by A. G. Henley
“You got this,” I whispered. Connor leaned forward, watching.
As Veena headed back up the left wall, I held my breath. Body forward, she launched into the air, and did . . . something. I wasn’t sure what. I clapped, but Connor muttered and settled back on his heels.
“That wasn’t it, was it?” I asked. Veena’s tricks were so complicated and quick, I wasn’t ever sure what I saw.
“No. That was a cab triple cork.”
“Will she win with it?”
“She should. It’s a sick hit, and she landed it well. It was a solid run.”
He sounded a little disappointed, and I guessed Veena would be, too, but the crowd seemed happy enough—they roared when she stopped at the bottom of the pipe. She unstrapped her board and waved. A minute or two later, the announcer gave her scores. Veena stayed in first place.
A couple of other riders ran out to hug her at the bottom, and up top, Nate pumped his fist in the air. I hooted, and Connor and I spontaneously hugged.
I stiffened, hoping Cooley had his eye on Veena and not me. But a bigger part of me wished there wasn’t so much waterproof material between Connor and me. As he pulled back, one of his hands brushed the bandage on the back of my head, hidden by my hat. I bit my lip and winced.
Confusion rolled across his face. “Did I hurt you?”
“I hit my head yesterday, but I’m all right.” Down below, Veena was on the move. “I’ve got to get down there.”
“Want to ride?”
I glanced at the steep hill beside the pipe. “On a board? No thanks.”
“Not on boards.” He jerked his thumb at a shiny black snowmobile sporting an orange flag near the ski patrol hut. “On this.”
Now he was talking. “Can I drive?”
“Have you before?”
I shook my head.
“I’ll teach you, then.”
Me driving was probably totally against the resort rules, but he got brownie points for not pointing that out. I straddled the machine and grabbed the handlebar. He sat behind me, his chest against my back and hands next to mine. He seemed at ease, but my pulse was skipping erratically. Why was my body reacting like this when I wasn’t even sure the guy could be trusted? Um, obviously, it didn’t care.
Connor spoke in my ear, making me shiver. “Okay, turn the key to start it up, squeeze the throttle on the right with your thumb to give it some juice, and pull the lever on the left to brake.”
The engine thrummed. I tugged the throttle too much, and we shot forward, sending Connor’s face into the back of my head. We both yelped with pain. I activated the brake and turned. He was touching his mouth with his glove.
“I’m so sorry. Are you okay?” I asked.
“Knocked out a few teeth. No big deal.” His voice was muffled.
“Seriously, are you bleeding?”
He pulled his hand away. His lips were red and—damn it—inviting. But not cut.
“You didn’t hurt me that bad,” he said.
“I could if I wanted to.” A teasing tone had crept into my voice. Nic, what are you doing?
His arm came back around me, and his voice turned gravelly. “I’ll bet you could.”
With fire licking my veins, I turned forward again, determined to focus. I gently touched the throttle, and we eased forward. But I was hyper-aware of every place Connor’s body touched mine. I gave up fighting my attraction to him and enjoyed the feeling of his arms wrapped around me while it lasted.
“Stay to the right on the way down.” His voice was still rougher, I noticed with satisfaction. “And, um, yield to pedestrians.” His breath sounded quicker, too.
Operating the snowmobile was easy once I got the hang of the controls. And fun. I wished I could see how fast it could go, but too many people wandered around the perimeter of the pipe.
At the bottom, a group of reporters surrounded Veena. She held Sona with the bottom of her board turned toward the cameras so the Burton logo showed. Gotta keep your sponsors happy like Newman said.
I stopped a safe distance away and turned the engine off. Connor helped me up, and we joined the throng. Cooley and a couple of others from my team stood nearby, their eyes moving from the reporters to the fans waiting to get selfies and autographs to the crowd watching the contest wrap up. Mr. and Ms. Venkatesan, elegant in sleek ski jackets, listened to Veena answer questions with proud smiles.
A few feet away, outside Veena’s circle, I spotted a familiar red jacket: Darya, with a rare happy expression. Huh. Was she that excited to take third?
