Game For Love: Winter Heat (Kindle Worlds Novella) (5 page)

T
he day passed quickly
.

Samir had called his agent, who arranged to have fabric delivered by dinnertime.

Becca took Samir's measurements, they poured over the designs and took breaks to hang out with the other snowboarders.

Their crazy snowboarding language intrigued Becca. She didn't understand half of what they were talking about but she could have sipped hot cider and listened to them talk about shredding and stomping and whatnot all day.

What was clear was that although these athletes were clearly competitive and serious about what they did, there was a sense of camaraderie and delight in one another's accomplishments.

Samir sat in the center of a huge group of athletes from all over the world. She was tucked into his side and he rubbed her knuckles gently with his thumb as he regaled them all with funny stories of his many wipeouts. It was clear that he was a leader in his sport and more than that, that he was well liked. She had never seen Christopher so relaxed with his teammates – let alone with the skaters from other countries.

Thoughts of Christopher made her feel dreadful.

It must have been humiliating for him this morning. She was still angry but she was ready to let bygones be bygones. Christopher was her twin and it wasn't right to hold a grudge.

Hopefully he would feel the same.

She whispered in Samir's ear to let him know she was going out for a few minutes to check on her brother.

A fleeting concerned look flashed across his face.

"I'm coming too."

"No, no, I'll just be a minute. He's my brother – he might still be mad but he won't hurt me or anything."

She slid off the sofa of the lounge before he could stop her. When she reached the door she turned to give him a quick wave and a wink.

He winked back in a way that made her blush and want to make him come upstairs with her instead.

She dashed out the door before she could change her mind.

I
t was
a short walk back to Christopher's room, but it felt a million miles away.

When she arrived at the door, she knocked, but there was no answer. She nearly turned around to walk away, but just in case, she turned the knob.

The door swung open.

"Christopher?" she called. "It's me."

Her eyes went to the bed and she gasped in horror.

It was covered in syringes and vials.

Was her brother doping?

It seemed incredibly unlikely, but here was all the evidence and then some.

Becca didn't know much about doping, but she was pretty sure the paraphernalia on the bed was enough for quite a few athletes.

What the hell was she going to do?

Becca didn't realize she wasn't alone in the room until she felt a pair of hands tighten around her neck.

"You must be the sestra," said a deep voice with a thick Russian accent.

Becca couldn't speak.

"I-I was looking for my brother."

"He's not here right now."

"Who are you talking to, Pyotr?" said another voice, this one female.

He turned her around to face the speaker. It was Sasha, stepping out of the bathroom, accompanied, as usual, by the girl with the long neck.

Tasha? No, Tanya.

"Oh god - her again," Sasha said.

"Please," Becca whimpered. "Tell him to let me go."

"Becca McCall." Sasha shook her head. "I know you've seen what's on that bed. So I'm afraid I can't let you go."

"That's not Christopher's."

She knew as soon as the words were out that she should have said the opposite. But defending her brother was part of who she was.

"She's as stupid as he is," Sasha said.

"Why did you bring that stuff in here? Where's my brother?"

"Your brother is not here. And this stuff is in here because he let Sasha and me have his keycard," said Tanya. "We don't want to keep it in our room."

"You only slept with my brother to get his room card!"

"Well we didn't sleep with him for his skills in the bedroom!" Sasha chortled.

"What are we going to do with her?
"
Tanya asked.

"Well," Sasha said. "She knows what's going on now. We can't leave any witnesses."

Becca was trying not to panic. Her eyes went to the door.

"Do you want me to kill her?" Pyotr's words seared into the back of her neck.

Sasha thought for a moment.

"We'll have to make it look like an accident."

"You're not really going to kill me, are you? You know someone will find me and it will be obvious what happened."

"What?" Sasha asked. "You mean that you came back to the room and fought with your brother over this?" She gestured to the vials on the bed.

"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.

S
amir 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.

W
hen 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.

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.