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 learnedat 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!"
Chapter 5
Something had gone downwhile I'd been talking to Tanner. I didn't know what it was, but all the guys were just a little too quiet, and tense, andweird. I couldn't help but wonder if they'd heard Casey was dead. Or maybe they were just wondering?
Not that it mattered, because the rides had started up again. Counting spots until I was up, I rubbed my right hand over my left elbow, making sure the tape on my arm was still holding. Earlier today, Doc had told me I no longer needed to wear the brace. He said I was healing nicely - better than he'd expected - but I knew most of it was because I didn't need to ride on that arm anymore.
I still needed the tape. My elbow was still weak enough I couldn't put enough tension on it to undo my rope otherwise, and tonight I wanted to make sure I could get out in a hurry if I had to. But it was just warm enough back here to make me worried I'd sweat this mess off. Anthony had done a good job wrapping me up, but slick skin wasn't the best surface for all this medical tape.
And yet, my arm really was doing a lot better. Not perfect, and I wasn't dumb enough to take any risks with it, but I didn'thave to. I only needed to wave it in the air, letting the whole world see I was "Better" - at least according to my shirt.
My right arm said "Girls Do It" down the side. Normally, that was my free hand, but ever since I'd pulled the tendon in my elbow, I'd been riding the other way. I couldn't even say with my off-hand, because I was right-handed, although it had been a while since I'd used it like this. Thankfully, it had come back quickly - since I didn't want to take any chances today.
But while I waited for the bulls to go, I felt like I couldn't quite focus. I kept thinking about Casey. The guy had been one of Austin's friends, but not one of the worst. Derek and Austin had tried to beat the shit out of me in Cheyenne. Eli had stalled me so someone could grease my rope back in Tulsa. Someone else had greased it again in in Des Moines, but I couldn't be sure if Casey had been involved in any of that.
What I did know was he'd talked shit about me. He'd taunted me, told me to go home, and made quite a few threats. Nothing about him should make me feel like this. Granted, I had a feeling it wasn't really about him. This was about the mess we were in, the risks I knew I was taking, and how fucking helpless all of it made me feel.
"Your bull's coming in," Jake said as he moved to stand before me.
"About time," I said, leaning over to grab my gear.
But he clasped my shoulder, halting me. "Cody, are you good to ride?"
I nodded slowly, already tired of that question. "Why, because you think I'll break or something?"
The look he gave me called out my bullshit. "I do. I think I'll break too. I think we all just watched Casey break, and I'd rather not make a new PBR record. Two deaths in one night?"
"So you know?"
