Page 35 of Gluttony (Seven Deadly Sins #4)

Chapter Twenty-Four

Orion

“We have been pulling cons since we were both teenagers. Started small, getting free meals in restaurants and diners by planting fake hairs or whatever. After college, we tried bigger, harder cons. Scamming the rich to become rich ourselves, none of this Robin Hood shit. Mickey would always choose the mark, do the technical stuff, and I’d put myself on the line, each and every time.

Occasionally, he’d join me on the con if it became a two-man job, but more often than not he sat behind his computer screen and worked on my digital footprint—for whoever I was pretending to be.

” Bowie’s pacing the main room of the Mancini Hotel suite, her arms folded across her chest and her palms gripping her biceps.

She pauses, looks up, then briefly makes eye contact with each of us sitting on the couch.

It’s obvious that she’s nervous, but who wouldn’t be when faced with three men ten years older and at least seven inches taller?

I have one of the twins on either side of me, and each of us remain silent, staring ahead.

For me, at least, my expression is stern.

We may already know all this shit, but it doesn’t make it any easier to hear.

“There was an article about a year ago…” Bowie takes a deep breath and starts pacing again before continuing.

“It was a piece about the necklace Orion inherited from his grandparents. One aptly named after him. The Orion’s Abyss that is reportedly worth almost two-hundred-and-fifty million dollars.

Which happens to be fifty million dollars more than the ‘A Heritage In Bloom’, which was once the most expensive necklace in the world.

That kind of money would mean we wouldn’t have to pull any more cons.

We’d be set for life. The article said that you had recently expanded the record company and moved to New York so Mickey said we’d be stupid not to steal it, seeing as you were so close.

The research began, then we finally thought we had an in at the nightclub, that you would bring me back to the apartment, but well, we all know how that went.

” She’s rambling, no longer paying any attention to the three of us.

“When that didn’t work, Mickey decided on Plan B.

He er…okay, we didn’t agree to this part and I had no idea what he was going to do, but he’s responsible for what happened to Abby.

I swear I had nothing to do with it, I was just supposed to plant some drugs on her, have her arrested…

” She pauses again and turns to watch for our reactions.

We give her none. Well, I can’t speak for the twins because I’m not looking at them, but I can see from my peripheral, neither of them has moved an inch.

This piece of information about Abby is new to us.

Mickey didn’t divulge quite this much in our basement.

I want Hadley to capture the fucker all over again so we can keep him for a little longer.

Abby has kids, a husband, and they were all worried as fuck when she was hit by a car.

She didn’t deserve that for the sake of a fucking necklace.

“Okay, I know I’m the one in the wrong here but you’re giving me nothing.”

I have to hold back a smirk at her sass as she finishes what she’s saying with a hand on her hip.

“You’re giving me the silent treatment. I get it.

Fine.” With another deep breath, she starts pacing again.

“I doctored my resumé, did some more research, and came for an interview. You know most of what happens next because I clearly got the job. What you don’t know is that Mickey became obsessed with this thing and I began to see him for what he is, what he’s always been and I was fucking blind to it.

” She’s clenching her fists now, her tone full of anger.

“I thought he loved me, but really, all he ever loved was what I could do for him. When he hit me, I de—”

“Woah, hold the fuck up. He what now?” Hadley is the first to break our joint silence, jumping up from his seat heading straight for the alcohol, opening one of the tiny bottles.

“I knew I shoulda killed the mother fucker.” He downs the contents of the bottle and pulls out a box of Tic Tacs, downing the contents of that, too.

“Er…what do you mean by that?” Bowie’s eyes are squinted with suspicion and now she’s the deathly still one.

“Nah ah. It’s not my turn yet, Little Rabbit. He the one who gave you the black eye a few weeks ago?” He crunches the mints before picking up another tiny bottle.

Huffing, Bowie rolls her eyes. “Yeah, but it wasn’t that big of a deal, he was angr—”

“Make fucking excuses for him again and the cupcakes stop.” Hadley points the bottle at her, his glare deadly serious, before he sits back down next to me.

“I have so many questions…”

“Still your turn to give answers, Little Rabbit. So give ‘em.”

At this point, I can practically feel Hadley vibrating with an angry energy, and Hayes is just as angry.

His breaths have become more drawn out, like he’s trying to hold himself back.

I’m close to jumping up to search for Mickey myself.

I mean, what kind of man lets his woman go off and sleep with other men… for money?

I’m all for women doing that, safely, but this is completely different.

He was basically pimping her out to make his life better. The lazy fuck was willing to let three men sleep with her so he would never have to work again. And hitting her? Well…he’s lucky he walked out of that basement and took our money to disappear.

“Okay.” Bowie holds her hands up in surrender and finally sits down on the couch opposite. “So I was having doubts after he h…” She trails off and stops when both Hadley and Hayes growl from either side of me like fucking animals.

“I wouldn’t continue that sentence if I were you.” When both of the twins get worked up simultaneously, it’s usually time for me to step in and be the voice of reason.

She nods in understanding. “When the thing happened is when I really started questioning everything; our whole relationship and what it actually meant. Which was essentially nothing. I figured we’d see this through and it’d all go back to normal, but he got worse.

Or maybe I just started seeing him for what he really is.

The strangest thing happened. For once, I was enjoying myself.

I didn’t want to go through with the con anymore, not that I told Mickey that or even voiced it out loud.

I’ve never worked a real job before and it’s been kinda nice to have, like, a real purpose.

