Cowboys Don't Ride Unicorns

by Tara Lain

  Eldon.

  Danny hissed, “Get your hands off me, you goddamned motherfucking coward.”

  “Since when don’t you like having a man touch you, Sawyer?” Eldon’s breath smelled of cigarette smoke, whiskey, and sickness.

  “Since the day I was born, if the man was you, asshole.” Shit, Danny even hated the old man’s smell.

  The big dude in front of him looked above Danny’s head, nodded, and stepped in, fists firing. One caught the side of Danny’s chin, splitting his lip, and the other barely missed his balls.

  Blood flowed down his throat and black waves washed over his vision. “You gonna kill me now, Eldon? You missed last time. You think the PBRA won’t know who did it?”

  “Course they won’t. I’m not even on the roster this weekend. But maybe it’ll show them how little the fans appreciate flaming fags in their events.”

  “You sick fuck.”

  “You said it.”

  The big man started pounding again, and Danny’s body jerked and started to fold over Eldon’s arms. Shit, hurt worse than Scorpion—but not for too much longer. He had just enough time to die.

  A shriek like an animal split the air. Danny jumped and so did Eldon. The powerful arms relaxed just a tiny bit. Want to get away. But his body only wanted to fall.

  “Get the fuck off of him!” The voice pierced through the grunts and groans—the last from Danny.

  The arms and wire were ripped from around him. Eldon yelled, “Get off me!”

  Danny hit the floor on one knee.

  “Help! Help us! Help!” The screams kept coming, and Danny wiped blood from his eyes and looked up.

  Holy everlasting shit.

  Laurie clung to Eldon’s back like a monkey, his fist slamming some metal object like a rigging pulley into the side of Eldon’s head, and Eldon spun in a circle as if he’d taken lessons from Scorpion.

  The big dude started toward them. Oh no, asshole. Danny’s butt hit the ground and his foot flew up with as much force as he could muster, straight into the big man’s balls.

  The dude’s screams added to Laurie’s.

  Eldon managed to flip Laurie from his back, blood flooding down his face, and slammed Laurie against the wall.

  They said bulls saw red. Total lie. But Danny did. He sprang from the floor and came at Eldon, fists flying. Vaguely he heard footsteps, but he caught one slam of Eldon’s punch on the side of his head and gave back a left to the jaw. Eldon’s head snapped back, and Laurie reared up from the ground and smashed the metal pulley hard into his skull. Eldon collapsed just as two cowboys waded in and grabbed him.

  Harve’s voice came from the hall. “What the hell’s going on here? Somebody call the medics.”

  Danny tried to get up. Not happening. Everyplace hurt. Slapping a hand against the floor, he dragged himself the few feet to Laurie, though his shoulders screamed like someone had pounded spikes in them. He reached out to touch him. “Are you okay? Laurie, please.”

  Laurie had blood on his beautiful lip, his hair hung around his face in a tangle, and a bruise was swelling on his right cheekbone. He managed to nod.

  Danny gritted his teeth. “I’m gonna kill him.”

  Harve kneeled beside him. “Danny, what happened?”

  Danny nodded his head toward Eldon. “Th-that asshole’s my father. He decided it’d be a good idea to kill me tonight to teach the PBRA a lesson about diverse hiring.” Whoa. Spots in front of his eyes.

  Harve looked up. “Get the police too.” He stared at Laurie on the floor beside Danny. “Who’s this?”

  “A friend. Saved my life.”

  Laurie moved his legs with a little moan, and Harve pressed him down. “Don’t try to get up until the medics get here.” He seemed to really see how delicate-looking Laurie was. “That was very brave.”

  Laurie didn’t even open his eyes. Shit. Brave didn’t begin to describe it. He’s hurt because of me. Tears that hadn’t shown up while he was being beaten tried to seep from his eyes. How did he get here? Danny’s own magic unicorn flew in to keep him from dying.

  New voices echoed in the hall. Medics. Must be. Someone gently touched his back. “N-no. Laurie. Help Laurie.”

  The woman’s voice said, “No problem, cowboy. We’re way ahead of you.”

  Oh good. He let go and fell into oblivion.

  HE BLINKED.

