He’d never been so scared of what Tony did for a living. Tony touched his hand and lifted his chin so they could look at each other.
“I have to do this, love.”
Brody wrapped his arms around Tony’s waist, burying his face against the bull rider’s neck. “I know. I’m sorry. Your job worries me, but I can usually deal with it. That bull fucking scares me to death, baby.”
Tony embraced him and held him tight. Those scarred calloused hands Brody loved so much smoothed up and down his back.
“I know you’re afraid and any person in their right mind would be of that bull. But I’m not.”
*
Brody jerked away, staring at him as if he’d just announced he was pregnant.
“You’re kidding, right?”
Tony grasped Brody’s shoulders. “No, I’m not kidding. Oh, I’m afraid. It’s the same fear I feel every time I get on a bull, but I can ride him. I’ve studied every tape I could find on him. I’ve talked to every cowboy who has ever been on his back. I knew it was only a matter of time before I drew him at an event.” Tony grinned. “I figured I would get him here for sure. He’s a championship round bull and I’m the leader going into the short go. Trust me. I can do it.”
He brushed a soft kiss over Brody’s mouth. “Believe me. I need to know you’re behind me.”
Brody kissed him back. “If you say you can do it, I trust you can.”
“Thank you.” He hugged his partner tight.
“Tony, they’re starting. We need to get back to our seats before Juan and Yancey come looking for us.” Les stuck his head around the corner.
“We’re coming.”
Thirty minutes later, Tony watched them run Tank’s Reward into the chute. The bull was big; one of the biggest on the tour. Pure black with horns two foot wide on each side of his head. Tony had watched all the tapes he could find on Tank and he knew how the bull used those horns as weapons.
A rope was threaded through the top rails. Tank had a tendency to rear in the chute, slamming riders into the metals gates around them. Tony dropped his rope on the right side of the bull. He saw that black hide twitch. The gate man hooked the end and pulled it under Tank’s stomach.
Tank tossed his head, almost catching one cowboy with a horn. Tony eased down on the bull’s back and gestured for one of the riders to start pulling his rope tight. Tank snorted as the bull felt the first pinch of the rigging around his stomach. Tony trusted the other men around the chute to save him if Tank decided to rear.
He wrapped the tail of his rope tight around his gloved hand. Folding his fingers over it, he tested his grip. It was as solid as he could get. He pushed his hat on tight, shooting a glance up into the seats where he knew his family sat. Brody was standing, his fists clenched and his face pale. Tony didn’t nod. He gave Brody a wink. Brody nodded back.
Tony looked back down and noticed Tank’s Reward had turned his head. The bull tilted his head in such a way, Tony could tell Tank was studying him. That black eye rimmed with white rolled. Rage burned in that gaze. A demon lived inside the bull and all Tank wanted was to destroy the creature trying to control him.
Tony understood fury because he’d lived with it for a long time. The same fury that made Tony the best bull rider in the world made Tank’s Reward the best bull in the world.
“Ladies and gentlemen, this is the ride we’ve been waiting for. Tony Romanos, first in the Finals standings and first in overall points, is matched against Tank’s Reward.
Tank has been out forty-three times and never been ridden. If you looked up the meaning of the word ‘rank’, you’d see a picture of this bull,” the announcer said. “All Romanos has to do is stay on for eight seconds, but that, folks, is easier said than done.”
Tony said a silent prayer and nodded. Tank’s Reward exploded from the chute.
Something tore in Tony’s shoulder. The pain was so overwhelming, he almost passed out.
He bit his lip and held on, even though he could feel his grip getting weaker. The bull bucked, trying to bring Tony down over his head. When that didn’t work, the beast reversed and started spinning, using the speed of the circles to drop Tony into the well where Tank could hook a horn into him.
Marty darted by, catching Tony’s eye. He heard the buzzer and reached for the tail of his rope. The one thing he didn’t want to do was hang up. That would cause more damage to his shoulder and he risked getting stomped by Tank’s Reward.
His hand came free and he started looking for a place to get off. Tony couldn’t feel his shoulder anymore. Fred raced past, getting the bull to flatten out and stop spinning long enough for Tony to bail.
His feet hit the dirt and Tony raced to the fence. He didn’t know where Tank’s Reward was, but he wasn’t going to look around. Scrambling up the metal railing one-armed, he felt a hot breeze brush past his legs. Glancing down, he saw the hindquarters of that black bull go by.
Tony searched the stands. Yancey and Juan were jumping and yelling. Les and Randy both grinned at him. He met Brody’s gaze. His lover’s face held worry, but pride and love shone in his eyes. A simple tip of the hat to Brody and he climbed down to the arena floor. The bullfighters came running up to him. One of them carried his rope. He reached out and fell to his knees.
Pain shot through his body. He held his arm with his good hand and groaned.
Blackness filled his vision.
Epilogue
One week later,
