Chapter 4
Cody headed toward the stairs, so I turned toward the chute that would eventually be mine, occasionally glancing at the big screen.
Up there, Casey's record was being displayed.
They showed a few of his past rides from other events.
That they weren't showing this wreck was a little too obvious, and I had a bad feeling I knew why.
The screens around the downed rider, the ambulance backing its way up the alley at the side, and the men who kept running toward that side of the arena, carrying medical supplies?
It all added up the same way. Whatever had happened to Casey was bad.
The sort of bad that meant he wouldn't be coming back.
I didn't know if he was wounded that severely or already dead, but either was possible.
Back in Boise, it had been disastrous. Multiple guys had been injured bad enough they wouldn't be back before finals - if at all.
Others were now riding wounded. And, just to top it off, the new bullfighters didn't seem to give a shit.
But this? This was so much worse.
When I reached my end of the chutes, Renato was reclined against the railing across from where I'd be riding. I had a feeling he'd been waiting for me. Annoyed at this mess, I flopped into place beside him with a heavy sigh.
"This is bullshit, you know?" I asked.
"Yep." Then he sighed. "What the fuck happened while I was gone, Ty?"
I flicked a finger to the arena. "They showed up."
"And?" he pressed. "You have to give me more than that, because this shit is not the same Pbr I left in St. Louis.
J.D.'s out injured. You're not fawning all over Cody anymore, and the men back here don't talk about her like they hate her.
The alternate bullfighters are now the mains.
" He tipped his head toward the privacy screens they were busy taking down. "Now that."
"I think you summed it up pretty good," I told him.
"And you aren't talking," he snapped. "So, talk."
I turned to meet his eyes. "I told you. I lost the girl.
So far as I care, the rest of this is all tied up with it.
She stepped up for Tanner. J.D. stepped up for her.
I shoved my head up my ass, and Cody started showing these boys up.
Austin got pissed about it, so he went after the only one of us he could reach: Tanner. "
"Dumb move," Renato grumbled.
"More than you know," I agreed. "But Austin's attack hit.
He told the press Tanner's gay. Tanner got suspended, and the rest of the wolf pack refuses to work without him - which makes a lot more sense now that I've seen those three 'work.
' Those dipshits don't know their heads from their asses, and they sure don't have a clue how to handle cattle. A rider just paid for it."
"How do you think the Pbr's going to deal with this?" he asked. "Will we get our matadors back now?"
"Shit," I grumbled. "Probably not. Hell, they should cancel tonight's event, but I bet they won't."
"Can't," Renato clarified. "They need to notify Casey's family, so they'll play it off like an injury.
They'll say he's headed to the hospital and get everyone to pray for him.
Sometime in the middle of the morning, they'll put out an announcement that he died, and tomorrow will start with more praying. "
"You sure he's dead?" I asked.
Renato looked over at me. "Sure? No, but close. The way they blocked out everything, including the back of the ambulance? That means he isn't going to be moving - and they don't want to cover him up with a sheet, making it obvious. Nope, they're going to play this off for a bit."
I grunted under my breath, knowing he was right. "Which means we're still riding."
"With them," he said, flicking a finger out to where the new bullfighters were standing together over by the bullpen. "And there's no way for Jorge and Isaac to get here tonight, I bet."
"Nope," I agreed. "Pretty sure the Pbr won't call them back, either. That would be an admission of guilt. Considering they've been working hard to avoid talking about why the bullfighters changed mid-season? I wouldn't be holding my breath for the wolf pack to come back."
"Well, shit," Renato said. "And I promised Hannah I'd be careful."
I nodded in understanding, and for a moment, silence fell between us. Considering the entire arena was still a bit too still, it wasn't hard to hear the guys around us. Most voices were soft, little more than grumbling like Renato and I'd been doing.
But one stood out. "He wasn't good enough to be here. Fuck! I told y'all this would happen. I mean, what did they expect they'd get when they try to put everything on easy mode. People get hurt! That bitch fucked everything up, just like I said she would!"
My head whipped over, and for all the people to be saying that? It had to be Austin. The guy was supposed to be Casey's friend. They'd chummed around together!
"What?!" I snapped, pushing to my feet.
"Ty..." Renato warned.
But my attention was locked on Austin. "Say that again," I dared him. "Go ahead, asshole. Let everyone know what kind of a dick you really are. Casey was supposed to be your friend! You should be worried about him, not Cody."
"He knew the risks," Austin said instead, turning away like he wanted to ignore me. "We all do."
Yeah, fuck that. Pushing myself away from the railing I'd been using to hold me up, I was moving before my brain kicked in.
The other riders could see something in my expression.
Men started shifting out of my way. People turned to watch.
The chatter back here dimmed enough that Austin looked back in time to see me storming at him.
He braced.
I didn't slow down. My hands hit him on both shoulders, shoving that prick back. Yeah, and I hit him hard enough he spilled onto his ass, so I braced up before him.
"This?" I growled, stabbing a finger out at the dirt. "It's your fault, you piece of shit."
"Oh, fuck off, Ty," he snapped. "You can't be pissed because I'm a realist. This is the most dangerous sport on dirt. It's not supposed to be easy."
This had nothing to do with him being "a realist," whatever he meant by that. It wasn't about how easy or hard things were. It was about what he'd done.
