Page 56 of A Monster Is Coming

“And it’s supposed to be with people who love each other,” I countered.

The Butcher burst out laughing. This didn’t make me feel any better.

She put a hand to her stomach and she waved the other one across my face, as if it was the funniest thing she had ever heard. “Seriously, do you even know history and understand what marriage is? It’s a contract. A biding contract that brings families together, but it also produces wealth and all that shit. It is rare, so very rare for love to even enter the equation. Even if it does enter the equation, it is rare for marriage to last. In this day and age, there is always divorce and it is so easy to get one.”

I looked toward this woman and sighed. “You’re not good at giving pep talks, are you?”

“No one needs a pep talk, Niamh. It’s a cold sense of reality right now. Peter is your only chance of having any semblance of happiness. Is it ideal? Probably not. Think of the alternative—your father decides and then your life would be miserable. You’d be with a man who is at the mercy of your father. Spitting kids out, wishing for death, and not being allowed it. Men like your father make you pay. They make you crave death, and they don’t allow it. Even though you didn’t do anything wrong, he will make you suffer.”

“You’re saying it’s going to be different with Peter? Part of the Volkov Bratva?” I asked.

“Yeah, I am.” The Butcher stared at me for several minutes and I had no idea what she was thinking. “Look, I don’t do the whole friend thing, or the talking thing, or any of that shit. Life sent me down a path I wouldn’t wish on anyone. I know of the evil shits of this world, and your father is not even the worst kind. There are men far worse, and women. Ivan Volkov is a mystery, there’s no doubt about it. He is scary as fuck and what makes him even more so, is no one is ever prepared for what that man is willing to do.”

This was not making me feel any better. If anything, this was terrifying me even more, but I didn’t interrupt as she seemed to be on some kind of roll.

“What I have learned about Ivan Volkov, is no one can mess with those he cares about. They make an enemy of him, and he is loyal. He is not just chasing power or wealth. He is building a family. That is something no one has ever tried before. What I also see is Ivan builds from the broken, the damaged, the unwanted. It’s what everyone seems to have in common.”

I couldn’t help but think about Peter. “Everyone?” I asked.

“Ivan Volkov himself was thrown out like garbage. There are rumors as to why, that he was damaged or defective. His dad didn’t like that he wasn’t perfect. Ivan wasn’t killed, but he rose up the ranks, took the Bratva, and made it what it is now, and you’re married into it. You’re a Volkov now, but you do need to earn your place. When you are a true Volkov, you’ll know it.”

I looked at The Butcher. “Are you a Volkov?”

“Nope, not yet, I’m still only a candidate for an area.” She clapped her hands together. “Don’t worry, I have no doubts I am going to win it.” She winked at me, and then moved toward the door. “So, are you going to come out and enjoy your wedding, or are you going to stay locked up in this bathroom with no way out?”

****

Peter

“Shut the fuck up, it won’t be long before it’s your wedding we’re attending, and then I will be the one gloating,” I said, as Victor continued to laugh.

“I don’t think so. In case you didn’t notice, Ivan went in order, and he’s skipped me, which means I don’t have to worry my little head about getting a wife.”

I sipped my glass of whiskey and glanced over at Victor. I expected him to be the next one to be married off, but no, Ivan had other plans.

“Unless he plans to give you to The Butcher to play with, and gives your domain to her.” I winked at him, and that soon wiped the smile off Victor’s face.

It wasn’t lost on me that The Butcher was spending a lot of time around my home, near Niamh, which could only mean one thing. Ivan had put The Butcher in charge of protection detail for Niamh. I had my men guarding her, as well as three men less then five feet away from her at all times. This had caused Niamh to complain, especially when she wanted to go out into the garden, or even use the bathroom, or take a shower.

The men were on a rotation between the day shift and the night shift. Six of my finest men. Nothing was going to happen to Niamh.

I also protected her. Like now, I knew Niamh had been in the bathroom for quite some time. So much that The Butcher had gone inside, and neither of them had come out.

Ivan had set our wedding day up, and of course it was extravagant, and I didn’t expect anything less from him.

I finished my glass of whiskey and placed it on the tray of a passing waiter. Ivan was doing the rounds, and I saw the respect he got from everyone.

The only person here from Niamh’s family was her brother, and he was under guard also. Ivan had taken over the negotiations with Finn Sr., and he’d kept Finn Jr. as well.

I moved toward Finn, with no other intention than to distract myself from worrying about Niamh. I wanted to go into the bathroom and find out what she was doing, but at the same time, I wanted to give her privacy.

“Enjoying the wedding?” I asked.

“It’s a beautiful … day,” he said. “It would greatly piss off my father to see it like this.”

This made me happy.

“He never liked Niamh,” Finn Jr. said. “It always pissed him off that he had to be nice to her. It’s why he would hurt her, as that gave him pleasure. He will enjoy taking whatever happiness she has, and trust me, my father has a way of getting what he wants.”

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