Page 29 of The Cat's Mausy

Breakfast at the Villa

Felinus twitched when his phone went off and felt Issac do the same in his arms. It was still dark out which for this time of year meant very little. The sound wasn’t one of the personal ringtones Snake had programmed for him when he had let his hacker set it up two years ago. That either meant a burner number or someone was going to die for waking them up.

He groaned as he rolled over without letting go of Issac’s shoulders. The first rectangle he grabbed unlocked when he looked at it to probably the cutest mouse cartoon Snake could find. Five o’clock shined down in his eyes in a cheerful font that mocked his exhaustion. He dropped Issac’s phone back to the bed as he reached out for the ringing sound. The number on the screen had the city’s area code and he couldn’t recall it being given to him.

“What is it,” he growled by way of greeting. His head dropped back into the pillows as he pressed Issac back down to his chest, feeling Issac curl into him.

“Gatto,” Nikola’s cold, no-nonsense voice said on the other end of the line, “the Don has summoned you.”

Felinus took a deep breath in through his nose tiredly and closed his eyes. One of Nikola’s phone numbers; of course. The bodyguard-personal assistant to the Don was forever switching phone numbers to the point that even Snake gave up logging them. “When?”

“He expects you for breakfast,” Nikola said in that same tone.

Felinus sat up, Issac rolling off of him without a sound. “Wait, I’ve got-”

“The Don knows what you have, Gatto,” Nikola interrupted him, a bit of steel entering his tone. “Do not bring it with you and do not keep him waiting.”

Felinus held the phone away from his ear to stare at it as the line went dead. He swore. Nikola’s phone etiquette wasn’t the best, but it was never a good sign when the man simply hung up on you.

“Sounds like you need to go,” Issac said, with a soft groan as he stretched and rolled out of the bed.

“I do,” Felinus agreed, dialing Brutus. He was somehow not surprised at how unbothered Issac seemed at being woken up by the call. He watched Issac walk into the bathroom, biting his lip at the cum that had leaked out onto his thighs during the night. Fuck, he was going to need to shower, too.

“What,” Brutus said shortly, sounding every bit as tired as Felinus felt as he untangled himself from the bed.

“I’ve been summoned to the Villa for breakfast,” he told him, deciding against following Issac into his bathroom and instead going across the hall into his own. “I need you to take Issac to school and maybe coordinate to pick him up depending on what happens.”

Brutus was quiet for a moment. “The Don has breakfast early,” he said slowly.

“I’m aware,” Felinus said, sighing as he turned the shower on. Time was short, but he could hardly present himself to the Don’s breakfast table smelling like stale sex.

“You think this has to do with Issac and Volkov?” Brutus asked, a similar hissing sound from his end of the phone.

“If it’s not, then I’m getting a hunt with no notice,” Felinus said, going back into his room to pull out fresh clothes. “Which could be more complicated with everything we have going on.”

“We can handle it,” Brutus reassured him. “They already like Issac and we can see how much help he needs. There are a couple of soldiers that are due for some additional responsibilities. They’d be thrilled to have whatever task we need to shuffle towards them. More so if it means joining you to find a rat.”

“Maybe,” Felinus said, not loving the idea of taking green hunters with him but also not loving the idea of leaving Issac without one of his most trusted men if he couldn’t be with him. “Issac is already awake and getting into the shower. I’m taking one myself and leaving immediately after.”

“I’ll be up in fifteen to make sure he doesn’t try walking,” Brutus said.

“Grazie,” Felinus said and hung up.

Issac was still in the shower when Felinus reentered his room, the frosted glass giving Felinus only the pale silhouette of his body. It was too thin, bonier than anyone had any right to be, but there was a promise of what it could be once he was healthy. A body that other people might try putting their hands on. Felinus had to pull his lip free from his teeth when he noticed the length starting to rise. He was a caporegime for fuck’s sake, not a teenage boy peeping on his boyfriend.

“I figured you left already,” Issac said, not turning away from the spray of water as he passed a hand through his hair.

“I’m leaving right now.” Felinus watched Issac’s hands work into his scalp. “Brutus will be up in a few minutes to take you to school. If anyone other than us or the men you’ve met comes to get you after, you’ll get pictures of who they are and a password for them to give you.”

“What am I, an elementary schooler?” Issac asked, but there was amusement in his tone as he turned slowly to face Felinus with his hands coming to his hips.

“You’re valuable,” Felinus said, devouring every inch of that pale, fuzzy outline with his eyes and wishing he could be in there to devour him against the tiled wall. “Perhaps even priceless. I am not going to lose you to someone posing as one of my men.” He needed to go, not only because he was running out of time but because if he didn’t, he was going to get into that shower fully dressed. “Make sure you eat on time. I may not be able to check in today like I did yesterday. Someone will be waiting for you in the same spot the minute your last class gets out and will make sure you get dinner. You can study in your office.”

“Fine, fine,” Issac said, waving a hand and tilting his head to one side. “Get going. It sounded important.”

“Ten more seconds,” Felinus breathed.

Forty minutes later, Felinus’s sports car took the winding road to Don Antonio Esposito’s sprawling estate at a much greater speed than he usually would.

---