Page 16 of Deadly Peril

When lunch was over, Thaddeus was relieved to get back on the job. His parka covered his body, down to his knees. That was a good thing, as he hadn’t been able to control his desire for Jana. It was humiliating—not that he was attracted to her, but that he couldn’t manage his reactions better. That wasn’t like him at all.

*****

In her office, Jana returned to work. Lunch with her bodyguard had been…interesting. After the initial awkwardness, she’d felt very natural. Thaddeus had brawn, but sensitivity as well. He’d really seemed to care about what she was saying, more than she could say for her ex-husband.

In contrast, Thaddeus was polite and concerned about making her comfortable with his presence. On the outside, he was fierce, even imposing. She wondered what he was really like on the inside. But she wouldn’t have a chance to find out. He’d only be around for a few days. She needed to remember that.

She locked the door and got to work. Once she was lost in designing her invention, she forgot about Thaddeus. Her sole focus was the biofeedback tool that had taken her years to perfect. She’d utilized the latest brain-imaging techniques at an expensive lab.

She knew more about the brain’s basic hardware than she’d thought was possible. The biofeedback technique was cutting edge. It was a breakthrough on using the technique in monitoring heart rate variability and gaining the ability to control the nervous system’s stress response.

Similar things had been achieved in other fields. But the device she’d created worked for athletes training for the biathlon. In that event, a split second could make the difference between winning and losing, something she’d learned the hard way.

The high-tech prototype had been tested by some top-notch labs and all indications were that it would work as expected. The innovation would change the sport. It meant that an athlete could learn to go from cross-country skiing with a pounding heart to a calm state conducive to shooting a rifle. And it could be done faster and more predictably than using any of the earlier methods.

Jana was thrilled, but she held her excitement in check. The item had to be tested in real-world situations before it could be released to the world. But it looked very hopeful. The loss of not making the Olympic team had haunted her over the years.

There was no way to change the past. But it was inspiring to know that if she’d had her invention at the time, she might have made the team. Chances were that she would have. Once the tool was made available to competitors, other young women would train differently and be more likely to gain the fraction of a second that was needed in competition.

Plus, it would be a boon to her ski business. The shop had done well for many years, but her grandfather had done things the old way. He wasn’t inclined to latch on to new technology. That was one of the things Jana had changed when she’d taken over the business.

Her livelihood and her grandmother’s welfare depended on the income from the ski shop. The new product would be another source of revenue. More than that, it could boost the income to higher levels than before.

Jana had no aspirations to be wealthy just for the sake of having money. But she had visions of creating training camps for youth and assisting competitors to enter events when they didn’t have enough resources of their own. That was only going to happen if the new tool panned out. A lot depended on the outcome.

Her phone rang, jarring her concentration. It was Coley. “Hey, what are you up to?” her friend said.

“I was just working on that device I told you about.”

“Ah, I can’t wait. We’re going to test it out, right?”

“We sure are. That’s the final step to verify it will do what it’s supposed to.”

“Are you free after work?” Coley said.

“I don’t have plans. Do you want to stop at Josie’s for a drink? I could do with a chat.”

“Is something up?” Coley didn’t miss much.

“You could say so.” Jana closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose. “My grandmother has hired a bodyguard for me.”

“You can’t be serious.”

“I wish I wasn’t,” Jana said. “And wait until you see him.” She took a breath. “The guy is studly, to say the least.”

“I guess bodyguards would have to be,” Coley said. “So he follows you around?”

“Something like that. It’s only been one day, so I can’t say for sure.”

“Will he be there for drinks?”

“Don’t get excited, Coley. He’s just there as protection. He’ll probably hover at the entrance of the bar to ensure my safety.”

“It sounds very romantic.”

Jana laughed. “You would say that. Okay, gotta go. I’ll see you there about six.”

Life was getting more complicated. Jana couldn’t even have a drink or dinner with a girlfriend without her bodyguard around. It was probably time to take another stab at getting her grandmother to agree that the danger had passed.

Jana shouldn’t get her hopes up. She had a feeling that Thaddeus was going to be around for more than a day or so. That wasn’t all bad. He was easy on the eyes. She decided to enjoy that part, for as long as she had to put up with being shadowed wherever she went.

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