"I started it," Sonny called out.
"And your boy still rode, Mr. Merrill," Ty continued. "All three of them, although I'm not sure how many you have working for you."
"Austin?" someone asked.
Ty nodded, never taking his eyes off Mr. Merrill. The fact that he had a few inches on my father was made even more obvious by the way he stood with his arms crossed over his chest, making a wall between the man and Cody.
"We want fair judging," Ty said. "Now, you and I both know it hasn't been fair lately, but we're not talking about that right now. We want the chance to call out our sponsors when we get our awards, yet we haven't complained about the money we're losing there. But this?" He shifted slightly, somehow managing to make it look threatening. "This is the one thing we will not tolerate, sir."
"And all you're doing is killing this sport!" Mr. Merrill shot back. "Do you know how many requests for refunds we've had? Dozens, and the show isn't even over! People have been walking out, and they're talking to the press as they do it! That's going to do nothing but kill your award money!"
"Money's always been in the sponsors," Renato pointed out. "And sponsors don't like having their name associated with a sport thatkillsthe players."
"Last night was a tragedy!" Mr. Merrill yelled. "A horrible accident. Nothing more. Don't try to make this into a conspiracy!"
"Then get us proper protection," Cody said, her voice wonderfully calm. Casual, almost. "That's all we want, and think how it would impress the sponsors."
"You, miss thing, don't make the decisions."
"Maybe she should," I called out. "Because it's starting to look like you have some kind of personal vendetta against her."
"She thinks the rules don't apply to her!" he snapped at me. "Thisgirl..."
"Is a rider," I finished for him. "She earned her points. She's proven herself. She's ridden the hard ones and taken her licksjust like the rest of us. Or are you scared she's going to be the next one beating your records, sir?"
"This has nothing to do with that."
"Right," I said, struggling not to smirk, because I knew I was winning. "J.D. Adkins has already done that, right?"
"And her scores aren't that impressive," Mr. Merrill said, tossing a warning look at Cody. "She's a rookie, and can't complain about being in the middle of the rankings."
Which meant that was his plan. He wouldn't run her out by scoring her too low. It would come back to bite him when the bulls she drew lost their rankings. The stock contractors would put that together pretty quickly, then he'd have to deal with them.
Instead, he was trying to make Cody ignorable. Typically, that meant the rider had to struggle to keep going. The money ran out quickly when we lived on the roads. I knew, because I'd been there, but I'd also known the system well enough to scrape by long enough to finally get a break.
"I'm not complaining," Cody assured him. "I'm simply being a team player, Mr. Merrill."
"And I say we don't ride until we have our wolf pack back," Ty said one more time. "This ismycall. If you want to be pissed at someone about it, then I'm your man. I'm also willing to sit down and talk it out. Who knows, maybe there's an easy solution, eh?"
"The riders do not make business decisions for the PBR," Mr. Merrill told him.
Ty simply shrugged. "Don't care. The PBR doesn't pay for our funerals either. So this is the deal: we will ride when we're safe. Make. Us. Safe."
"Don't push me, boy." Mr. Merrill glanced down, making it clear Ty was standing too close. "And don't you dare try to threaten me. I have a feeling this little strike will crumble if you're suspended for threatening a director."
Then Ty did the last thing I would've expected. He smiled. "Well, that would be interesting to see."
"Tomorrow, you'll see what your little strike does to this sport!" Mr. Merrill turned, surveying the room again. "And I want all of you to think about how we'll pay for these events when the stands are empty. I want each of you to consider how we'll get the money for your awards when no one is watching the stream. When they're canceling their subscriptions. This, gentlemen, is a business, and one you're all profiting from. So if you don't want to play the game, thengo home!"
"Or stand our ground," Renato drawled.
Mr. Merrill just snarled and turned away, storming off. But before he left the room, he had to get the last word. "Awards ceremony starts in two minutes! Eli!"
"I'll be there!" Eli assured him.
And every man in the room turned to glare.
He, Austin, and Derek had been quiet today. I didn't expect it to last, but Eli's reply had just made it clear where they'd set up. And while I couldn't see them, I already knew those three would be together. Mostly that was because no one else wanted to be anywhere near them right now.
