Page 70 of Cooper’s Passion

“Don’t worry,” Virginia interjected. “He’ll change his tune once you have Donnelly vouch for you.”

“I’d better call him quickly.” Cooper navigated to Mike Donnelly’s number. “Thanks for lunch, guys.” When Donnelly picked up, Cooper filled him in on what he needed to know, including the fact that Anita knew of the existence of vampires, but that it had to be kept a secret from her father.

Half an hour later, an assistant ushered him, Anita, and Sheriff Diaz into the chief of police’s office in the Hall of Justice on Bryant Street. Donnelly greeted them, and Cooper could instantly see that Sheriff Diaz was relaxing when Donnelly shook his hand.

“Cooper tells me you’re the Sheriff of Elko County,” Donnelly said.

Diaz nodded. “And I was a little worried when I couldn’t verify who Mr. Montgomery really is.”

“Well, let me assure you, he’s indeed working with the SFPD. In fact, he’s leading the investigation into the serial killer who’s currently roaming San Francisco.”

Diaz nodded, then turned to Cooper, extending his hand. “My apologies, Mr. Montgomery, for treating you the way I did.”

Cooper shook his hand. “Please call me Cooper. We’re not very formal here.”

“Thank you, Cooper. Then please call me José.”

“Now that that’s cleared, do you have any updates on the case?” Donnelly asked with a look at Cooper.

“I do. We’ve got a sketch of the suspect. My people already did some canvassing last night, but we can only cover so much ground. I need your help, Mike.”

“What do you need?” Donnelly asked.

“Distribute the sketch to every police officer in the city, unis, undercover, detectives, even the administrative staff. I want everybody to know what he looks like. But give them strict instructions not to approach him under any circumstances, even if they’re armed. He’s extremely dangerous.”

Since Donnelly already knew that the suspect was a vampire, Cooper didn’t have to make it any clearer that a human wasn’t equipped to fight a dangerous vampire.

“Got it. You want them to report to Scanguards’ command center if they see him?”

“Yes, make sure that everybody has the number. They can send a text to the same number in case they can’t speak without being overheard. Thanks, Mike.”

“Not a problem. The sooner that guy is off the streets, the better. Any other plans I should know of?”

Cooper looked at Anita. When she nodded firmly, he sighed. Apparently, he couldn’t change Anita’s mind about playing bait.

“Actually yes,” Cooper started. “Since we know that the suspect was trying to abduct another woman a few days ago, we know he’s looking for a new victim. We’ve decided to give him what he’s after: a woman fitting the victim profile.” He tipped his head toward Anita. “Anita has agreed to play bait.”

For a moment, it was completely silent in the room. Nobody breathed, and only Cooper could hear the three humans’ heartbeats. But the silence lasted for only a second.

“You’re out of your mind!” Diaz protested loudly. “My daughter will not play bait! I won’t allow it.” He glared at Cooper. “How dare you even make such a suggestion to her?”

“José, please, I know exactly how you feel,” Cooper said, trying to calm him.

“No, you don’t!”

Cooper was about to reveal to him that he was in love with Anita, when Anita gave a light shake of her head, so he took a breath, before adding, “I was against it too, but I’m afraid your daughter has a very stubborn streak.” And that was one of the many things he actually loved about her: her tenacity. She was no pushover.

“What Cooper is trying to say, Dad, is that it was my idea,” Anita said.

Diaz whipped his head in Anita’s direction, glaring at her now. “Are you crazy?”

“She’s not,” Cooper interrupted. “Let me assure you that Anita will be protected by myself and a team of my colleagues. If the suspect gets within five yards of her, we will take him down. He’ll never lay a hand on her.”

He would make sure that the most experienced bodyguards would be taking part in this sting.

Sheriff Diaz grunted with displeasure, while addressing Anita, “Why would you do this?”

Anita took a visible breath. “Dad, maybe you should sit down for this.”