Veena finished saying how she felt about her win, and a reporter jumped in with a question. A scruffy cameraman behind him wore an ESPN coat.
“Congratulations on your win, Veena,” the reporter said. “Looks like you’re headed to the Games in Laax on top.”
Her smile widened. “Yeah, I guess so.”
“Can you tell us if there’s any truth to the rumor that you were almost abducted yesterday? And that you have a bodyguard protecting you at all times? Are you in danger, Veena?”
Her eyes flew, panicked, from her parents to me. “I . . . um . . . I don’t…” She didn’t need to confirm it. The truth was all over her face.
My gaze ripped across the crowd to Darya. She smiled defiantly back. My hands curled into fists. I had no idea how she’d found out about it, but she’d clearly told the media about the kidnapping attempt.
The Venkatesans looked ready to rush in and rescue Veena, and Cooley took a step toward her, too, but hesitated. Being on camera was a bad idea in our line of work. I wanted to get Veena out of there myself, but someone beat us all to it.
Nate pushed through the group and put an arm around Veena’s shoulders. “That’s enough for now. VV’s had a big day, and she’s going to celebrate her win. Thanks for the support, everyone.”
Nate pulled Veena past the reporter, whose cameraman never took his lens off of her shocked face. I threw a hurried goodbye at Connor and rushed to Veena’s side, where her parents joined us.
Her father hugged her. “I’m sorry, sweetu. I don’t know how they found out.”
“It was bound to get out. I just wasn’t expecting questions about it right then.” Veena’s voice was calm, but her excited smile was long gone. “Thanks for the rescue, Nate.”
“Least I could do,” he said. “Enjoy a night off with your folks. You earned it.” He fist-bumped her and took off.
“Do you want to come back to our room and order in dinner?” her mom asked. “I brought treats, rava laddu I made for you at home.”
“Thanks so much, Mom, but I’m pretty tired. I think I’ll get some sleep. When do you leave tomorrow? Let’s have breakfast.”
Ms. Venkatesan looked disappointed but agreed.
Veena put her arms around her parents. “I love you guys. Thank you for being here. And for letting me stay.”
“We love you, too, anbe,” her father said. “We are so proud of you.”
I hung back until Veena broke their embrace.
“Ready, Nic?” Tears shone in her eyes.
We trudged toward the hotel with Cooley and a few guys from his team following at a distance.
“You did great,” I said.
“Thanks. I was feeling pretty good about it.” She glanced at me. “But now, when the media talks about me, instead of an Olympic champ, I’ll be an Olympic-sized victim.”
I wished I could say it wasn’t true, but she was probably right. A story this big wasn’t going to die quickly, if ever.
Bart drove us back to VMA the next afternoon, while Cooley and his team followed close behind in their van. Kovitch was already in Vail, catching some sleep before the night shift.
Veena hadn’t slept well. She tossed and turned all night from what I could tell. She seemed happier after breakfast with her parents, during which I sat at a nearby table to give them privacy, but now she stared moodily out of the car window at the mountains, chin in hand. She wasn’t even listening to music.
&
nbsp; I texted Mom to tell her I missed her. After seeing Veena with her parents, I felt guilty for not calling more often. She didn’t respond, but she was at work.
Connor texted while I had my phone out. Lesson later? Or dinner?
Dinner? The possibilities were delicious.
I didn’t know what to make of the sweet and sexy ski patroller. I was equal parts suspicious of him and attracted to him. He seemed like a good guy, and someone I wanted to get to know better. But even if he turned out to be my soulmate, we were all leaving for the Olympics in two weeks, and after that, this job would be over. What was the point of letting myself feel anything for him?
Veena was another story. She was a client; I hadn’t expected to feel anything about her other than a sense of obligation. But she’d become like a younger sister. Despite our professional relationship, she had my back as much as I had hers. I wasn’t so sure about Connor. Something was off about him. Like I knew in my gut that something was off with Darya.
