The Seventh Family

My savior is a billionaire in disguise

He stopped the bike suddenly with a screeching sound that startled Jane. The frosty night was still, with a deadly graveyard silence. The tall trees and thick shrubs made the hummocks bogey. The fear of Joe had made Jane oblivious to the loneliness of the road he rode all these while, plus the effect of the ethanol in her system.

She seemed a little more sober and her greatest fears manifested. She had followed a stranger who was going to probably rape and kill her in this quiet part. Why had she not asked him let her alight? It was probably the fear of Joe.

“Why did you stop here?”

He said nothing, but kept watching the road, listening for any sound. All they could hear was the nocturnal chorus of insects.

“I said why did you stop here?”

He looked at her, his eyes glittering in the darkness from the reflection of the moon.

“I have lots of treasures in my place and I need to make sure no one is following me. You don’t just meet a billionaire and offer to follow him suddenly and he does not take precaution.”

Even though all she saw was his silhouetted figure, the mention of the word ‘billionaire’ made her want to have a clearer look at him again. Was he really a billionaire? Was it her chance to make a major hit and leave?

“You may wonder where I am taking you to. I live down there and you know what? I don’t like neighbors.”

That was a characteristic of billionaires. They never heard neighbors but lived in their world. So he was in disguise or something.

“In case you are wondering, I am not Mark Zuckerberg famous but I am also an IT mogul. You will find out more if you don’t know already. Tell me, were you sent to spy on me?”

“No.” She said a bit more humbled.

“The first time I sat close to you, you acted rudely and like someone talked to you via a transmitter, you suddenly wanted to go home with me and there was a sudden kiss of captivity you gave me…”

“I don’t care who you are but I won’t argue over this. I was not sent to spy on you.” She said and in her mind, she added, but I think I will start that now but for myself. I may hit ten thousand dollars from you and leave.

“Okay, let’s go. The coast seems to be clear.” He said.

He mounted the bike, started the engine, lit a cigarette and rode on. The rest of the journey took less than ten minutes before he stopped the bike.

Janet could not understand what was going on. The place had low grasses that she guessed were green. Tall trees were scattered and made the place a patch of darkness and moonlight. There was no single building except a long caravan that had barb wires fencing it.

“Okay, alight.” He said carelessly, with the cigarette dangling between his lips. He alighted too and pushed the bike towards a small wired gate with thin metal frame. He used a key top unlock the padlock, swung the gate open and pushed the bike inside.

“What are you waiting for? Come in.”

“What?” She frowned. “Where the hell is this?”

He parked the bike by the side of the caravan and moved towards the gate.

“If you won’t come in, then you can leave. I need to close my gate.”

“Is this your house?”

“Now she acts like she has never seen someone living in a caravan.”

She walked in and he locked the gate.

“You said you were a billionaire!”

“Billionaires love adventures and camping is one.” He said as he walked towards the floor and unlocked it. “Not all of us are flashy. Don’t you see how Mark Zuckerberg dresses? That T-shirt of his does not portray a billionaire.”

Was this guy serious? She wondered.

He opened the door and led her into his caravan. He switched on the lights and she saw a small living-room with three sofas, a TV hung on the wall, and the walls were covered with wallpapers. There was a bookshelf by a corner, artworks on the wall and a refrigerator by another side. There was a small dining table with two chairs. There was a door which probably led to a bedroom.

“This does not look like a camping caravan,” she observed.

“No, it is not. This is my home. Home sweet home.”

“You bloody liar! You said you were a billionaire!”

“Do you see any neighbors here? I got that in common with them, plus I am an aspiring billionaire. Sorry, I skipped the word aspiring.”

“You are a jerk! You said you had treasures so what the hell did you stop for? What the hell do you have in here that makes you paranoid?”

He went to the refrigerator and opened it. He dropped the wine inside and gave her a smile.

“I got three frozen chickens in here. I got two bottles of wine, frozen food and these are treasures.”

“You are crazy!”

