Page 546 of Dark Love

“Barb likes things to be neat and tidy.”

“Why don’t you just ask her out already?”

Shock shrugs.

Lovesick fool.

Dahlia and I are going to move to some deserted island and never talk to people again. Seriously, all of them are driving me out of my mind this morning.

I knock on Barb’s storage room.

“Come in.”

She has such trust in my security. “Barb.”

“Hey, Vex.” Her brow wrinkles. “What’s going on?”

“I need to talk to you.” And I really don’t want to.

“Sure.” She jumps up. “We’re well stocked, and my inventory sheet is in order. If this is about going over budget—"

“It’s not.” We can’t have this conversation here. “Follow me.”

Halfway up the staircase to Shock’s loft, Barb asks, “Is everything okay with Shock? Should I have brought my bag?”

“Shock is fine.” Physically at least… for now. Will she fix him up after she beats him up for stalking her?

The idea of Barb hurting someone is preposterous. She calls maintenance if she finds a spider. Though most women hate spiders. Will Dahlia scream and call for me when she finds one? A small smile spreads across my face. I don’t bother knocking as I enter his loft.

He’s waiting for us at the kitchen island, dressed in a new outfit with his hair done.

“What’s going on?” Barb's eyes wander around the loft like she’s never seen it before.

“I had a concerning visit this morning, and I’m wondering if you know anything about it?” There’s no visual response except confusion.

“Huh?”

“People are talking about you on the dark web. Do you have any idea as to why they might be talking about you?”

“Oh.” Barb steps back. “Oh.”

“Is that a yes or a no?” I don’t have patience for these people today.

“It’s a… maybe.”

“What did you do, Barb?” Shock steps forward. “I could have set up a private account for you, something that couldn’t have been traced back to you.”

“But it has to be. Without credentials, they wouldn’t have let me into the group.”

Barb did this on purpose. New employee rule: no doing stupid things without going over it with me first so I can knock some sense into you. “What did you do?”

“Nothing. It’s just a theoretical discussion.”

That definitely sounds like something. “What did you theoretically discuss?”

“Every month it changes. Someone different gets to pick the topic.”

Stop making this so hard and just answer the question.

---