"The bullfighters," I said. "A few weeks ago, our main safety team was swapped out for these guys. The real question is why!" My hands pressed down on the table, and I had to resist the urge to stand up as I leaned in even more. "Why is Tanner Burns suspended when he's the one who got Casey free? Is this a popularity contest - or is it actually a sport?"
"Because in sports," Ty said, following my lead, "one player can't go tell the boss he doesn't like someone and get them removed."
My head snapped over. Ty noticed, so he glanced at me. Then he shrugged. On my other side, Renato chuckled like he'd just figured out the game all of us were playing. Unfortunately, I didn't feel comfortable calling out Austin like that. To me, it felt like everyone would simply say I was bitching about him because I was a girl. That he didn't like me, so I was trying to get him in trouble or something. Never mind that Tanner was my boyfriend, which made all of this a mess.
But Ty didn't seem to have that problem at all. "Austin Chambers wanted Tanner Burns gone, and then suddenly our bullfighters change out? Tell me that's not suspicious!"
"Or," Jake said, his voice soft and calm, "the rumors about Austin's ties to the president of the PBR. Favoritism should not be tolerated in this sport."
"Austin always complains that having a woman competing against us will dumb down the sport," Renato said. "He keeps trying to put the blame on Cody here, but this woman?" He chuckled. "She's earned her place. She's never asked for leniency. If anything, she makes the rest of us step up to prove we can keep up with her. Sadly, some men are too worried about what's in her pants and not how long she can sit on a bucking bull." He looked across the room. "For those who don't know, she can hold on for eight seconds just fine."
That was when Djalu spoke up from Renato's other side. "The problem, as my fellow Australian riders and I see it, is that one person's grievance has become everyone's loss. I don't care if Austin likes another rider. I don't care about what these men - and our lady - do outside of the events. What makes us uncomfortable is how pissing off the wrong person has led to unfair scoring, changes in staffing, and now one of our fellow riders losing his life."
"Casey's death meant we had to do something," Ty said. "And sure, we're all going to complain. Hell, anyone who follows professional bull riding has probably seen someone lose his temper, throw his rope, and have a tantrum. It happens, and I'm not going to sit here and lie about it. The difference is we know the next weekend will be a whole new chance to get it right - "
"Or it used to be," Renato broke in. "Now? It's another chance to get hurt. For the past few events, we've all been more worried about how to get out of the arena than we are about staying on the bull. Chasing scores?" He made a face and shookhis head. "That's gone. Our goal now is to make sure we don't get hurt so badly our careers are over."
"Or lives," Djalu grumbled, his microphone picking it up.
But while all of that was great, these guys were getting off the subject a bit. So I said, "That is why we're striking. We, the riders of the PBR, will not ride again until we have our preferred safety team back. One that will protect us. Men who will assist us out in the arena for everything from finding our gear when we've been slung around to holding the hand of someone in pain. What we want?" I paused, making sure I had this right as I looked at just how many cameras were pointed at me. "We want the PBR to give us what we need to stay safe!"
"And we don't care," Jake hurried to say, "if that's training the safety team we have now, bringing back some of the old team and letting them pick who to work with, or - "
"No." Ty shoved to his feet, glaring at Jake. "No, we want the wolf pack."
"Ty..." Jake gave him a warning look.
"No," Ty said again. "Tanner Burns is the man who savedmylife. He got caught up in some stupid popularity bullshit, and fuck that! Tanner's the man who keeps making it all work. Hell, even with Casey! Tanner jumped into the arena, cut Casey loose, and he wasn't even supposed to be here!"
"We want the wolf pack," Djalu said.
Which was when Wes clasped my shoulder and leaned in to use my mic. "Can every rider here who's been saved by the three men who make up the wolf pack raise their hands?"
Every single hand shot into the air.
Wes nodded. "Ok. Now those of you who have been saved by the current team of bullfighters? Raise your hand if they got you out of a bad situation?"
There was some mumbling about that, and a couple of guys lifted a hand weakly.
Wes gestured to them. "Ok. Now who here feels the current team of bullfighters has put them in a dangerous situation? That could be through them making a mistake, or simply them not seeing the problem as fast as we're used to?"
Once again, everyone's hands went up, including mine.
"That," Wes said to the press. "That's why we're not riding. That's as simple as I can make it."
"I think that's pretty simple," Claudia Watson said, standing again. "So why were the bullfighters changed?"
Ty shifted his hat a bit, and looked over. On my other side, Renato jerked his chin at me. Those looks made me feel like it was my place to lay this out there, but shit. I didn't want to get into that! I wasn't going to out my guys - not until they were ready. And while they kept saying they were, they also kept putting it off, so I'd be damned if I brought it up.
Which was when Jake took over again. "Austin couldn't chase Cody off by sexually harassing her at a bar. Or would you call grabbing her tits assault? I'm not sure. Then he tried to make sure she got hurt badly enough she wouldn't come back. Sabotaging her gear? Not cool. Needless to say, that's how she got her mentor. And when none of those things worked?" Jake's lips curled into something close to a snarl. "He beat the shit out of her! That still didn't work, so the prick went after her boyfriend's reputation. A man who's been a respected part of the PBR for years now was suddenly suspended for..."
"Holding my damned hand when a bull hit me," J.D. said, pushing forward so he could join us. "They said it was gay. Well, I don't fucking care. I was tryin' real hard not to cry. I was failing. Doc told Tanner to make sure I didn't bump my arms as they carried my ass out on a stretcher. Yeah, and that was after the bull was dancing on my head, refusing to stop. The reason why it finally gave up?" J.D. pointed to where Tanner was standing against the wall. "That man. He hit that bull. He made it chasehim. He put himself in danger because it was the only way he could help me. Now you watch the last few events, and you tell me when those bullfighters we're using now have had the balls to risk anything?"
"They're scared of getting kicked!" Jaxon called out.
"They're too busy chatting instead of working!" Sonny grumbled.
"And I don't care if it's what 'real men' do!" Wes snapped. "Grabbing a man's butt to get him over the rail? We've all done it. We also get real appreciative when those bullfighters throw their bodies over ours - because they have the padding to protect us. If we're gonna have to be worried about how gay something looks? Let's just say Casey won't be the only one to pay for it."
