Page 14 of Rampage

I start the bike again and head toward the clubhouse. The familiar building comes into view, lights blazing and bikes parked out front. Sunday nights are usually quiet, just the core members hanging around.

Mason looks up from the pool table as I enter. "Where've you been?”

"Out," I answer, grabbing a beer from the fridge.

He studies me with knowing eyes. "With the girl from the diner and the bakery?”

I take a long pull from my beer bottle before answering. "Yeah."

"About fucking time," he says, lining up his next shot. "You've been watching that girl for, what, a year now? Like some lovesick teenager."

"Fuck off," I mutter, but there's no heat behind it. Mason's been my best friend since we were kids, he's earned the right to give me shit.

"How'd it go?" he asks, more serious now.

I lean against the wall, considering the question. "Good. Better than I expected. She's…" I struggle to find the right words. "She's been through some serious shit, man."

Mason nods, understanding in his eyes. Most of us in the club have our own demons, our own scars. It's part of what binds us together.

"You think she's worth the work?" he asks, straightforward as always.

"She's not work," I snap, then catch myself. "Sorry. It's just— She's not a project. She's…" I trail off again, frustrated by my inability to explain what draws me to Lily.

"Relax, brother. I get it." Mason comes to sit across from me. "Just be careful. You know how you get when you care about someone."

I know exactly what he means. I've always been protective to a fault, willing to burn the world down for the people I love. It's a trait that's served me well in the club but can be overwhelming for someone who isn't used to it. Someone like Lily, who's clearly fighting for her independence after escaping whatever hell she was living in.

"She's going back to her hometown," I say finally. "For a wedding. Where her piece-of-shit foster father still lives."

Mason's eyebrows rise. "And you're letting her go alone?"

"I offered to go with her." I drain the rest of my beer. "She hasn't decided yet."

"She will," he says confidently. "No woman in her right mind would turn down having you as backup."

I'm not so sure. Lily values her self-sufficiency—it's kept her alive. Accepting help, especially from a man, is probably a weakness to her.

The clubhouse door swings open, letting in a blast of cool night air. My father, Aiden, strides in with my mother Grace at his side. Even after all these years of marriage, they still move in sync, his hand naturally finding the small of her back.

My dad grins at us both. “What are we talking about?” he asks, and my mother, who is on the quieter side, settles next to me, hugging my side.

"Reid's got himself a girl," Mason announces with a sly grin.

"Mason," I warn, shooting him a glare.

My mother's eyes light up immediately. She's been not-so-subtly hinting that I should "settle down" for years now. "Is that right? Anyone I know?"

I sigh, knowing there's no point in denial. "Lily. She works at Deb's Diner and the bakery."

"The quiet one?" my father asks, recognition dawning on his face. "Brown hair, green eyes, always looks like she's ready to bolt?"

I nod, uncomfortable with how accurately he's described her. "She's been through some shit. Abusive foster home situation from what I can tell."

My mother's expression softens. If anyone understands trauma, it's her. Before she met my father, she had her own demons to battle. "Poor thing. Is she okay now?"

"Getting there," I say. "She's going back to her hometown for a wedding. Place where her foster father still lives."

"And you're going with her," my father states. It's not a question.