He was right. I wasn’t.
“You know something,” Kansas continued, leaning back in the chair. “When I accepted the president’s patch, I never considered all the shit that went with it. At the time, all I cared about was keeping the few brothers I had left alive. We were bleeding badly after the massacre. Lost good men. Nearly lost the club entirely.” He shook his head, his expression distant. “I didn’t give a shit about biker politics and all that bureaucratic bullshit. We were barely holding on, and I just wanted to make sure my brothers didn’t die for nothing.”
I listened, wondering where he was going with this.
“Then Montana called in a marker,” Kansas said quietly. “And my world changed. Everything changed when Kali and the kids showed up.” His voice softened when he said her name, and I saw something shift in his expression. A warmth, a tenderness that seemed at odds with the hard man sitting in front of me. “She breathed life back into this place,” he continued. “Into all of us. Intome. I never thought I could love again after Katie died. Never thought I would want to. But Kali...” He trailed off, shaking his head. “She made me believe in second chances. Made me want to be better. Made me want to build something instead of just surviving.”
He met my eyes, and I saw understanding there. Recognition. “Now I would burn the world down for her and mykids,” he said simply. “All of them. Blood or not, they’re mine. And I will kill anyone who tries to hurt them.”
His words hung in the air between us, heavy with meaning.
“I feel the same way about Hope, Kansas,” I said quietly. “It’s not a whim. I wouldn’t do that to her.”
“I know.” Kansas sighed, looking around the small cell. “Reaper and Ghost will be here in a few hours. In the meantime, if you’re a praying man, I’d start now.”
My jaw tightened. “Shadow’s demanding the Golden Line-Up.”
It wasn’t a question.
Kansas nodded slowly. “He is. And he’s got every right to. You broke the Golden Rule, Slaughter. You know what that means.”
“I know.”
“Do you?” Kansas leaned forward, his eyes boring into mine. “Because the Golden Line-Up isn’t just a beating. It’s a death sentence. Every one of your club brothers, even the ones from Tennessee, will be required to take their turn, and they won’t stop until you can’t stand anymore. Until you’re broken. Until you’redone.”
“I know,” I said again, my voice steady despite the fear coiling in my gut.
Because Ididknow. I had seen it happen before. Had participated in it myself when a Golden Skulls’ brother had violated the rule. Had watched as the man was beaten into unconsciousness, his body a mass of bruises and broken bones.
He survived. Barely. But he was never the same again.
“Shadow wants you dead,” Kansas said bluntly. “I can’t speak for Ghost, but they are brothers by blood, Slaughter. They are going to protect her, even if it means destroying you.”
“I understand.”
“Do you?” Kansas’s voice rose slightly. “Because I don’t think you do. I don’t think you understand what you’re asking Hope to live with. If they kill you, if her own brothers kill you, she will not only carry the guilt of blaming herself, but she will blame her flesh and blood. She won’t be able to look at her brothers without knowing what they did to you. And to make matters worse, she will think it was all her fault for loving you.”
His words hit me like a physical blow, stealing the breath from my lungs.
She’ll blame herself.I hadn’t thought about that. Hadn’t considered what my death would do to her beyond the immediate grief. But Kansas was right. Hope would internalize it, would convince herself that she killed me by loving me. Just like I convinced myself I had killed Julie by getting her pregnant. “Fuck,” I breathed, pressing the heel of my hand against my forehead.
“Yeah.” Kansas stood, picking up the chair. “So, like I said. If you’re a praying man, now’s the time.”
He walked to the door, then paused, looking back at me. “For what it’s worth,” he said quietly, “I don’t think you’re a bad man, Slaughter. I think you’re a man who fell in love and made a choice. I respect that. But respect doesn’t change the rules. And the rules are clear.”
“I know.”
Kansas nodded once, then left, the door clanging shut behind him. The lock turned with a finality that echoed through the small cell, and I sat there in the silence, my body aching, my mind racing.
Reaper and Ghost will be here in a few hours.
Hours. That was all I had left. Hours to sit with the knowledge that I might die today. That Hope might lose me the same way I lost Julie. Suddenly, violently, with no chance to say goodbye.
The thought should have terrified me.
Instead, I felt... calm. Not resigned. Not defeated. Just... calm. Because I’d made my choice with full knowledge of the consequences. I knew the Golden Rule. Known what breaking it would cost. And I’d done it anyway.
For her.
