Page 1 of Mitch

Chapter One

Mitch hookedhis thumbs in the loops of his pockets as he looked up at the old building in need of a little TLC. Glancing sideways, he nodded up towards the roofline as he spoke to his friend, Nate. “What would a new roof set me back?”

Nate owned a similar property three doors away and had completely renovated it into the large family home it was now.

Nate shoved his hand in his pockets as he stepped back to look up at the broken roof tiles. “Around ten to fifteen grand, I’d say.”

Nate worked for Fortis Security, a company Eidolon did a lot of work with, and the teams got on well and socialised together a fair bit too. Hereford wasn’t a vast metropolis, so it was expected they would run in similar circles, but it was the fact he and Nate were both snipers that made the two of them tight.

Mitch whistled thinking of his bank balance, trying to do some quick calculations in his head. “That’s a decent chunk of change.”

Nate nodded. “It is but these properties are solid. It’s an investment in the long run.”

Mitch looked up again at the sprawling Victorian home that spanned three floors. It had already been split into four separate flats by the previous owner. That meant he could rent three of them out for extra income.

He’d been working for Eidolon for a few years now and was happy there. Hereford was home now, and he wanted to put down some roots, invest in his future, and as Nate’s father David constantly reminded him, bricks and mortar were always a good investment long term.

Glancing at the windows which would need replacing, he could see how the property could swallow money if he let it but as Mitch stared silently, he could also see the potential.

“Be nice when it’s done up. Most of the work is cosmetic apart from the roof and windows.”

Nate chuckled. “Make a nice family home one day too.”

Mitch held up his hands with a raised eyebrow, a grin on his lips. “Hey, steady on, I’m too young for all that.”

“Yeah, whatever, gramps. I need to get back. Skye has to deliver a cake to a bride at the Left Bank and I need to watch Nancy and Noah.” Nate held up a hand as he walked up the street.

That was the biggest difference between the two friends. Nate was a devoted family man and at forty-five Mitch was a dedicated bachelor.

It wasn’t that he wanted to be, or that he played the field the way he used to in his younger days, just that it had never happened. He’d seen far too many marriages fail in his time as a member of SO19, the Firearms division of the London Metropolitan Police Department. So many relationships had crumbled from the pressures of the job, and he had no intention of forcing one just to satisfy convention.

He would rather wait until he could have what Alex, Blake, Reid, and now Liam had with their women. If that meant it didn’t happen, he’d be okay with what he had.

Mitch strolled to the back of the property for one last look before he made his decision. Later that day, his offer on the property was accepted.

Six months later,Mitch was living in one of the top floor flats. Waggs had rented one of the ground floor ones, and Bebe, one of the Zenobi girls, had the other ground floor flat. He’d decided to leave the middle floor for now until he figured out if he was going to increase his living space, but he liked being on the top for now. It suited him having tenants he knew, especially since he’d spent more cash doing it up than he’d intended. That was why the last apartment on the top floor opposite his own was up for rental through an agency. He had little worry he’d end up with a bad tenant with all the hoops people had to jump through and especially with Will, the owner of Eidolon and a tech genius, offering to run background checks on them first.

His phone rang as he was walking into a meeting with the team and he quickly answered it, stepping aside as Waggs walked past him and into the large conference room.

“Yep.”

“Mr Quinn, this is Melissa from the letting agency. We have a potential tenant for you.”

“Great.”

“But they can only view the property after hours.”

“And?” He moved his hand in a wrap this up gesture even though she couldn’t see him.

“We were wondering if you could show them around?”

Mitch sighed, he had no time for this, but he’d be around so he guessed it wouldn’t be too much of an imposition. “Yeah, sure. What time?”

“Is eight tonight too late?”

“Nah, that’s fine.”

“Thank you. I’ll let Ms Roberts know.”