Page 1 of Ride or Die

Chapter 1

Riley

“Oh my god, you’re covered in mud, you little monster.”

Riley crouched down, and mud slid under her boots. She let the black and white dog lick her face while she fought to stay upright. He’d appeared out of nowhere, a tornado of mud and exuberance. It was the best possible disruption to her evening walk, which she’d been considering abandoning entirely. Wet fur spiked along his back, and the dog smell mixed with the rain as he wagged his entire body. The low clouds reflected the city light, creating a dusky glow in the dark, muffled and close.

The muddy creature knocked against her, and his tail smacked against her boot with a thud. His tongue lolled as he sat in the mud to catch his breath.

Riley let out a quiet laugh, the sound jarring. She hadn’t laughed in too long. The dog’s intelligent gaze told her that he could fix that for a treat and some more pets. He had the broad, flat head of a pit bull terrier, and the delightfully soft nose.

“Well, aren’t you a scary murder baby? How could anyone be afraid of you when you’re so soft and nice? What a cutie.” Riley ruffled the dog’s velvety ears, and he bounced around like a dense, muscular ball. She almost fell into the cold mud with him, but caught herself, barely.

“I’m sorry, did you just call my dog ‘a scary murder baby?’”

She jerked her head up and froze. A figure stood several feet away, like he’d always been there—part of the landscape. A ballcap shadowed his face, and he kept his distance. She might not have noticed him if he hadn’t just spoken, voice pitched soft like he was trying to soothe a wild animal.

It kind of worked. Her heart didn’t start pounding like it should’ve.

The dog ignored his owner, nose buried between Riley’s muddy boots as he snuffled along the ground. She stayed crouched in the mud, keeping the dog between her and the stranger, but the alarm bells that should have been screaming were quiet.

“Umm… yes?”

A slow half-grin softened the edges of his face as water sluiced off the sides of his visor. His smile was knowing, and it caught her off guard.

She’d never seen him in her life. And she’d definitely remember someone like him.

Riley pushed to her feet, skidding in the mud as the dog crashed against her legs. She flailed and grabbed at the rain to catch herself.

Which, obviously, did nothing to help.

A hand caught her elbow, and warmth soaked through her rain-chilled coat. “Oh—” She swallowed her surprise and held absolutely still. The man was taller than she’d realized.

And he smelled good.

He set her upright and backed up, putting that space between them again, like she might run. Which she probably should have.

Talking to strangers in the park at night was not done in this part of the city.

And yet.

Riley’s cheeks warmed, and she straightened her coat, the wet fabric sticking where it had soaked through.

His jaw was sharp, the dark scruff beaded with raindrops. A black raincoat covered broad shoulders, and silvery scars ran along the backs of his hands and knuckles, tiny and thin, but clearly visible.

He put his hands in his jean pockets.

He doesn’t stand like a cop, thank god. She’d spent enough time around them that she could basically smell them by now.

“You good?”

He sounded foreign and familiar at the same time, like he might have had an accent once, but she couldn’t place it.

“Yeah, thanks,” Riley said. He moved too carefully to not be something, but he didn’t fit in any of the boxes she usually categorized men into. Safe, predator, interested or not. It should’ve been deeper than that, but it really wasn’t.

He didn’t react when the dog streaked mud across his jeans with his wagging tail. Tolerant, at the very least.

The dog let out a low woof, breaking her out of staring. “You’re okay,” she murmured. I’m just looking. The dog sat on her boots and leaned against her legs while he gazed up at her. Riley pet the top of his head as he demanded.