Page 53 of A Monster Is Coming

This made me pause. Finn Byrne had been a hard man to ride out of the city, but his strength and power had weakened in what seemed like overnight.

I frowned, and looked toward Ivan, who nodded.

“Everything that is in the Byrne name belongs to Niamh,” Ivan said. “All the money and wealth didn’t disappear overnight. On his mother’s deathbed, when he was gleeful, she had the last laugh, because not only did she transfer all ownership to little Niamh Byrne, but she also locked it up solid and tight so that Finn couldn’t take it. If the funds started to leave the account in too big of a sum, someone was alerted and would stop transactions. That’s the first thing Finn tried to do. If Niamh signed over anything to anyone, that was another alert. Everything Finn tried to do would result in him getting less and less, which is why I was able to take his turf and push him back.”

“Niamh doesn’t have a clue,” I said.

“She does now,” Ivan said.

“Why didn’t he kill her?” I asked. “Wouldn’t it have transferred to him?”

“No. It would seem Niamh Sr. was not to be trifled with. The inheritance of the Byrne name comes with a lot of responsibility. Something Finn didn’t take seriously. He thought the wealth, the power, all of it was coming to him, and it was, until the day he slapped his mother around and opened her eyes to the man he had become.”

I did not know how Ivan knew this.

“You see, Peter, leaders need to be monsters, but they also need to know when to keep that monster locked up tight, and then there are other times when that monster is coming, no matter what.”

“Niamh’s a powerful woman.”

“I met Niamh’s grandmother,” Ivan said. “I met her a few times. She was a lovely woman. She told me I would make a fine leader. She also wished I was her son, but she had to stick to tradition. The only way to do that was to keep the power in the Byrne name, but in marriage, that power can be utilized. Finn couldn’t kill his daughter, but he was trying to find a way of gaining that power.”

“Are you telling me he planned to marry her off?” I asked.

“Yes, and then Niamh decided to take off. He had everything in place, and then she did what she did, and the guy in question—the weak sap who was going to be told what to do—met an untimely end.” Ivan clicked his tongue. “You’re going to marry Niamh. You’re going to protect her, and in time, you’re going to give her a child, many children. You will give her exactly what she wants, because in return she is going to provide us with the power of the Byrne name.”

Ivan moved past me, going toward the door.

I realized in that moment how important it was to keep Niamh safe. Her father was never going to kill her. He couldn’t do it, not if he wanted to forego everything that was Byrne.

“There’s going to be a target on her head.”

“Oh, trust me, there already is, which is why we need to have you married as soon as possible. Now, I suggest you go and check on your future bride.”

Ivan opened the door and I stepped through. I didn’t linger to try and get more information out of Ivan. There was no point. He’d already given me a lot of details. I was still curious as to how he and Niamh knew each other, but there would come a time for that. For now, I had to see Niamh.

I passed The Butcher, who was sipping on that nasty coffee, and I stepped into her room and closed the door behind me.

Niamh turned her head to look at me. “Has Ivan given you the news?”

“Yes.”

She laughed and shook her head. “You’d think if I had that much power, I might have been able to stop this. To stop all of this.”

“Your dad kept you out of the loop on purpose. He couldn’t allow you to know the kind of power you wielded.”

“And now Ivan Volkov wants it.”

“No, I don’t think he wants it for himself,” I said.

I stayed by the door, not wanting to get any closer.

“You lied,” she said.

“So did you.”

“True. Yeah, so true. I was Niamh Long and you were Peter Shadows.” She started laughing. “I should have known it was all a trick.”

I didn’t say anything.

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