Chapter 16
I watched as Austin climbed on his bull, thinking he had finally gotten the free ride he'd been longing for. With so many bulls going out riderless, that fucker acted like he was going to end up as king shit just for riding.
Three seconds into his ride, he took a set of horns to the face.
Worse, that dumbass didn't wear a helmet, so I knew that had to hurt.
So when he crashed down into the dirt two seconds later, I had to choke back a laugh.
The idiot had not only proved to the rest of us that he wasn't a team player, but he'd still failed to get a score.
"Hey, Austin?" Ty called to him when the asshole picked his ass up out of the dirt. "You just screwed up your big chance. Guess getting everyone else out of your way still won't help you win!"
"Go to hell, Ty!" Austin snapped back as he stormed over to get his rope.
The guy was just lucky his bull wasn't the pissed-off kind. Nope, the moment the rope was off, that fat thing had trotted his way out. He hadn't even needed the bullfighters to herd him that way. Yeah, I'd have to sneak him a cube later.
Sadly, it wasn't all good news. Eli had managed to stay on for his ride.
Derek had as well, even if it had been a technicality.
That idiot had been in the air when the buzzer went off, but he'd still been holding the rope, so it counted as a full ride.
The disqualification came when we touched either the bull or the dirt.
So after I sent my own bull out wearing only my rope, I turned for the gate knowing how this would end already. The handful of guys ranked above me weren't going to ride. The rookie's wreck as a start to the night had convinced all the rest.
But as I headed down to get my rope, I checked the leaderboards.
To my surprise, Renato was still sitting in second place!
I had to look at the whole list of scores, then bit back a laugh.
Derek had been bucked off yesterday, so his one ride put him behind Reni.
Austin had a score yesterday, but in the mid-seventies.
That put him right above Cody, since our scores for the weekend were cumulative.
I was feeling pretty good about how this had gone when I headed back toward the warm-up area to put my gear away. Sadly, I'd forgotten all about the press. A dumb move, but the moment they saw me, all those cameras turned my way.
"Jake Cunningham!" a man said. "Do you have any thoughts about this strike?"
"I think Casey's death was a tragedy," I said.
"Is that why you chose not to ride?" someone else asked.
"Yes, it is. One of our own paid the ultimate price for this sport. The best way to memorialize him is to make sure it never happens again. My heart goes out to his family in this difficult time, and I - like all the other riders - will bow my head tonight, saying a prayer for him."
Then I pushed through the lot, refusing to get trapped into saying too much. Yeah, if Cody wanted to tackle that, then good for her. If I tried, this shit would blow up. My father would think it was me acting out to get his attention and dismiss everyone else's damned good points.
So I was going to stay out of it.
I was getting good at that. Lately, it felt like all I did was try to keep my nose to the grindstone and not cause problems. Sure, I was making good money. I couldn't complain about that. I was also improving my rides, but for the first time, I was no longer sure I was doing the right thing.
When I got there, I wasn't surprised at all to see the warm-up area packed with people. Heading to my gear so I could put it away, I unconsciously scanned the crowd for a little lady in pink. Just when I was sure she'd already taken off, I caught a glimpse of the color only she would wear.
Ty was standing before her. Jackson - the Canadian one - was hovering at her side, looking like a proud little brother. Gustavo and Renato were with her, but so were about a half dozen others.
Clearly, she was the woman of the hour. I tossed my rope into its bag, then began stripping off my chaps. I'd just dropped those down with the rest of my stuff, and was working on my spurs when my father's voice cut through the room.
"What was that bullshit?!" Donald Merrill demanded.
Not surprisingly, it was Cody who answered. "That," she told him, "is us drawing the line."
He stormed right into her face, trying to push aside the men around her. I stood, ready to jump in, but I was too far away - and too slow. Ty, Renato, and Jackson moved to block him, making it clear Mr. Merrill would have to go through them to get to her, and Ty looked ready to kill the man.
"Manners," Ty growled.
"I could suspend all of you for this shit!" Mr. Merrill snarled.
"Do it," Renato said. "Then have fun explaining the deaths in Nashville."
"This is unbecoming conduct!" the man tried next. "All of you are here to ride bulls, right?" He turned to make it clear everyone in the room was included in that. "Then you need to actually ride them!"
"And you need to get us some real bullfighters," Cody said.
"Oh, because you're manipulating these men into helping your boyfriend?"
Someone at the side snorted as he tried to smother a laugh. A few others were shaking their heads, because that attack was far too obvious, and very pathetic.
"This," Ty said, pressing his hand into Mr. Merrill's chest and backing the man away from Cody, "is our line in the sand. This, Mr. Merrill, is a strike. Our terms are simple. We want the wolf pack back. So when Jorge, Isaac, and Tanner are working, we'll start riding."
