Page 51 of Vanessa’s Bravery

Thomas pointed to it and looked over his shoulder to address Cole, “Eddie is already waiting for us. He’s got a brilliant mind.”

Vanessa had to chuckle. “And so do you.”

Thomas winked at her and entered the office where Eddie, dressed in leather pants and a white T-shirt, sat in front of a bank of computers. He jumped up when they entered, and approached them.

“So, you’re Cole, hmm?” Eddie said, running his eyes over Cole.

She caught sight of Thomas shaking his head and rolling his eyes at his mate checking out Cole. “Hands off, babe,” Thomas said, even though they all knew that Eddie would never touch a man other than Thomas.

Eddie locked eyes with Thomas for a fraction of a second, exchanging a loving glance with him, before extending his hand to Cole. “Nice to meet you, Cole. I’m Eddie.”

Cole shook his hand. “Hi, Eddie. Am I making you guys work late?”

Eddie shook his head. “Security is a twenty-four-hour business. So, what have you got for us?”

Thomas gestured to a large table with several chairs around it. He cleared it off, moving the files to the top of a filing cabinet.

Cole placed his computer and data discs on the table, and sat down, while the others joined him.

“Hit us with it,” Thomas demanded.

“You probably know that online advertising platforms use algorithms to figure out which customers to advertise which product to. Let’s say you’re selling golf clubs, the algorithm will try to find the ideal customer for you who’s not only willing but also able to buy your product at the price you’re advertising.”

Eddie shrugged. “That’s nothing new.”

“You’re right. But as we know, these algorithms take time to learn, until they find the ideal customer, which can cost you quite a bit in advertising dollars until you’re hitting the right targets.” Cole made eye contact with all of them, clearly to test that everybody was still following.

Everybody nodded.

“Good,” Cole continued. “I’ve developed an algorithm that works differently. It takes the customer—let’s say the entire adult population of the US, about 258 million—and finds out everything about every person: what they want, need, can afford, dream of, hate, and so on, so it can pair them with the perfect product. So, before you spent even a penny on advertising, you already know who your ideal customer is. There’s no learning phase, no wasting money on customers who’ll never buy from you.”

“But how is that gonna help us?” Vanessa felt compelled to ask.

Eddie and Thomas exchanged a look, and it appeared that they were silently communicating via their telepathic bond as blood-bonded mates.

“I think I know how,” Thomas said, nodding at Cole. “The customers are the rogue vampires.”

“And the product is the vampire who turns them,” Eddie finished his mate’s sentence.

“Exactly,” Cole said excitedly. “And the algorithm works from either side, if you know the product or the customer. And we already have that information, right? Vanessa said you were able to identify the rogue that attacked me.”

Thomas nodded. “Yes. We’ve got all his info in the system.”

“Good. All we need to do is to enter this guy’s information into my program, and it will find other people who would act the same way, want the same thing, hate the same thing. Was the guy local?”

“Yes,” Eddie said, “he lived in San Francisco, went to school here too.”

Cole opened the lid of his laptop. “Okay. So, let’s assume all the other rogues are also local. We can find them by taking the guy we know as well as the product, and the algo will create a model of the ideal customer: what makes this guy vulnerable or likely to being turned. With that model, we can identify who else is at risk of being turned, or was already turned.”

“It’s brilliant,” Thomas praised. “What do you need to get started?”

“I need to know a little more about the process of turning a human. I’m assuming the vampire attacks them, and then turns them somehow.”

Thomas shook his head. “Not necessarily. It’s more likely that they agree to being turned.”

Deep lines appeared on Cole’s forehead as disbelief spread on his face. “What would they gain by becoming vampires?”

“Immortality,” Vanessa started, “physical power, enhanced senses.”