Page 25 of S.O.S. Mizzay

Cobble braced, prepared to fight.

Massive paws hit his chest, nearly bowling him over, until…

Twin tongues licked his face, covering him in slobber.

“What the…?” Cobble choked, then laughed, lifting his chin to escape the brunt of the messy love before opening both arms wide to fill them with sleek dogs. Andy scooted around him to also hug the twin colossi.

“Griffin! Banshee!” she sang out, smothering the pair in kisses.

The two dogs easily pulled their attention from Cobble, focusing solely on Andy, toppling her to the ground wherethey nudged and cuddled into her prone body as she squealed joyously even more.

“Boys!” A sharp whistle came from the man whom Andy had called, Dad, and the pair of glossy canines that Cobble had identified as bullmastiffs, stopped their enthusiastic antics and looked downcast.Ifdogs could be credited with making faces. With one last swipe of their oversized tongues, they stoically trotted toward the truck where the headlights still blared.

“Aw, Dad,” Andy called out. “They were just happy to see me,” she yelled jubilantly, picking herself up and brushing herself off.

“Well, sure. And I’m pleased to see you, too,” the gruff voice returned. “But you don’t see me taking you to the ground.”

Andy snickered heartily, then with her shit-eating grin still firmly in place, she ran in the direction of that raspy declaration and leaped.

By the “oof” Cobble heard, he assumed she’d made contact.

Cobble listened to the reunion, still unable to see anything because of the blinding headlights. But if he wasn’t mistaken, there was a second, then perhaps a third male voice that joined in on the homecoming, chortling and teasing Andy who was clearly in her element.

Slowly, Cobble walked forward so he was out of the glare, to see three very large males embracing petite Andy.

Family.

What the hell was he supposed to do, now? He felt…adrift, not having seen his own parents in over five years.

Andy solved his immediate problem.

Untangling herself from the big frame of her father, she dropped her feet to the ground and ran back to Cobble, taking him by the arm to drag him forward.

As he walked, Cobble was able to peruse the three who were waiting.

Andy’s father was an enormous man; barrel-chested and long, gray-bearded, dressed in flannel and overalls like some character from a fifties lumberjack movie. Her brothers were more of the same, but without the middle-aged weight, and their facial hair was much shorter and neatly groomed.

That’s all the time he had for a look before Andy introduced him.

“Cobble, this is my Dad, Theodoros Andriopolos, and my brothers, Nikos—Nik—and Atticus. Everyone, this is Cobble, uh, Sawyer. He’s…” She blinked up at Cobble, suddenly at a loss for words.

As the three took his measure, Cobble stepped forward, holding out his hand for a shake from the patriarch, followed by a firm grip for each of her brothers. “I’m actually one of her current cases,” he explained.

“Ahh,” all three men emoted at the same time, as if they understood.

Why? Was this something Andy did all the time? Bring people she was safeguarding, home to meet the fam?

Andy saw his confusion. “No. I havenotused these guys as a landing point before,” she explained. “Actually, without mentioning your name, I’ve told them all about you, and what we’ve been going through since…well, you know.”

It was still hard for either one of them to talk about the needless deaths of their friends.

“Right,” her father said, breaking the tension. He wagged a finger at Andy. “And it’s about time you brought him here for safekeeping.” He turned to address Cobble. “Call me Theo. And welcome to our compound.”

As if it were all settled that he’d be staying, Cobble mused.

“Now,” her father continued, clapping Cobble on the back. “Do you prefer we use Cobble, or Sawyer?”

“I, uh, don’t really have a preference,” he managed. “Andy calls me Cobble from our time in the Army.”

---