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I nodded. The men around us bent to pick him up and I kept holding his hand, using my other to grab the railing and take a little of J.D.'s weight. Together, the group of us shuffled forward, heading for the gate that would get us the hell out of the arena.
"Tanner," Doc said, "make sure his arms don't hit anything."
"On it," I promised, confused about the order but willing to roll with it.
In the hall on the other side, the cameras were waiting. Someone pushed in, trying to get a shot of the man's broken body. One of the men shoved the lens away, not even slowing in the process, and the group of us kept going.
In Cheyenne, this would've been a hike, but here in Des Moines, Doc was able to get a spot nice and close. Straight to the back, then a right turn, and we were pushing through the metal door that closed off the sports medicine area.
Anthony was ready and waiting. The main room had been cleared out. The chairs for icing us down had all been pushed back. In the middle, there was a table and the lights overhead were nice and bright.
"Ok, get him out of his gear," Doc ordered. "And where's my fucking pain meds?!"
"Here," Anthony said, passing over a syringe. "No opiates."
"Good. Call the hospital, let them know we're sending in a rider. Possible internal bleeding. Definite broken or displaced ribs. Potential for a dislocated knee and maybe a broken leg. I don't even know what else. Send them his full medical records!"
"On it," Anthony promised.
But I was focused on J.D.'s glove. That had to come off. Removing the tape was one thing I could do. The scary part was that J.D. still hadn't moved. He was breathing. Thank God, he was still breathing, but this was bad.
The kind of bad that some men didn't walk away from.
Chapter22
I heldmy breath as J.D. came out of the chute, but when he hit the ground, I screamed. I wasn't the only one either. Around me, most of the guys groaned, but mine was more fear. I'd heard the rumors about this bull, and right before my eyes, they were all playing out.
Without Ado tore into J.D. like a monster. When J.D.'s helmet flew to the side, I yelped again. I couldn't figure out how to help - and J.D. wasn't getting up! He wasn't trying to make a run for it. Worse, he wasn't moving at all.
"J.D.!" I screamed, wanting to go over the chute and into the arena.
I barely managed to grab the bar before me when a set of strong arms closed around my waist. Lifting and pulling, he guided me back, adding enough muscle to lift my feet from the ground. I didn't even care. My mind was stuck on J.D.
I saw as Tanner got the bull off him. I watched as my boyfriend ran, that beast right on his ass. I screamed for him too, but he was still moving. J.D. wasn't. The fact that Jorge and Isaac had let Tanner handle the bull alone said more than I wanted to really consider.
They were a team. Those three worked as a pack. Where one went, the other two would follow, but not this time. Isaac was at J.D.'s head. Jorge was by his side, blocking my view. But when I saw J.D.'s gloved hand lift up, I felt like I could breathe again.
Jorge took it, gripping J.D.'s hand for support as the sports medicine team rushed in. With the bull safely out of the way, they could finally get to work, but that was when the screaming started.
There were no words, just pain. I'd never heard a man cry out like that, and I never wanted to hear it again. The sound brought tears to my eyes, because I knew how tough J.D. was. He limped around all the time. He took hits that would make most of us bawl like babies. No matter what, he just kept going - so hearing his pain proved how bad it had to be.
I pushed, wanting to go check on him, but those arms around my waist were rock solid. Slapping at them, I knew I needed to get free, but this guy wasn't budging.
"I need to be over there!" I wailed.
It was Ty who answered, proving he was the man holding me. "Cody, you don't. You'll just get in the way and start rumors Tanner doesn't need."
That was enough to make me stop struggling. Slowly, I looked back. Ty was right there, pressed up against my back and looking like he wasn't ready to go anywhere.
"Can't you hear him?" I begged.
"Let sports medicine do their thing," he told me.
"But..."
Ty relaxed his grip enough for me to turn, but his arms around me didn't feel sweet or romantic at all. They felt like a barrier, ready to grip again if I tried to run.
"This is why we have a doctor on staff," he said soothingly. "You can't help him, Cody, but Doc can. What you need to worry about is all the rest."
