"And everyone's leaving," Jake said. "Guys, most of these riders are headed home for a week. Well, the ones on this continent, at least."
"Most of us Brazilians have a rental here," Renato said. "Makes the visas easier, so they're probably headed home too."
"But will they come back?" I asked. "If you tell them they won't be riding next weekend, will they even show up? I mean, I wouldn't if it wasn't for J.D. dragging me around and Codyconvincing me it's a good idea. And if the riders don't register, won't new rookies be pulled up to replace them?"
"Which is why," Jake said, "we need to convince them to come back."
"How?" Rhaven asked.
Ty looked over at her. "We need our wolf pack back."
She dipped her head, showing she heard. "Ok. That's obvious. But how do you get the riders back to make sure that happens? What do bull riders want, Mr. McBride?"
"Ty," he corrected. "And we want money. That's the whole reason we do this. Sure, the fame is nice, but the money is why every rider gets into it. Most of us don't have another option. We come from small towns, didn't get the chance to go to college - or are trying to find a way to pay for it. This? It's the NFL draft for the poor farm boys who had to bring in the herd, so they couldn't make football practice."
"What we need," Renato said, "is something to rally around."
Which made Rhaven tap her fingers on the tabletop. "Deviant wants to sponsor at least four more riders. Atleast. Chance noticed the boot company, and he wants to make sure our voodoo doll is on as many vests as we can fit it. With that said, we also want a few more like Cody. People willing to wear our logo in full size."
"That's money talking," Jake agreed.
"Yeah," Rhaven said, "but what we're looking for aren't the best riders. It's the bravest. The ones who fight when it's hard. The ones who stand up for others. The ones willing to be Deviants because they think it's the right thing to do, and we don't give a shit if they're on the back of a bull or not. We care about whether they're making a scene."
"Like boycotting," Cody said.
Jake chuckled. "Well, that's a good way to get the rookies back. So what about the veterans?"
"Cody got one hell of an amazing stuffed animal," J.D. said. "Little pink and black voodoo doll on the back of a black bull. Has a little pink braid, is about this big..." He held up his hands to show the size of a standard teddy bear. "I mean, I want one."
Jake ran his tongue over his teeth behind his lips. "I also know Austin's losing sponsors. That means they are probably going to be shopping."
"You did say it was about money," I told Ty. "Make it clear there's money to be had, and I bet the rest will come back. Shit, I fucking hope they do."
"They will for you, Tanner," Ty said.
But that made me grimace as the weird feeling hit again. This time, however, I finally knew why something wasn't sitting right.
Chapter 27
I lookedfrom Renato to Jake, across Ty, then over to J.D. "I think we have a problem."
That made Cody sit up. "Why? What's wrong, Tanner?"
J.D. just slid his hand across his mouth. "Yeah, I'm not seeing it either."
"These men are throwing their rides," I said. "For me, J.D. Because they think I got screwed."
"You did," Ty said.
I turned to glare at him. "Like fuck I did. No, I'm not gay." And I felt my entire body still as the truth hit me hard.
The only way I could explain this was to lay it all out there. Still, Ty knew, so there was a good chance Renato did as well. Jake knew, because J.D. said he'd told him. That meant this wasn't a big deal, but in order to make them understand, I still had tosayit.
And that wasn't as easy as I'd hoped.
"I'm not gay," I repeated, but softer this time. "I'm bi, and these men are standing up for me because they think I'mstraight."
"Not as much as you think," Renato told me. "We've all made it clear that who you fuck doesn't matter."