  Why does blinking hurt?

  “Danny? Are you awake?”

  Okay, that voice he knew. Unicorn city. He giggled.

  “Are you really laughing? You about get your guts punched out and you laugh?”

  Hmm. Angry unicorn. He laughed again.

  “Good grief, did you hit your head? What’s wrong? Maybe it’s concussion?” Lots of rustling sounds and a few whimpers, then beeping screamed through the room.

  Shit! Danny tried to put his hands over his ears. One hurt like hell and the other—hurt like hell, but maybe a different hell.

  “Laurie Belmont, get back in that bed. You can’t be up until the doctor clears you.” Woman’s voice. Very bossy. Why is Laurie in bed?

  “He’s awake and he’s not making any sense. He’s giggling.”

  “He’s on painkillers. He has a very low tolerance, it seems. A tiny amount wiped him out.”

  Danny fluttered his eyes open. “Not wiped out. Where’s my unicorn?”

  The woman snorted. “I rest my case.” Someone hovered over the bed. “Go back to sleep, Danny. You’ll feel better tomorrow.”

  “Promise?”

  “Yes.”

  “Okay.” He closed his eyes and drifted off.

  LAURIE HEARD Danny’s breathing get deeper, then turn into a soft snore. He sighed. Hearing that sound from another bed didn’t fit his pictures. Of course, lying there with a split lip, bruises over most of his body, and a minor concussion instead of holding meetings with his clients and getting his business running wasn’t his idea of productivity either. Damn. He had responsibilities. One of them was the man in the next bed.

  The door opened, and a hunky policeman tapped on the doorframe as he walked in. FBI, actually. Big-time. “Can I come in?”

  “Where does the FBI go? Anywhere they want.” Laurie gave him a smirk.

  “Feeling snarky, are we?” Agent Julio Ramirez grinned at Laurie, pulled a chair beside the bed, and sat. He glanced toward Danny. “Still asleep?”

  Laurie wanted to say “Duh,” but he only felt comfortable with minisnark where the FBI was concerned. “He woke up a little, but they have him drugged so he wasn’t making much sense.”

  “How’re you feeling?”

  “Like someone threw me into a wall. I do need to get out of here, however. I just started a new business, and my clients will leave me if I’m gone too long.”

  Ramirez wrote in his notebook and gave Laurie a sideways glance. “Can’t imagine many folks wanting to leave you.”

  With zero warning, tears sprang to his eyes. Well, damn. Ramirez looked surprised, and Laurie waved a hand. “Sorry. Just a tender area. Thanks for your kind compliment.” He dragged the hand that wasn’t hooked up to something across his face.

  “Okay, tell me the story again.”

  “We did this, right?” Laurie pursed his lips.

  “Last time you were barely coherent and more worried about Boone over there than what you were saying.” He shook his head. “Is that really his name? Danny Boone?”

  “Ask him.”

  “I will. Talk.”

  He started reciting like he was reading a story for the fiftieth time. “Danny’s my friend. Danny loaned me some money to start my business. Then I found out that Danny needed the money, but I’d already used it. My father agreed to pay Danny back. I came to Las Vegas to tell him that. I waited in the corridor outside the arena, but he didn’t come out. I came back to find him and saw those two assholes beating up on him. I jumped on the one guy’s back. End of story.”

  “This was reported as a hate crime. Do you agree with that?”

>   “I certainly fucking do!”

  “Why?”

  Laurie huffed. “First, I know Danny’s father—aka the dude I jumped on—tried to kill Danny once before after Danny told him he was gay. But regardless, I heard the bastard telling Danny he planned to kill him to show the PBRA that fags weren’t welcome. And I heard the big dumb one calling Danny a fag. I’d call that hate, wouldn’t you?”

  “Are you gay, Mr. Belmont?”

  Laurie scowled. “I don’t think my sexual orientation is any business of the FBI, but it’s pretty freaking obvious.”

  “Hey, I never assume. Plus you brought down and half killed a trained bullfighter who outweighs you by seventy pounds. You could be 007 for all I know.” He grinned.

  Laurie swallowed. “Am I going to be prosecuted for attacking that SOB?”

