Auctioning the Bat
Prologue Sneak Peak
We’re one week away from Auctioning the Bat, a novella of the Three Rings Series! I hope you have all been having a lovely holiday and enjoy this early gift!
Prologue
“So it’s official,” Zeno questioned, legs swinging from the counter he sat on. “He’s in?”
“He’s in,” Brutus confirmed, stirring pasta and grinning back at him. “As of today, Felinus ‘il Gatto’ Drago is the youngest Capo named in the Esposito Family and in the Three Rings.”
Zeno laughed, delighted that it was all falling into place. “What about the kid?”
“Felinus is still working out some kinks with that,” he admitted. “But he’s met the Don and Nikola with the kid and they’ve had a few talks. There’s apparently a clause in the treaty that allowed men who don’t have the required degrees and age limits to come into the Three Rings under one of the Rings. Felinus said that it was so they didn’t have to kick all the men out who didn’t meet the requirements when the treaty was made but it’s a loophole that has been used in the past ten years. Apparently the Russians use it a fair bit to get immigrants out of Russia and into the city for at least a little while. The kid will be offered the ability to go to school if he wants but…”
“But why go to school for something you already know how to do,” Zeno finished, shaking his head. “Poor kid. He’s only eighteen and every other man in his life has fucked him over already.”
“All the more reason Felinus has for keeping him close,” Brutus pointed out, turning to face his boyfriend. “You know how my brother is. He’d sooner rip his own arm off than let someone take advantage of someone who doesn’t have back up.”
Zeno smirked. “You don’t need to remind me. I was there when he dislocated Tom Henry’s shoulder for trying to gang up on Maxy.” He paused. “Have we heard anything from Maxy recently?”
“Last I heard he was out west somewhere,” Brutus said waving his fingers noncommittally. “Felinus won’t say either way if they’ve had contact. Same goes for Norman. And Tyler. And Eddie. And—”
Zeno laughed again waving Brutus down. “Alright, alright. You don’t need to remind me of your brother’s many failed relationships. I just worry about him. They always seem so exciting when he first starts seeing them and then it goes south within six months.”
“Vinny says it’s because Felinus is too intense,” Brutus said, stepping across the gap of their tiny kitchen to slide between Zeno’s knees. “It takes a special sort of person to be with a mobster at the best of times, let alone someone like Felinus. Some men never find the right one.”
“Hm,” Zeno murmured, running his fingers up Brutus’s arms and biting his lip. “Guess it’s lucky I found the perfect man early, eh?”
Brutus smirked even as he blushed, leaning into him. “Guess you did.”
A knock interrupted their tender moment, loud and abrupt.
They looked at the door then each other with a frown.
“Were you expecting someone?”
“No,” Zeno said, shaking his head and pushing off the counter as Brutus stepped back.
Reaching into the small of their backs, they pulled pistols. Brutus moved ahead, checking the peephole. He frowned, glancing back at Zeno.
“It’s Rosco,” he murmured, turning back to the door.
“Ros— Wait,” Zeno said quickly, reaching for Brutus’s arm but too late.
An older man stood on the other side of the door, blinking as he took in Brutus. “Lil’ Val Two,” he said, leaning back to look at the number of the apartment then back to Brutus. “How have you been? You and your brother have been whispered about lately.”
Brutus’s fingers flexed on the pistol still out of sight behind the door but he smiled. “Only whispers? Felinus will be disappointed. He thought he made quite the entrance to the table.”
Rosco’s weight shifted, glancing away. “Above my pay grade,” he said firmly. “I’m looking for The Bat.”
Eyes narrowed at Zeno’s nickname, trained on Rosco and not glancing back where the man in question was. “Why?”
“Collection day.”
“The fuck it is,” Zeno burst out, coming around the edge of the door. “That’s not until—” He broke off, feeling Brutus’s eyes heavy on him.
“Felinus’s absence has everything jumbled up,” Rosco said, not noticing or not caring the grenade he had just tossed between the two. “You pay me now and I’m here for it.”
The younger Drago brother turned away from the door without a word, walking deeper into the apartment.
“Brutus, wait,” Zeno called after him, starting to follow.
Powerful, calloused fingers wrapped around his elbow, keeping him from getting away. “I said—”
“I fucking heard you,” he snapped at the man, never before wanting to shoot someone quite so badly and he had helped bury a man who had taken advantage of a teenager not even three days ago. “I don’t have it on me. I’ll have it tomorrow when it was fucking due to begin with!”
Rosco’s eyes narrowed, his fingers tightening. “Watch your tongue, kid. Just because your friend rose up, doesn’t mean you can forget where you stand.”
Zeno wanted to tell him to fuck off with his veiled threats. He had been raised by mobsters, raised around the Family. Rosco, a soldier who never aimed higher than being someone else’s thug and debt collector, didn’t fucking scare him. But he had bigger issues at the moment than fighting with a man the same age as his father. “I will have it tomorrow,” he repeated, pulling his arm free. “I’ll even bring it right to the office so you don’t have to come back out here and pay for the late fee. But I don’t carry that kind of cash on me.”
Rosco looked as if he was going to keep insisting but seemed to realize that Zeno wasn’t going anywhere. He was a made man who had deep ties to the Family, disappearing to avoid paying a debt he’d been paying off every month now would be foolish. “Be there before noon,” he said bluntly, turning away without another word.
Zeno shut the door quickly, flipping the deadbolt in case the asshole decided to come back. “Brutus,” he called, hurrying through their small apartment to the bedroom.
