Destiny's Whisper (52 page)

“Well?” Hunter’s deep voice sent a thrill through Dani’s body.

“Dr. Chen’s wrapping her foot now. We should be out in about twenty minutes,” Chloe spoke slowly, ignoring the pain in her jaw at every movement.

Hunter simply nodded in acknowledgment.

“Tell Sergei, if he makes a mistake tonight, I will personally kick his butt. Tell him, if ever there was a time to skate the program of his life, this is it!”

Again, Hunter silently nodded.

Dani cast him a hint of a smile, turning to close the door, only to find Hunter’s broad hand holding it open.

“I’m sorry you’re not skating tonight. I know how much you wanted to.” Hunter stated deeply.

Dani’s shoulders lifted in a small shrug. “There will be other competitions for me.”

“What about Sergei and Chloe? Will there be other competitions for them too?”

Another small shrug and deep green eyes filled with uncertainty and sadness were his only answer, as she turned away and allowed the door to close silently behind her.

Chloe rose to her feet, her skates laced and secure, not even a hint of pain as she moved her taped foot experimentally as much as the tightly laced boot would allow.

“How’s it feel?” Dr. Chen asked, watching Chloe’s face for signs of stress or pain. “I want the truth.”

“Perfect. I don’t feel any pain at all,” Chloe answered in amazement.

“Really?” Dani asked.

“Really.”

“No pain at all?” Dani asked in disbelief.

“I’m telling you, my foot feels perfect. No shooting pains, no aches, not even any dull throbbing. I can’t believe this,” Chloe said.

“Don’t get ahead of yourself. It’s one thing to be standing and walking. It’s going to be something all together different when you land on that foot with all your body weight when you exit your throws or when you’re in the middle of a spiral,” Dr. Chen warned. “You may want to re-think your throws and jumps,” the doctor suggested.

“Dr. Chen’s right, until you try skating on it, you won’t have a real idea of how it will feel or if it will hold up,” Jordan offered, concern turning her eyes a dark green. “I think it would be an excellent idea to change everything to doubles.”

“You don’t win competitions with doubles,” Chloe stated determinedly. The three women surrounded her, all of them filled with hope that tonight would go off without a hitch and yet all filled with the knowledge that this could just as easily be the last time they saw her on the ice. As she looked into the faces of her supporters, a sense of calm washed over her and she knew fate wouldn’t be so cruel as to take her skating from her. A tiny voice, deep inside her heart, whispered encouragement, told her to reach for her dream, and promised all would be well.

With a shaky smile, Chloe held her arms outward, embracing the three women and whispered, “You’ve made my dream come true and for that I will never be able to repay you. I promise you, it won’t have been made in vain.”

Eyes filled with tears of hope, as the four women hugged each other, laughing and wiping away tears of joy and faith and they made a small circle, holding hands and saying a quick prayer. The loudspeaker announcing the final group of skaters had ten minutes until their warm up period had them catching their breaths, and casting apprehensive glances at one another.

“Okay, everyone, take a deep breath,” Jordan suggested, giving Chloe’s hands a final squeeze before she asked, “Ready to go win a gold medal?”

Jordan’s simple question and dazzling smile had her smiling in return. “I’ve been waiting my whole life for this, I’m more than ready!” Chloe murmured.

Jordan stepped aside, waving her hand in front of her, offering Chloe the lead. “Then don’t keep my son waiting any longer.”

Sergei stood waiting patiently for Chloe outside the private dressing room, assuming the same position Hunter had earlier held, and calmly chatted with his father and Hunter. When the loudspeaker announced the final group of skaters had ten minutes until their warm up period, the only sign Sergei offered was a perfect imitation of his father’s one eyebrow lifting in sardonic acknowledgment.

“Ready?” Aleksei asked his son quietly.

“I’ve always liked the way gold looks; very classy,” Sergei responded confidently.

Aleksei’s deep laugh echoed in the hallway. “Don’t be so shy, tell us how you really feel.”

