Cole cracks his knuckles. “And Eden?”
I hesitate, which I never do in Church. But this is different. “She stays close,” I say quietly. “Protected. No questions. If she needs space, we give it. If she needs fire, we hand her the match. I’m gonna burn the world down to make things right with her.”
Smoke nods slowly. “We’ve got her. Always.”
“Whatever she needs,” Razor agrees.
Diesel finally meets my gaze. “And you, Pres? What doyouneed?”
I look around the table at the only men I trust with anything right now. “Revenge,” I say.
Every brother rises to his feet in silent agreement.
The Satan Kings have just declared war. And Jimmy has no idea.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
EDEN
I thought telling Kade would lift the weight crushing my ribs. I thought once the secret was out, once the truth was finally dragged into the light, I’d feel lighter. Cleaner. Free.
But the guilt hasn’t left. The sadness hasn’t left.Hehasn’t come near me. And it just makes me feel worse. When the pain was mine alone, I was in control, but now it feels out of my reach again.
Kade hasn’t spoken more than a handful of words to me in two days. He sleeps in his office, at least, I think that’s where he goes for hours on end. He leaves before sunrise; all I find is a screwed-up blanket on his yellow couch. And he comes back long after I’ve gone to bed. Every time I hear footsteps on the stairs I stop breathing, hoping it’s him.
But it never is.
Tonight, I’m sitting at the kitchen table staring at a mug of cold tea I don’t remember making. Fern pushes a plate of foodtoward me, something she reheated, something that smells like a real home cooked dinner. I stare at it the same way I’ve stared at everything these days—blankly.
“You have to eat,” Fern urges gently.
“I already told Maggie you didn’t eat breakfast again,” Martha adds, sliding into the seat beside me. “She’s gonna drag you in that kitchen and force-feed you if she gets wind of this.”
Normally that would make me smile. Tonight, it barely makes a dent.
“I just thought…” I swallow, shifting my eyes away from both of them. “I thought when I told him, he’d want to be near me. Not—” I gesture vaguely toward the empty clubhouse. “Whatever this is.”
Fern sighs, leaning back in her chair. “Eden, he’s processing. You dropped a grenade on his entire world. Give him a minute.”
“It’s been two days.”
Silence settles over us, thick and heavy. The only noise comes from outside, motorbikes revving, brothers shouting orders, boots pounding on gravel. Another late-night meeting, another early-morning ride out. It’s been constant since I told him.
I curl my fingers around the cold mug. “This is what I was afraid of,” I say quietly. “The club slipping back into things it shouldn’t. They’re always gone. Always whispering. No one is sleeping. They won’t tell us anything.”
Fern’s jaw tightens. “That’s how MC life works. You know that. They never bring us into business.”
“I know,” I murmur. “But things were peaceful. Now everything feels like how the girls describe the old days. Secrets. Disappearances. Deals.Trouble.”
Martha squeezes my hand. “That has nothing to do with you.”
“Yes, it does,” I whisper. “I started all of this.”
Fern shakes her head so hard her ponytail hits her cheek. “No. Liam did. Liam started all of this. You survived. That’s all that matters.”
But that isn’t how it feels. It feels like I broke the club. Like I’ve ruined their president. And I don’t know how to fix either.
Another roar of engines vibrates the windows and I flinch. Fern notices and her face softens.
