers circling my wrists to still them, like he’s suddenly alarmed.
“Shh,” he murmurs, eyes scanning the darkness.
“It’s probably a fox,” I whisper, laughing it off, but the laugh dies when he shakes his head.
“No.” He pulls me behind him, keeping me close to his back. And that’s when my heart kicks harder. Kade doesn’t spook easily. Ever.
“Well, well, well, if it isn’t Kade. The cleanest president in the land.”
The voice is deep. Unfriendly. A man steps around the corner with two others at his back.
I’ve never seen them before, but Kade has because his whole body changes.
He straightens, folds his arms over his chest, every inch of him shifting into the dangerous version of himself.
The one he rarely has to use these days.
“Jimmy. Liam.” He nods at two of them, deliberately ignoring the third shadow lurking behind them.
“Hope we’re not disturbing anything?” Jimmy says, leaning just enough to try to peer around Kade and get a look at me. “Don’t hide, sweetheart. Nothing to be scared of. What’s your name?”
I open my mouth.
“You don’t need her name,” Kade snaps, stepping fully in front of me, blocking me from view, voice cold enough to cut.
Kade turns his back on them and cups my upper arms, his touch gentle but his posture coiled. “Baby, go inside. I’ll be there in a minute.”
My stomach dips. “Who are they?” I whisper. I’ve never questioned Kade’s dealings—not with the club clean and most faces familiar, but these two are strangers. Strangers who are looking at me like they’re choosing dessert. And Kade looks like he’d rather swallow glass than introduce us.
“Not now, Queenie.” His voice is low, tight. “Straight inside. Lock the door.”
The way he says it makes the hairs on my arms rise. I nod hard and hurry away, heart thudding as I round the building and slip inside the clubhouse.
I don’t stop moving until I’m outside Diesel’s room. I bang on the door with the side of my fist, fast, panicked.
It flies open, and Diesel stands there completely naked.
“Oh my God.” I slap a hand over my eyes. “Christ, put some clothes on!”
“Where’s the fire?” he grunts.
“Who’s Jimmy and Liam?” I demand.
A beat. Then his tone drops. “Where did you hear their names?”
“I asked a question!”
“Where’s the Pres?”
“Outside. With Jimmy and Liam!”
I hear him swear, then the sound of him tripping over something as he drags jeans on at record speed. He barrels past me, nearly clipping my shoulder.
“That was a total cock-blocking move,” Fern grumbles from the bed. “I’d just got him to stop pacing.”
“Sorry,” I mutter, though my pulse is still racing. “I just… I didn’t like how Kade was with those guys.”
Fern yawns. “It’s probably nothing. Go to bed.”
KADE
I wait for Eden to disappear out of sight before setting my sight back on the brothers.
“I told you not to come here,” I growl, stepping into Jimmy’s space.
He shrugs, casual as ever, like this place isn’t brimming with people I’d burn the world down to protect. “I like to know who I’m doing business with.”
“And you chose five in the fucking morning?” My voice is low, dangerous. “There are families here. That’s why business happens in my office. On my terms.”
Jimmy’s gaze flicks toward the building behind me, and I clench my fists.
“You shouldn’t keep secrets from your wife, Kade. It doesn’t make for a good marriage.”
“She’s not my wife.” The snap is out before I can catch it. The last thing I want is their attention on her. Their eyes linger too long already.
“Ol’ lady, wife, whatever,” Jimmy says with a bored roll of his shoulder.
Footsteps pound across the gravel, and Diesel barrels around the corner, half-dressed and fully pissed off. He stops dead when he takes in the double act and their bodyguard. His lip curls.
“Did we miss the memo for a meeting?” he snaps.
“Apparently,” I say, arching a brow at Jimmy, “he wants to know who he’s dealing with.”
Diesel doesn’t wait for permission. He draws his gun like it’s muscle memory and slams Liam against the wall.
“I’ll tell you who the fuck you’re dealing with,” Diesel snarls, pushing the muzzle under Liam’s jaw. “A tired fucking biker who was getting his cock sucked. Only now you fuckers have turned up, she’s probably gone to sleep!”
Liam freezes. Jimmy’s smirk falters. The bodyguard shifts, but Diesel’s eyes are wild enough to make even armed men hesitate.
I let it ride for a second. Just long enough for Jimmy to understand who the hell runs this ground.
Then I clap Diesel’s shoulder. “Easy, brother. Put the gun away.”
He releases Liam with a shove and tucks the weapon back into his waistband, muttering under his breath.
I face Jimmy again, stepping forward until he has no choice but to look me dead in the eyes. “I don’t do business around my family. Your uninvited visit at this hour causes me problems.” I say leaning in to assert my dominance. “And I don’t like problems.”
Jimmy raises his hands, the cocky smirk returning but thinner now. “Okay, okay. Apologies. You men have a good rest of the day.”
He turns, but I don’t step back. I watch him walk away, every instinct in my body screaming that it’s not over.
“What the fuck was that about?” hisses Diesel. I shrug. “What was he expecting to find us doing at this time of the morning?”
I head back inside with my VP hot behind me. “I don’t know but I’m beginning to regret agreeing to this fucking deal.”
***
Eden’s already in bed when I push the door open, covers pulled up to her chin, eyes wide and alert. She’s been waiting for me—of course she has. There’s no way I’m getting out of this without questions.
And that’s exactly why I’m furious those idiots turned up here. She’s naturally inquisitive. Sharp. She doesn’t miss a damn thing.
“Are you okay?” she asks the moment she sees me. Her voice is soft, but there’s a tremor of worry underneath it.
I love that she cares, and I hate that I’m about to lie.
“Yeah, Queenie.” I force a smile as I slip out of my kutte and hang it on the back of the door. “Why do you look so stressed? I’m fine.” She doesn’t buy it. Not for a second. “I know them from days of old,” I say as casually as I can while kicking off my boots. “They were passing by.”
Her brows shoot up, slow and unconvinced. “Passing by the club, which is on an empty industrial estate, at five in the morning?”
Fuck. I should’ve expected that. Eden’s logic is a powerhouse on a good day, and she’s running at full speed now. “Sketchy, I know, but—” I shrug like it’s nothing, even though my pulse hasn’t settled since I left them.
“Kade…” Her voice dips, quiet but firm. “Is everything okay?” She’s watching me like she can see straight through my skin, right to the truth I’m burying. That worry in her eyes aches. Makes me want to climb into bed, pull her into my chest, and pretend nothing outside this room exists.
I don’t answer her. Not with words.
Instead, I climb onto the bed and pounce, bracing my hands on either side of her head as I use my weight to pin her down. She lets out a startled breath, eyes widening just before my mouth brushes her jaw.
“Now,” I murmur, lowering my voice to that place that always makes her melt, “I was about to show my ol’ lady her birthday surprise.”
The tension in her shoulders loosens—just enough. The distraction hits exactly where I need it to. She giggles, the sound soft and pretty as my lips trail down her throat.
I nudge the duvet aside, kissing a slow path down her collarbone, her chest, her stomach. Her fingers slide into my hair, tugging gently, her breath catching as I move lower.