Page 97 of A Monster Is Coming

“You’re just like your father,” Finn said.

I looked at him. “Do you really think I give a fuck about being compared to him? I know I’m not like him, because I have all of this, and he had nothing. I should warn you that he also took from me, hurt me, and I made sure I made him pay for it. I’m good like that.” I didn’t have to get my revenge right away. I had learned that plotting, planning, and being prepared was all I needed to get what I wanted.

Finn fought me, but after landing a blow to his head with my fist, it weakened him enough for me to get his tongue in the pliers, and I pulled it out of his mouth, and with a simple swipe of the blade, I removed his tongue. I dropped the tongue onto the floor, and then I moved behind him and watched. The Butcher had been working on Finn Jr.

After what happened to Kaitlyn, and when Cara taunted me with her, I had no choice but to kill my best friend. I didn’t know how Cara had learned of Kaitlyn. I’d kept her identity a secret. Not even Slavik knew of her. No one had. Only Niamh, me, and now Finn Byrne, but he wasn’t going to survive the night.

The Butcher dealt the killing blow just as Peter Orlov walked through the door.

I always kept my promises, and that day in the hospital, I’d known who Finn Byrne was.

“And your empire,” I said, whispering in Finn Byrne’s ear. “Will be sold up, given away to good causes.” I knew what Niamh would do, of that I had no doubt. She was a rare gem, and those I kept safe, because I had failed my own rare gem.

Chapter Twenty-Five

Niamh

It was getting late and I was getting tired. No, I was exhausted. I should have known Ivan would have something a lot more … alluring for my husband.

I glanced around the room. My guards had already eaten some of the food. They refused to dance or have a drink. They were all still on duty, and I curled up on the sofa, pulling on a little blanket to help warm me up.

Maybe this had been childish of me, and I’d made a big mistake in trying to make this day special for him. I didn’t know.

I rubbed at my temple. What did you get a guy who had everything for his birthday?

At the sound of the door opening, I tensed up and glanced over the back of the sofa, watching as Peter stepped into the main penthouse. He’d changed clothes, and he ordered the guards out. He ran a hand across his face, and then turned toward me.

“You changed?” I asked.

Did this mean he was with a woman? Peter glanced down at this clothes, and then ran fingers through his hair before coming toward me. I was tense. What if he was with another woman? I didn’t like it and was angry.

He sat down in front of me, and I waited for him to tell me the truth. “Ivan called me tonight because he needed me to take care of business.”

“Okay,” I said.

“Niamh, your father is dead,” Peter said. “And your mother died a few months ago.”

“What?” I must be the world’s worst daughter because I suddenly felt free. “They’re gone?”

“Yes.”

I hadn’t even realized how trapped I’d felt. That feeling was gone. My father was dead and so was my mother. It meant I didn’t have to run anymore. I no longer had to be afraid to live, to be myself. I was so happy.

“I’m a terrible person,” I said, covering my mouth, because I simply couldn’t contain my laughter.

“You’re not a terrible person,” Peter said.

“Who is happy about their parents being dead?”

“I was.”

“I can understand why you were.”

“The same as you,” Peter said.

I licked my lips because the truth was, it wasn’t the same. It wasn’t nearly the same. Peter’s life had been worse than mine. His father had been a monster. He had to fight to survive to prove he wasn’t weak. I took beatings and verbal abuse, and yes, I was afraid to sleep at night because when my father was around, he’d wake me up to take out his anger on me. Mine wasn’t the same as Peter’s.

“This means you’re free to make your own choice, Niamh,” Peter said.

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