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As the man exited, Coop acted on instinct He stuck his foot out, tripping the guy before he could run The htened up Coop drew a deep breath and bashed thecover His hood uy had a thick skull because he struggled to stand up a second tiuy fell to the sidewalk, round

Before the other un from inside his sweatshirt and waited for the cops to arrive His heart still beat hard, roaring in his ears as the sirens alerted him to the arrival of the police and the cops quickly relieved him While one cuffed the criminal and hauled him into their car, another took Coop’s statement

As he replayed the events in his head, Coop was allad his torn rotator cuff had forced him to quit the police academy and he had a newfound respect for his father and older brother, both career policeh when they heard about his exploits They’d rib hi to do their job

“Hey, Mac, are you finished grillingthe crime beat, he was on a first-name basis with many of the detectives and cops

The other man nodded “We knohere to find you Go hoh day”

Coop shook his head “I’m fine I’ll be at the office if you need me” At the very least, he could ht spin

He turned to leave when to out of the jewelry store “Wait,” the older one called “I wanted to thank you!”

Coop strode toward the petite brunette ould have been no un

“I’rateful to you Normally my father would be in the store with me, but he’s in Florida for the weekend That man loaded up his sweatshirt with expensive items You saved us a small fortune!”

Coop shifted froratitude “I was just in the right place at the right time”

She shook her head “Don’t be modest! Most people would have just walked away I was in the store with hter, so I handed over the iteet hurt Youyou a reward for your heroic actions I’ve already been to the bank, so I’ to have to offer you jewelry instead”

He shook his head once more “No reward necessary”

“Reward?” A fenized shoved a hter “Go on! I’d love to get the exclusive on this for tonight’s five o’clock news!”

“You mean you’d mention our store by name?” The store owner’s eyes lit up at the idea

The reporter nodded “We can even shoot inside as you give your savior his reward”

Coop groaned He recognized the runaway train and fought to avoid the inevitable “I can’t accept a reward Like I told her, I just happened to be in the right place at the right time”

The reporter shtened her shoulders andhim

“This is Carolina Martinez, reporting from the scene of a robbery in midtown Manhattan, with the reluctant hero, crirateful store oho is just about to present hilanced at her crew and said, “Cut!” before turning back to the stunned store owner “It’s your show What do you intend to give him?” Carolina asked