” She sighs and shrugs. “I guess I fucked that up now, though. Anyway, Mickey obviously got tired of waiting and thought I wasn’t progressing quickly enough, so he arranged to have me…

” She clears her throat and lowers her gaze to the floor.

“He arranged to have me jumped outside of my apartment building to test his theory. I guess he was right. I mean, it did get me an invite into your apartment.”

“Bowie, I think you need to stop talking now.” I note how the twins are ready to burst, Hayes has his fingertips digging so far into the arm of the couch, I’m surprised he hasn’t pierced it yet, and Hadley literally crushed the tiny glass bottle in his hand.

Me, I’m just as fucking angry and even more pissed that we let Mickey go, but that won’t help the here and now.

“That’s not everything, because now Mickey’s sold our condo and emptied the bank account.

He’s gone missing for all intents and purposes, but I know he had something to do with what happened at your penthouse.

Not directly, because he’s a fucking pussy, but he knows people.

He uses the dark web or some shit to find who and what he needs.

And I’m so sorry for everything. I promise I’ll leave first thing in the morning.

Or now, if you want me to. You never have to see me agai—”

“If you think we’re letting you go, Little Rabbit, you are sorely mistaken.” Hadley crunches on some more mints and cracks his neck.

“You should go to bed. Get some sleep. It’s been a long evening.” Hayes stands and adjusts the buttons on his suit jacket, effectively dismissing Bowie.

There were a few new pieces of information gleaned from everything she told us, and those are the pieces that the three of us need to discuss, among other things. The tiredness in Bowie’s eyes makes me agree with Hayes. She looks like she could sleep for a week.

“Are you saying it’s my bedtime?” She frowns and I can detect a hint of disbelief in her tone.

“Yes.” Sliding his hands into his pockets, Hayes just stands there, waiting for her to follow his instruction.

She looks to Hadley for some kind of back up but he has his head in his hands and his right leg is bouncing up and down. Then she looks to me. All I can give her is a tight-lipped smile and a light shrug.

“Ugh. Fine.” She huffs again and turns, heading toward her allocated room.

I can tell that she wants to rebel and argue by the stiffness of her walk, but she also knows it would be a fruitless effort right now. She reads us all better than we’d like to admit.

Just to make it clear that she’s pissed at us—even though she’s the one that should be groveling—she slams the bedroom door behind her.

“H, what’re you thinking?” I head over to the table of alcohol and lift the bottle of bourbon we requested on arrival, pouring out three glasses and completely ignoring Hadley, who is subsequently still crushing the rest of the mini bottles.

He needs a moment in his own head to process the new information that I know has made him murderous.

Hayes clears his throat as I pass him a glass.

“Hadley was right. We should have killed the motherfucker when we had him.” He sighs and shakes his head, downing the drink. “I just didn’t expect her to come clean so quickly.” That’s said as more of an afterthought.

“Next time you two tell me not to kill someone, I’m not listening. I’m gonna find the fucker, then I’m gonna turn him inside out.” Holding out his hand for his glass, a dangerous grin spreads across Hadley’s face.

“I think we all need to talk about what this whole thing is.” I’m attempting to be the voice of reason.

Hayes is spiraling about something. I feel like I should know what, but it’s been a whirlwind lately.

And Hadley is bubbling with the need to find Mickey and kill him.

There’s not even a shadow of a doubt that he’ll do it either.

Having this conversation now should help to center them, focus them, so we can actually get shit done in the long run.

“With Bowie, I mean.” I sit on the couch Bowie occupied before she left the room and the twins pull their focus to me, Hayes still standing, and Hadley unmoved from his position. “I know you want to keep her.” I make sure to look at both of them.

Hayes rears back a little. “When did I ever say that? You’re talking out of your arse, Ry.” Shaking his head, he pours himself a fresh bourbon.

“You don’t need to say it, big bro. We got that whole twin thing going on. And Orion isn’t fucking stupid. We can read you like a book. You haven’t been so invested in something since we started H20.”

“Wanker.” Hayes doesn’t even try to argue. He knows the truth as much as we do.

“She was pretty honest with us tonight. And I know we’ve all had our moments with her.

Including you, H, so don’t stand there shaking your head again like you don’t know what I’m talking about.

I’m feeling things that I didn’t expect, especially considering the circumstances, but there you have it.

If we’re all in, then the next conversation should be with Bowie.

” I’m laying it out there, hoping Hayes is ready to admit his own feelings.

Hadley’s been admitting it since day one, but I still feel like we need this.

“Of course I’m in, I was in balls deep just over a week ago. I don’t know how I’ve held off doing it again for so long. She’s so fucking tight.” Hadley moans and rubs his growing hard on.

“For fuck sake, Hads.” Hayes sighs and sips his drink.

“What? I’m tellin’ ya, as soon as you’ve slid your cock into that beautiful pink pussy in there, you’ll wanna set up house and call it home.”

“Hayes?” Interrupting whatever the fuck it is they’re doing, I bring us back around to the conversation at hand. “You in? Because you know we’re all or none.”

He looks up at me, his elbows resting on his knees and glass still in his grip, then takes a deep breath. “I’m in, but I think we’re all forgetting something real important.”

There’s a knock on the door of the suite, followed by more of a bang before it swings open and four people rush inside.

I say people…

“New York City Police Department, everybody, hands up. We’re here for Bowie Diamond Glitter Jones.”

Ah, shit.