The door to the ladies dressing room opened and Chloe stepped into the hall, her breath catching as she saw Sergei before, looking both dashing and more than a little dangerous. His snug fitting black pants hugged his long, muscular legs and showed his physique off to perfection. The billowing sleeves of his sapphire blue silk shirt hid the defined muscles of his arms, but the wide shoulders and broad chest could not be disguised. The black, curling hair on his chest peeked sensually through the deep ‘v’ of his shirt and Chloe couldn’t resist slipping her fingers through it and placing her palm against his heart, a knowing smile curving her lips as she felt his heart pick up its pace.

“God, you’re gorgeous!” Chloe murmured, lifting up onto her toe picks to place a gentle kiss against his lips.

“I was thinking the same thing about you,” Sergei whispered against her lips, smiling down into her face and running his knuckles gently along her jaw. “How’s the foot?”

“Which one? I’ve got two, and at the moment they both seem to be working perfectly!” Chloe quipped.

“Really?”

“Why does everyone keep asking me that?” Chloe asked in exasperation.

Sergei’s broad shoulders lifted in an easy shrug, his eyes shining and full of appreciation for the beauty before him. “Not that it matters. The way you look, you could simply stand center ice and everyone would be content just to look at you,” he murmured deeply, his eyes darkening as he took in her appearance.

Draped in chiffon that went from a soft sky blue to deep sapphire, the high empire-waisted dress hugged her breasts. Thin straps of rhinestones that criss-crossed her chest and anchored over her shoulders at the low back-line of her bodice, left her slim arms, softly sloping shoulders and half of her back bare. Three layers of chiffon made up the skirt of her dress and fell to mid-thigh, it’s fullness flowing as if with a life of it’s own. Her hair was pulled up into a French braid and small rhinestones dotted its shining surface. Tiny tendrils escaped from her temple and teased the small rhinestones that had been placed at the corners of her eyes, now a deep shining blue that rivaled the deepest blue of the ocean. Eyes he would joyously drown in right this moment.

“Feel like skating with me, Chloe?” Sergei asked softly, his hands reaching for hers, his thumbs gently caressing her fingers. Surprised to feel his thumb run across a ring on her finger, since she never wore one when they’d skated up until now, he glanced down, his eyes widening in shock as he took in the band of pearls and diamonds that encircled her left ring finger. Without a doubt, the ring belonged to his mother, and with a quick glance toward his mother, their eyes met, hers full of love and joy and at the slight nod, he understood she was giving him her blessing; wishing him joy and love and luck. It was with a shaky smile that he acknowledged her request and returning his gaze to Chloe, lifted her hand and gently kissed her finger that carried his mother’s ring. The thought the ring looked perfect on her finger, and belonged there permanently, crossed his mind, and made him pause. With crystal clarity, he realized this was what his life had been leading up to, this was the defining moment in his life, the moment his life would change forever.

“Five minutes until the final warm-up period,” the loudspeaker sounded yet again.

“It’s time,” Aleksei stated softly.

Chloe and Sergei looked at the circle of people that surrounded them, felt the flow of positive energy that surged around them and bestowed upon the group smiles dazzling enough to light up the entire arena.

“It’s past time,” Chloe and Sergei stated together, and began the trek toward the ice and the awaiting crowd.

Eyes filled with hatred watched the group pass by the nearly invisible opening of the door in the small custodial closet in which he hid. If anyone had noticed the door wasn’t latched, they would simply assume it hadn’t shut completely, and not given it another thought.

They were all so stupid!

Silently he closed the door, and he leaned against it, surrounded by darkness, feeling his hatred and fury build. “You’re right, Chloe, it’s past time,” Andrew whispered softly, his voice filled with evil and menace, his hand running lovingly over the long, slim Stiletto knife that lay hidden in his pocket.

The capacity-filled arena rocked as the crowd exploded in enthusiasm when the announcement was made for the final group of pair teams to begin their five-minute warm up.

Final hugs and good wishes were shared and then Aleksei and Jordan, Dani and Hunter, and Dr. Chen, made their way to the stands, to watch, and wait along with the rest of the crowd.

