KILLER COMPETITION
A champion ski jumper, Nick Walsh wants one thing: to win the gold for his late brother. Nick has always blamed himself for his familys tragic lossand so does everyone else. To complicate things, sweet and shy reporter Julie Frost insists on doing a story about him. But as Nick gets closer to achieving his dream, someone will do anything to stop him. Somehow, Nick must keep Julie from getting too close as they confront a threat that can destroy them both. Julie and Nick are on the verge of discovering the truth about his brothers deathunless an unknown murderer finds them first.
You never married? Nick asked.
Julies gaze dropped to her hands. She fiddled with the pen. No. Never found the right guy.
Hed struck a nerve. Which made him more curious and stirred an ache in his chest he couldnt explain. Had someone hurt her? I remember in high school you didnt date.
Hed chickened out and hadnt asked her to homecoming their junior year. Of course that was before hed had his talk with Dad and realized falling in love, making a commitment, meant giving up on his dreams. Something he had no intention of ever allowing.
I didnt date in high school because no one asked, she said.
If you drop this whole interview thing, we could go on a date. It had been a while since hed dated anyone. Dating did not equal commitment.
You promised to tell me why you have a bodyguard, she said briskly. And why did you think the ambulance crash wasnt an accident?
So much for dating her. Someones trying to kill me.
TERRI REED
At an early age Terri Reed discovered the wonderful world of fiction and declared she would one day write a book. Now she is fulfilling that dream and enjoys writing for Love Inspired Books. Her second book, A Sheltering Love, was a 2006 RITA® Award finalist and a 2005 National Readers Choice Award finalist. Her book Strictly Confidential, book five in the Faith at the Crossroads continuity series, took third place in the 2007 American Christian Fiction Writers Book of the Year Award, and Her Christmas Protector took third place in 2008. She is an active member of both Romance Writers of America and American Christian Fiction Writers. She resides in the Pacific Northwest with her college-sweetheart husband, two wonderful children and an array of critters. When not writing, she enjoys spending time with her family and friends, gardening and playing with her dogs.
You can write to Terri at P.O. Box 19555, Portland, OR 97280. Visit her on the web at www.loveinspiredauthors.com, leave comments on her blog, www.ladiesofsuspense.blogspot.com, or email her at terrireed@sterling.net.
Treacherous Slopes
Terri Reed
www.millsandboon.co.uk
MILLS & BOON
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Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart.
Psalms 37:4
Thank you to my family for always believing in me, Leah Vale for keeping me from embarrassing myself, and my editors for all the support and encouragement.
Contents
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
DEAR READER
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION
EXCERPT
ONE
Welcome to this evenings segment of Northwest Edition. Im Julie Frost reporting to you live from the annual Festival of Snow in beautiful Bend, Oregon. Its a crisp Friday night and a perfect way to start the weekend. The festival is proud to host the U.S. Aerial Freestyle National Championship. Excitement is in the air.
Julie kept her gaze on the round, black lens of the handheld camera in front of her. The temperature had dipped below ten on this January evening. Though shed lived in central Oregon all her life, she couldnt remember it being this cold. Her smile felt frozen in place, like her toes. She should have worn thicker socks. Or boots made for the cold, not fashion. The station stylist had insisted the pink boots matching the pink ski suit completed the outfit. She felt like a big, pink lollipop. The price she paid to be on camera. She refrained from stomping her feet and settled for wiggling her freezing toes. It didnt help.
As you can see around me, quite a crowd has turned out for the festivities.
She paused as Bob, her cameraman, panned the area, giving their viewers at home a glimpse of what they were missing. The Festival of Snow was held across the Deschutes River from the Old Mill shopping center. The mill with its three towering smoke stacks had been converted into a popular sporting-goods store and provided the anchor to the center. On this side of the footbridge, along the river path, white tents and canopies gave local vendors and artisans warm, dry places to show off their wares while local eateries tempted festivalgoers with tasty treats. A live band played in the amphitheater opposite the wooden structure erected for the skiing competition.
Every year more and more tourists traveled to the mountain oasis to attend the annual festival celebrating the best of winter in Oregon.
When the lens focused back on her, she smiled and raised her voice. She hoped the viewing audience was able to hear her over the cheers of spectators waiting for the aerial freestyle skiers to take to the ramp.
Tonights competition is a precursor to the upcoming winter games. Athletes will compete for points as well as a cash purse of twenty thousand dollars. Points for each jump will be added to the skiers total season score. Names of the team members representing the U.S.A. at the winter Olympic games will be announced in one week. That will give the athletes two weeks to prepare before traveling to this years games host city, where they will represent the U.S.A. and compete for gold, silver and bronze.
Julies gaze slipped to Bob. He nodded encouragingly and made a rolling motion with one hand, letting her know to keep stalling as they waited for the first skier to take his jump.
Behind me is a specially constructed snow ramp known as a kicker. The skiers will perform two jumps consisting of single or multiple somersaults with or without twists. Each jump must vary by one somersault or one twist. Points are awarded for takeoff, form in the air, difficulty and landing.
Bob motioned with his hand, indicating the competition was starting.
