Chapter 28 #2
“Enough!” The sheriff’s voice could cut steel. “You show up to work in this condition, barely able to walk straight, and you can’t even do your job. Consider yourself suspended. Immediately. We’ll discuss the details later.”
Tanner sputters a protest, pushing himself to his feet, but the sheriff has already dismissed him, turning to face the rest of us with desperate urgency.
I’m already moving along the stall before I consciously decide to act. Not that this asshole Holden deserves saving, but he does need a healthy dose of humiliation, as well as having everything taken from him. “I’ve got an idea.”
I circle around to the side of the enclosure, away from where Holden is frozen in terror. Brutus tracks my movement with those calculating eyes, but his attention remains primarily fixed on the intruder in his territory.
“Hey!” I vault onto the lower rung of the fence, making myself visible. “Over here.”
Brutus’s head swings toward me, and for a heart-stopping moment, we lock eyes. This close, I can see every detail of the animal that’s haunted this town for decades. The scars from past battles. The powerful muscles bunched beneath his hide. The intelligence in those dark eyes.
“That’s right,” I call out, keeping my voice steady. “I’m the one you want. Not that pathetic sack of shit in your stall.”
The distraction works because Brutus takes a step toward me, then another, his attention shifting away from Holden.
“Run!” I shout at him. “Get to the fence! Now!”
Holden doesn’t need to be told twice. He breaks into a desperate sprint toward the far side of the enclosure, legs pumping, arms flailing, pure terror propelling him forward.
But Brutus is no fool, because the moment Holden moves, the bull’s head whips back around. In less than a second, he calculates the angles, dismisses me as the lesser threat, and launches himself with terrifying speed at the fleeing man.
“Oh, fuck.”
I drop down from the fence inside the enclosure and scan the area frantically. There, near the gate, a stack of plastic barrels used for various training exercises. I don’t think. I just move.
I sprint toward the barrels and grab one just as Brutus closes the distance on Holden. The man is screaming, high-pitched and hysterical, his hands reaching for the fence that’s still too far away.
Brutus is inches from him when I hurl the barrel with everything I have.
It connects with the bull’s side, bouncing off his massive frame with a hollow thunk that sounds pathetically inadequate. Brutus stumbles slightly, his momentum disrupted, his attention momentarily diverted.
Holden hits the fence and climbs with the desperate strength of a man facing death. He’s over the top in seconds, but not quite fast enough.
Brutus recovers and charges.
The bull slams into the fence just as Holden clears the top, his horns catching the man’s calf as he tumbles over the other side. Holden screams, a raw sound of pain and terror, and crashes to the ground outside the enclosure.
I don’t have time to celebrate the save. Brutus has turned on me now, those murderous eyes fixed on the idiot human who dared to interrupt his hunt.
I run.
The fence seems miles away. I hear Brutus behind me, feel the thunder of his hooves through the packed dirt. My lungs burn, my legs pump, and every instinct screams that I’m not going to make it.
I leap for the fence.
My hands catch the top rail, and I haul myself up with a strength I didn’t know I possessed. Brutus crashes into the fence beneath me, the whole structure shuddering with the impact, but I’m already over the top, dropping down on the safe side, rolling to absorb the impact.
Behind me, Brutus bellows his frustration and turns his attention to the plastic barrel I left behind, goring it with his horns and tossing it around the enclosure with violent satisfaction.
That was fucking close.
“Son.” My father is at my side, his hand gripping my shoulder. “That was either the bravest or the stupidest thing I’ve ever seen.”
“Probably both.” I’m breathing hard, my heart hammering against my ribs, adrenaline still flooding my system.
We make our way to where Holden is lying on the ground, surrounded by rodeo medical staff who materialized seemingly from nowhere. He’s wailing, clutching his leg, blood seeping through his fingers from where Brutus’s horn caught him.
Sheriff Cade is standing over him, expression hard as granite.
“Holden Pierce,” the sheriff says, “you are under arrest for embezzlement, fraud, and conspiracy to commit assault. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law.”