“Why are you so disappointed? Remember, I did not invite you here. I went out of my way to bring you here. If you don’t appreciate me, or my mansion, you can leave right now. You offered to follow me and gave me that strange kiss.”

She wished she could tell him it was not about him but Joe. She wished she could tell him she did not give a damn about him and the kiss was just an escape route. She felt infuriated that he thought she threw herself at him.

Okay, she did not care if he was a billionaire or not but saying that he was one made her nursed the idea of making something out of him. That was disappointing. But at least he saved her and this place seemed to be the best place for her to hide and plan how to raise money and leave. She wished she could see the slut that had blackmailed her and intended to sell her out so she could strangle her before leaving. She had never committed murder and she did not why killing that slut did not sound like murder to her. This was not a bad place to hide even though she would have to let him have s*x with her which she detested already. He would not accept to bring her here for nothing. Men were all assholes.

She frowned.

“Why did you wait for me?” She asked suddenly asked.

“I got a bathroom in case you need to have a bath or pooh.”

“You are vulgar and dirty.”

“Now she acts like she doesn’t do that.”

“You are not a gentleman.”

“I am hungry.” He said. “I need to be in the kitchen. I got rabbit here. That is one good thing about this place. I hunt and get lots of meat for free at the expense of my bullets though.”

He removed meat wrapped in a polyethylene and smiled.

“My life is a treasure with no measure. I have more than the treasures in this refrigerator that might be worth nothing to you but means everything to me so I had to be meticulous. I don’t know what you are up to or why you were running from that big guy. But I know I should have minded my business and left you. That guy is an epitome of a bad guy and you did not just look like a victim but a guilty soul. I still don’t know why I helped you escape but I hope I don’t live to regret this. I just want to say something here….don’t interfere with my business and you will be fine.”

He went out of the room and entered the kitchenette. She puffed out air and sat on a sofa. His words shocked her. He knew Joe was after her and he had deliberately waited for her. Who was this maverick guy leaving in isolation?

“The TV works.” He said aloud from the kitchenette, and she could hear the fusing sound of the meat he fried and the aroma diffused, reminding Jane that she was famished.

She put on the TV but watched vacuously as she plunged deep down her deepest psyche. She had no single dime on her. She did not know where next to go or how to do that. This guy was just another broke bloke. There was something about him she could not understand but she knew he was not going to accommodate her without something in return. What did she have apart from her body? Nothing.

She closed her eyes after a deep sigh. She was just twenty-two years old but felt like she had carried the travails of a sixty year old. She had never left the poverty line nor had a happy time. She was molded into what she was by her childhood and her best moments were when she sold drugs and started stealing.

She made about five hundred dollars a month, had a nice place to sleep and Joe fed her. But she had responsibilities and wanted her grubby, rough road to stop with her and not the innocent teens.

She was in these thoughts when she suddenly heard a loud sound and she opened her eyes abruptly. What was that? She saw the man with the wine run out of the kitchenette and shouted, “Who the hell are you? They are here! What did you do?”

Jane then saw that the door was burst open and Joe stood grimly, holding a gun with two of his deadly men glaring at them.

Joe looked at her and produced a dangerous smile.

“I am the sun,” Joe said, “the source of energy for photosynthesis that all depend on. I am the sun and there is nothing hidden under me. I am the all seeing eyes and everything is transparent to me. You can never run away from me, b***h! I told you not f**k with me, didn’t I?”

“Get out of my house!” The man yelled and made a move but Joe did not hesitate to squeeze the trigger and a bullet went straight bullet went into his chest.”

Jane screamed as she saw the man drop on the floor bleeding profusely as he panted and gasped in pains. He wriggled his body restlessly before he took a last breath.

“No one interferes in my business. Not even the damn NYPD. I am the law, the problem and the solution.” Joe boasted.

Jane was now shivering, her teeth chattered as she saw the dangerous note in his Joe’s eyes.

“Please Joe...”

He did not let finish her words before he kicked her on the ribs, raised his big foot and rammed it on her head. She yelled but knew no one would hear her apart from the killers.

