Page 145 of Dust Storm

Christian didn’t even wobble. He just wrapped me up in his brawny arms and held me close.

My whole body was electric. It was like watching a horror movie—terrifying, but I couldn’t bear to look away.

The staging area filled up as it got closer and closer to Ray’s turn. Bree and Gracie sported evidence of funnel cake as they wiggled through to the front to watch.

Ray was the second to last rider of the night. With each change in the leaderboard, Bree did the calculation and updated us on what he needed to win.

“What’s my number, squirt?” Ray asked Bree over the partition as he smoothed down the medical tape on his wrist, slid on a glove, then taped it down again.

“Ninety-one point one.”

“How hard is that?” I whispered to Christian.

He grimaced, but tried not to show it. “Most scores land between eighty-five and ninety.”

Ray had been in the lead after the wildcard rounds, but the riders before him showed up to win.

I could hear Homewrecker stamping and kicking against the corral. He was already pissed. Ray zipped up the padded vest that protected his abdomen.

“Where’s your helmet, daredevil?” Nate shouted.

Ray grinned and adjusted his cowboy hat. “Helmets just mean you can have an open casket.” And with that, he put his mouthguard in and climbed down onto the back of the bull.

His team and the chute boss were clustered around him.

“Oh my god,” I whispered, clutching my hands to my chest.

Christian let out a sharp whistle and clapped over my head. “Let’s go, brother!”

Bree and Gracie were jumping up and down, screaming, “Go Uncle Ray!”

“He’s good, Cass,” Christian whispered, squeezing my shoulders. “Top of the circuit. He’s good.”

I wasn’t sure if he was trying to convince me or himself.

The gate swung wide and Homewrecker paused.Was that supposed to happen?

Realizing there was a way out, the bull jolted and nearly threw Ray off on his way out into the arena. The animal spun like a tornado, slamming forward and back with each buck. The platform under our feet shook with the intensity of it all.

Ray fought to hold on. He whipped around, sometimes going with the direction of the bull, and sometimes countering it tokeep his balance. Homewrecker jolted left, then stopped hard and whipped right.

My heart leaped into my throat.

The crowd went ballistic, and I looked at the timer.

Seven and a half seconds.

Screams and shouts grew deafening as it ticked closer to eight seconds.

A sudden change of direction caught Ray by surprise. Homewrecker stamped his hooves, soaring from front to back. Ray tilted the opposite direction to counter it, but the bull thrashed right again, flinging him off. Ray fell, but the bull was still going. A hoof collided with his stomach, mid-air.

Claire screamed as his head slammed into the dirt.

Men jumped into the ring to distract the bull and get him away.

My fingers trembled as I grabbed Christian’s hand. “Why isn’t he moving?”

All the other riders were quick to get up and jump the barrier to get out of the arena.

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