Chapter 25
Within minutes, J.D., Tanner, and Rhaven made their way down to the warm-up area.
Slowly, the men who'd already "ridden" began to trickle in.
As the room grew packed, Rhaven explained that she was gathering the press in the press room - and where that was.
Anyone who wanted to say something was encouraged to attend.
And the whispers were moving fast. A few guys left, but since they were headed back towards the chutes, I hoped it was just to tell the others.
J.D. yelled for the rest to follow us, and an entire herd of bull riders made our way around to a large open space that reminded me a bit of a theater.
There was a stage with a table on it, and microphones were placed in front of each chair.
two women were draping something across the table that said Deviant Games on it.
On the other side was a pit with chairs, clearly for the reporters.
"What's going on?" I asked Rhaven when I saw it.
"Deviant Games is well known to tackle problems head-on," she explained. "This sounds like a problem. The banner is one we're trying to get approved for hanging in the arena, but I think this is a better use of it." And she flashed me an impish little smile. "So let's start a fight, Cody."
"The polite kind, right?" I asked, knowing exactly how much this woman's company was paying me.
But she shook her head. "Nope. This is the time to let it all go. Right now is when you stop being nice and show these boys - both the ones here and the ones watching - that you will not take any shit."
Those words. I couldn't even put my finger on which part hit me hard, but they lit a fire in my belly that made me want to stand a hell of a lot taller and glare even meaner.
But when I headed to the table, both Jackson and Jaxon gestured for me to take the spot in the center.
Renato and Ty would end up on either side of me, and down the row, more men were claiming chairs.
The rest were lining up in the space behind us.
Soon enough, the lights came on. A moment later, Renato and Ty hurried in, looking a little out of breath - like they'd run to get here.
Their asses were barely in their chairs before Rhaven stepped up and gave a little introduction.
The moment she moved aside, a woman in the front row stood with her hand up.
"Claudia Watson with CNN," she said, introducing herself. "The Pbr says tonight's display was out of respect for the death of Casey Davis. Yesterday, riders made it sound like this is a form of protest. Are those two things connected?"
"Yes," Ty said, leaning in toward his microphone.
"Can you explain how?" Claudia pushed.
"Uh..." Ty looked at me, clearly hoping for some help.
So I leaned in. "Friday night, one of our fellow riders lost his life.
Now, while that's a tragedy, many of us think it was preventable.
Our fear is it will happen to us next. Casey already gave his life for this sport, so don't we owe it to him to refuse to ride until we receive the sort of protection that would've kept him alive? "
"Are you claiming negligence?" a man called out.
It was Jake who took that one. "No. We also aren't saying it wasn't. What we're saying is this is the toughest sport on dirt - and we riders no longer feel confident we're getting the protection we need."
"What sort of protection?"
Renato leaned in. "Bullfighters. You might call them clowns, but they aren't. Those three men down on the dirt?
They're the ones who get us free when we're caught.
They all carry knives to cut us loose. They're trained to understand how the cattle move.
They are called the safety team for a reason. "
And now was the time to up the ante, so I added, "But we don't feel safe."
For a moment, the entire room paused.
Claudia spoke up again. "What changed?"
"The bullfighters," I said. "A few weeks ago, our main safety team was swapped out for these guys.
The real question is why!" My hands pressed down on the table, and I had to resist the urge to stand up as I leaned in even more.
"Why is Tanner Burns suspended when he's the one who got Casey free?
Is this a popularity contest - or is it actually a sport? "
"Because in sports," Ty said, following my lead, "one player can't go tell the boss he doesn't like someone and get them removed."
My head snapped over. Ty noticed, so he glanced at me.
Then he shrugged. On my other side, Renato chuckled like he'd just figured out the game all of us were playing.
Unfortunately, I didn't feel comfortable calling out Austin like that.
To me, it felt like everyone would simply say I was bitching about him because I was a girl.
