Page 22 of Cooper’s Passion

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Startled, Anita stared at Cooper as he rushed to the door of the Airbnb. At first, she hadn’t heard anything strange, but now she could hear what Cooper was reacting to: somebody was trying to unlock the door. She charged toward the bedroom where she’d left her handbag and pulled her gun from it.

When she re-entered the living room, the entrance door was already open, and a young Asian couple entered, before freezing. The woman shrieked, and the man quickly pushed her behind his body to shield her.

“What the fuck!” the guy cursed. His gaze fell on her gun, and he lifted his hands. “Don’t shoot. Just take what you want and leave us alone.”

The woman behind him started to cry. “Please, don’t hurt us. Please.”

Cooper suddenly turned to Anita. “Lower your gun.”

Anita let her gaze sweep over the couple, but they weren’t armed. Reluctantly, she lowered her gun.

“What are you doing here?” Cooper asked. “Where did you get the key from?”

The couple exchanged confused looks.

“And you can lower your hands,” Cooper added. “Just don’t make any sudden movements.”

Slowly, they lowered their arms, and Anita noticed the set of keys in the man’s hand.

“Now talk! Where did you get the key?” Cooper repeated.

“From the real estate agent. My wife and I closed escrow today,” the man explained. “We were assured that the tenants would be gone by close of escrow.”

Anita took a step closer. “You bought this place?” She shook her head. “I rented it on Airbnb. I’ve paid for two weeks.”

“But this is our place as of today,” the woman added, now stepping next to her husband, her tears drying up.

“Can you prove it?” Cooper asked.

“Can you prove you rented this place as an Airbnb?” the man shot back.

Anita put the gun in the back of her waistband and pulled her cellphone from her pocket. “I can.” She scrolled through her emails, then tapped on the one that confirmed her reservation. “Here. That’s the confirmation that I paid for two weeks. I arrived a week ago.” She turned her cellphone around, and the man reached for it.

He perused it for a few seconds, then handed her back the phone. “Looks real, but it’s impossible. We didn’t put this place up for rent. We’re moving in.”

“But… but…” Anita didn’t know what to say.

Cooper put a hand on her forearm, then looked at the young couple. “Do you have the papers showing that you bought this place?”

The man nodded and pulled his cellphone out. Moments later, he handed his phone to Cooper. Anita looked at the document that the man had scrolled to, while Cooper paged through it. It was an escrow statement, signed and notarized.

“It’s legit,” Cooper said, before he handed the phone back to the man. “This is their place, and whoever rented it to you had no right to do so.”

“Fuck!” she cursed. “I’m gonna give that asshole a piece of my mind!” She tapped on her phone, and scrolled to the confirmation. She clicked on the link to contact the Airbnb host and let it ring. It rang only once, before a recording sounded. “The number you are trying to reach has been disconnected.”

Anita let out another curse. “Goddamn it!”

“Ahm,” the young woman said. “I’m sorry that you got scammed. But you can’t stay here. This is our place.”

“Of course,” Anita said quickly.

Inside, she was fuming. She’d been cheated. The person who’d posted the apartment as available on Airbnb—most likely the previous owner or the owner’s agent—had taken advantage of her. What would she do now? She wasn’t ready to go home to Elko, and from looking at accommodations prior to her trip, she knew that most hotels were out of her price range. She’d paid in advance for this stay, and it would take weeks, if not months to get a refund once she complained about this dishonest host to Airbnb. What would she do in the meantime? Max out her credit card?

“I’ll help you pack.”

She looked at Cooper, who’d spoken, and let out a sigh. Tears threatened to overpower her, but she pushed them back. She couldn’t be weak, not in front of Cooper, nor in front of the young couple.