"This is not the road we want the PBR to go down," I said.
"What we want," Ty added, "is to feel safe enough to take risks. We want to push for new records. We're all hoping to one day be the man who gets that perfect ride. But this? We're being careful. We're making sure we can take care of ourselves, because our safety team is failing us."
"So we're not doing it anymore," Renato finished. "The top riders of Brazil, America, Canada, and Australia..." He tipped his head at Djalu. "We will make sure our riders keep sending those bulls out with just ropes. The PBR drew a line in the sand. All of a sudden, they're not happy we accepted it and walked away. If this is the game they want, then we have no interest in playing it. We are not resources to be used up and tossed away when we break. Each and every man here has plans. We have futures. We expect to be in one piece when we're done."
"And until that happens," Ty said, "we will continue our strike. Casey's death was our last straw. His rides, his record, and his life shouldnotbe in vain. We'll make sure of it."
"Thank you!" Rhaven said, stepping back onto the stage. "I think the bull riders have said their piece. Now, the directors ofthe PBR should be coming down from the sound booth shortly. For those of you who'd like to ask their perspective on this, please follow me."
"Where's the sound booth?" I asked, hearing my question broadcast over the microphones.
Jake chuckled and reached over to turn them off. "Other side. It's where I met that woman. And Cody? Your rep? She's something else."
"She?" Jaxon asked. "You sure about that, Jake?"
I answered before Jake could. "Very. Her name is Rhaven. She's also the one who decides who gets the sort of payouts Deviant Games is offering. And let me assure you, they have money to spend."
"So make sure you say 'ma'am' when talking to her," Ty told him. "She set this up. I think she's earned that much from us."
"True that," Wes said. "And I don't know about anyone else, but I want to get the hell out of here before everything blows up."
"Same," I agreed, pushing away from the table. But my eyes had already moved to Tanner.
Leaning against the wall casually, he wasn't trying to stand out. He wasn't speaking up for himself. He also wasn't refuting any of it. No, my boyfriend was simply peeking out from under the brim of his hat - and his eyes were on me.
Chapter 26
Sittingon the sidelines while the entire PBR - or so it felt - stood up for me was weird. It felt good, but not the sort I was used to. It also went against keeping my head down so Donald Merrill didn't decide to come after me.
But watching Cody in that press conference? Damn, she was amazing, and beautiful, andmine.Well, ours, but J.D. got to call her his rookie. I was her boyfriend. I was the man who got public credit for catching her. But that was part of the problem.
Something felt wrong. I couldn't quite put my finger on it, but I also couldn't ignore it. The whole ride back to the hotel, it was spinning in the back of my mind, daring me to ignore it. It felt like a taunt, like something I'd regret if I pushed it away. And yet, no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't quite get ahold of it either.
Maybe this was just that imposter syndrome thing I heard people complaining about? I didn't feel like I deserved the mess the riders were making. I also loved that they appreciated me enough to do it. I'd always thought these guys took me for granted, and now? Well, granted was definitelynotthe word I'd use for this feeling.
We were almost back when Cody's phone began to buzz. She twisted to pull it from her back pocket. I saw her brow crease in confusion, then she was swiping. A moment later, a smile broke out on her face.
"Hey, Rhaven wants to buy the three of us drinks in the hotel bar," she said. "You two good with that? Or should I tell her to find us at the bar where the guys are going?"
"Hotel," J.D. said from the back seat. "There was just enough guys wondering about her that I'm not sure we should drag her into that mess yet."
"But I do want to hear what Mr. Merrill said," I admitted.
Cody nodded and started typing. "Sounds like it's going to take her a minute. I'm going to carry my shit upstairs."
"Tanner, you go with her," J.D. said. "I'll get us a tab started."
So that was what we did. When we walked into the hotel, the bar was off to the right. J.D. headed that way, so I pulled Cody up against my side, then leaned in to kiss the top of her head. She flashed me a little smile but didn't say anything, yet it was nice.
Somewhere along the way, the three of us had fallen into this comfortable routine. Taking care of J.D. and Cody for a couple of weeks had only helped make it easier. We'd blown through the awkward phase because of it, mostly because it was hard to worry about who was kissing whom when someone gasped in pain.
When we reached our room, Cody took the chance to strip out of her shirt. The tank she had on under it was enough - and damned cute. She kept her shiny belt, left her hat, and put her hair up in a high ponytail on the back of her head. Like this, I knew she'd get carded, so I made sure she had her ID, then we headed back down.
The moment we were inside the elevator, she reached over to lace her fingers with mine. "You ok?" she asked.
I nodded. "Yeah."
"You look..." She made a face. "I don't know. Bothered, maybe?"
