Page 11 of The Thief

I loved it.

The shot of adrenaline it gave me had been better than anything I’d ever done. And I wanted more. I wanted so much more.

Chapter Three

A LIAR IS WORSE THAN A THIEF

Tyler

Later that evening

“Iknew I was right about you.”

I heard a gentle, yet brutally harsh and vicious voice say from behind as I walked back along the road towards where I lived.

I was alone.

I’d left the others moments ago to head home.

But I wasn’t scared.

That voice wasn’t one that drew fear into my veins, only curiosity, intrigue, and the urge to be a total dick and argue back regardless of what she meant.

I stopped and spun around, letting my head fall back slightly as I regarded her with mild disdain from my curled lip, and a hint of mocking amusement in my narrowed eyes.

“You,” was all I said to her, the feisty little blonde who’d warned me away from her dad earlier, showing more balls than most guys I’d met. This was the third time I’d seen her today. If I didn’t know better, I’d think she was stalking me.

Her little nose wrinkled as she sneered back at me, looking me up and down in disgust.

“You make me sick,” she hissed, and I folded my arms, leaning back and waiting in anticipation for what she’d say next.

“Go on,” I urged as she stood there giving me a death stare that made me want to laugh. I wondered if she realised how cute she looked huffing through her nose and glaring at me like a little psycho.

“You’re a bully,” she said, taking a step forward and jabbing her finger at me. “A bully and a thief.”

I shook my head, smiling.

That only riled her up even more.

“A bully, a thief, and a scammer.”

I kept my head high, staring down at her and keeping my face as neutral as I could, even though inside, I didn’t know what the hell to feel. I wanted to laugh, blow up, and get mad all at once. But mostly laugh. I kind of liked that she was confronting me. She was wrong, but I liked a challenge.

“How am I a scammer?” I asked, tilting my head to the side in question.

“You scammed my dad today,” she seethed. “Took his wallet, stole from him, then claimed you...found it.” She put her hands up to use air quotes on that last part. “Utter bullshit. You know it. I know it. And after today, my dad will know it too.”

I took a moment, wondering whether I should tell her the truth, that I’d taken it but given it back in a healthier state than I’dfound it.

Maybe she’d thank me.

Maybe she’d be impressed.

But part of me didn’t want to tell her. I didn’t want to give any reasons for my actions. It was in the past. I’d moved on. She would too, eventually. Probably when she got home and her dad told her.

“I didn’t scam anyone,” I replied. “But I know you won’t listen, so believe what you want to believe. I really don’t care.”

“Oh, I know that,” she shot back. “You don’t care about anyone but yourself. That’s why you’ve been bullying those other boys, because you’re a nasty piece of work, Tyler Evans.”