Darya was in one of the vans. I wouldn’t mind if she never made it to Copper. But the SSA team was a different story.
Bart glanced in the mirror, his blue eyes searching mine. Brown had gone to Copper early to arrange for advanced security, ensuring the hotel, hill, and other places Veena would go were safe and had exit routes planned in case of trouble. The rest of us—Cooley, Kovitch, and their teams—were behind that gate. We had no support.
My eyes widened, and Bart nodded slightly when he saw I understood. “Veena’s parents and their security team should be in Copper any time now.”
I heard the unspoken message in Bart’s words: Veena and her parents would still have protection. My gut unclenched slightly.
“My parents!” Veena’s thumbs slid over the screen of her phone. Thirty seconds later, a text came back. “The snow is lighter east of Copper. They should be there soon.”
I was grateful for Bart’s cool hand on the wheel. With the blinding snow whipping across the highway, we could drive right past the resort. Finally, a green highway sign poked through the storm. Bart steered slowly onto the exit ramp.
I couldn’t see the mountain, but at least I could make out the hotel when we pulled up.
“Room 411,” Bart said to me as Veena gathered her backpack. “Chief should be in the lobby with your key cards. I’ll get the bags.”
I escorted Veena inside. Even though the sidewalk had obviously been cleared sometime recently, our boots sunk into several new inches of snow. The lobby was cozy with a knotted-wood desk, upholstered couches and chairs, and plush area rugs in southwestern colors. A Western painting of cowboys chasing down cattle on horses, their lassos circling in the air, hung over the fireplace. An employee greeted us from behind the desk while a well-dressed man and woman sipped something hot from mugs on one of the couches. Seemed safe enough.
Brown stood beside the elevators on the far side. We moved his way, and he handed me the key. He lowered his voice. “Her parents are close.” He pushed the elevator button for us and walked away.
“Why don’t they speak to me?” Veena asked when Brown was out of earshot. “Bart didn’t say a word to me in the car.”
“Respect. You’re the princess.” I joked.
And what did that make me? Her handmaiden, I guessed. I didn’t mind.
She glanced at the mirrored door of the elevator and ran a hand through her mussed hair. “The princess is nervous.”
I kept an eye on the digital display above the door indicating the floors. “Understandable but you’re going to do great. You’ve been training like crazy.”
“Not the competition—the interviews.” She snapped her water bottle open and closed in rapid-fire mode.
“You were in People!”
She waved away my words. “That was a photo shoot. You know—smile like the blue-haired, nose-ringed, snowboarding Indian girl next door. These interviews will be more in-depth. They want to know about my life: my family, friends, boyfriends, even my skin care routine.” We raised eyebrows at each other. She had great skin, but often we were so tired at night that we didn’t even wash our faces. “Stuff I haven’t talked about before to total strangers. I don’t want to come off as a princess and be hated everywhere before the Olympics even start.”
“Veena, I don’t come from money. I don’t come from anything. But you haven’t treated me like I’m less than you. And from what Xene and my team said about the teenagers they’ve protected, that’s rare. I don’t think you have to worry about this.”
She frowned. “I’d never think of you as nothing, Nic.”
The elevator doors opened, and a laughing family of four spilled out in ski clothes. After a quick check inside, we walked in.
“That’s my point,” I said as the car rose. “You’ll come off great in those interviews because you’d never think of anyone as nothing—even Darya.”
Veena touched her mostly healed mouth, and her expression darkened.
I’d seen Darya on her cellphone in various corners of the school, speaking in a low voice to someone. I’d assumed it was family because she didn’t seem to have many friends, but who knew? Newman sometimes made a brave effort to talk to her, but he had to as the dean of students.
“At least she’s stuck up on Vail Pass right now,” I said. “I feel bad for Ali, though.”
“Me, too. And she feels pretty bad herself.” She showed me a chat with her friend on her phone screen with several lines of capitalized curse words. “They’re at the top of the pass, parked in a lot with only one working bathroom. The highway patrol made them wait there. If they’re lucky, a plow will be able to get through this afternoon and clear off the road.”
As the elevator opened, a mischievous look crossed Veena’s face. She whispered, “Connor’s staying here.”
“How do you know?”
She tipped her head toward the opening door. He stood outside in jeans, a white thermal shirt that showed off his tanned skin, and a smile.
When he was covered in ski clothes, I could ignore how handsome he was. Not so much now. My legs tingled. “Oh. Hi.”
“Hi, Connor,” Veena said as we walked out and he stepped in, passing close. He smelled like soap and olive oil. “Here, Nic, give me the key. I can find the room.”
Eyes still on him, I handed it to her, caught myself, and tried to grab it back. “No, I need to go with you.”
“I’ll find it. You can catch up.” She scurried off.
“Sorry, I need to go.” I followed her.
He put his hand on the door to keep it from closing. “If you have time this afternoon, want to get something to eat? Lots of places we can walk to.”
“I’ll text you. Veena, wait.” She’d gone around the corner already. She shouldn’t be alone—ever. Rushing into the perpendicular hallway, I smacked right into
