by Tasha Black
"Everyone saw you two fighting this morning," Tanya added. "He would be the first suspect."
"Especially after we report that we heard you arguing in here." The wheels were clearly turning in Sasha's head. She wasn't as vapid as Becca had suspected.
Becca wrenched herself suddenly and nearly slipped out of Pyotr's grasp but he caught her around her waist and hauled her back.
"How should I do it?" the big man asked, sounding unsure.
They weren't killers. They were just a bunch of bumbling figure skaters. Becca supposed everyone had to start somewhere.
"Put her on the bed," Sasha directed. "Use a pillow, in case she screams."
"I'm not sure about this," Tanya said.
"Shut up, you stupid cow. This is why you only win bronze."
Sasha moved to the door and looked through the peephole.
"All clear," she said. "Lay her down, sit on her chest."
"Sasha," Tanya protested.
"If you don't do this, I will poison you in your sleep."
Pyotr was already laying Becca on the bed. She fought like a tiger but he was so strong. When Tanya moved to help, Becca knew she had no chance to break free.
"Do it," Sasha ordered as she engaged the deadbolt and turned out the lights. "Quickly."
Pyotr grabbed a pillow and brought it down over Becca's face.
"Samir!" Becca screamed, but the sound was lost in the goose down pressing in on her.
Pyotr pushed down, hard.
Becca couldn't breathe.
She redoubled her struggle but somehow she knew it was hopeless. She was going to die at the hands of a bunch of figure skaters.
As the corners of her vision began to darken, she thought of Samir, and the blue twinkle of the yeti's eyes.
Chapter 19
Samir froze as Taylor fiddled with the tiny black box he'd just strapped to Samir's chest. The other snowboarders in the lounge gathered close as Taylor talked about resolution and compatibility.
Samir barely heard him.
Becca.
She was in trouble.
Becca.
Samir could feel her fear.
But where was she?
He could only think of one way to find her fast enough.
Go, he told the beast.
Samir broke through his gathered teammates and bolted into the hall. He let the beast come close to the surface and sniffed the air.
Nothing.
It wasn't good enough.
He glanced around. There was no one in the hall with him. He would have to risk it.
Samir let go of the reigns and let the beast take control.
In minutes, he was approaching the door to Christopher's room at breakneck speed. He didn't slow.
The deadbolt snapped like a twig as he plowed through the door and stumbled into the darkened room.
Becca lay on the bed, unmoving, under the weight of man who was about to be very sorry. The beast leapt across the room and tossed the man aside like a rag doll. His body hit the wall with a thump, then fell limply to the ground.
The beast turned to the two girls in the room. They would pay, too.
Samir came forward and tried to assert control, but the beast refused.
That had never happened before. If he didn't do something, the beast was going to kill these girls.
Becca.
At the thought of her, the beast turned back to the bed and Becca's small form, still motionless.
I need to help her.
The beast stepped back into the shadows and let Samir take control. He rushed to Becca and gathered her in his arms.
"Don't even think about going anywhere," he said to the two girls, who had begun to slink toward the door.
Becca's eyelids fluttered open at the sound of his voice.
Samir thought he had never been happier to see anything in his entire life.
Chapter 20
When Becca came to in Samir's arms, her first thought was that she had died.
This isn't so bad.
"Are you okay?" he asked, bringing her back to her senses.
Her head was throbbing, and her chest ached from where Pytor had sat on it.
"Yeah," she said. "I'm fine, now."
"What's going on here?"
"These crazy bitches were going to kill me because I found out about their dirty little secret." She gestured to the paraphernalia on the bed.
"Seriously?" He turned to face Sasha and Tanya. "You thought it was worth killing someone to avoid a suspension over this?"
Samir turned completely to face the bed again. He paused for a moment before turning back to the girls.
What was he doing?
"She made me do it," Tanya said, then buried her hands in her face.
"Doesn't matter," Samir said. "You're all going to jail."
"I don't think so," said Sasha. "If you say a word to anyone, we will tell them we got the stuff from her brother." She nodded at Becca. "It is all in his room. How do you think Mr. Squeaky Clean will deal with that?"
No.
Just the allegations would ruin Christopher. This was supposed to be his big chance.
"I think I've heard enough," Samir said. "Did you get all that, bro?"
What? Who was he talking to?
Taylor stepped in from the hall and held up his iPhone. He tapped the screen and a miniature Sasha began to repeat their conversation.
"Yep," Taylor said. "Full confession in 1080p, Dolby Surround Sound. Even in low light. I told you this thing was bitchin'." He tapped the little black box on Samir's chest. "Wait till you see it in action on the pipe."
Some kind of camera. Becca hadn't even noticed it. Thankfully, neither had Sasha.
Samir put a strong arm around Becca and led her out of the room.
"Police will probably want to talk to you," Taylor said.
"They know where to find us," Samir replied.
Chapter 21
A few hours later the craziness had died down.