  “No. The two men who came to your rescue saw what was happening, and the management of the PBRA has confirmed that Eldon Jones has a reputation for acting on his homophobia.”

  “I should have hit the bastard harder.”

  “I’m glad you didn’t. Manslaughter, even in defense of another, gets messy.” He slid his notebook into his pocket. “The doctor says you’ll be out of here by tonight. Will you be going straight back to San Francisco?”

  He glanced at Danny, still breathing deeply but not snoring. “Yes. I need to get home.”

  “I’ll probably have to call on you again to provide additional details or, at the very least, to testify.”

  “Okay. Will Danny get in trouble?”

  “Even less than you. He’s the victim, not the Tasmanian devil who came to his rescue.” Ramirez laughed and stood. “Thanks for your cooperation, Laurie. You have my card if you remember any other details.” Still chuckling, he left the room and pulled the door partway closed.

  Laurie leaned back to wait for the doctor—and tried not to think.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  “WHERE THE hell am I?” Danny yelled and sat straight up in bed, held by wires and even a tube that hurt, but not as much as his body. He looked around. Oh, hospital. White, noisy, empty bed beside him. Not his idea of a good time.

  The door opened, and in walked his complete idea of a good time.

  Laurie hurried over to him and pressed him gently on the shoulder. “Lie down and don’t hurt yourself more.”

  He did, gazing up at that beautiful face—complete with scab on the lip, big bruise on the cheekbone, and slightly puffy eyelid. Holy hell. Everything he needed to remember washed over him like a toxic cloud. “I’m going to kill him.”

  “Then you’ll have to go to jail to do it.”

  “They arrested him?”

  “Both of them. Your dad brought some other homophobic asshole with him. Hate crime. FBI and everything.”

  The cloud got warmer and fuzzier. “You saved me.”

  “I helped.”

  “No. No one else was there. They were going to kill me. You called—no, make that shrieked for help, and then—” He shook his head. Did it seriously happen? “—you jumped on Eldon and started beating on him.”

  “Like a Tasmanian devil, according to the FBI guy.”

  “Laurie, why are you here? I mean, sweet Jesus, I’ve never been so happy to see anyone, but being here nearly got you killed. Why did you come to the bull riding? You hate it.”

  He hopped onto the edge of the bed, and Danny scooched his legs a little to make more room. “Originally I wanted to stop you, but I couldn’t leave San Francisco in time. I got here Saturday morning and bought a ticket to the bull riding. I was trying to find you to tell you that I hope to have all your money back soon, so you don’t need to do this. You don’t need to ride bulls.” He looked down at his hands. They were red and bruised. “I mean, unless you want to.”

  “You could have called me.”

  “Yeah, right. That really would have stopped you.”

  “I’m sure glad you came.” He wiped a hand over his face. “Ouch.” Danny frowned. “You didn’t go back to that fucking company, did you?”

  “No.”

  “Good.” Danny swallowed a lump as big as Nevada. “Did you decide to go back to Grove?”

  “Double no.” Laurie smiled. “My dad’s going to sell his company, and he’s promised to give me the money in return for all I’ve given to them over the last two years. I don’t know an exact date, but he should have it soon.”

  “You need that money for the new company.”

  “No. I’m using the money you gave me, and it’s a lifesaver. But you need it back, and this is the best way to give it to you.” The swollen eyes widened. “Please, Danny. Take the money.”

  He nodded. It was actually a huge relief, not having to earn the rest on the back of a bull.

  “You look lighter.”

  Danny smiled. “Yeah. I guess so. Actually, with the money I earned this weekend, that will be enough for my down payment.”

  “Down payment?”

  “Oh, right. I never got to tell you. The man who lives on the next ranch over from Rand and Kai offered me ten acres. He’s only asking a quarter down, which is twenty thousand.” A bubble of happiness rose up his throat. “It means I can build my place a little at a time and still work for Rand. Then I can even partner with them—like an extension. Like—family.”

  Laurie smiled big—but somehow his eyes didn’t quite get the message. “That’s fantastic. I’m so happy for you.”

  “Thanks.” He forced down the rest of the enthusiastic litany that wanted to pour out.