I’d told myself to be cautious with Connor a half-dozen times—but I didn’t seem to be listening. Every time I saw him, I couldn’t wait for the next. Even now, my thumbs were ready to answer yes.
Veena glanced at his text and nudged me, her eyebrows dancing. She pulled out her phone and texted furiously. A minute later, I got her text.
Will you hook up with him?
Grateful she didn’t say anything in front of Bart, I texted back quickly.
No. None of your business.
She pouted, and I could tell I’d hear about it later. I shoved my phone back in my pocket, cutting off any more questions.
Bart pulled off the interstate and followed the narrow, winding streets to VMA. The mountain looked busier than usual for a weekday. I’d heard that fresh powder brought on bouts of calling in sick at work around the Denver area.
We turned into the school, and Veena cursed vegetables. I followed her gaze to a TV truck parked out front.
“I’ll take you around to the back entrance,” Bart said. He used the car’s voice command system to text Cooley where to meet us. Then he caught my eye in the rearview mirror. “The chief wants to see you later.”
So much for dinner with Connor.
With a small storm cloud gathering over her head, Veena grabbed her backpack and shoved her water bottle into the mesh side pocket. I hustled her inside. Cooley and two others from his team stayed close. Once I checked out her room, Veena disappeared into the bathroom. She didn’t come out for fifteen minutes, and when she did, her eyes were red-rimmed.
The camera crew left when Muth asked them to, but at dinner I heard TV crew and threats whispered from student to student, their eyes on Veena. They stared at me, too, and I got the sense that, if they’d ever believed it to begin with, they’d put two and two together that I wasn’t some rich kid there to learn to ski.
“Screw ’em,” Ali said at dinner while munching on green beans like they were french fries. These kids might dress sloppy, but they ate clean.
“Yeah, ignore it, VV,” Gage said.
Veena barely looked up, and her friends exchanged looks.
“At least we know it wasn’t Darya,” Ali said. “I had to sit next to her in the van for hours when we were stuck on Vail Pass.” Her voice was morose. She hadn’t had a great competition. She’d qualified for finals but bit it on the landing in her last run and finished sixth.
I glanced across the dining hall at Darya sitting at a table with Jake and some others who didn’t seem to include her.
I left Veena buried in books that evening to go see Brown. Kids stared at me as I walked through the lobby. In the span of twenty-four hours, the threats and attempted kidnapping became international news, given all the Olympic hype. The question was: would the kidnappers back off thanks to the extra press? Or double down?
“We need to talk about Switzerland,” Brown said as I sat in my usual chair by the window. He rubbed his forehead repeatedly like he had a headache. A bottle of Advil sat on the kitchen counter. “The press involvement changes our plans.”
“How so?”
“Well, on the positive side, we might be able to get you into the Olympic Village now. The Olympic Committee had been insisting you stay in a local hotel, but thanks to the media, now they’re seeing what they can do.”
“Who’s going with us?” I didn’t want to think about how much the plane tickets to Europe alone would cost. Not to mention transportation, accommodations, meals, and salaries. You name it; the Venkatesans were paying for it.
“Bart, Ice, Owl, me, you, and two additional men for each shift. The clients will be there for the Games with their security crew, too. Unless they fire them first, like they should.”
That was still nine people on top of Veena and Nate’s expenses. I wondered if handing over the nanotechnology to the kidnappers might be cheaper.
“The Olympic Village has security we’ll need to coordinate with.” Brown pushed his smudged reader glasses up to his forehead and rubbed his eyes. “And all those athletes coming and going will complicate everything. I wish she’d stay at a hotel of our choosing.”
“She wants the full experience,” I said.
“She’s lucky she’s going at all.”
I eyed him. “You think she’s spoiled.”
“Hell yeah, she’s spoiled. That’s a given. I like the girl, but if I were her daddy, I’d have pulled the plug long before this. The Olympics come around every four years. She could go next time.”
“You’re probably right, but four years is a long time to wait when you’re sixteen. She wants to be the first Indian-American to medal in the Winter Games. It’s a big deal.”
