Burning Bridges by Nadege Richards Read Free Book Online Page B

to myself. Stealing from the King was one thing, and no doubt any less despicable, but stealing from a retail shop not only humiliated me, but made me feel hopeless. Had it really come to this? Stealing, of all things?
    It ’ s for your family.
    I was desperate, and desperately so. I was s triving for some sort of resolution, light at the end of the tunnel, a cease to all my struggles—really, anything. My family wasn ’ t perfect, but they deserved more. With my mother sick and Father too drunk to notice that Milo was never home and Misty hadn ’ t eaten in weeks, a good majority of our welfare had befallen on me. Seeing as I had just stolen money—again—I ’ d say I was off to a pretty bad start.
    If things didn ’ t get better soon, they never would , a voice whispered in my mind. My conscious, maybe, but I knew it was the truth. I wouldn ’ t result to stealing, not again. I ’ d never been a dishonest man and I didn ’ t want to start. If my life was going to slowly deteriorate, I wanted to go a prideful man. I would find another way of caring for them.
    The money in my pocket felt suddenly heavy. The urge to turn around and return it all became overpowering, the guilt more than anything else. Lost in my strangling thoughts , I barely registered anything when a big , hefty hand fell on my shoulder and quickly spun me around .
    Tyron.
    The frown that settled on my face at the sight of him was obvious. I glared at his bloodshot eyes and his forced smile, his filthy hair and huge form. I managed to get out a shaky, “ What ’ s up? ”
    He smiled a devious smile. “ Just taking a stroll, ” he said. Behind him, from my peripheral vision, I could see his friends closing us in a tight circle. Suddenly, the air seemed sparse. “ What are you up to? ”
    “ Going home. ” My eyes went to his one-hundred-pounded-and-all-muscled friends. They watched me impassively. If the money was heavy in my pocket before, well, it was about ready to burst a seam now.
    “ How come you don ’ t hang with us anymore, Ayd? It ’ s been a while and we miss you . ” The other guys laughed at his blatant mockery.
    “ Has it been? I didn ’ t notice. ” My jaw clenched as I spoke. “ I ’ ve been really busy. We ’ ll hang out, just not now. ” I pushed past the circle of boys in front of me and shuffled through the dirty streets as fast as I could without looking hasty. The need to get away consumed me.
    “ Not so fast, pretty boy, ” Tyron called.
    I froze and waited with bated breath.
    “ What ’ s that in your pocket, ” one of the guys yelled.
    Without turning around to face them, I said, “ It ’ s just a few coins Miss Bluejay gave me for helping her out in her garden. ” A lie, but not completely.
    “ How much, ” Tyron asked, and I could hear him approaching me with stagnant footsteps.
    With a quick rake through my mind for a probable excuse, I turned to face him and shrugged, acting as if I didn ’ t hold a fortune in my pocket and they didn ’ t know. “ About four dollars in change. It isn ’ t much, but my brother needs new shoes. ”
    Tyron nodded, his shaggy hair swaying loosely on his broad shoulders. “ Understandable. ” He casually draped his arm over my shoulder. “ You see, I have a bit of a financial problem myself. You remember my girl, August, right? Well, she ’ s going through some things and I want to get her something nice. Think you could help me out? Financially, I mean? ”
    The request would have come off as sincere if I didn ’ t know the type of man Tyron was. I ’ d never met an August a day in my life, but in retrospect, it was safe to assume this August was another one of the many women from Prylyn he managed to impregnate .
    “ Sorry to hear that, but I can ’ t help you out. ” I shrugged his hand off my shoulder and took a step away from him. His demeanor had taken on a different range then, and his posed smile had faded. From the corner of my eyes I could see