Page 77 of Rampage

"Can you tell me about my mother? About what happened to her?"

Eleanor's expression softens with sorrow. "Kate was extraordinary—brilliant, creative, stubborn as hell. She had you young, at just nineteen, and your father wasn't in the picture." She pauses, her gaze steady on me. "She loved you more than anything in this world, Lily. You were her whole heart."

"How did she die?" I ask, the question barely audible.

"Addiction," Eleanor clarifies, her voice gentling. "After your father left, she struggled. Started with prescription pills for anxiety, then… it escalated. I tried to help, but Kate was proud. Wouldn't admit how bad things had gotten.

"She overdosed," Eleanor continues softly. "You were at school. By the time they found her…" She swallows hard. "I tried to get to you before the system did, but everything happened so fast. And then you just… vanished."

Reid's hand finds mine again, his thumb tracing soothing circles against my palm.

When we reach the hotel, he insists on carrying Eleanor's luggage to her room, then makes a graceful exit, giving us space while promising to return in a few hours to take us to dinner.

The next three days pass in a whirlwind of conversation and connection. Eleanor and I spend hours together, piecing together the fragments of my past. She brought photos—my mother as a teenager with Eleanor's arm around her shoulders, my mother pregnant with me, me as a toddler with chubby cheeks and my mother's smile.

"You were such a happy child," Eleanor tells me, her finger tracing the outline of my face in a faded photograph. "Always laughing, always curious."

We walk through town, have coffee at the diner where Deb fusses over Eleanor like an old friend, and spend quiet evenings on Reid's porch watching the sunset. Eleanor fits seamlessly into my new life, charming everyone she meets, especially Reid's father, who insists on hosting a dinner at the clubhouse to welcome her properly.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" I ask Reid nervously as we dress for the occasion. "An entire motorcycle club might be a bit much for her."

Reid smiles, pressing a kiss to my temple. "Trust me, your aunt can hold her own. I've seen how she looks at anyone who might pose a threat to you. She's a mama bear in teacher's clothing."

He's right. Eleanor walks into the clubhouse with her head high, greeting each leather-clad biker with the same warm dignity she'd show her fellow teachers. When Lane explains the club's role in protecting me, in bringing down Frank, her eyes fill with tears.

"Then I owe you all a debt I can never repay," she says, raising her glass in a toast. "For keeping my niece safe when I couldn't."

On our final night together, as Eleanor prepares to return to Seattle, we sit in her hotel room surrounded by room service dishes and half-empty glasses.

"Come visit me," she urges, her hands clasping mine. "See the city, the house, the room that's been waiting for you."

"Soon," I promise, the word heavier with meaning this time. "But I need to see this through first. The trial, my testimony…"

Eleanor nods, understanding in her eyes. "Of course. I wouldn't expect anything else." She hesitates, swirling the remaining wine in her glass. "And Reid? Is he part of your future plans?"

The question catches me off guard, though I shouldn't be surprised. Eleanor has watched us together these past few days, seen the way Reid's eyes follow me across a room, the way my body instinctively leans toward his.

"Yes," I answer without hesitation. "Whatever comes next, Reid is part of it."

A smile curves Eleanor's lips. "I thought so. The way he looks at you… it reminds me of how your grandfather looked at your grandmother. Like you're the sun and he's grateful just to be in your orbit."

Heat rises to my cheeks. "It goes both ways. He saved me, in every way a person can be saved."

"And you saved him too," Eleanor observes, her perception startling me. "I see it in the way his family talks about him—how he was before you, how he is now."

I've never thought of it that way, that I might have saved Reid as much as he saved me. The idea settles in my chest, warm and affirming.

"Will you tell me something?" Eleanor asks, setting down her wineglass. "And please, know you don't have to answer if it's too painful."

My body tenses automatically, preparing for questions about Frank, about the abuse. "What do you want to know?"

"Are you happy?" she asks. "Despite everything, have you found happiness here?"

The question is so unexpected, so sincere, that tears spring to my eyes. "Yes," I whisper, the truth of it resonating through my entire being. "I'm happy. For the first time in my life, I'm truly happy."

Eleanor's smile is radiant through her own tears. "That's all Kate would have wanted for you. All I want for you."

She reaches into her purse and pulls out a velvet box. "I brought this for you. It was your mother's."

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