That he didn't like me, so I was trying to get him in trouble or something.
Never mind that Tanner was my boyfriend, which made all of this a mess.
But Ty didn't seem to have that problem at all. "Austin Chambers wanted Tanner Burns gone, and then suddenly our bullfighters change out? Tell me that's not suspicious!"
"Or," Jake said, his voice soft and calm, "the rumors about Austin's ties to the president of the Pbr. Favoritism should not be tolerated in this sport."
"Austin always complains that having a woman competing against us will dumb down the sport," Renato said.
"He keeps trying to put the blame on Cody here, but this woman?
" He chuckled. "She's earned her place. She's never asked for leniency.
If anything, she makes the rest of us step up to prove we can keep up with her.
Sadly, some men are too worried about what's in her pants and not how long she can sit on a bucking bull.
" He looked across the room. "For those who don't know, she can hold on for eight seconds just fine. "
That was when Djalu spoke up from Renato's other side.
"The problem, as my fellow Australian riders and I see it, is that one person's grievance has become everyone's loss.
I don't care if Austin likes another rider.
I don't care about what these men - and our lady - do outside of the events.
What makes us uncomfortable is how pissing off the wrong person has led to unfair scoring, changes in staffing, and now one of our fellow riders losing his life. "
"Casey's death meant we had to do something," Ty said.
"And sure, we're all going to complain. Hell, anyone who follows professional bull riding has probably seen someone lose his temper, throw his rope, and have a tantrum.
It happens, and I'm not going to sit here and lie about it.
The difference is we know the next weekend will be a whole new chance to get it right - "
"Or it used to be," Renato broke in. "Now?
It's another chance to get hurt. For the past few events, we've all been more worried about how to get out of the arena than we are about staying on the bull.
Chasing scores?" He made a face and shook his head.
"That's gone. Our goal now is to make sure we don't get hurt so badly our careers are over. "
"Or lives," Djalu grumbled, his microphone picking it up.
But while all of that was great, these guys were getting off the subject a bit.
So I said, "That is why we're striking. We, the riders of the Pbr, will not ride again until we have our preferred safety team back.
One that will protect us. Men who will assist us out in the arena for everything from finding our gear when we've been slung around to holding the hand of someone in pain.
What we want?" I paused, making sure I had this right as I looked at just how many cameras were pointed at me.
"We want the Pbr to give us what we need to stay safe! "
"And we don't care," Jake hurried to say, "if that's training the safety team we have now, bringing back some of the old team and letting them pick who to work with, or - "
"No." Ty shoved to his feet, glaring at Jake. "No, we want the wolf pack."
"Ty..." Jake gave him a warning look.
"No," Ty said again. "Tanner Burns is the man who saved my life. He got caught up in some stupid popularity bullshit, and fuck that! Tanner's the man who keeps making it all work. Hell, even with Casey! Tanner jumped into the arena, cut Casey loose, and he wasn't even supposed to be here!"
"We want the wolf pack," Djalu said.
Which was when Wes clasped my shoulder and leaned in to use my mic. "Can every rider here who's been saved by the three men who make up the wolf pack raise their hands?"
Every single hand shot into the air.
Wes nodded. "Ok. Now those of you who have been saved by the current team of bullfighters? Raise your hand if they got you out of a bad situation?"
There was some mumbling about that, and a couple of guys lifted a hand weakly.
Wes gestured to them. "Ok. Now who here feels the current team of bullfighters has put them in a dangerous situation? That could be through them making a mistake, or simply them not seeing the problem as fast as we're used to?"
Once again, everyone's hands went up, including mine.
"That," Wes said to the press. "That's why we're not riding. That's as simple as I can make it."
"I think that's pretty simple," Claudia Watson said, standing again. "So why were the bullfighters changed?"
Ty shifted his hat a bit, and looked over.
On my other side, Renato jerked his chin at me.
Those looks made me feel like it was my place to lay this out there, but shit.
