Page 3 of A Monster Is Coming

This made me look up from the picture. Now I was a little taken aback. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve never met Finn personally, but rumor suggested he was very much devoted to family. Even if she wasn’t born in wedlock, Finn had a lot of kids like that.

“You want me to infiltrate the Irish mob?” I asked. This might be a little hard for me to do.

I understood delicate. I also knew I had a way of going from place to place without being detected. Going into the Irish mob would be more difficult, and possibly even be a guaranteed death sentence.

There was no doubt about it. Not that I minded. If Ivan needed something, he wouldn’t choose death unless he didn’t have a choice.

“No, Niamh has run away.”

Now this did surprise me.

“For the past year, she has evaded her father, as well as many other … possible problems he might have. It’s simple, Niamh is in Pickle Quest. You need to go and get her.”

“What kind of fucked-up name is Pickle Quest?” This had to be some kind of joke.

“They’re famous for their pickles,” Ivan said. “Trust me, they are delicious. Back on point, I need you to go, locate Niamh, and make her fall in love with you.”

This wasn’t the kind of mission I thought he would have in mind. Far from it.

“Is this a joke?”

“You’d know if I was joking.”

Thinking about it, Ivan was his usual self. There was no playfulness to him, no underlying mischief. Ivan usually found fun and humor in most things, but whatever it was about Niamh, he was not playing around.

I closed the file and looked at Ivan.

“What do you need me to do?” I asked.

“Plain and simply put, you need to put a baby inside her, marry her, and bring her back here, before she figures out it’s all a lie,” Ivan said. “For now, Finn is not preoccupied with finding his daughter. There will come a time when he realizes that mistake. Until then, we’re going to fix it.”

I glanced down at the closed file and then handed it back to Ivan. I already had all the information I needed.

“Get her pregnant?”

“Yes, I think it is safe to assume that if you succeed at this, Niamh Byrne will become your wife.”

Ivan didn’t say anything more and was about to head to his car.

“Do you not want Victor to do this? He is next in line.”

I didn’t know if Ivan’s laughter was designed to freak me the fuck out, or to be genuine humor.

“Next in line?”

“For you to marry off,” I said.

“There’s no order, Peter. Besides, Victor is already busy, and it is you I need help with. You’re the only one who will be able to lie to her without having a single care in the world, because I asked you to.”

“What about my territory?” I asked.

“I have already taken care of it.”

I was tempted to ask him if this was his way of getting me out of the picture, but I also didn’t want to know.

Ivan had his reasons.

Finn Byrne was a dangerous man. I didn’t even know the son of a bitch had a daughter. The very thought of a woman born to that man was a terrifying thought, and not one I relished.

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