“Natalia, talk to me.”
She raises a thumb. “I’m good.”
Relief hits me, but then everything goes sideways.
Bram should’ve continued toward the opposite side of the arena. Instead, he slows, turns, and looks back.
Fuck.
My stomach drops.
The bullfighter notices it too. He waves his arms, yells, and tries to get the animal’s attention. For a moment, it works. Then Bram chooses a different course. The bull pivots and heads straight toward Natalia.
“Move!” I hear myself yell.
She tries, but she’s still dazed and struggling to suck air back into her lungs. She attempts to stand, but she’s not moving fast enough as Bram closes the distance.
Thirty feet.
Twenty.
Ten.
There’s no time and no other options. Driven by instinct and adrenaline, I position myself between them. One second, I’m running; the next, I’m standing in front of a thousand-pound bull as Natalia finally gets her feet underneath her.
I shove her backward as Bram reaches us.
“Go!”
The bull spins faster than I expect. I see his hips rotate. See those back legs loading up. And then—
Wham.
Pain bursts across my chest. The impact feels like being hit by a truck. Everything fades away. The arena. The students. The noise. For one split second, there’s only white light and pain. Then I’m flying. My boots leave the ground. I hit the dirt hard enough to bounce. Air rushes out of my lungs.
I can’t breathe. Can’t think. Can’t move.
A second later, I’m staring up at the Wyoming sky, wondering why the hell the clouds look blurry.
Somewhere nearby, people are yelling. I hear Royce’s voice. I hear the bullfighter. I hear students screaming.
Bram is finally redirected away from us, and my lungs start working again.
Barely.
I suck in a careful breath. Then another. Every rib on the right side of my body protests.
Royce appears above me. “You okay, Ax?”
“Nope.”
He snorts. “Bet not.”
I roll onto one elbow, and pain slices through my chest.
“Just got my bell rung,” I choke out.
“Bell rung? That bull damn near stomped a hole through you.”