I didn't want to get into that! I wasn't going to out my guys - not until they were ready.
And while they kept saying they were, they also kept putting it off, so I'd be damned if I brought it up.
Which was when Jake took over again. "Austin couldn't chase Cody off by sexually harassing her at a bar.
Or would you call grabbing her tits assault?
I'm not sure. Then he tried to make sure she got hurt badly enough she wouldn't come back.
Sabotaging her gear? Not cool. Needless to say, that's how she got her mentor.
And when none of those things worked?" Jake's lips curled into something close to a snarl.
"He beat the shit out of her! That still didn't work, so the prick went after her boyfriend's reputation.
A man who's been a respected part of the Pbr for years now was suddenly suspended for. .."
"Holding my damned hand when a bull hit me," J.D.
said, pushing forward so he could join us.
"They said it was gay. Well, I don't fucking care.
I was tryin' real hard not to cry. I was failing.
Doc told Tanner to make sure I didn't bump my arms as they carried my ass out on a stretcher.
Yeah, and that was after the bull was dancing on my head, refusing to stop.
The reason why it finally gave up?" J.D.
pointed to where Tanner was standing against the wall.
"That man. He hit that bull. He made it chase him.
He put himself in danger because it was the only way he could help me.
Now you watch the last few events, and you tell me when those bullfighters we're using now have had the balls to risk anything? "
"They're scared of getting kicked!" Jaxon called out.
"They're too busy chatting instead of working!" Sonny grumbled.
"And I don't care if it's what 'real men' do!
" Wes snapped. "Grabbing a man's butt to get him over the rail?
We've all done it. We also get real appreciative when those bullfighters throw their bodies over ours - because they have the padding to protect us.
If we're gonna have to be worried about how gay something looks?
Let's just say Casey won't be the only one to pay for it. "
"This is not the road we want the Pbr to go down," I said.
"What we want," Ty added, "is to feel safe enough to take risks. We want to push for new records. We're all hoping to one day be the man who gets that perfect ride. But this? We're being careful. We're making sure we can take care of ourselves, because our safety team is failing us."
"So we're not doing it anymore," Renato finished.
"The top riders of Brazil, America, Canada, and Australia.
.." He tipped his head at Djalu. "We will make sure our riders keep sending those bulls out with just ropes.
The Pbr drew a line in the sand. All of a sudden, they're not happy we accepted it and walked away.
If this is the game they want, then we have no interest in playing it.
We are not resources to be used up and tossed away when we break.
Each and every man here has plans. We have futures.
We expect to be in one piece when we're done. "
"And until that happens," Ty said, "we will continue our strike. Casey's death was our last straw. His rides, his record, and his life should not be in vain. We'll make sure of it."
"Thank you!" Rhaven said, stepping back onto the stage. "I think the bull riders have said their piece. Now, the directors of the Pbr should be coming down from the sound booth shortly. For those of you who'd like to ask their perspective on this, please follow me."
"Where's the sound booth?" I asked, hearing my question broadcast over the microphones.
Jake chuckled and reached over to turn them off. "Other side. It's where I met that woman. And Cody? Your rep? She's something else."
"She?" Jaxon asked. "You sure about that, Jake?"
I answered before Jake could. "Very. Her name is Rhaven. She's also the one who decides who gets the sort of payouts Deviant Games is offering. And let me assure you, they have money to spend."
"So make sure you say 'ma'am' when talking to her," Ty told him. "She set this up. I think she's earned that much from us."
"True that," Wes said. "And I don't know about anyone else, but I want to get the hell out of here before everything blows up."
"Same," I agreed, pushing away from the table. But my eyes had already moved to Tanner.
Leaning against the wall casually, he wasn't trying to stand out. He wasn't speaking up for himself. He also wasn't refuting any of it. No, my boyfriend was simply peeking out from under the brim of his hat - and his eyes were on me.