Page 57 of A Monster Is Coming

I turned to look at him, staring him in the eye. There is this smug look on Finn Jr.’s face that fades when he realized I am taller than him, bigger, and no one can protect him.

For several seconds I didn’t make a sound. I just stared at him, and let his imagination run wild.

Ivan would stop me, unless it was a power trip for Ivan to have Junior here.

“I find it fascinating that you have so much respect for a man who cannot save you,” I said. “He has made no effort to come and get you. Hasn’t even asked for proof that you’re alive. Your father never told you that the one person with all the power here is your sister. Did you know that? Niamh has the power to kill all of you, to take everything. She owns it all, which is why she was never gotten rid of. You’ve got sisters and brothers all over. Your father has never been known for his faithfulness. You’re at her mercy, and if she so decides, your life is over. I will kill your father for what he did to Niamh, not just for the beating he gave her a month ago, or my baby that he took. No, I’m going to make sure that every time he hurt Niamh in the past, he suffers, and it will be long and slow. I like that. Everyone says revenge is a dish best served cold. For me, revenge is something you take a long time administering. I know how to make him stay alive, while piece by piece I break him. You should also know, Finn, that anyone who ever hurt her is now my target. Her slut of a mother is going to die, and if she so much as says you looked at her wrong, said a bad word, or hurt her, then I will take great pleasure in remembering this moment, because I don’t give a fuck who you are. I will kill you, but I will do it slowly, and nothing, and no one will save you.”

I pulled away from him as Niamh stepped out of the bathroom. Threatening Finn with the reality of what his future was to become, I made my way over to Niamh.

I didn’t like that she’d lost a lot of weight in the past month since she’d gotten out of the hospital. According to my staff, she barely ate anything. She often skipped breakfast, and rarely touched her dinner.

In the past month I had come to realize that Niamh didn’t like to make any kind of scene in public. Even though she was upset with me, because we had an audience, she didn’t fight me.

“Are you all right?” I asked.

Niamh looked at me and then past my shoulder. I’d not seen her smile in so long, nor did she look relaxed in my company.

“Yes.”

“Dance with me,” I said. I held my hand out for her to take and I know she debated ignoring it, but again, we were in public. Ivan was there, friends and family. A lot of people she didn’t know, and Niamh didn’t like to embarrass anyone.

She slid her hand into mine, and I held onto hers tightly, not wanting to let her go. Leading the way onto the dance floor, no one stopped us as I pulled her in close. Niamh tensed as I placed my hand on the base of her back.

“What was The Butcher doing in the bathroom?” I asked.

The music had started up and I had to figure out something to say to start the conversation.

“Doing her impression of really bad pep talks,” she said. “I don’t think she has had many friends, and considering I don’t have a lot of friends, that is saying something.”

This made me smile.

“Why do you want to know?”

“I don’t trust her,” I said.

“She’s working for Ivan.”

“Yeah, but I don’t trust anyone and it has not steered me wrong.” I had no doubt in Ivan’s choosing, but it didn’t change my feelings. I wasn’t going to trust The Butcher until she and The Beast had proven themselves completely.

I knew they’d been there for Ivan when he needed them, but that didn’t matter to me. Time and loyalty, when put to the test, was what I cared about.

Loyalty could be bought, and with both of them always taking a paycheck for their next kill, I wasn’t going to trust them. They were no different than any assassin or bounty hunter. They were not Brigadiers.

“You don’t trust me?” Niamh asked.

I looked into her eyes. “I do trust you.”

She snorted. “I highly doubt that.”

“You can doubt all you want. I still trust you.”

“How can you trust me when I lied to you from the start?” Niamh asked.

“Simple. You lied to protect yourself and others. You knew what your father was capable of. If you were given the choice, would you have still lied?”

“What?” Niamh asked.

“If you had the choice to tell me the truth without any consequences for my safety, would you have told me the lie or the truth?”

---