“He should have what?” I interrupted. “Come to you and Shadow and asked if he could court your sister like this is the fuckin’ 1800s? Get real, man. Chapman’s been through hell. He lost Julie. Took off ’cause he couldn’t look at Aurora without the pain consumin’ him. And somehow, your sister made him feel alive again. You really gonna punish him for that?”
Ghost’s jaw clenched, but he didn’t respond.
I turned to Reaper. “Look, I know the rules. I know what the Golden Rule says. But Chapman didn’t just fuck Hope and walk away. I know my brother. He doesn’t just fuck anyone, Reaper. If he’s chosen Hope, he’s made a commitment. That’s gotta count for somethin’.”
Reaper studied me for a long moment, his expression unreadable. Then he looked at Chapman, still crumpled on the floor, and finally at Ghost, who was breathing hard and bleeding from multiple places.
“This is a mess,” Reaper said finally.
“Yeah, well, welcome to the Moore family,” I said with a bitter laugh. “We specialize in messes.”
The brunette I remembered from outside walked closer. Hope, I realized, stopped dead when she saw Chapman on the floor, her face going white. “Chapman!” she cried, rushing toward him.
“Hope, no!” Ghost started, but she ignored him completely as she dropped to her knees beside Chapman, her hands hovering over his battered face like she was afraid to touch him.
“Oh God. Oh God, what did you do to him?”
“What he deserved,” Ghost said coldly.
Hope’s head whipped around, and the look she gave her brother could have melted steel. “How dare you?”
“Hope—”
“No!” She stood up, putting herself between Chapman and Ghost. “You don’t get to do this. You don’t get to beat him half to death and then act like you’re in the right.”
“He broke the rules!”
“I love him!” Hope shouted, and the room went silent again. “I love him, Balthazar. Do you understand what I’m saying, or are you going to call me a whore too?”
Ghost’s face went slack with shock. “Who the fuck called you a whore?”
Hope’s voice was steady now, despite the tears streaming down her face. “It doesn’t matter. All I care about is Chapman. I love him, Balthazar. I love him so much that my heart hurts. I have never asked for anything from you or the Golden Skulls. But I’m asking for him. He’s mine. You men claim women and expect us to fall in line. Well, I’m claiming Slaughter. All of him. He’s mine.”
I watched as the information sank in around the room. Reaper’s expression shifted from anger to calculation. Kansaslooked like he wanted to be anywhere else. Montana was grinning like this was the best entertainment he’d had in years. And Ghost... Ghost looked like he had been punched in the gut.
“Who was it?” he asked slowly. “Who the fuck called you a whore?”
“That’s all you heard?” Hope snapped as the other woman, Faith, stepped forward and put a hand on Hope’s shoulder. “It was Zeke. They had words, and it got out of hand. He apologized and feels awful about it. But this shit,” Faith said, looking around the room as a Diamondback brother walked over, standing behind her, giving her support as she continued. “Hope’s not going to walk away from him, Balthazar. She truly loves him. And my gut is telling me Chapman loves her too.”
Ghost looked at Faith, then at Hope, then at Chapman still lying on the floor. Something in his expression crumbled. “Fuck,” he whispered.
“Yeah,” I agreed. “Fuck is right.”
Reaper stepped forward, his presence commanding immediate attention. “Alright. Everyone, shut up and listen. This situation is fucked six ways from Sunday, but we’re gonna handle it like men, not animals.”
He pointed at Ghost. “You. Sit down and get your face cleaned up.”
Then at me. “You. Stop starting fights.”
Then at Chapman. “And you. Get your ass off the floor.”
I moved to help Chapman up, but Hope was already there, sliding her arm under his shoulders and helping him sit. He leaned heavily against her, his breathing labored.
“Chapman Moore,” Reaper said, his voice formal now. “You stand accused of violating...”
“He has my permission.”
All heads turned to the door where Shadow stood, with Monk and Angel behind him. “I give my blessing.”