Ride or Die

#2

Maya.

I froze with the glass halfway to my lips.

The living room felt colder than it had five seconds ago. My father’s words still hung in the air like smoke that wouldn’t clear.

“Sit down, Maya. We need to talk about your new bodyguard.”

I lowered the whiskey slowly, eyes narrowing. “Excuse me?”

He didn’t repeat himself. He just stepped aside.

And there he was.

Leaning against the far wall like he had always belonged in the shadows of this house.

Tall. Broad. Dressed in all black fitted black shirt, black tactical pants, black boots that looked like they had walked through worse places than my father’s marble floors. His arms were crossed over his chest, veins standing out along his forearms. Dark hair cut short....And his eyes…

Ice.

He didn’t look at me.

Not even a glance.

“This is Ghost,” my father said, his voice calm like he was introducing the new gardener instead of a man who looked like death in human form. “He will be with you twenty-four hours a day from this moment forward. He goes where you go. He sleeps in the guest wing when you’re home. He drives when you refuse to. He is not optional.”

I let out a short laugh. “You’re joking.”

“I am not.”

I turned fully toward the man against the wall. Still no reaction from him.

He might as well have been carved from stone.

“Hey,” I said snapping my fingers at him. “You got a real name, or do people just call you Casper when they’re feeling friendly?”

Nothing.

Not a twitch. Not a shift in his breathing. Not even the slightest tilt of his head.

I hated him already.

My father continued. “There have been threats. Serious ones against the family. I will not have my daughter running around the city half-naked on a motorcycle while people who want her dead are watching.”

“I’m not half-naked,” I snapped, even though my shorts were riding high and the cropped leather jacket left a strip of stomach exposed. “And I’ve been handling myself just fine.”

“You have been lucky,” he said coldly. “Luck runs out.”

I took a long swallow of whiskey, letting the burn settle the rising heat in my chest. “So you hired a babysitter.”

“I hired the best.”

I looked at Ghost again. Still no eye contact.

He stared at some fixed point on the opposite wall like my existence was an inconvenience he was paid to tolerate.

The irritation crawled under my skin like ants.

“He’s not even looking at me,” I said. “Is he broken? Or does he only activate when someone tries to shoot me?”

My father ignored the sarcasm. “He has very specific rules. He does not touch you unless it is necessary for your safety. He does not socialize. He does not drink”

I tilted my head, studying the silent man. “He looks expensive.”

“He is.”

“And what does he get out of this little arrangement? Besides the joy of watching me drink and swear?”

My father’s jaw tightened. “That is not your concern.”

I already knew enough. A man like this didn’t take babysitting jobs for fun.

Someone had offered him something he wanted more than blood.

Ironic as s**t.

I set the glass down on the side table and walked closer.

Still nothing.

He didn’t track my movement. Didn’t tense. He didn’t even acknowledge that a woman in short shorts and boots was invading his personal space.

I stopped two feet in front of him and looked up. He was taller than I expected. The kind of height that made you feel small even when you were trying very hard not to.

“You can hear me, right?” I asked, voice low and mocking. “Or do I need to write it down for you?”

Silence.

I smiled. “Cute. The strong, silent type. How original.”

I circled him once, slow, like I was inspecting a new bike.

He smelled clean.

When I came back around to face him, I leaned in just enough to be invasive.

“You’re going to be with me all the time,” I said. “Every ride. Every party. Every time I decide to do something stupid at three in the morning. You realize that means you’re going to see a lot of things your little rulebook probably doesn’t approve of.”

Still no reaction.

I clicked my tongue. “This is going to be fun.”

My father cleared his throat. “Maya.”

I ignored him and kept talking to the wall of muscle in front of me. “I drink. I smoke. I swear. I wear whatever the f**k I want. I race bikes at midnight and I don’t ask permission. If you think you’re going to change any of that, you’re in for a very long, very frustrating job.”

Finally, his eyes flicked down to mine for half a second.

I felt my pulse kick hard in my throat.

He looked away again almost immediately, back to that empty point on the wall.

A slow, dangerous smile pulled at my mouth.

“Oh,” I said softly. “You’re not completely dead inside after all.”

My father stepped between us like he could sense the shift in the air. “That’s enough. Ghost will start tonight. Your room has already been prepared with the necessary security adjustments. You will not leave this house without him. You will not take that motorcycle out without him. If you attempt to ditch him, he has full authority to use whatever force is required to bring you back.”

I laughed, sharp and bright. “Force? Against me? Careful, Dad. That almost sounds like you’re giving him permission to put his hands on me.”

Ghost’s jaw ticked once.

My father looked tired. “Do not make this harder than it needs to be.”

“Oh, I plan to make it much harder,” I said cheerfully. I turned back to Ghost and gave him my sweetest, most poisonous smile. “You and me are going to get real close, Casper. Hope you’re ready.”

He didn’t answer.

Of course he didn’t.

I grabbed my whiskey glass again, drained what was left, and headed for the stairs without another word.

I could feel his presence behind me even though he hadn’t moved yet. Like a shadow that he is.

Restricted.

That was the word that kept circling in my head as I climbed the stairs.

Someone would always be there. Watching me. Listening and Judging. Ready to drag me back the second I tried to breathe free.

I hated it.

I hated the idea of it with every reckless bone in my body.

And yet…

Somewhere under the anger and the defiance, something darker and hotter had already started to uncoil.

He hadn’t looked at me.

He had barely acknowledged I existed.

I reached the top of the stairs and glanced back over my shoulder.

I winked at him and then disappeared into the hallway toward my room.

Behind me, I heard my father’s low voice.

“I'm sorry about that...It's my fault she's spoilt ”

Ghost’s reply was so quiet I almost missed it.

"I've dealt with worse.”

I closed my bedroom door, leaned back against it, and let out a long breath that.

This was going to be so much fun.

And I was going to enjoy every single second of breaking him.