"You just paid for that," Eli assured me. "Thanks for not giving me a second. We're calling thismepaying my debts." Then he slapped my shoulder and headed out.
I turned to watch him go, trying to figure out what I felt about that. The guy was a dick. The numerous ways he'd made it clear he didn't approve of me or my lifestyle? Yeah, unnecessary - but also expected. And yet, he'd given me a fucking heads-up.
"You good?" Isaac asked as he moved to my side.
"Yeah..." I breathed. "But I think Eli just verified that the judges are trying to run Cody out. And our little kiss at the opening ceremony? It turned their hate to J.D."
"Well, fuck," Isaac said. Then he did the last thing I'd expect. "Hey, Cletus!"
The man turned, lifted a brow, but checked to see what Isaac wanted before making it a part of his show. When he realized this wasn't a joke, he hopped off the bullpen he usually used as a stage, and hurried over.
"Yeah?" he asked, moving his mic away from his mouth. It also didn't transmit, which meant he'd muted it.
"Judges aren't being fair," Isaac said. "J.D.'s about to get shit on."
"I see." He nodded a few times, giving all the physical signs of something being sorted out. "You want me to call it out?"
"Can you?" I asked.
"I can make it a joke," Cletus assured me. "What I can't do is push too far. Tanner, I can't get fired."
"Not asking you to," I assured him. "But I'm fucking sick of these games."
"Me too," Cletus said just as Jorge joined us. "I can tell you Sousa's pissed about the suspension bullshit. He honestly thought he was doing it because you left the arena. The 'gay' thing? He's not happy Merrill put him in the middle of that."
"And sounds like Merrill and Austin are in cahoots," Isaac informed Jorge. "Eli's trying to be Switzerland."
"No," I clarified. "Eli said Austin just crossed a line when he went after Cody earlier. He's done. Not sure he'll pull away, but so long as he doesn't join in, then the odds are a hell of a lot better."
"Watch your back, Tanner," Cletus told me. "You just put a big fucking target on it, because no matter how sweet and country we all like to say we are? What you're doing is not going to be accepted."
"Don't care," I told him.
And the clown smiled. The big kind that made his face paint curl insanely. "Good."
Chapter 61
When Austin triedto drag my sister into his shit, I was done. Cody? She was a grown-ass woman. She might not deserve that shit, but she could take care of herself. Isabella? Naw. No one messed with my sister. She was off-fucking-limits.
So the moment that fuck-nugget was gone, I hurried across the alley and up the stairs on the other side to where Cody and Isabella had their heads bent and serious expressions on their face. I didn't stop long enough to see what they were sayin', though.
"Why are you over here?" I snapped.
Isabella's head jumped up and an impish grin took over. "Came to see my favorite rider. Wanted to congratulate her on the good score."
"Score was shit," I told the pair of them.
"Cody seemed happy with it," Isabella shot back.
"I am," Cody told me.
I just scoffed. "And Cody's used to people shitting on her. She shouldn't be, but she's too fuckin' nice. All sweet and adorable and shit. But you should know better, Isa'. You know how to watch a ride."
"And it was good," Isabella told me all smug-like.
She wasn't wrong. That ridehadbeen good. No, not Cody's best, but it had deserved a hell of a lot more than the mid-eighties. But then Cody dropped a real bomb on me.
"Your little sister is also brilliant."
