Page 25 of A Monster Is Coming

“I get why you’re nervous,” I said, grabbing the milk and turning to her.

She tucked some of her hair behind her ear. She’d confined the full brown locks at the back of her head in a ponytail as I’d seen her do for the last few weeks. It never stopped her from having to tuck her hair back behind her ears. “You do?”

For a second, I didn’t have a clue what she was talking about, and then I remembered we were actually talking. This was highly unusual when it came to women. I’d yet to meet a woman worth having a conversation with. Most of them were only interested in my dick, my wealth, or my title. I didn’t mind that, but I was only ever interested in looking for a good time.

“Yeah, you’re nervous because you’re in my house, and I bet you’re worried I’m some kind of thief, but trust me, I’m not.”

I had no idea why Niamh suddenly began to laugh. It wasn’t one of those forced fake laughs, or even the kind that was mocking or some shit. This was a full-on belly laugh. Like she found what I said fucking interesting, and I didn’t have the first clue what she found so funny. The last word anyone would ever use to describe me was funny. I was the least funny person I knew.

None of this was entertaining.

I couldn’t help but wonder if this was Ivan’s way of playing a practical joke. He’d gotten me in Pickle Quest, trying to make this woman fall for me, so I could impregnate her—which sounded like a horrible alien movie—when in fact I was the one the joke was being played on, and Niamh had to get me to fall in love with her.

If that turned out to be the case, then the joke truly was on them, because I didn’t do love or feelings. I never had. I was already aware of most of the rumors about me, how I had no feelings, no love, and I didn’t care.

I can act all the parts, do what needed to be done, and say what needed to be said in all the right places, but that didn’t mean for a second I felt any of it. Not a single thing.

I’d never understood love. I never would. Love was for the weak. I didn’t even know why Ivan had gotten Slavik, Andrei, and now Ive to comply. Although, I didn’t consider any of those bastards weak. No, they were still scary as fuck.

Now that I thought of it, they might be even scarier. I’m pretty sure I heard one of them suggest that now that they had more to lose, they were even more terrifying. I didn’t know. I had never felt love.

I didn’t have the first clue what love was.

“What’s funny?” I asked, and I was struck by how beautiful she looked. This was the first time she didn’t have her guard up.

She pushed some hair out of her face, and then laughed again. “I’m so sorry. It’s not funny, it’s not funny at all, and I have no reason to laugh, but I can’t seem to stop myself.”

I had a feeling I knew what she was laughing about, but I couldn’t know that shit. She couldn’t know that I knew she was a Byrne. There was a lot I wasn’t supposed to know.

Seconds passed, finally minutes, and Niamh got herself under control. “I don’t even know why I laughed. It’s nothing.”

“Laughing is good for the soul.” I didn’t know if that was true.

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

“Do you spend a lot of time laughing?” she asked.

I had to stop, because the truth was, no, I didn’t laugh a lot. Certainly not recently as I didn’t have a lot to laugh about. Life was way too serious, and right now, being stuck in a fucking shit town, while I knew bad stuff was going on, was hard to do.

“No, not as much as I should.” Laughter was for the weak.

I couldn’t help but get a flash to those men all those years ago who found it funny to watch young children lose their lives in the sick games my father set up. It had all been a fucked-up game.

“Come on, I’ll make us something to eat, and then I’ll give you a tour.” I didn’t wait for her to argue with me. Instead, I grabbed her hand and walked to the kitchen. Only then did I let go of her hand, and it was strange as I still felt the tingle of her touch work its way up my arm.

I wanted to hold her hand again, to touch her to see if that was real or not.

Strange.

“Uh, you know, you don’t have to feed me. You could just … take me back to my apartment.”

I closed the fridge and turned toward her. I was not knowledgeable in all things romance. In the back of my mind, I couldn’t help but remember that her father had put out a seek-and-find mission. I doubt that would end well for her. He clearly had no qualms about hurting his daughter. I’d seen the photographs of what he’d done to her last time.

Finn Byrne was not a good man. Not that I could claim to be a better one.

When it came to Niamh, my only job was to protect her and get her pregnant. I didn’t know what Ivan hoped to achieve, starting our potential future on lies, but I trusted him more than I trusted anyone else.

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