Page 6 of A Monster Is Coming

I wasn’t working at a library on the off chance she’d turn the fuck up to bring back a book. Nor was I working in the diner, that would be too … suspicious. The new guy getting a job at the diner just wouldn’t work.

Niamh wasn’t stupid, which was also a benefit to her. I had a great deal of respect for her because of her nervousness.

No, the only way I was going to blend in and make this work was the fucking gym. I had no problem with working out, but I had to become a personal fucking trainer. Again, not a problem, but I had to hope Niamh arrived at the gym.

Getting the job on the day of my arrival into town had been easy. I’d already told Ivan my plans, and my resume was fucking ace. He’d also sent me a load of documents that gave me a few days to become acquainted with my new role. I’m a quick study, and since I had no problem working out, this was the easy part.

The guy who owned the gym, Carl Fields, wanted me to slowly get acquainted with everything—all the equipment, the rooms—and to assess each room before taking on a client.

This is what I’d been doing the last three days. The gym opened at five-thirty in the morning, and didn’t close until eight at night. I didn’t have a problem with the long hours. It worked with my plan to blend in. According to Ivan, no details had gone out about Niamh being missing. I didn’t expect there to be.

Finn Byrne wasn’t going to announce to the world that his bastard daughter was missing. I got the message loud and clear from Ivan. Just because a notice hadn’t gone out, and there were no alerts didn’t mean someone wasn’t out looking for her now. So, I had to be careful.

I also needed to protect Niamh while also winning her heart. It shouldn’t be too hard to win her over. I expected this to be easy. Niamh was curious about me. I detected a bit of fear as well, but that was expected. She didn’t know who I was or what I was doing there.

After dealing with the Finn Byrnes of the world, I knew I was going to blow her mind.

Walking around the gym at six that morning, I saw a couple of women who’d appeared. I knew I was on their radar and if needed, I had plenty of women to keep me company while I worked on winning over Niamh. For a split-second I wondered if gaining her attention would come from flirting with someone else.

I stepped into the swimming pool area and stopped, because the very woman I’d been thinking about was sitting at the edge of the pool.

The door closed behind me, but it was silent and Niamh was so lost in her own little world, that she didn’t even look up to see what had caused the noise. She kept staring down at the water below her.

I watched as she moved her feet through the water. Her lips moved, but I didn’t know what she said. Pulling her feet from the water, I watched as she squared her shoulders and then moved to the corner of the pool. She gripped the metal rail leading into the water, and slowly began to climb in.

It was then I realized what the problem was. Niamh was terrified.

She got into the water and still held onto the steps. She took several deep breaths, and I saw the fear in her eyes, and she let go of the rail and began to sink into the water. There was no one around.

I didn’t even know why she had opted to go in the swimming pool if it scared her so freaking much. I didn’t like it, though. She looked so small, so fragile. Stepping toward the pool edge where she was gripping the handle for dear life, I crouched down.

“You know, if you can’t swim, you’d be better served learning by going to the top of the pool,” I said.

“Thanks, but I’m not afraid.”

“You’ve nearly bent the handlebar,” I said.

This did get her attention. The handlebar was fine. There was no way she was going to break that, but she did loosen her grip a little.

“If you can swim, then you want to tell me what the problem is?” I asked.

“Nothing.”

“You’re not afraid?”

“No, I’m not afraid.”

“Most people who come to swim don’t look like they’re afraid of the water wrapping around them and dragging them down,” I said.

“Why would you say something like that?” Niamh glanced down into the water.

The deep end was always a darker color and this made me smile, because you couldn’t see the bottom of the pool. I sighed, got to my feet, and then climbed in, fully clothed.

“What are you doing?” she asked.

I ignored her. I had a feeling that getting close to Niamh would not be smooth sailing, as I anticipated. Unlike some of the women I’d caught the eye of, Niamh didn’t like the thought of me getting too close.

Climbing into the water, I put my hand over hers, and this caused her to let go of the handle rail. It wasn’t exactly my intention to cause this.