The police had taken statements. The snowboarding team had checked on them. Christopher had dropped off a note of apology in the interim, but Becca didn't have the heart to go see him.
She was ready to curl up with Samir and rest.
Unfortunately, the huge box of fabric on the table in his room begged to differ.
"I hate to say it, Samir, but I have some gear to make."
"Thank goodness, because I need to work out. How long will you need?"
Becca smiled.
"I'd say this is going to be fifteen to twenty hours worth of work. Assuming I get it all right the first try. Which I won't."
Samir looked shocked.
"I can do it," she reassured him. "I need to get started tonight though."
"Okay," he said. "I'll help."
"Work out first, then help."
He nodded and took his shirt off.
Oh boy. She wasn't going to get anything done, she could see that already.
His pants were next.
Finally, clad in only his boxer briefs, he began doing push-ups. Becca lost count after thirty and turned to her work.
She didn't know who the agent had called, but the materials they sent were fantastic. Becca lost herself in the box of goodies. After she had explored each item, she hunted for the first piece.
She figured that the most important things were the helmet and jacket. If he had to wear his old pants it was fine. But the areas with the most hair needed the most camouflage.
Samir had moved on from push-ups to sit-ups. His abs were unbelievable. Becca could not imagine that any of the muscles on his torso could possibly exist under her own soft white curves. The dips and contours were shattering her concentration, so she reluctantly turned back to her work.
But when Samir set up a pull-up bar in the bathroom doorway, she had to turn and watch. Pull-ups had never seemed real to Becca. Though it had to be possible, she couldn't imagine how a body, especially a big one, like Samir's, could be leveraged
with just upper body strength.
Samir made it look easy and perfectly natural. He seemed to have just gotten into his groove when the phone rang.
Samir swung down and picked up.
"Hey, Allison!"
"My agent!" he mouthed to Becca.
"...What? No, we didn't. I will now," he said into the receiver.
He turned on the television and there on the news was a shaking video image of Samir cuddling Becca against his big body and walking her back toward his hotel room. The announcer was speaking.
"...snowboard champion, Samir Andrews there, having saved the career of figure skater, Christopher McCall and the life of McCall's sister, Rebecca, is seen here taking her away from the scene. Do we smell romance in the air? Rumor has it this is the second time today that Andrews has been seen defending and comforting Rebecca McCall. Could it be love? Tweet us your IW Games pictures to @sportsplanet #AndrewsMcCall..."
Samir switched off the set.
"No, someone must have sent it to the press anyway... Well, I can't stop them from sending pictures...NO...yes... That doesn't seem right... I don't want those fans...Yes, yes, I know..."
Samir was pulling at his hair and pacing. Something was wrong.
She tried to concentrate on cutting out fabric on her pattern.
Finally Samir hung up. He sat on the edge of the bed with his head in his hands.
Becca put down her shears and walked over to him. He didn't look up, so she knelt in front of him and caressed his arms.
"I don't know what's wrong, but if I can help, please tell me."
"You can't," he whispered.
Becca sat back on her heels, unsure of what to do.
Samir pulled his head out of his hands.
"Becca, you have to leave."
"Wh-why?"
"My agent says that if I act like you're my girlfriend Kandor will drop me."
"The dating app?"
"My sponsor for the Games."
Oh.
Becca's heart felt like it was folding in on itself. How dare she think that she could have something exciting happen to her?
She'd thought that she was happy with Samir – finally living her life like a normal person for a few days.
What a fool she had been. She wasn't in a normal relationship.
She looked at the scraps of fabric littering the floor. She'd been caught in the same sidekick role she was in with Christopher. So stupid!
And once again she was being tossed aside the minute that her presence was inconvenient.
"Becca, it's not because of me. I really...I really like you."
Becca had already pulled herself up numbly and was shoving things into her duffel bag.
"Can we talk about after the Games?" he asked.
Becca would have liked to answer but she buttoned her lip instead. If she started talking she was liable to keep talking. If she was going to play second fiddle she'd rather do it with her twin.
"You've got...a lot going on this week, Samir. Why don't you concentrate on not losing your sponsor ok?"
She zipped the case for her sewing machine. There was nothing left to pack.
She took one last look around the room where she'd spent so little time but built such big memories.
Then she walked out the door.
"Becca. Becca! Becca, wait!"
Samir followed her into the hallway.
Becca turned, but the lump in her throat threatened to choke her in tears. Instead of speaking she gave him a terrible look, and marched away.
A little father down the hall, someone snapped a pic of her on their phone.
There's your breakup shot. SportsPlanet was sure to love it.
Chapter 22
Christopher was worried about Becca. He was worried about her in spite of his awful qualifying round and his finals tomorrow.
Becca could be moody. She had always been the quiet one.
If she had come back to their room and curled up in the corner, hugging her knees to her chest like she had when they were kids, he would know how to help her. He could snuggle up to her and tell her jokes and trash talk whoever had made her feel that way, and she would come around.