Sergei and Chloe remained in the shadows, away from the other skaters, as they removed their blade guards and listened to final instructions from Dee and Whittaker, who had been waiting for their arrival. As usual, Whittaker complained of their tardiness and demanded they change all their throws and jumps to doubles, refusing to listen to Chloe as she tried to explain she felt fine. Dee simply winked at her, and instructed her to do what she felt she could, but not to risk further injury if she felt her foot failing, as she hugged her for luck. With a final thumbs-up, the two stepped into the light, and on to the ice.

Thunder erupted as the crowd spotted Sergei and Chloe step on to the ice, and begin to slowly make their way over the shining surface, their strokes sure and strong, barely scoring the surface, their blades a mere whisper as they warmed up.

Television broadcasting cameras scanned the ice, zooming in on the various pairs as they warmed up on the ice. The same announcers from the night before tried to make themselves heard over the roar of the crowd, and more than once they had to repeat themselves. “Obviously, the favorites have just stepped onto the ice, Robin, and despite rumors as to their withdrawal, they’re looking just as confident as they did last night,” Jim yelled into the microphone, pressing his ear-piece as he awaited his co-announcers reply.

“That’s right, Jim. Even as of an hour ago, speculation was running rampant as to how serious Chloe Spenser’s foot injury was and whether or not the team was going to have to withdraw from the competition. As you said, to look at them now, everything seems fine,” Robin stated, watching the two on the ice.

“Then again, so far, all they’ve done is skate in circles. They haven’t tried any jumps or throws, unlike the other teams, which leads me to believe, that all may not be as well as it seems.” Jim suggested.

At that comment, as if they had somehow heard the announcer’s words, Sergei and Chloe picked up speed and he effortlessly lifted Chloe up into a star-lift. Sergei’s blades were silent as he turned them in circles down the length of the ice, streaking across the slick surface in a blur of sapphire blue and black, never losing their momentum. Chloe’s left hand lifted elegantly and fearlessly into the air and remained there, even as Sergei lowered her back to the ice at the end of their lift.

The audience went wild.

“They’re looking pretty good to me, Jim,” Robin stated smugly, crossing her fingers that all really was well with the pair.

“Time will certainly tell, Robin, and we won’t have long to wait as the team of Spenser and Rocmanov will be the second team on the ice. With the withdrawal of Andrew Manning and his partner, it will be interesting to see if any of the other teams can pull the ‘performance of a lifetime’ out of their bags and give Spenser and Rocmanov a run for the gold.”

“It certainly looks like an exciting conclusion to this competition and Tim and I, both wish all the teams the best of luck,” Robin cut in, ignoring her co-announcers heated look. “And now, on to the competition.”

The first team was announced and stepped on to the ice amid applause, gliding to center ice and assuming their starting positions. Within the first minute, it was clear Chloe and Sergei had nothing to fear from this team as both skaters missed their first jumps, double axels, and the woman couldn’t hold her landing on their double-loop throw. It was also clear that that the altitude, seemingly more so tonight than last night, was causing this pair difficulties, and Whit-taker brought the fact to Sergei’s attention, suggesting he keep the altitude factor in mind and adjust his actions accordingly.

“You can’t win a competition if your stamina falls off half-way through the program,” Whittaker growled.

“Sergei’s stamina is just fine!” Chloe tossed back, a mischievous smile on her lips, her blue eyes sparkling brightly.

“Shhh,” Sergei chided softly, but sent her a wicked wink and a look that promised her they’d test her theory later.

“I don’t need to be hearing this,” Whittaker growled, rolling his eyes in exasperation.

“Thank God your parents aren’t hearing this,” Dee chuckled, her attention on the ice and watching as the pair of skaters ended their program, took in their chests heaving with exertion. “Frank’s right.

As much as I hate to admit it, pay attention to the signals your bodies give you. I don’t want either one of you being carried off the ice–for any reason!” Dee demanded quietly.