"And you are?" he asked.
"Ty McBride," he replied, offering his hand over the table. "Let me guess, you're the jealous type, can break all of us in half, and all that shit?"
"No, yes, and no," Braden said. "I'm the protective type, not the jealous kind. I'm also a senior member of Deviant Games. That's like a VP in most companies."
Ty thrust out his lower lip and nodded. "Cool." Then he turned to Rhaven. "So, how much do you know about what went down tonight?" And finally to me. "And how much should she know?"
"Teamwork is overpowered," I told him. "And yeah, Deviant seems to be all about the pushing back, but that's not why I asked her to come."
"Why did you?" Tanner asked, proving I'd skipped that part.
I sighed. "Look, Ty and Jake organized that strike today. They also hid it from me. But Rhaven, so you know, J.D. and Tanner got jumped before the show."
"What?!" Braden roared, shoving to his feet. "By who?"
"For being 'gay,'" Ty told him, clearly thinking that was going to be news to Braden.
Rhaven grabbed her boyfriend's arm, dragging him back into his seat like this wasn't out of the ordinary. And yes, Braden sat.
He also told Ty, "I'm bi, you dimwit. I'm also big enough no oneeverhas a problem with it."
"Yeah," J.D. said, leaning back to lace his hands behind his neck. "That's why I like this one, Rhaven." Then he looked at Braden. "I took a tire iron to the head. Have a fucking concussion again, most likely. Tanner?" He leaned over to grab one of Tanner's hands, lifting it to show the raw knuckles. "He fought off two men when I dropped. And yeah, that don't make my pride feel too good, but my boyfriend's a fuckin' badass."
Braden lifted his hands, turning them so the backsides were toward us, showing scars lacing his knuckles and a tattoo across one that said "Flawed." Slowly, he rocked his head, making it clear he understood.
"Yeah, I don't like asswipes like that. Got a little record for putting them in their place. Got a boss who thinks that's a good thing."
"Well, I'm hoping your cool boss might be willing to give me an advance," I said. "Rhaven, they just fined everyone who did the right thing. The president of the PBR -"
"Donald's a fuckin' asswipe," Braden grumbled.
Ty just jerked his thumb at Jake. "His dad."
Jake dropped his head. "And now that's out there. Bastard child, he hates that I exist, and it's not going to help us here."
"I need to help these guys pay the fines!" I insisted.
"Same," J.D. said. "We were thinking we could donate our Deviant sponsorship checks - "
"No," Rhaven said. "That defeats the whole point of a sponsorship. The goal is to incentivize you to promote us. It's also a reward for stepping up for what's right and fighting against what's wrong."
While she talked, Braden pulled his phone out and started texting.
"The problem is they can'taffordto keep fighting the good fight," I told her. "Look, J.D. and me? We're good. We've made it in this sport. Ty and Jake too, but even if we all chipped in and paid these fines? We'd run out before the season's over."
"And there's only two events left," Jake clarified. "Also, Donald Merrill chewed out the riders before the closing ceremony tonight. He made it clear we all owe ten grand for not riding. Tomorrow will be fifteen. The next time?"
"Suspension," Ty said. "And while some of us can take that, most of these guys can't. Hell, most of them are pinching pennies just to make it to the next show. That cross-country drive isn't exactly cheap."
"Plus hotels, food, and everything else," Braden said, glancing up. "Not sure how much your gear costs, but from the looks of it, it can't last forever with those bulls running all over it."
"Exactly," Jake said. "And I'm willing to add my sponsorship check to the pool as well, Rhaven. It's for the right cause."
Braden was still typing.
"Sadly, I don't know how to help with this," Tanner said. "Look, Jorge and Isaac are finally making enough money to safely pay their bills, guys. I can't ask them to jump in on this..." But he looked over at J.D. "I can, though. Right?"
"Yeah, you can," I assured him. "We got you, Tanner."
