Page 48 of Slaughter
And now Chapman was threatening to upend all of it. Not because he wanted to. Not because he was trying to hurt me. But because loving him, falling for him, meant stepping into a world I had spent years trying to avoid. A world of violence and loyalty, and impossible choices.
A world where men like Chapman lived and died by the club’s rules.
“You should get some sleep,” Zeke said, breaking the silence. “It’s late.”
I nodded, pulling away from him reluctantly. “Yeah. You too.”
He stood, offering me his hand. I took it, letting him pull me to my feet. For a moment, we just stood there on the porch, facing each other in the dim light.
“I love you, Hope,” he said, his voice steady and sure. “No matter what. You know that, right?”
“I know,” I said, my throat tight. “I love you too, Zeke.”
He pulled me into a hug. One of those bone-crushing, all-encompassing hugs that made me feel like a kid again. Safe and protected and loved beyond measure.
When he finally let go, I stepped back, forcing a smile. “Goodnight.”
“Goodnight.”
I turned and walked toward the front door, my hand on the handle, when Zeke’s voice stopped me.
“Hope.”
I looked back at him.
“Whoever he is,” Zeke said, his expression unreadable, “he better be worth it.”
My chest tightened, and I felt tears prick at the corners of my eyes. “He is,” I said softly. “I think he is.”
Zeke nodded slowly, as if accepting something he didn’t fully understand. “Then I hope he knows how lucky he is.”
I didn’t trust myself to speak, so I just nodded and slipped inside the house.
The warmth hit me immediately, along with the familiar scent of home—lavender from the diffuser in the hallway, the faint smell of popcorn from the living room, the lingering aroma of dinner. I could hear Faith and Joan laughing at something on the TV, their voices light and carefree.
I leaned back against the door, closing my eyes and letting out a shaky breath.
Chapman’s words echoed in my mind again, as vivid and real as they had been in the diner parking lot.
I’m falling for you, Hope.
And God help me, I was falling for him too.
But falling was easy. It was the landing that would break us both.
I pushed away from the door and headed toward my room, my footsteps quiet on the hardwood floor. I needed to sleep. Needed to clear my head and figure out what the hell I was going to do. Because sooner or later, Zeke would find out. Kansas and the entire Diamondback MC would find out, and then Balthazar would find out, which meant Reaper would find out. And when they did, there would be no more hiding. No more stolen moments in empty diners or quiet walks on Medicine Park trails.
There would only be the truth.
And all the consequences that came with it.
Chapter Eighteen
Slaughter
Riding through the Oklahoma countryside with Hope behind me felt normal. Almost as if she had always been there. Like she belonged on my bike. Her arms were wrapped around my waist, her body pressed against my back, and every time I leaned into a curve, she leaned with me—trusting, instinctive, perfect. The heat of the day wrapped around us like a blanket, the sun blazing overhead in a cloudless sky. It was a hot, beautiful summer day.
The perfect day for riding.
