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Yep, that had my complete attention. "Did they send her to the hospital?"
"Anthony said no."
So I reached for my phone, needing to see if I had any chance of getting some news. J.D. was out for the weekend, but would he have his phone with him? It was worth a shot, if nothing else. Whipping off a text to him, I waited.
A moment later, I got a reply, but it wasn't from J.D. And while it was filled with typos, I was ok with that.
Cody:
ledt arm fkd. ridikn tommrow.
I felt a smile touch my lips. "She's riding tomorrow," I told Jake.
"Not with that arm she isn't," he said.
So I turned my phone to him. "Pretty sure she is."
His eyes scanned the text, narrowed, and then he shook his head. "Does that girl not know how to spell?"
"Gonna guess she's trying to do it one-handed," I pointed out. "Holding and typing. That, or she's stoned. If she's with J.D., that's a real possibility."
"Gonna tell me the deal with them yet?" Jake pressed.
I leaned into his face. "The man is her best friend."
"Tends to be what we men say when we fall in love with a woman," Jake pointed out.
Shit. He had a point. I was pretty damned sure he was even right, so all I could do was sigh. "Does it matter? Tanner's good with it."
"Don't matter to me," Jake promised. "It's just that Austin's saying shit again. This time he's saying it on camera, Ty. Tanner's with Cody, Austin's calling him gay, and J.D. is much too close with that girl." He reached out and clasped my arm. "This is bad. This is real fucking bad, and I have this feeling you know the real story."
"And if I do?" I asked, refusing to give him anything.
"Three people in that room," he said, lowering his voice so no one else could possibly hear. "One bed. No one was on the couch. Something's going on, it's going to come out, and they need to be braced for it. That's all I'm saying."
"And if the story is Tanner really is as gay as Austin's saying?" I asked. "Or what if Cody's a lesbian and Tanner's her cover, hm? Or maybe it's just an orgy, or nothing at all? What then, Jake?"
"Then they still need some damned good friends on their side, and you? I think you want to be one."
"What about you?" I growled, pushing into him a little more. "What are you gonna do if you don't like something you hear? Because I promise Cody isn't any of your damned business!"
Jake just stood his ground, proving I didn't intimidate him at all. "I picked sides. Here's the thing with that, Ty. All of you have to deal with it. I picked sides for once, and the side I picked? It's theirs, because I think they just want to be left alone."
"Yeah," I agreed, "they kinda do."
"And that ain't gonna happen," Jake said. "So you make sure they're braced for it, because shit's gonna go down. Pretty sure your trick up there behind the chutes didn't help at all."
"Why?"
He huffed out a laugh. "Because the PBR is a machine, and it doesn't like losing. Just make sure it doesn't run over you in the process of it winning, ok?"
"Or them," I said. "Because I'm going to keep that girl safe, one way or another."
"Yeah, bad news," Jake said as he stepped back. "Heroes aren't usually safe. Gonna guess the same holds for heroines, and Cody's becoming one. Not sure you can keep her safe, but you might just be able to help her win. Just gotta pull your head out of your ass first."
"I'm fucking trying!" I shot back.
The man just grinned and turned, walking away from me like he'd been the one to get the last word. Fucker. I really wanted to hate him, but he was sure making it hard.