His look was withering. “Yeah, I get that Green, and I sure as hell don’t need a lecture from you about it.” I flushed. He probably didn’t. “I’m just saying I wouldn’t let my daughter take things this far.”
I softened my voice. “But, Chief, this is Veena’s Olympics. She’s ready now. She could get hurt sometime over the next few years, and maybe she wouldn’t ever be able to compete.”
“Yeah, well, she could also get dead. Then what?”
I didn’t have an answer for that.
“Anyway, no one asked me for parenting advice, so we’ll do our jobs.” He woke up his laptop. “Here’s what we know about the suspects so far. The laundry truck was rented from a company in a nearby town. They used a fake company name and fake identification. The Escalade came from the airport in Denver, rented to the same company. Highway patrol finally found the car after the storm, abandoned and wiped clean, at a trailhead near Leadville. They probably stashed another vehicle there.”
“How much money do these guys have?” An operation like that couldn’t be cheap.
“The FBI suspects an international group. The IDs were high quality. The cybercrimes unit haven’t been able to trace the online threats yet. And you heard them speaking in another language.”
“Like maybe Belarusian.”
Brown rolled his eyes. “They mostly speak Russian in Belarus. Look, Darya might be involved, but our contacts at the State Department made it clear they aren’t diving any farther down that rabbit hole. Not until we have real proof. Which we don’t have, Green.”
“She’s involved, Chief.”
A vein pulsed in his temple. “Drop your obsession with that girl. We got bigger fish to fry.”
“What about the mystery man? Have you learned anything about him?”
“Nope.”
Then why did he look shifty? “Right. Some man from Vail, who’s always in the ski club, happened to be in Copper, noticed an abduction in progress, and gave chase with a weapon?”
“I don’t have the resources to investigate someone who, while a wild card, seems to be on our side, all right? Whoever he is, whatever he knows, so long as he stays out of our way and doesn’t endanger our principal, I’m good with him.”
“But—”
“You need to stay focused right now. Our best lead is your ident
ification of the men who grabbed Veena.”
“I didn’t see them. They wore balaclavas.”
“You heard them, and you saw more than anyone else. Every free minute, you’re gonna be listening to language audio samples and checking out mug shots from the FBI and INTERPOL.”
“Seriously?” I wanted to help, but that sounded like a giant time suck, and frankly, futile. How likely was I to find someone who I only knew had black hair, black eyes, and spoke a foreign language I’d only heard a little of?
He pushed his chair back hard. “Don’t even start with me. Get back to school. I’ll send a link to the files in the morning.”
Any thoughts of what I might do with my free time: keeping an eye on Darya, watching for the mystery man, perfecting my toe-side turn with Connor—or maybe even studying chemistry—were over. I would spend the next two weeks until we left for Switzerland in a close and personal relationship with my laptop and a pair of headphones. Ugh.
And Brown wasn’t kidding. Every time I thought about sneaking away for a workout or a lesson with Connor over the next two weeks, new files arrived.
Studying all those international criminals fascinated me at first, but after a while, they blurred together. The man I fought could have been almost any of them. I even had to look at blonds, redheads, and blue-eyed guys, because he could have colored his hair and worn contacts. At least I was pretty sure he wasn’t female.
Veena, on the other hand, spent every minute not in class, the dining hall, or bed in the halfpipe.
“She’s gonna kill herself,” Ali muttered one afternoon as Veena marched out to the slopes, Sona under her arm, Nate beside her. My principal was on a mission, but I couldn’t help noticing her hunched shoulders, bent back, and a slight limp from what sounded like a gnarly fall the afternoon before. Ali was right. We couldn’t leave for Switzerland too soon as far as Veena was concerned.
“How are you feeling about the Games?” I asked. Veena insisted Ali was better than her tenth place in the world ranking, that she had a shot at making the podium and medaling.
She made a noise. “Strung out, but I always am before big events. I get there, loosen up, and get my groove on.” She did a little spin move.