Page 17

It was almost jaw-dropping, witnessing Andy in professional mode.

Cobble had seen her don her “in charge” hat a number of times since he’d first met her, but this was all that on steroids, and he was enjoying the hell out of it. There was just something about Andy’s confident manner that turned him on.

“There,” she said with satisfaction in her voice. “Step one is taken care of.”

She put her burner phone down on the island where their now empty plates sat. “I sent encrypted notifications to Cavateral, Baskins, and Smalley, telling them I want to set up a private meeting at the SOS offices, ASAP. I also let your cousin know that you’ll be coming out of hiding. Now it’s time to call my boss, Del, read him in on a number of things we’ve discussed, and get his take on the situation as a whole before Smalley gets back to me with a pissed off attitude and a big ‘hell, no’.”

Cobble chuckled. Yup. He, too, was certain his cousin’s reaction would be off the rails. The man was a force to be reckoned with under normal circumstances, but where Cobble was concerned…? He was so vested, he’d even gone so far as to give up a lot of possible meet-ups over the past ten years to keep Cobble safe.

What Chuck didn’t know this time, however, was that Cobble wasn’t going to give in. And when pressed, his stubbornness equaled Chuck’s. The last time Chuck had thrown a fit—when Cobble and Andy had made him aware they’d entered into a relationship—Cobble had to use aggressive language to shut him down. That had been fun. Not .

Indeed, when they’d moved Cobble from Andy’s family compound, they’d finally told Chuck they’d been an item for a bunch of months, and Chuck had predictably gone ballistic, saying nothing spelled failure in an op more than two of the principals getting involved. He’d demanded they end things, threatening to have Andy taken off his case.

Cobble had laid it on the line, complete with more swear words than he’d probably used in a year. And that was saying a lot since he normally worked construction and language was never censored. But Chuck had had a hard time listening, even with all the uncustomary profanity, and Cobble finally had to pull out all the stops. He’d vowed that if he couldn’t have Andy, he was coming out of hiding immediately.

Chuck had clearly heard the truth in Cobble’s assertion, and had very reluctantly backed off.

Cobble almost laughed, recalling the sulk that had resulted; but the cold shoulder had eventually thawed. Chuck had been calmer when, after months, no additional breaches of Cobble’s subsequent living arrangements had been made, but he still grumbled about it every time they talked.

Cobble expected nothing less.

Damn. The next conversation Cobble had with his cousin was going to be over-the-top contentious.

He could only imagine the shit that Andy would get when she was face to face with the man again, but that also made him want to laugh. His spitfire of a woman could handle herself, and Cobble’s money would be on Andy making mincemeat out of anything Chuck handed out.

While Cobble had been caught up in his own head, he was vaguely aware that Andy had picked up her burner phone again and hit a number. She nudged him, bringing him back to present, then put the call on speaker, propping her device up against the empty lo mein container while it rang.

“SOS,” answered a male voice. “How may I help you?”

“Mistah Perkins,” Andy grinned. “How nice to hear yah voice.”

“Mizzay? Please tell me you’re back in town. I freaking hate being on phone duty.”

Cobble grinned, amused over the funky moniker he’d known her team at SOS had given her. He’d never be able to think of her as Mizzay, but it fit, in a cute kind of way.

“I hate to disappoint you, doll,” Andy replied, “but youze guys are all stuck playing receptionist for an indeterminate period of time.”

The man she’d called Mr. Perkins, groaned. “Damn. I was afraid you might say that. Especially after the boss told us what you’ve been up to for the last fourteen years ,” he emphasized, clearly pouting over the things she hadn’t previously revealed to him and the team.

Andy laughed, unphased. “What? I’m not supposed to have a life outside of SOS? Youze guys didn’t think I’ve been sittin’ on my hands knittin’ sweaters at home after I left the office every day, didja?”

“Now that you say it,” he snorted, “no. I’m not surprised you’re up to your eyeballs in three letter offices. Knowing you, you’re probably the freaking president of every one of those agencies, or maybe just the actual POTUS.”

Andy laughed, but didn’t correct him that she wasn’t that in charge.

“So, stab me in the heart,” Perk exaggerated, “making me cover for you while you run around being a super-spy.” He eventually wound down and relented. “Okay, Mizzay. I’m done. What can I do for you?”

“You know I love you, Perk,” she soothed, calling him, uncustomarily, by his more casual handle. “And I promise youz’ll all know more, soon. But right now, can you please be patient and patch me through to Mistah Songen.”

