"No safety, no rides!" the others quickly picked up, repeating it over and over.
"So there you have it," the woman said, turning to face her camera. "Clearly, the bull riders have concerns, and aren't afraid to make demands. The real question will be what the PBR does about it. Are we about to see the sport of bull riding pulled apart because of a tragic accident, or will the demands of the riders improve it? Only time will tell."
But before she finished her closing, Jackson and Gustavo turned me away, both of them pressed up against my sides like we were the best of buds. I glanced back, hoping that had looked as professional as I'd wanted, but my new pals wouldn't let me slow down.
"You," Gustavo said, "are putting me to shame. I was just going to tell them we're pissed."
"But they had to know the demands," Jackson countered. "Cody did a good job of making it clear why there's a problem, and what we expect to be done about it."
"I wasn't going to mention that he's my boyfriend!" I shot back.
Jackson just grinned at me. "Why? Worried J.D. might get jealous?"
Gustavo chuckled. "Or pissed. But do you blame her? I wouldn't mind having two women chasing me."
"No, it's not - "
"Cody," Jackson said, cutting me off. "It doesn't matter. We're giving you shit because we don't care."
"And Renato said someone needs to stay with you at all times," Gustavo admitted. "Austin, Eli, and Derek will be anything but predictable this weekend, so let's try not to tempt fate, ok? One death per weekend is more than enough."
"At least it was Casey," Jackson said. "Almost feels like karma."
"Or God's wrath," Gustavo said.
"No." I stopped hard, realizing we were almost to the warm-up area. "Guys, Casey still has a family. Maybe sisters, or brothers. Definitely parents. Hell, I don't even know if he has a wife or kids. But somewhere out there, someone is mourning him. He's not a joke."
"He was a fucking prick to you," Jackson reminded me.
"Yeah," I agreed. "And yes, I hate him. I fucking hate all of them, but I can do that when the cameras are off. I will not make his family watch me bitch about him.Theydon't deserve that, and I would hope that if I died, no one would make my father see such things."
"Yeah, good point," Jackson mumbled.
Gustavo simply clasped my shoulder, then rubbed gently. "You're right. I know you are, but I'm not torn up about him. I'm pissed I could be next, but I don't miss him - and he did that to himself."
"Yeah, he did," I agreed. "And his best bud is why he's dead. If you want to complain, then complain about Austin. He wanted me out so badly, he set things in motion for Casey to die."
Gustavo nodded. "Yeah. But here's the thing. He wanted you gone so badly he was willing to let one ofusdie. He didn't think it would be his friends, and he sure as shit doesn't think it'll behim. That sucks, but someone in the PBR made it happen, and that?" He shook his head. "I can't forgive that."
"Me either," I agreed.
Chapter 16
I watchedas 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.