And yeah, I was pissed. I was pissed that my friends were the ones suffering.
I was pissed that the best bull rider in a generation was getting shit she didn't deserve.
I was fucking pissed that we were all getting hurt and too many careers had already been ended because of this asshole's bullshit!
Hell, I was pissed that the man he'd called a friend was likely dead.
Lifting a hand, I curled a finger, daring him to get up.
"You're the one who chased off our bullfighters, Austin.
You're the reason we're all getting hurt.
You're why Casey's probably dead, and why?
Because you care who someone else is fucking?
Because you're scared of a girl beating you?
You are risking our lives for this bullshit!
Well, you know what? Cody still rides better than you.
She will always ride better than you, and the only thing we get for your little-dick issues is them!
" Again, I pointed at the arena. "And they aren't saving us! "
But at the side, I noticed movement. It made me look over, realizing one of the chute cameras had just turned to focus on me. Fuck. I'd wanted to make a scene, but I hadn't expected this kind of publicity!
Austin jumped to his feet before I could walk off. When he glared at me, I did some quick mental math and decided I could afford the fine. Shit, I could afford the suspension. Renato would keep an eye on Cody, and if he did, then all the Brazilians would.
And there was no way I'd back down now.
"So you think blindsiding me makes you hot shit?" Austin snapped, pushing up in my face.
I stood my ground, making it clear I wasn't scared of him. "Funny how it's fine when you do it to us."
"I didn't do shit to you!" he roared.
"You fucked our bullfighters!" I yelled back, overly aware of exactly what that sounded like.
"You got the alternates here. I don't know what the fuck you're up to, or whose ass you're sucking, but your feud with another rider is hurting us.
All of us." And I gestured at the men crowded up around us.
"Including Casey. Nice way to treat your friends. "
"Fuck you, Ty!" Austin said - and then he shoved.
I rocked back, but I was done with the screaming. My answer was to swing with my left, catching him right across the cheek. Austin staggered, slamming into the rails around the bull chute. Sadly, he didn't go over. Worse, the prick used it to push himself back at me.
He tried to tackle me, so I grabbed him and pushed him the other way, then followed. I was almost to him when a hand grabbed my vest, slowing my roll, but I pushed through it. The fingers lost their grip, I hit my knees, and threw another punch.
"They'll fucking suspend you!" Jake barked, but Renato was moving that way, and I knew my best friend would keep Jake from stopping me.
I also didn't say shit. I just hit. Unfortunately, Austin hit back. With a good twenty guys crowded around us, from chute attendants to riders, I knew I had to make this good. It was the only chance I'd get, so I needed to make sure my point landed, and hard.
I shoved my fist into Austin's gut, feeling the impact protection of his vest negating most of my power.
He shoved, putting some room between us, but I simply swung again.
This time, I hit his face. I was aiming for his nose, but missed.
My fist hit his eye, right across the brow bone.
Fuck, that hurt, but it was ok. I wasn't left-handed.
Then Austin twisted, rolling me off him.
My spurs scraped on the concrete beneath us as I clambered to my feet.
Our chaps rustled, but no one was pulling us apart.
That was enough to let my lips curl. Yeah, I finally understood J.D.
's brand of crazy. Sometimes, putting a hurt on someone really was the way to go.
"You," I said, jerking my chin at Austin in a taunt, "did this. You are why we're all getting hurt. You..." My voice was turning to a growl. "...need to fucking pay."
And then I surged in, grabbing his vest with my right hand and hammering his face with my left.
Over, and over, and over again, I hit that motherfucker just as hard as I could, and it felt nice.
Oh, he got a punch into my ribs, but my vest worked good too.
I barely felt it, so he tried to grab my hands.
He didn't stand a chance. I was the biggest guy back here.
I had the reach, the power, and the rage to make sure he learned at least one lesson: that we were done with his shit.
Because if he was willing to let his friend get killed for his damned pride, then I'd make sure he felt just a bit of that pain.
I got in five good jabs against his face before Renato grabbed my arm, pulling me off. Jake moved between us, pushing Austin back. Three Brazilians grabbed him, a few chute attendants forced even more space between us, and a few riders helped to guide the pair of us off in different directions.
"Feel better?" Renato asked me as he steered me back towards my chute.
"Yep." Then I checked my hand, aware of the way it was burning, and a little laugh slipped out. "Think he learned anything from that?"
"What I think is that you and J.D. are getting to be good friends." But he stopped at our gear and turned me towards him, putting my back toward the arena. "And that all played out on the big screen. You're going to get suspended, Ty. Fined at the very least."
"Trust me, it was worth every dime."
But Renato's brow creased and his eyes jumped up like he'd been distracted. Tensing, I turned, expecting the worst. Instead, it seemed the long delay was ending and Cletus was doing his thing again. Currently, he was punching at the air like he was mimicking me.
"And that's how you can tell it's nothing but a little country scuffle," Cletus was saying. "Because when they go like this..." This time, he made the same gesture, but using his right hand. "That's a good way to mess up a ride. No bull rider ever risks his riding hand."
"What?" I gasped, looking at Renato, not shocked to find he was watching it too.
He merely shook his head, dumbfounded. "They're playing it up."
And then I realized why. "Because they need everyone to forget about Casey." Leaning my head back, I groaned. "And I just played right into their hands. Fuck!"