Page 230 of Dark Love

Everyone turns to Dylan.

She shrugs, “I might have done a little research on Valen Linckester instead of writing words.”

“Oh? Spill the dirt. What’s his body count?” Stella leans forward.

Daria writes a little note and slides it over to Colin. He scribbles on the paper and slides it back. There should be sly smiles or hidden glances between the two of them.

That’s it. I’m pathetic. I want everyone to be in love because I am.

“We need snacks if we’re going to spill the tea like this.” Junie reaches into her bag for a granola bar.

“How about I order us some room service?” Colin stands up.

The girls stare at each other silently. They want the food, but not at the prices bound to be charged on the room service menu.

“My treat.”

It’s all smiles after that.

Colin walks over to the in-house phone.

“Spill quickly before Piper shows up.” Garnet motions with her hand for Dylan to move it along.

“Valen Linckester is responsible for the death of probably tens of thousands of people.”

Everyone gasps.

“But not directly. His family has been a weapons contractor for the government for generations.”

That’s not quite the same as killing people.

“They’re worth billions, maybe tens of billions. No one knows exactly. The company is controlled by his grandfather and broken up between him and his two cousins.”

So just a little bit rich. That’s got to be weird for Piper.

“Each one of them got a company to run.”

“So what does Valen Linckester do then, make bombs?” Garnet walks over to the bar to pour herself a drink.

“No, that’s his cousin, Joseph. The other one, Arnold, deals with chemical warfare.”

Bombs! Chemical warfare! What did they talk about at the dinner table, how to melt people’s faces off or creating a bomb that can blow up more people?

That’s not really a fair thought, but it just seems wild to grow up thinking about how to kill people.

“Valen’s branch focuses on defense, from body armor to shielding for vehicles. He also expanded out and makes armored personal vehicles, riot gear for police, bulletproof vests, and bunker gear for firefighters.”

That sounds more like saving lives.

“So what you’re saying is he’s sexy, rich, and saves lives every day. How is any of that a bad thing?” Garnet sits back down at the coffee table.

“It’s a problem because one, he’s a billionaire, and two, Colin didn’t mention any of those things. Also, he might not be a billionaire soon. The grandfatherowns everything and there are rumors swirling that he plans to give everything to only ‘one’ of his grandsons before he dies.”

Dylan did a deep dive into this guy.

All eyes shift to Colin.

“What?”

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