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That was another thing Cody needed to learn. These men were here to help us, not for us to suck up to. They were staff, paid by the PBR to make sure we could do what our sport required. Asking them to manage the bull wasn't being a dick. It was their damnedjob.
The next time I yanked at my handle, trying to get the rosin there as good as the stuff on the tail of my rope, Without Ado went up. Not just a bit, but all the fucking way. The sound of his hooves pawing at the steel gate was loud enough to be heard over even the music of Jake's ride. Welp, if he was gonna be pissy about this, then I'd get pissy back.
"Where's the rope?!" I snapped.
"Working on it," the chute attendant assured me.
"Cody, pull," I told her. "Cut this fucker in half."
I'd be damned if that tiny little woman didn't pull as hard as any man I'd ever seen. Sure, she used her legs more than her arms, but I didn't give no shits about that. She knew how to make her girly body work for her, and I liked that. Not just because I liked her body a whole lot, but because I liked how aware she was.
"More!" I snapped.
She gave it. Beneath me, the bull was now clattering his horns against the sides of the chute. When he tried to lift his head, he hit the rope the attendants had looped across there. It wasn't enough to do a damned thing to an animal of this size, but Without Ado didn't know that. He just knew there was something above him that he couldn't see.
Because of how long we'd been fucking with this, I reached for the tail of the rope and warmed that again. Two hard yanks was all it took. Next was the handle, and while this fucker tap-danced in place, he stayed down, just like I wanted.
I stepped down a rail, getting myself a little closer, then gestured for Cody to pass me the rope. Trying my best to keep the tension - she really had pulled this hard - I laid it over my palm, went around the back, then doubled it up in my hand. I wanted to getoutwith this bull. Not be locked in.
"Good!" I said and Cody immediately hopped back over. "How's time?"
"You're good to go," a man said from outside the gate.
So I dropped down, hitting this bull's back and locking my legs where I wanted in a single motion. Without Ado's head snapped up, and I knew I was in place, so I nodded. Immediately, the gate clanked as the latch released, and the arena was before us.
The fucker came out of the gate sideways, and somehow he still managed to catch air. I hooked my spurs into his sides, wishing they would do more than simply roll across him, and gripped as hard as I could with my fucked-up knees. When we landed, I felt the impact run from my tailbone all the way up the back of my neck.
Damn, but this bull was a force of nature. He certainly didn't stay still for long. Rearing, bucking, and twisting like some kind of Texas tornado, he did his dance right out in front of the chutes. I could see flashes of color, which meant I was real close to all those signs they hung off the gates. I also didn't care.
Nope, I was gonna make this happen. I had to. Someone had to ride this bull, and they all said I was the best of the best. If I couldn't do it, then he couldn't be ridden - and in the history of the PBR, there'd never been a bull that someone couldn't hang on to at least once.
Without Ado lunged, shoving me back. Then he kicked, trying to send me forward. When I didn't move, that just pissed him off real good. A spin to the right made me work for it, but just as I thought he was ready to settle in, this fucker pulled a dirty trick.
He dug into the dirt with his front feet, dropping his body out from under me. I almost recovered from that when he pushed back the other way, turning to the left and kicking his ass up at the same damned time. Fuck!
I felt myself slipping. I knew it was over, but damned if I was gonna give up. I had my girl back there watching. My man was right here, ready to catch me. I had people to fucking impress, damn it, so I would not go quietly into the dirt.
I pulled. I strained. Without Ado just flung himself at me even harder, and I had just enough time to see his horns coming right at my face.
The crash against the grill of my helmet was loud, ringing in my ears. The grunt of the animal's effort vibrated my legs, because my ass was now off his back. I wanted to push myself up, but I couldn't touch him with my free hand. I couldn't do a damned fucking thing - and that was when the bull plunged again.
One more time, I took those horns against the grill of my helmet, but this time the bull slipped out to the side, leaving me holding nothing. My arm jerked, all that rosin holding my hand into place, but I had that rope real loose. Opening my fingers a bit let it slip and then the ground hit me hard.
I groaned, trying hard to roll to my knees.
"Down!" someone screamed.
I didn't get the chance to listen. Something hard hit me in the side, and my entire fucking world spun. One more time, the ground crashed into me, sand spraying out in all directions. I caught a flash of purple, but the brown came next.
Something hit my side. Something slammed down on my leg. A split second later, I felt my helmet yanked hard, the snaps giving up just before the whole thing was wrenched off my head.
After that, there was nothing but pain.
Chapter21
The moment Jakewas out of the arena, the three of us moved in. J.D. had made sure we knew who he was riding, and Without Ado was no joke. That bull had a reputation for wrecking more riders than any other on the Tough Enough series tour. At one time, we'd even asked for him to be pulled, but he just scored too well.
So when J.D. came out of the chute, I was ready for the worst. Big and brown, Without Ado wasn't messing around. The beast came out of the gate in the air and moving sideways somehow. It was like he'd pushed off the back wall of the chute!
