Page 68 of Rampage

When we finally break apart, both breathless, the bacon is starting to smoke slightly on the stove.

"Breakfast," I remind him with a breathless laugh.

Reid grins, unrepentant, and carries me to the counter where he sets me down with reluctance. "Stay right there," he orders, pressing one more quick kiss to my lips before turning to rescue our meal.

I watch him move around the kitchen, efficient and capable, and a sense of peace settles over me.

nine

A Few Days Later

Lily

The call from Tiffany comes while Reid and I are curled up on the couch, my head on his chest as he reads aloud from one of his medical journals. The sudden vibration of my phone makes me tense instinctively, old fears never quite silenced.

"It's Tiffany," I say, checking the screen before answering with trembling fingers.

Reid pauses his reading, his arm tightening protectively around my shoulders as I press the phone to my ear.

"Lily," Tiffany's voice comes through, crisp and professional but with an undercurrent of excitement I've never heard from her before. "It's happening. The FBI raided Frank's house an hour ago. He's in federal custody."

My breath catches, the room suddenly spinning around me. "Frank's arrested?"

Reid sits up straighter beside me, his body alert, eyes fixed on my face.

"Not just Frank," Tiffany continues, her words coming faster now. "Judge Morris, Police Chief Reeves, Officer Jenkins, three social workers, and Senator Williams. They're all being taken in as we speak." She pauses, then adds more softly, "And we found him, Lily. The man who was paying for you."

The world seems to stop, my heart suspended between beats. "Who?" I whisper.

"District Attorney Robert Caldwell. The evidence was in his own financial records once we knew where to look." Her voice hardens. "He's being arrested right now. It's over, Lily. They can't hurt you anymore."

Tears stream down my face, hot and unexpected. Reid gently takes the phone from my trembling hand, putting it on speaker.

"Tiffany, it's Reid. What happens now?"

"They'll want Lily's testimony eventually, but not for weeks, maybe months. The evidence is overwhelming—the FBI is calling it one of the largest child trafficking and corruption cases they've seen in the state." Her voice softens. "Take care of her, Reid. She's safe now, but this will take time to process."

After the call ends, I sit in stunned silence, Reid's arms around me, his heartbeat steady against my back. Freedom—real freedom—feels foreign, almost frightening in its vastness.

"They're gone," I whisper, the words barely audible. "All of them."

Reid presses his lips to my temple, his breath warm against my skin. "They can't hurt you anymore. You're free, Lily."

Free. The word echoes in my mind, beautiful and terrifying. Free to live without looking over my shoulder. Free to build a life. Free to love without fear.

"I don't know what to do with freedom," I admit, turning in Reid's arms to face him. "I've spent so long running, hiding, surviving. I don't know how to just… live."

His hand comes up to cup my cheek, thumb brushing away tears I hadn't realized were falling. His eyes—those intense blue eyes that see all of me, the broken parts and the healing ones—hold mine with unwavering certainty.

"We'll figure it out together," he promises.

The enormity of everything crashes over me at once—Frank's arrest, the dismantling of his network, the freedom I never thought I'd have, and this man, this incredible man who fought for me when no one else would. Emotion bubbles up, overwhelming me like a tidal wave.

I lunge forward, capturing Reid's mouth with mine in a desperate, hungry kiss. My hands clutch at his shirt, pulling him closer as I pour everything I'm feeling into the connection between us—gratitude, relief, desire, and something deeper I'm not ready to name.

Reid makes a surprised sound against my lips before responding with equal fervor, his arms tightening around me. I climb onto his lap, straddling him as the kiss turns wild, almost frantic. My hips rock against him instinctively, seeking friction, seeking closeness.

"Fuck me," I gasp against his mouth, the words raw and needy. "Please, Reid. I need you. Now."

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