"Tanner is suspended," Mr. Merrill shot back. "Jorge and Isaac can work any time they want. They're the ones who didn't want to be here."
"Because those men you have now are dangerous!" Cody yelled. "Don't you get that?"
I just leaned back against the panels. "He doesn't, Cody."
"You stay out of this," my father snapped at me.
I lifted my hands, making it clear I was done for now, so he turned to Cody again.
"Was this your doing?"
"Mine," Ty said.
"And mine," Renato added.
"I started it," Sonny called out.
"And your boy still rode, Mr. Merrill," Ty continued. "All three of them, although I'm not sure how many you have working for you."
"Austin?" someone asked.
Ty nodded, never taking his eyes off Mr. Merrill. The fact that he had a few inches on my father was made even more obvious by the way he stood with his arms crossed over his chest, making a wall between the man and Cody.
"We want fair judging," Ty said. "Now, you and I both know it hasn't been fair lately, but we're not talking about that right now.
We want the chance to call out our sponsors when we get our awards, yet we haven't complained about the money we're losing there.
But this?" He shifted slightly, somehow managing to make it look threatening.
"This is the one thing we will not tolerate, sir. "
"And all you're doing is killing this sport!" Mr. Merrill shot back. "Do you know how many requests for refunds we've had? Dozens, and the show isn't even over! People have been walking out, and they're talking to the press as they do it! That's going to do nothing but kill your award money!"
"Money's always been in the sponsors," Renato pointed out. "And sponsors don't like having their name associated with a sport that kills the players."
"Last night was a tragedy!" Mr. Merrill yelled. "A horrible accident. Nothing more. Don't try to make this into a conspiracy!"
"Then get us proper protection," Cody said, her voice wonderfully calm. Casual, almost. "That's all we want, and think how it would impress the sponsors."
"You, miss thing, don't make the decisions."
"Maybe she should," I called out. "Because it's starting to look like you have some kind of personal vendetta against her."
"She thinks the rules don't apply to her!" he snapped at me. "This girl..."
"Is a rider," I finished for him. "She earned her points. She's proven herself. She's ridden the hard ones and taken her licks just like the rest of us. Or are you scared she's going to be the next one beating your records, sir?"
"This has nothing to do with that."
"Right," I said, struggling not to smirk, because I knew I was winning. "J.D. Adkins has already done that, right?"
"And her scores aren't that impressive," Mr. Merrill said, tossing a warning look at Cody. "She's a rookie, and can't complain about being in the middle of the rankings."
Which meant that was his plan. He wouldn't run her out by scoring her too low. It would come back to bite him when the bulls she drew lost their rankings. The stock contractors would put that together pretty quickly, then he'd have to deal with them.
Instead, he was trying to make Cody ignorable. Typically, that meant the rider had to struggle to keep going. The money ran out quickly when we lived on the roads. I knew, because I'd been there, but I'd also known the system well enough to scrape by long enough to finally get a break.
"I'm not complaining," Cody assured him. "I'm simply being a team player, Mr. Merrill."
"And I say we don't ride until we have our wolf pack back," Ty said one more time. "This is my call. If you want to be pissed at someone about it, then I'm your man. I'm also willing to sit down and talk it out. Who knows, maybe there's an easy solution, eh?"
"The riders do not make business decisions for the Pbr," Mr. Merrill told him.
Ty simply shrugged. "Don't care. The Pbr doesn't pay for our funerals either. So this is the deal: we will ride when we're safe. Make. Us. Safe."
"Don't push me, boy." Mr. Merrill glanced down, making it clear Ty was standing too close. "And don't you dare try to threaten me. I have a feeling this little strike will crumble if you're suspended for threatening a director."
Then Ty did the last thing I would've expected. He smiled. "Well, that would be interesting to see."
"Tomorrow, you'll see what your little strike does to this sport!
" Mr. Merrill turned, surveying the room again.
"And I want all of you to think about how we'll pay for these events when the stands are empty.
I want each of you to consider how we'll get the money for your awards when no one is watching the stream.
When they're canceling their subscriptions.
This, gentlemen, is a business, and one you're all profiting from.
So if you don't want to play the game, then go home! "
"Or stand our ground," Renato drawled.
Mr. Merrill just snarled and turned away, storming off. But before he left the room, he had to get the last word. "Awards ceremony starts in two minutes! Eli!"
"I'll be there!" Eli assured him.
And every man in the room turned to glare.
He, Austin, and Derek had been quiet today. I didn't expect it to last, but Eli's reply had just made it clear where they'd set up. And while I couldn't see them, I already knew those three would be together. Mostly that was because no one else wanted to be anywhere near them right now.
Because yes, the lines had been drawn. What surprised me was that somehow, Cody had ended up right in the middle.
And damn, did it look good on her.