“Okay, sweet lady. You got it.”

Yup. Cobble commiserated. It was hard to resist Andy.

“Thanks, doll,” Andy replied before the extension was buzzed.

“Del Songen,” a deep, resonant voice answered.

“Mistah Songen, it’s Mizzay,” she told him.

“Mizzay? What’s up? I thought you were, uh, elsewhere.”

“It’s okay. You don’t have to be cagey. I’m on a burner phone and I attached a scrambler to the signal in case anyone is tryin’ to hack in.”

“Well, you know that nobody has their fingers on our system from this end, Mizzay. Even without you here, we check our land-lines every morning for any kind of physical monitoring.”

Huh. Wasn’t that damned smart, Cobble marveled. SOS still used old fashioned phones in their office, and the devices didn’t use wireless signals. Therefore, it made those phones far less susceptible to hacking and other digital threats than the stupid things they carried around in their pockets these days.

“Which is why I didn’t hesitate to call,” Andy agreed. “And just an FYI, Mistah Songen, you’re on speaker with the guy I called Mr. X.”

Del grunted. “Oh really? Does that mean I’m about to get a real name, or are you just playing with me, Mizzay.”

“Real name,” she replied with relish. “Mistah Delancourt “Del” Songen, meet Mistah Sawyer “Cobble” Blue.”

“Pleased to meet you,” Del responded politely. “Do I call you Sawyer, or Cobble?”

“Call me Cobble. That’s what Andy, uh, Mizzay uses.”

“Andy, huh?”

Cobble could almost see the man’s mind churning. “Yup. It’s what I’ve called her for years,” he admitted, but before he could say anything else, Andy took over.

“Cobble, as you know, is the man Agent Smalley and I have been protecting for nearly a decade and a half; the one from my old platoon. And don’t let your head explode or anything, but he’s also Chuck’s cousin, and…” Andy gave Cobble a huge, beaming smile. “…my boyfriend.”

Cobble fought back a snicker. He’d prefer Andy call him her lover, but boyfriend would do in a pinch.

There was dead silence on the other end of the line.

Andy grinned. “Boss? Have I lost you?” she asked.

“No. I’m just… You never said anything. About any of it. Cobble and Chuck are related? And you have a…significant other? I’m… Do you mean to tell me you never even let on to any of the ladies that you’re in a relationship?”

Cobble knew who Del meant. Andy had gotten close to all the wives of the operatives with whom she worked, and he’d gotten really good with their names. While he listened with half an ear to what had turned into good natured teasing, he recalled that Del’s wife was Bri, Prez’s wife was Maygan, Sarge was married to Brigid, and Wiley to Solina. Billboard had just gotten hitched to O’Shea, and Perk had ended up tying the knot with an agent from Chuck’s office, Sloane Vessers. Then there were the two Devons’ brothers, Brent and Daire, who rotated in and out on a part time basis. Their wives were Haven and Jewel, respectively.

Cobble patted himself on the back as he tuned in to listen again.

“Nope. Don’t worry. I didn’t leave you out of any loop. I nevah let anybuddy know about Cobble because his safety depended on him not being connected to me. Also, with Chuck being family, I kept Agent Smalley’s name out of my mouth, too. At least until that last case of Mistah Perkins’ where it kinda became apparent we knew each other,” she added.

“Still, we don’t know who we can trust at the FBI and DOJ offices, therefore we’re still playing it cool. I’m the only one who knows where Cobble’s been stashed because I’m the safest bet.”

“You?” Del questioned. “Aren’t you still on certain factions’ radar, regardless of no longer working for those agencies?”

“Nah. Nothing’s pointed in that direction. Once I was terminated with prejudice from the FBI, nobody really believed I had any kind of continued, vested interest in Cobble. They only knew that before I got canned, I’d been obsessed with bringing justice to my guys who were killed. Even after the CIA trial I told you about, it was only determined I was involved to avenge my squad. I’ve actually been designated ‘safe’ for a long time now.”

“Okay then,” Del responded, clearly satisfied with her explanation. “So, what can SOS do for you? I’m assuming this isn’t merely a social call to introduce me to your guy.”

Cobble liked that. He was Andy’s guy.

“Nope. Here’s the thing. We’re coming out of hiding,” Andy apprised. “Cobble has made up his mind. He’s tired of being on the run, and is refusing to go to his next safe-house.”