Bubbles of excitement knocked against her ribs. Though she wasnt daring enough to ever try aerial freestyle skiing, she certainly enjoyed watching. It took a risk-taking, adrenaline-junkie personality to pursue a sport where you launched yourself off a fourteen-foot-tall ramp, performed flips and twists fifty feet above the ground, and then landed upright on a steep incline.
Unfortunately, Julie was drawn to that exact type of man. Drawn to and burned by them. Shed had her fill of men who lived life on the edge. Her ex-fiancé had been that sort of man. Only trouble was John Mateo hadnt limited his risky behavior to sports. Thankfully, shed found out before shed married him.
Never again would she allow herself to get swept into a relationship with an adrenaline junkie. Next time aroundif there was a next timeshe wanted stable and steady. Until then she would focus on her career.
Her first step had been convincing her boss at the television station to give her a shot at moving up from production assistant to on-camera personality. The second step had been successfully pitching the idea of a feature story on one of Bends local heroes, aerial freestyler Nick Walsh, to her boss. Hed said yes. Then shed contacted Nicks biggest sponsor, Thunderbird Ski Equipment and Apparel, figuring the best way to gain access to Nick would be through his sponsor. The head of the locally based sports company had enthusiastically embraced the idea and looked forward to the promotional aspects of the story. Now all she had to do was put together an excellent story and shed be given the promotion she craved.
To the camera she said, Hometown favorite Nick Walsh is taking his position.
When the camera swung away to zoom in on the tall, broad-shouldered skier readying himself at the top of the ramp, a flare of feminine awareness made a joke of her being career-focused. And worse yet, there was so much more to Nick than his good looks.
With a shake of her head, she reminded herself what the story was as the camera came back to focus on her. Early last year calamity struck the Walsh family when Cody Walsh, Nicks younger brother, had a horrible accident during a practice and died.
Her heart ached for the family. She remembered Cody as a sweet kid who worshipped his older brother.
The Walsh brothers were taking the aerial freestyle world by storm and were poised to vie for gold against each other as well as the worlds top aerialists. Many people speculated Nick wouldnt continue to compete when he dropped out of sight for several weeks after the tragedy. One of the topics she planned to cover later when she interviewed him.
However, Nick did return to compete and is leading in mens aerials. Recalling the phone conversation shed had with Nicks manager a few hours ago, she said, According to Nicks manager, Gordon Lewis, Nick will be performing a new trick for us tonight. One he hopes will take him all the way to gold in the biggest competition of his life!
A roar for the hometown favorite went up from the crowd. Even as a kid, Nicks one and only passion had been skiing. Hed had his eyes set on winning gold one day. This could be his year.
Bob pointed toward the ramp.
Julie turned to watch, stomping her feet to stay warm, her gaze riveted to the skier waiting to take off. Walsh wore the U.S. teams bright blue-and-red ski suit. Though she couldnt see his face, she had no trouble remembering his vivid blue eyes, thick dark hair and strong jawline.
Theyd grown up together, attended the same school and church all the way through to graduation. While shed been the geeky girl who sat in the front of class, hed been the one everybody gravitated to at the back. The guys tried to emulate him and failed; the girls vied for his attention and failed. Including her.
She doubted hed remember her at all.
* * *
Nick Walsh flexed his legs, readying his muscles. He took deep calming breaths. The crowds roar of expectation lifted on the chilly evening air. Floodlights illuminated the smooth ramp and pooled in a bright circle highlighting the landing track and outrun twenty feet below. A wiser man would resist the urge to scan the crowd for a glint of steel, the small black hole that would put him out of his misery once and for all.
But he wasnt wise.
However, he was definitely unnerved.
This morning hed received a menacing noteletters cut from a magazine to form three wordsTIME TO DIE.
After the failed attempt on his life a few months ago, it was little wonder he was edgy.
A flash of color snagged his gaze. A woman stood slightly apart from the rest of the onlookers. Dressed from head to toe in neon pink, she looked like a highlighter except for a long blond braid draped over one shoulder. He blinked and forced himself to focus, which took all his mental prowess considering the death threat looming in the shadows like a mountain lion that roamed the Cascades waiting for an opportune moment to pounce.
Tonight was about testing out a new trick. And moving closer to achieving his goal of medaling in the upcoming games. For Cody.
Nicks heart twisted in his chest.
He concentrated his energy into the moment, blocking out the noises of the spectators and the grief that stabbed at him with each breath. Blocking out the fact that he was back home in the place where his dreams of gold had been born. Blocking out the knowledge that his parents wouldnt be among the audience watching the competition. They still blamed him for Codys death.
His jaw clenched. He blamed himself.
Go!
Heart pumping with adrenaline, Nick pushed off. Pointing his skis down the inrun slope, he picked up speed. He needed to reach thirty miles per hour for optimum liftoff. He approached the kicker. He had to hit it just right to get the height required to perform the quad back, double twist. Wind whipped over his helmet, whistling through the facemask. Keeping his gaze focused upward, he lifted his arms overhead to elongate his body, increasing his rotational inertia by moving more of his weight away from his hips and allowing for more flipping power.