the draw for the most challenging bulls. The one he’d drawn would be a surprise to Lexie. She could only cross her fingers and hope for another great ride—or at least a safe one.
Lexie’s seat along the side gave her a view of the bucking chutes. Her pulse quickened as Shane walked out onto the raised platform and climbed down above the number three chute. Below him, through the barricade of legs and bodies that surrounded the chute, she glimpsed a flash of yellow hide—a huge bull, but not one she could readily name. She would have to wait for the announcement.
As Shane lowered himself onto the bull’s back and began the last-minute adjustments in the rope, the announcer’s voice blared, echoing against the roof of the arena. “Now for the last ride of the night. Coming out of chute number three, we have Shane Tully, ranked number fifteen, riding Train Wreck.”
Train Wreck!
Lexie’s throat closed off tight, stifling a scream. Train wreck was the bull whose stomping hooves had killed Jack.
Since Jack had fallen under the bull, Lexie knew that Train Wreck hadn’t been blamed. He’d been kept on the PRCA circuit, where Lexie had lost track of him. Now here he was, carrying memories that slammed into her like the flood from a dam burst. When had the bull been moved to the PBR circuit?
Shane had seen Jack die. He would have known about Train Wreck’s past. Why would he have agreed to ride him?
The questions went unanswered as the gate swung open.
* * *
Shane felt the raw power of bunching muscles as Train Wreck burst out of the chute. He’d agreed to ride the huge, rank bull in the hope of purging Lexie’s nightmares, conquering the demon that haunted her. Maybe it hadn’t been the best idea. But he wasn’t thinking about that now. He couldn’t think about anything but staying on the bull and getting a good score.
Train Wreck was a kicker. He turned like a carousel, with those massive hindquarters going up so high that his body was almost vertical, then plunging down with the bone-jarring force of an 1,800-pound boulder dropping to Earth. Shane gripped the tough hide with his spurs, keeping his free arm high as he struggled to match the bull’s weight shifts with his own. The seconds crawled past. He was barely aware of them until he heard the blast of the eight-second whistle and the sound of cheering.
With Train Wreck still bucking like fury, he lowered his arm, freed his gloved hand from the rope handle, and pushed off, springing to the right. The dismount would have been perfect if his spur hadn’t tangled in the rope.
Weighted by the metal bell, the rope dropped off the bull. But the split-second delay pulled Shane off-balance, causing him to land on his side. With the bullfighters closing in, Train Wreck suddenly changed directions. As Shane rolled, trying to protect his face and chest, the rear hooves came crashing down onto his body.
He heard a scream inside his head—then nothing.
* * *
As the roper herded the bull through the gate, the bullfighters and medical staff swarmed over Shane’s inert body. Lexie fought her way through the departing crowed, pushing and shoving, pleading to be let through. By the time she made it down to the chutes, Shane was gone. The fading wail of a siren told her he was on his way to the hospital.
Trembling and alone at the edge of the arena, she stood in the spot where he’d gone down. She could see the slight hollow where his body had lain, the prints where Train Wreck’s hooves had gouged the dirt, and the sneaker tracks of the bullfighters and medics.
First Jack, then Corey, and now Shane.
She wanted to scream, cry, and fling herself onto the ground. But that wouldn’t do any good. Right now what she needed was to get to Shane. But how? She was surrounded by strangers. She didn’t know the way to the hospital. Even if she did, the cabs would be busy, and she’d left the truck key in her duffel, in the hotel room.
“Come on.” A powerful hand seized her arm from behind. “I’ve got a car. I’ll get you to the hospital.”
For an instant, Lexie thought she’d imagined the deep voice. But as she turned and looked up, she realized that Brock Tolman was propelling her toward the exit.
Keeping a grip on her, he bulldozed his way through the crowd and out the rear doors to