NALEDI’S POV
“Was there anything this fucker didn’t have his grubby hands on?” Korah took words out of my mouth.
“I ask myself every minute,” I spoke as the car slowed to a stop. We were at the Luka’s poultry.
This was the fricken address he’d sent to me, and since Marcus wasn’t available to move with me, he had Korah glamoured into a buff-looking man that currently sat beside me, and a few other guards that were with me, as per Caellum’s orders.
So long as they steered clear of the way, I figured we would be fine. I dialed Luka’s number before stepping out of the car, holding a bag, filled to the brim with money.
“Where are you?” I asked as soon as the line connected.
“Looking at you.” His words caught me off guard. I looked up and truth be told, he was right there, on top of what I presumed to be a guard house, looking right at me.
A smirk laced my lips, “Are you going to stay there or are you going to come get me?” I hated the flirt in my tone, but I went with it nonetheless.
“I’ll be there in a few.”
I ended the call and true to his words, Luka stood in front of me. Looking all tan with his white T-shirt. “Welcome to my favourite place in the world, love.”
Always the charmer. “A poultry?” I said as he walked me into the space. “I didn’t take you as one who cared about animals. Is it about the money?”
He shook his head, “Believe it or not, my father used to be a farmer. I grew up in a ranch in Scottland.” He said lightly, “When I moved here and made something for myself, I figured I needed to have something that would remind me of my humanity. That’s what this place is.”
“You mean to remind you of your roots?”
Luka was taken offguard. “Yes. That. I created this place not as a business but just to have something to remind me of my early days.”
We marched into the fields, and I was awed at the sheer size of it. Looking from the outside, you’d never believe a land of such magnitude could be found inside. I guess Luka was full of surprises.
I looked around and I could see some cows grazing the grasses, looking comfortable as hell. Not to talk of fat. This was some good business going on here. I couldn’t help but wonder why he needed to rear humans when he was already doing so well with animals.
“Do you know my favourite animal?” He asked out of the blue,
“Cow.” My tone was flat, as we looked over the herd of cows before us.
“Try a bit harder, love.” He chuckled, “It’s less of an animal, more of a bird.”
I couldn’t for the life of me understand why the hell we were playing guess the animal. “As interesting as this conversation is, I came here for more pressing matters.”
“Oh don’t be a killjoy. We have all the time to get back to business. Follow me, and I’ll show you.”
Walking with Luka was draining. Not because of the stupid things he said half the time but because it was a chore trying to keep up with my facade. I longed for the day I didn’t have to put up with him or suppress myself to fool him.
A day that he would meet judgment at my hands for the evils he’s done.
“There.” He suddenly said, and I was grabbed out of my thoughts.
I looked at the said animal and it was almost comical. “A chicken?”
“Wrong. A hen.”
I rolled my eyes in reply but he continued.
“Growing up, I spent most of my days watching the natural process of a hen conceiving a chick. Do you know the most fascinating thing about it? The fact that a mother hen would spend a lot of time carrying her egg, popping them out and eventually incubating it for it to become a full-fledged chick.”
“The process has always been fascinating, so much that I wondered, how it would feel when I took those precious eggs while it is asleep and sold them off.” He laughed, “I bet they cursed me every day for that job.”
I was having a hard time understanding the reason I was put through this godforsaken story. But I held my tongue, deciding if I maybe focused hard on the chickens, I would somehow not hear him.
Wrong. I heard him alright. I heard him loud and clear.
“One of the days, against my father’s orders, I decided to test a theory that was spinning in my head for days. I wanted to compare how hurt the chickens would feel if I took their eggs while they were conscious.”
That made my lips tilt upward, “And how did that go for you?” I asked,
If he heard the mockery in my tone, he didn’t mind. “As expected. I visited the nurse immediately. Nearly took my eyes out.”
“Sometimes we learn the hard way. It’s a part of life.”
“I agree love. As much as that day was horrible, I always credit who I am to that day.”
I took a double take. “What?”
His eyes met mine as he smiled. “Believe it or not, I wouldn’t be the man I am today if not for that day.” I maintained silence. If he wanted my attention, he sure had it now. “Getting bested by a chicken upset me, and with anger came a thirst to get even.”
His eyes grew dark as he continued, “For revenge, I came up with something better. I decided since they hurt me, I should hurt them too. I took the eggs, and they were so upset, what if I took their chicks? What if I waited for them to go through all that pain, pushing out and hatching the eggs, and slaying them right before their eyes?”
His lips stretched in an evil smile. “One of the days, I tested that theory, stole one of the mother hens who was heavy, and decided to create a better place for her in the woods. Fed her, ensure she was alright and good until she laid her egg, and hatched it.”
“Afterwards, I killed the chick right before her eyes, tied her legs so she could watch me do it, then killed her afterwards. That night I prepared dinner. Chicken soup. Very tasty.”
I swallowed, unsure of how to react. Luka caught my confusion or maybe my disgust, then laughed in my face.
“That was a joke.” He waved it off, but I could tell it wasn’t. And what’s worse, he wanted me to know it wasn’t. “Nevertheless, I must say I do enjoy cooking newly hatched chicks. It’s therapeutic for me.”
What was he trying to achieve by telling me how sick he had been as a child? Was this his way of wooing me or was he threatening me?