But Becca was not curling up in the corner. She was answering Christopher's fan emails. She was putting liniments on his knee. She was straightening up the room.
But he knew her better than he knew himself. She was hurting inside.
"Becca, why don't you sit down for a minute, you're making me nervous."
She looked up and froze.
"Oh, sorry. I just don't know what to do with myself."
"Do you want to talk about it? I admit I haven't been a great listener but I'll do my best."
"I'm fine."
"You're not fine. I don't want to call Mom but I will if I have to."
A horrified look crossed his sister's face. He tried not to laugh, but failed. A little snort escaped.
Becca couldn't resist and she giggled too. Her familiar green eyes echoed their former sparkle.
"We've both had a pretty crummy week, haven't we?"
She nodded. Now he could see the tears brimming in her eyes.
"Did you really care about him, or was it just the idea of him?"
She looked surprised.
"I really care about him."
"I didn't care about Sasha or Tanya," Christopher admitted.
"But it still hurt your feelings."
It wasn't a question.
Christopher knew a lot of guys would have been fine with being used if it meant a threesome with girls that looked like Sasha and Tanya. His training schedule didn't allow him a lot of time to date. And there was this underlying assumption that guys who figure skate don't like girls.
"Actually, I started texting with Sasha before the Games. And... I thought something there. I know all guys are supposed to want a threesome, but if I'm being honest, when she showed up with Tanya I was a little disappointed."
Becca looked at him with a mixture of surprise and respect.
"Not that I was about to turn them away or anything. I'm only human." He raised his eyebrows at her.
She laughed, thank goodness.
"So, it didn't work out with you and the snowboarder. What do you want to do to get your mind off it for a while? Should we go out?"
"You know, I was working on a project when I was at Samir's place. I think I'd like to keep working on it."
That sounded about right.
"A drawing?"
"No - a snowboarding gear design. With or without Samir, I think it's really cool. And I'm going to finish it. For me."
She wore the happy look she always had when she was in the middle of a project.
Becca was back.
Chapter 23
The evening passed quietly. Christopher was being really nice. He helped her hold the fabric as she measured and cut.
After a while they put on the TV and watched IW Games coverage while they worked. Of course the doping scandal was all over the news. There was video of Sasha, Tanya and Pyotr being taken away in handcuffs. There was video of Samir spiriting Becca away.
"And there we see the red-headed twin sister of figure skater Christopher McCall being escorted away by snowboarder Samir Andrews. Andrews had a busy day. After rescuing this damsel in distress he put any rumors of a romantic connection to rest with this shot."
A pic of Becca walking away form Samir in the hallway flashed onto the screen. The look on her face was definitely worth a thousand words.
"Don't worry though, Samir didn't waste any time getting back on the scene. Here is a shot from this evening of the Gold medal hopeful in one of the athlete lounges, canoodling with British snowboarder Sindhu Patel. Looks like things are heating up outside of the half pipe for these two."
Becca froze at the picture of Samir feeding something to the black haired beauty. He was smiling at her happily and she was smiling back into his eyes.
Sindhu Patel was not only amazingly beautiful,
she was also known to be super cool. She was a team player, she volunteered for kids' charities. Everyone loved her – the athletes, the press, the sponsors. She had already been on a Wheaties box and rumor had it that Cover Girl was trying to get her to do a campaign. And she looked just right with Samir, both of them so tan and slim and glamorous.
Both of them so unlike pale, curvy Becca.
Christopher hopped up and turned the TV off.
"Let's go for a walk," he said.
"Your finals are tomorrow. You need to rest."
"Nope, we need to go for a walk. I'm going stir crazy in here, let's go."
She sighed and put down the helmet with the rest of the gear. She had worked faster than she thought was possible. This was the last piece. She should have it finished by tomorrow.
What was she going to do with it?
Right about now she wanted to knock on his door and set it on fire in front of his face. But it would be dreadful if he were in there with Sindhu.
Becca's stomach clenched and she blocked the thought from her head before the jealousy consumed her.
Yes, Christopher was right, a walk was a good idea.
They quietly put on jackets and boots and headed out. The frosty air felt good to Becca's lungs.
Christopher took her hand in his. They had often held hands in childhood when they were afraid or in a new place. It tugged at something in Becca.
Her brother was her first love – and for better or for worse - it was forever. She wasn't alone. She began to feel like she might find her footing again.
Just then she heard her brother gasp.
Samir and Sindhu stepped out of the nearest lounge. They were holding hands too. And they were accompanied by a laughing hoard of happy snowboarders.
They looked like royalty. Sindhu's shining black hair framed her cheekbones in an elegant way and she looked like she was dressed for a gala, even in jeans and a snowboarding t-shirt.
And Samir looked...well, he looked amazing, like he always did. His hair brushed the collar of his black leather jacket. The white t-shirt underneath was pulled tight as usual over his pecs.