  “So what if I drive you to San Francisco with me? The doctor says you shouldn’t be behind the wheel for a couple more days. I think my dad’ll have the money, and I can give it to you right there. Then I’ll take you back to Chico.”

  “My camper’s here.”

  “That guy from the bull riding company already offered to hire someone to drive it back for you. He’s been in a couple of times and seems really anxious to help.” He smirked. “Probably so you won’t sue his ass.”

  “Okay.”

  “Okay you’ll let me drive you?”

  Danny nodded. A couple of days in a car with Laurie? Hell, he’d take whatever he could get. “I should call Rand.” He looked on the side table for his phone.

  Laurie handed it to him. “I’ve been keeping it charged. I called Rand. He’s really worried, so it would be good to touch base.”

  “Okay.”

  Laurie smiled but still seemed sad. “I’ll see when the doctor’s going to release you.”

  “Is it okay for you to drive? You still look a little beat up.”

  “Sure. I’m hard to kill.” He slipped off the bed and walked from the room with that slight Laurie sashay of the hips. Danny gritted his teeth. Would an erection hurt as much as the rest of him did?

  He dialed the phone, and it was instantly answered. “How the hell are you?”

  Danny smiled. “Sore as crap but getting better. I’m supposed to be released today.”

  “I’ll come get you.”

  “Thanks, boss. But Laurie’s going to drive me. He, uh, needs to go to San Francisco first, and then he’ll bring me home. I’m sorry to have to take another day off.”

  Rand made a rude sound. “As if you’d be in working order today anyway. So, Laurie, huh?” The grin traveled all the way through the phone.

  “Yeah. He saved my life—literally. I’m pretty sure Eldon and his giant asshole friend would have killed me.”

  “Shit, Danny. I’m so sorry. Laurie said they locked the bastards up.”

  “For now. Who knows? I’ll probably have to come back to Nevada to testify or something.”

  “I didn’t know you were meeting Laurie in Vegas.” Interest colored his voice.

  “I didn’t know it either. Surprised the hell out of me—in a good way.” Oh shit, kind of don’t want to tell him. What are friends for? “Actually, I invested some money in Laurie’s company, and he came to tell me he can get the money back for me to use for the
land. I guess he was trying to stop me from bull riding. Instead he stopped me from dying.”

  “So that’s what happened to the money you saved.” Rand’s voice stayed neutral. He didn’t actually say “Dumbass,” but it was heavily implied.

  Danny shrugged, and it hurt. “I thought I wouldn’t need the money for a while, and Laurie was trying to get away from that crap job he had.” He didn’t mention Grove. “Anyway, that’s why he wants me to go to San Francisco. I guess his dad is giving him the money to pay me back.”

  “It’s a ten-hour drive to San Francisco. Want me to meet you off the freeway somewhere and take you home?”

  “Uh, no.”

  Quiet. “Danny, I really like Laurie, but—”

  “I know. He’s out of my league, from a different planet, not interested in a beat-up saddle tramp.”

  “I might not have chosen those exact words.”

  “I know. But—”

  “You want one last fling, right?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Don’t you think it’ll just make it harder to say good-bye?”

  He slowly released his breath. “Not sure it can get any harder.”

  “I’m in love. I understand. Call me if you need me.”

  “Thanks, Rand.” He clicked off and stared at the phone.

  Love.

  The door opened, and the doctor walked in.

  “WHERE DO your folks think you are?” Danny opened the bottle of iced tea and handed it to Laurie when he finished negotiating a left-hand turn. The old truck might be in good condition, but it took the bumps hard, and both he and Laurie winced when they hit one.

  Laurie took a drink and handed the bottle back across the bench seat. No cupholders. “I told my dad I was going to see you. I needed to borrow his truck. Who knows what he told Mama?”

  “So your father’s doing better?”

  “Yes.” Laurie smiled. “He said when he saw me leave Armisted, he realized he didn’t want to keep his company any longer. He’s miserable there. He’s selling to the guy who was trying to take over—the son of my dad’s former partner, who died two years ago. My mother really wanted Daddy to take over as CEO, so he tried it, but it’s not his nature. He’s a scientist, not a boss.”