Page 22 of Ride or Die

A horn blared. “Are you hearing yourself?”

“What?” Candida leaned forward, her hair blowing around them. It smelled like the hair salon, chemical and sweet.

“I just want my report filed,” Riley said, focused on where the sharp red nails gripped her upper arm. Her chest was starting to get tight like she was going to have a panic attack.

Not now, please, not now.

“Riley… just drop it.” Candida’s gaze flicked up to their building and she dropped her voice. “It’s not worth it. I promise.”

The hair stood up on Riley’s forearms.

“What are you talking about?”

Candida released her and shook her head. “It’s not a valuable use of company time or resources.”

Riley took a step back, heel brushing her bag where she’d left it on the sidewalk. She couldn’t stay here. The office loomed behind her—not an option. Gio might still be around.

And the bus had just left.

Riley pushed out a breath slowly.

The low growl of a motorcycle rumbled a block away, but Riley didn’t look away from Candida’s pinched face. Red lips opened and closed, then pressed into a tight line. The whites of her eyes were bright.

“Candida, what is going—”

“If you are determined to leave early, I’ll talk to Mr. Ricci about it. Hopefully it won’t have to go in your file—I’ll see what I can do.” Candida cut her off, a doll’s mask in place of her face.

“I thought you already called him,” Riley said.

Candida closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

The rumble got louder, and a black bike rounded the corner. It rolled to a stop at the curb, directly in front of them.

Light glinted off the visor of the helmet, and the rider removed it.

A jolt punched through Riley’s chest.

“Saint?”

The quiet smile dropped as he took her in, eyes lingering on her face. Saint killed the engine and swung off the bike.

Oh, thank god, you’re here. Riley swayed forward and locked out her knees.

No, she barely knew him. Just because his dog was cute didn’t mean he was a good person.

“What are you doing here?”

Dark eyes flicked from her to Candida and back, jumping to the building behind them, the bag at her feet. Taking in everything in a moment. His expression didn’t change.

“You good?” Saint’s voice was low and even, and his eyes didn’t leave hers.

He knew she wasn’t.

Saint could tell, and she hadn’t said a word.

Horns honked, and Riley forgot Candida, Gio, her notes, all of it. For a second, she was back in the park with soft rain and Saint blocking the wind.

She shook her head. Not good.