“What did you do to Polosky? What?”

“I am sorry…”

“You are not sorry because I warned you. Now, take this.” He pulled the trigger and shot her legs. The pain was excruciating. She wished he could just shoot her in the head or heart and kill her at once but Joe was not that kind. He wanted her to suffer.

She knew there was no point to beg now. She did not even have the strength to beg. All she felt were pains and agony.

“Goodbye b***h!” She heard him say faintly before a final blast sent her to quietus.

********

“Hey, wake up.” He said and tapped her and she woke up startled, breathing hard with her eyes looking large. What was going on? Where was she?

“Dinner is served.” The man said and Jane realized that she had fallen asleep and that was a nightmare. Damn! She was alive; he was alive and she was sitting on the sofa. The TV was on and she felt no pain.

“Common, I am famished.” He said and moved to the small dining table. She got up, feeling slightly heavy in her head. She was glad to be alive.

She sat down and saw a big bowl of fried rabbit meat with vegetables, bologna sausage and macaroni. Jane forgot her plights at that moment and pounced on the food.

“What is your name?” She asked as she took a bite of meat.

“Jayden,” he said, “Jayden Rogers.”

“I am Janet .” She said “That was Joe; he was my landlord and boss.”

“Hmmm…I thought otherwise.”

“That is what everyone thinks, otherwise.” She said without looking at him. “I am from Illinois and had to move down to New York. I had no home so I was left on the street.”

She paused. Why was she saying this? She was not the type who told her story. Not even Joe knew the real story behind her life. Maybe she was frustrated, or just needed to let it off her mind. “The street is rough and being a girl, I was vulnerable. I met Joe and he took me into his house. I helped him some stuff..”

“Some stuff?”

“Don’t bother about the details but I did some stuff to survive. He also gave me protection, using my image as his girl and a lot of people thought he was my boyfriend. I also gave that impression.”

Jayden gave her a sharp glance.

“He was not your man… was he your bedmate?”

“Shut up! He never had s*x with me.”

“Are you saying he had such a girl like you in his house and he never touched you?”

Jane registered his question. If he was astonished that Joe could keep her without s*x, then he would not do the same. This dude was going to take advantage of her and she had no choice.

“Joe can’t do anything. He is castrated and he keeps it a secret and he never told when or why he did it. But he gives the impression that he is able and he sleeps with me.”

“Whoa! That is so awful I can imagine what you went through sleeping on the same bed with such a hunk of beef and you only admire him and end up masturbate…”

“Oh my God! Why are you such a dirty bastard?”

“Did you just say I am dirty?” He frowned. “No one ever said that to me and I am not dirty. I make sure I have a bath at least once a week because I can’t go seven days without a bath and likewise, I can keep wasting water by taking bath every day. Did you know that there places they don’t have enough water? Have you heard about deserts? I am a humanitarian and each time I think of such places, I feel it is unfair to waste water with the unjustified excuse of having a daily bath. Some even go twice pr thrice. That is unfair.”

She eyed him. This guy was so sarcastic and he was pissing her off. Could she stay with him?

He giggled.

“Now she thinks I will smell. No. I use deodorants a lot and if you can’t handle it, use a face mask. “ He got up. “I need to get a condom.” He took a few steps and turned to look at her. “By the way, do you know the current cost price of Viagra?”

Jane felt her mouth getting bitter with anger but kept quiet.

“Okay, don’t worry. I will Google it. I have not bought any for a while. The last time I got one was a very long time ago and that was last week.” He walked to the bedroom’

A part of her told her leave. He was not even being diplomatic but very blunt and rude. She got up, moved to the window and peeped. It seemed it was about to rain.

Okay, she would just stay here and letting him have her would be a sacrifice.

He came out from the inner room and smiled happily.

“Good news!” he said excitedly. “I found some leftovers. I know you are happy, right. Come on, let’s go inside.”

Jane felt like sending two bullets into him. She grimaced, and felt too angry to say a word. She walked reluctantly towards the bedroom.

*****