The closet door was open, hangers scattered across the floor as Brutus shoved fabric into a duffle bag.
“Brutus, vita mia,” he said, feeling his voice tremble. He flinched as the sound of the zipper closing ripped through him. “Please,” he begged. “Please, let me explain.”
“You lied to me,” Brutus growled, not looking at him.
“No, no, I never lied,” Zeno protested. “I kept it quiet yes, but only so you wouldn’t worry. It’s all fine.”
“It is NOT FINE,” he roared suddenly, grabbing the bag and moving to the door. “You know how I feel about these things and you kept it from me!”
“Brutus, please,” Zeno begged again, trying to brace in the door to keep him from leaving. But Brutus had always been bigger and stronger, even when they were kids. Zeno’s shoulder jerked back as Brutus pushed through like he was paper. “Vita mia,” he repeated, grabbing at Brutus’s arm. “Please. Please. It’s not what you think.” He flinched again as Brutus rounded on him, not from the anger rolling off him but from the pain in those hazel eyes Zeno loved so much.
“Do you owe Leandro money?”
It was such a simple sounding question, but one that sat in Zeno’s stomach like a lead weight. Not answering wasn’t an option. But neither was trying to get out of it. “Sì, I owe money, but—”
“But nothing,” Brutus growled, ripping his arm away the same way Zeno had ripped away from Rosco. “You knew what that man is and you fucked around anyway. We’re done.”
“Vita—” The word was a whimper, a break in Zeno’s heart.
“You don’t get to call me that after lying to me about this,” Brutus snarled. “You knew what you were doing and you didn’t care enough to be honest with me, ME. And to know Felinus was your collector—” His voice broke off, the pain only growing in his eyes as Zeno’s vision swam. “We’re over, Zeno,” he whispered. “You broke us and I don’t know if it can ever be mended. I’ll be back for the rest of my things later.”
“Per favore,” Zeno whimpered, staggering forward as Brutus turned away. “Brutus!”
The floor came up to meet him, knees crashing into the cheap vinyl. Their front door opened once again, then closed sharply, rattling a picture frame on the wall. The sound seemed to echo despite the well furnished space, tearing into Zeno’s chest as reality set in. The vinyl was cold against his forehead as he held himself in a ball, the screaming sob ripping his throat with his heart.
Zeno didn’t know how long he was on the floor. A while, maybe hours, based on the ache where his body pressed into the floor. He only knew that he had cried until nothing was left and now he stared vacantly at the baseboard as a pair of polished shoes came into view.
“Rosco came to collect early,” he whispered without looking up. “Brutus left me.”
“I know,” Felinus said, his voice tight almost cold. It did that now. Once upon a time, his friend would have sworn and cursed and promised violence to whoever dared to hurt the people he cared about. But that was another time, when flying off the handle only risked a night in jail and bruised knuckles. Now, Felinus kept control, enacting the previously promised violence with careful execution that hadn’t gotten him found out yet.
“He said I broke us,” he mumbled.
“You and I both know that Brutus has a flair for the dramatics,” he said, still standing over Zeno. “You made mistakes but you’re fixing them. If he doesn’t want to acknowledge that then that’s his loss, not yours.”
“I’m lost without him, Felinus.”
A heavy sigh answered him, the shoes shifting as Felinus looked around. “He came to see me after he left,” he said finally. “He’s pissed at me for keeping it from him, too.”
“Sorry.”
“Don’t be. I made the choice not to say anything when I was given your debt.” He huffed. “Leandro is a real piece of shit. No doubt he told Rosco to come early and here so exactly this would happen. Last night at the table, I named Brutus as my second and you as my third. I wouldn’t put it past him to interfere so I had to choose between the two of you, split my power before it could even set in.”
“There’s no reason to choose,” he said dully. “Brutus is your brother and a good choice. I’ll step down—”
“The fuck you will,” Felinus growled suddenly. “This changes nothing. The two of you are the only people I will take for those positions. You’re mine, Bat. I’m not losing you because the two of you didn’t work out. If we lose our friendship, it’s because I’ve killed you and I’m not fucking killing you any time soon.”
Zeno frowned, twisting his head to finally look up at Felinus. “Brutus—”
“Agrees,” Felinus cut over him. “It might be a bit begrudgingly at the moment and he’s certainly not going to be particularly pleasant to either of us for a while until he gets over himself. But we three are the ones who started this path. I need you both to secure the future this city deserves.” He held out a hand. “So if you’re done having your pity party on the floor, we have work to do.”
Zeno stared at him, his best friend, for a long silent moment, then he reached up and clasped his hand into Felinus’s. “Where do we start?”
“With a visit to a debt collector,” Felinus told him as he pulled Zeno to his feet, and clasped his shoulder. “It’s going to work out, Zeno,” he said, his voice quieter but warming. “Just keep doing right and it’ll all work out in the end. You’re already on your way and with your cut of the job, you can settle the debt today. Our new friend, Snake, is standing by to move it as soon as you give the okay.”
Zeno swallowed but nodded. The last year of payments hadn’t been easy on his salary but it had been doable with a few sacrifices. If he could get that bit off his plate, that constant reminder of his mistakes, particularly now that it was with someone else who might start applying pressure that could add to it, then he could focus on everything else. He could keep “sober” if he stayed away from the temptation and there was very little temptation, even less so now that it had cost him Brutus. His fingers squeezed Felinus’s. “Let’s do it.”