Page 41 of Cooper’s Passion

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Cooper glanced at Anita as he put the car in drive and headed for home. “You must be tired.”

She gave him a warm smile. “What time is it?”

“Past 3 a.m.”

“At least we have a lead now.” She took a breath. “And that’s giving me an idea of how to catch him.”

“Let me hear it.”

“We know now that he’s already looking for his next victim. And the woman that Ginger saw fits the profile: blonde, tall, and most likely with a job that gives her some sort of power.”

“That’s very likely. A bank teller leaves when the bank closes. A woman working late at a bank is probably in management.”

“Exactly,” Anita agreed and added, “I’ve seen several cases, where he actually abducted a woman before he killed the previous one, almost as if he needs a victim at all times.”

Cooper knew that she was right with her assumption. This vampire most likely fed only from his female victims, and few vampires went without blood for more than a couple of days. The fact that some of his victims overlapped indicated that he wasn’t a vampire who showed restraint.

“Good point. The incident Ginger reported happened before Janet was killed, so he was already looking for a replacement before he killed her, and we have to assume that after the woman from the bank slipped through his fingers, he’s desperate for a replacement.”

It had been over thirty-six hours since Janet’s death, and the amount of blood the vampire had consumed would ordinarily tide him over for a few days. However, a killer like this one who gorged himself regularly had a lot less control over his hunger. He might already be on the edge of bloodlust, a state where he needed another fix just like a junkie.

“That’s what I think too.” Anita nodded, becoming more animated again, almost as if she could brush the need for sleep off like a dust particle on her sleeve. “Let’s make it easier for him to find his next victim.”

An odd sense of foreboding crawled up his spine, and he gave Anita a sideways glance. He didn’t want to ask the next question, but he couldn’t stop himself. “What are you suggesting?”

“I’m tall, I’m blonde, and blue-eyed, and I’m a woman in a position of power… well, of course I won’t wear a sheriff’s deputy uniform, but I can dress up like a businesswoman… and he won’t know what hit him.”

Cooper slammed on the brakes, bringing the car to a stop on a deserted side street, and spun his head to her. Had he heard correctly? “Are you fucking serious? You wanna play bait?”

“Hear me out. I’m trained for this.”

He shook his head, his jaw tight from the strength it cost him not to let his vampire side emerge. “Not for this. You’re not doing this! You’re not putting yourself in the path of a psychotic serial killer.”

She narrowed her eyes at him, showing her annoyance. “You don’t have a say in this. I’m a sheriff’s deputy. I can do this.”

“Over my dead body!”

“You can’t tell me what to do! I’ll talk to the chief of police. He’ll accept my offer—”

“No, he won’t. He’s gonna do what I tell him to do. And that is to keep you as far away from this killer as I can.”

“You have no right—”

He leaned over to the passenger side and snatched her by the shoulders. “You don’t have a chance against this perp.”

Anita tried to shake off his hands, but he held her like she was in a vise.

“Let go of me!” she ground out.

“Try and fight me off! If you manage that, then, and only then, I’ll let you play bait.”

Cooper knew she would never have a chance against him in a fight. As a vampire hybrid he was so much stronger than her. So much more powerful. And the vampire who was abducting and killing these women would be just as strong if not stronger. He would snap her like a twig. And Cooper couldn’t allow that. He had to protect her.

Anita lifted her hands up and pushed from her chest outwards in an effort to force his hands to lose their grip. But she hadn’t counted on his vampire strength. Surprised, she glared at him, then tried again.

“Damn it!” she cursed and punched her fists into the inside of his elbows, but not even that maneuver made him lose his grip on her shoulders.