Del snorted. “And you’re letting him get away with that?”

Hah. Cobble understood where Del was coming from. Nobody got away with much under Andy’s watch.

Andy wrinkled her cute little nose at Cobble, amusedly. “Let’s just say that he…convinced me.”

“La, la, la,” Del groaned loudly. “TMI. Do not give me any details of what that means, please.”

“Now, Mistah Songen, would I do that to you?” Andy quipped.

“Yes. Because nobody in this office has filters,” he gruffed. “If I have to hear Billboard brag one more time about why he’s yawning so much in our morning meetings, I vow I’m going to start keeping the equivalent of a swear jar.”

Cobble chuckled. Swear jar, yes, but he’d never heard of a fuck -jar before.

“How’s that going to work?” Cobble asked Del curiously.

“Anyone boasting in any way about anything sexual, has to put in a twenty,” Del grumped.

“That’s a great idea,” Andy agreed gleefully. “And just think, with all the innuendo going around, the funds collected will more than pay fah next yeah’s Christmas party.”

“Okay. We’re done with that,” Del sighed. “It seems we’ve gotten off subject here. Let’s circle back to it.”

Andy’s boss led them in the right direction again. “So Cobble, you’re refusing to stay in hiding any longer. That’s ballsy, but how does that tie in to us?”

“We have a plan,” Cobble told him gruffly, “that involves your team.”

Andy took over. “To execute what we’re considering, Cobble needs all hands on deck. He also needs to be stashed somewhere close to Boston. A place that’s accessible, but a little remote. A safe location where he can stay that has little or no traceable connection to anyone who’ll be involved in the sting we’re devising.”

“And SOS is going to be part of this operation?” Del confirmed.

“Yes. Youze guys are a necessary piece of the puzzle.”

“Which means you don’t want him staying with any of us.”

“Right,” Andy confirmed. “Especially because there are too many of youze with kids, and we don’t want any danger coming to your doors. Can you think of anyplace nearby that will work?”

Del gave an audible snap of his fingers.

“I might… Yeah. That would do the trick,” he said in an upbeat tone. “Listen. Tucker Devons just bought some land south of Boston. He had me walk it with him a few weeks ago after we had lunch. Right now, there are several vacant bungalows on the property that are set to be demolished so that Devons Construction can put up some high-class townhouses. But the existing structures I’m talking about still look habitable.”

Tucker was a name that was unknown to Cobble. He assumed the man was brother to Brent and Daire, two of the SOS agents.

“That sounds perfect,” Andy agreed enthusiastically. “You think Tucker will agree?”

“I know he will. He loves to help us out when he can, and the last time I talked to him, the upcoming project was having some permitting issues. Which means the site isn’t slated for demo for at least another few months.”

“This won’t take months,” Cobble assured him confidently. “If everything goes according to plan, we should be able to wrap things up in a matter of weeks.”

Andy sent Cobble a concerned look, then gave him a nod. She didn’t like putting him in the crosshairs, but she was going along with it. He knew she was also continuously going over his proposed scheme in her head, combing for details that she might have missed or that might derail everything.

Regardless of any caveats she uncovered, Cobble wouldn’t be swayed.

Andy saw resolve in his face and huffed. “Will you ask Tuck if Cobble can use one of the houses?” Andy asked.

“I will. But assume it’s a done deal. And not to worry, I’ll make sure Tuck knows not to tell a soul.”

“Good. Now for my second request,” Andy continued.

Del groaned, but playfully. “You’re going to give me gray hair, Mizzay.”

“Nope. That’s your kids’ job,” Andy countered teasingly. “I’m just trying to keep you sharp in your old age.”

“Okay. Fine,” he chuckled. “What else?”

“Once we get into town and have Cobble settled, I need to call a meeting. With your permission, it’ll be held at the SOS offices, with all our people, my old boss from the DOJ, and a short list of agents from the local FBI office.”

“I’m assuming that includes Baskins and Smalley?”

“It does,” Andy confirmed.

“Okay. Sure. Count us in,” Del allowed. “How long before you’re local? I can put all our people on standby.”

“The sooner the better,” Cobble interjected firmly.

Would he rather stay here with Andy and play in their little, remote love-nest for the next week? Yes. But now that the ball had begun rolling, Cobble wanted—equally as much—for things to move forward as quickly as possible.

He crossed his fingers surreptitiously at his side.

If all went well, he and Andy would have all the time in the world to be together.

For the rest of their lives.