He said I was the one; was he serious? He’d never said that to me before.
Was he the one for me though?
What was I going to do?
In the back of my mind, I could almost hear his sexy voice whispering in my ear.
“Two weeks lover.”
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Stefany, grew up in Los Angeles California, then her parents moved to Arkansas and has been living there ever since. She has a full-time office job and writes on her free time. She also writes under the pen name Stefany Rattles & M.S. L.R.
Stefany graduated Springdale High in 2007, and she also attended Post University for Computer Science. She loves to read, write while sipping on a glass of Lambrusco or a margarita on the rocks.
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THE ONLY ONE FOR ME BY CARRIE AUSTIN-MALONE
CHAPTER ONE
Frankie ran after her two suspects. She’d sent Markson, the new PC she’d been assigned, to cut them off. Her seven-kilo kit weighed her down and she wished she could strip it off as she ran. She could feel the sweat drip down the back of her neck and forehead. Quickly, she wiped her brow before the saltiness hit her eyes. She knew they should have waited for backup, but they were too far away responding to other calls, and she didn’t want to lose the scumbags. Markson had assured her he now knew the park and its layout, that he’d done his homework of her beat as promised before he had run off.
Breathing heavily, she put in the call “731, chasing suspects through Victoria Park, at the old bandstand headed towards the bridge next to the old furniture factory. Suspects are both white, no longer wearing jackets or caps. Suspect one blonde hair, blue jeans, white trainers and black sweatshirt. Suspect two shaved head, grey tracksuit with a design I can’t make out on the back. Where’s my back-up?”
Shit, they were splitting up. “731, splitting up over. Continuing pursuit of suspect one. Suspect two heading towards groundskeeper’s cottage, inform 918 over. He was heading that way to cut them off.”
The radio crackled. “731, cars are on route to cover all exits.”
The park was Frankie’s territory, she had grown up nearby and it had been her playground and safe space as a teenager when she needed to be on her own. She still ran there when she could after a shift and knew every inch of it. As she kept the first suspect in her sights she called in.
“731, call the night security or the groundskeeper, gates are locked unless everyone can climb fences. They’re not getting in without bolt cutters.” She wouldn’t have gotten over the fence herself if a couple of kids helped to give her and Markson a boost.
Frankie should be tired after a long shift, but she’d got a second wind as she chased her prey. Three men had allegedly been involved in an attack on a woman in a nearby street as she walked home. An eagle-eyed resident had called it in, giving a clear description of two of them. Thank God for watchful neighbours. It was one thing she liked about the area she patrolled; neighbours looked out for each other.
“Stop. Police,” Frankie yelled again as she got closer. She tackled her suspect to the dew-covered grass, praying that she hadn’t landed in someone’s uncollected dog shit. “Stay down! You’re under arrest for robbery and assault, you have the right to remain silent, anything you do say can and will be used in…”
“Get off me, bitch!” Frankie cuffed him as she finished reading him his rights and pulled him up off the ground.
“That’s Police Constable bitch to you, come on.” She pulled the struggling man along with her, moving to place him on a nearby bench. She pressed the call button on her radio. “731, suspect one in custody. Can you send a car for a pickup to the canal bridge. We’re about 25 metres to the right on the canal path as you come across the bridge from the direction of the main road, opposite the old furniture factory.”
Cace O’Reilly took the remote from his pocket and pressed the button. The newly installed gates to the old furniture factory opened and he pulled his truck into a space behind it. With the engine switched off, he sat for a moment staring at the old building, as he rubbed his tired eyes. He was finally home. No more shitty assignments to war-torn countries. No more living out of a suitcase moving from one job to the next so that he and his cousin Michael could raise the money to get their idea off the ground for the old factory. A big smile slowly came to his face. They’d spent the last seven years working as a security contractor and it was for this. He and his cousin Michael were officially moving into their new home, and he couldn’t wait.
This place had been his dream since it had gone on the market. He knew his mentor, old man Roberts, who had taken him under his wing and given him a job as a kid, would be pleased with what was being done to the place. When the old furniture factory had come up for sale a few years ago while he and Michael were stationed overseas, they’d made an offer and bought it with the help of his Uncle Liam, Michael’s dad, who’d wanted in on the deal.
Liam had wanted to expand the family business, Phoenix Security as the business started to grow, and the boys had started to leave the military. Property was too expensive in the West End of London where they were originally based, in a building that had been passed through the family for over a generation. The old Factory had been the perfect solution, even if it had taken longer than anticipated to get everything in place.
Liam’s only stipulation to adding his money to the pot required for the project was that both Cace and Michael join Phoenix, along with Michael’s older brother Matthew. Neither had a problem with that, protecting people was all they really knew. The building still looked a little dilapidated in parts from the outside, and most of the street side was covered in scaffolding and sheeting.
Liam and Matt, Liam’s eldest son, both lived above Liam’s gym in Covent Garden along with Jessica, Liam’s goddaughter. Robert, Liam’s youngest son was still serving in the Military Police but would be home permanently when his service ended. Cace and Michael, Liam’s middle son would be based at the old factory. Both men had large units at each end of the building and had a view of both the park, canal and road. There would be a gym, Liam’s Place, on the main floor on one side of the building. At the other end, there would be a community facility, something that the area hadn’t had for years and was crying out for. The community space was the main reason the planning application had been approved.
In the old basement, the plans showed underground garages and storage rooms. It wasn’t a lie really; if anyone looked there would be storage rooms for the gym and community centre. Hidden behind them would be their weapons and safe room. They would also have a security bunker where they’d keep their servers and security feeds for all the properties they looked after across London.