Holden’s wails increase in volume. “I need a doctor! I’m dying!”
“You’re fine.” One of the medics is examining the wound, already wrapping it with practiced efficiency. “It’s a surface laceration. You’ll need stitches, but you’ll live.”
“I’ve had worse,” I mutter.
“You have the right to an attorney,” Cade continues, ignoring Holden’s dramatics. “If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be provided for you. Do you understand these rights as I have explained them to you?”
“This is ridiculous!” Holden’s voice has gone shrill with panic. “I haven’t done anything wrong! This is all a misunderstanding!”
“The financial records suggest otherwise.” The sheriff nods to a nearby officer. “Cuff him.”
I watch as they secure Holden’s hands behind his back, the reality of his situation finally seeming to sink in.
His face crumbles, the arrogance and confidence replaced by naked fear.
He looks smaller somehow, diminished, just a pathetic man who thought he could cheat his way to success and got caught.
“I want a lawyer,” Holden whimpers.
“That’s certainly your right.”
They haul him to his feet, supporting him on either side, as his injured leg can’t bear weight. Blood has soaked through the bandage already, leaving dark stains on his jeans.
“Take him away,” the sheriff states. They drag Holden toward the parking area, where a police cruiser is waiting. His protests fade into the distance, becoming just another part of the morning noise. Tanner chases after them.
My father claps me on the shoulder. “Well done. Now, I need to speak with my lawyers. Make sure everything is in order for the next steps.” He pauses, his expression uncharacteristically warm. “You did good today, son. Real good.”
“Thanks, Dad.” He nods once, gruffly, and walks away.
The rodeo grounds are fully awake now, buzzing with activity as the final day’s events approach.
Vendors are hawking their wares, spectators are finding their seats, and the air is electric with anticipation.
This is what I love about the circuit. The energy.
The excitement. The sense that anything can happen.
I make my way toward the main staging area, weaving through the growing crowds, my mind already shifting to the day ahead, to the future that’s suddenly looking a lot brighter.
And then I spot Carter, Kai, and June heading toward me through the crowd.
Carter is still looking a bit rough around the edges, but he’s grinning from ear to ear.
Kai is practically bouncing with contained energy, his nerves about the upcoming ride manifesting as restless motion. And June is beautiful.
Her smile when she sees me is like watching the sun rise, and everything else falls away. The stress of the morning, the confrontation with Holden, the lingering adrenaline from my encounter with Brutus. None of it matters.
There’s only her.
I meet them halfway, my hands finding June’s waist and pulling her close. She melts into me, her arms wrapping around my neck, and I kiss her. Right there, in the middle of the rodeo grounds, in front of everyone.
“Well, hello to you too,” she says with a laugh when we finally break apart.
“Holden just got arrested.”
Her eyes go wide. “What? When? Tell me everything.”
I give them a complete rundown of everything.
Carter lets out a low whistle. “You went into the pen with Brutus?”
“Wasn’t my finest moment in terms of self-preservation,” I admit, “but yeah.”
“Dude.” Kai studies me with something dangerously close to awe. “That’s either insanely brave or insanely stupid. You need to leave that stuff for me to do.” He smirks my way.
June’s hands slide up to my chest, her face quickly shifting from shock to worry. “Are you okay? You’re not hurt?”
I catch one of her hands and press a kiss to her palm. “More than okay, actually. I’m just glad my charges got dropped. I don’t have to go to court.”
She throws her arms around me again, squeezing hard. “That’s amazing.”
“And my house and business?” The hope in her voice lands like a strike to the ribs.
“That’s with the lawyers now while they investigate, but I’m guessing it won’t go forward,” I say.
She smiles, and I tighten my hold, breathing her in like I’ve been starved for it.
Carter and Kai crowd in, and suddenly it’s a pack embrace, all four of us tangled together in the middle of the bustling rodeo grounds. And with June tucked into my chest and the guys braced at my sides, I know exactly what I’m doing next.
First, I get Kai through Brutus’s ride without a disaster, and then I make the next move, one that ends with June in my home and a family around our table.