AllFreeNovel
Share Us
"Socks," I told him.
"Right," Ty said. "Don't let me forget the chargers."
"And Tanner's phone," I reminded him.
"That's in my truck."
I just nodded. "Gotcha. And we're going to need something to carry this. You wanna empty a bag, or should I see if there's something else?"
"Probably a plastic bag out there."
That was what I'd been hoping for. So, after scanning the room again and trying to memorize all the stuff and where it was laying, I went back to the living room. Sure enough, the couch out here looked nothing like a bed. There wasn't a pillow, and I found no waiting blankets.
Curious, I moved to the closet. Maybe they'd put that mess up? Unlikely, since it looked like the three of them had torn this place half apart before they'd left this morning. Well, yesterday morning, since it was probably after midnight now. But no, the pillows and spare blanket in the closet were clearly untouched.
There was, however, a complimentary plastic bag with the Marriott logo on it. I grabbed that and made my way back.
"So," I tried, hoping I wasn't about to start a fight, "do you know the deal with these three?"
"J.D.'s her mentor," he said. "He takes care of her."
"And calls her his best friend." Yeah, I'd heard that line enough. "But Tanner's cool with that?"
"He says he can't stop Cody from being friends with him."
I nodded my head slowly. "Ty. Man, you know that's not why they're sharing a room. Hell, look at the shit you and Renato used to do."
Ty's hands paused. His jaw clenched. Slowly, the man pulled in a breath, and when his eyes met mine, there was no more patience in them.
"What thefuckare you wanting?" he asked.
"I'm just trying to help," I promised, lifting my hands and backing away, leaving the bag on the bed.
But that wasn't good enough. Ty simply lifted his chin, but the threat was written all over his face. "Yeah? What kind of help? Who you helping? Because last week you didn't give a damn about Cody being the first woman on the Tough Enough series. You wanted to avoid the drama, eh? Now you're all up in her shit, acting like you're trying to get some dirt to use against her?"
"No," I said. "I'm asking because this?" And I gestured around the room. "This isn't something she needs to have get out. Fuck, Ty. Austin tried to beat the shit out of her, and he's made it clear he's not going to stop until she's gone. I'm just doing my best to make sure the first woman able to keep up with us has a reason to ignore that and keep going."
"She's got a whole lot of reasons," he assured me. "She also doesn't need you making it worse."
"Oh, but that's not what I do," I promised.
So he threw down the charging cords in his hand and came around the bed at me. "No?" he asked. "What do you do, Jake?"
"I picked your ass up before anyone else saw," I told him. "I gave you a place to sleep. I made sure Cody knew where you were, too. I skipped the part about you being sloppy, stupid drunk. I just made sure no one would be looking for you if you didn't want to be found."
"And I'm not that fucking stupid," he growled.
So I stopped backing up and stepped up in his face. "Who do you think warned J.D. about the rumors?Allthe fucking rumors, Ty?"
"You?"
I nodded. "Now ask yourself why I know them."
"Why?"
Yeah, ok. So he wasn't going to work this out on his own. Fine. "Because the best way to stay ahead of the bullshit in the PBR is to know all the bullshit being thrown down. You? You don't have a fucking clue. I know J.D. talks to the bullfighters. I knew he'd get that rumor back to them so Tanner could cover his ass."
"About him being gay?"
