1| THE BREAD THIEF

PERSY

I was going to die.

My stomach grumbled and my throbbing feet cried in protest but I did not stop running. I couldn't. They were after me. Not one, not two, but three huge men ran behind me, cussing at me and shouting on top of their voices.

The sounds of their heavy footsteps drew nearer and nearer as I dashed through the street, causing me to increase my pace with every passing second. These people were hell-bent on catching up with me, and who knew what they planned to do to me—a rotten thief, from their perspective? How would they know that this was the first time in my life that I had ever taken something that did not belong to me? They probably thought that I did this often; after all, I was dressed in an oversized coat, pants and hat, covering myself up like I was some serial killer.

"Stop right there! Someone catch that thief!" I heard one of them holler.

Another one added, "If I lay my hands on you, I swear you'll pray for death!" My heart literally jumped into my mouth at his brute words and I ran even faster, trying hard to ignore the pangs of hunger as it came in full force.

I had only stolen this piece of bread from that store because I could not bear the hunger any longer. I was not a thief, but desperate times called for desperate measures. Two days without any food at all left me with no option than to do this. Yes, it was utterly wrong and I should not have done it, but I just wanted to survive because no matter how much I missed Pa and Ma, I knew they would not want me coming to join them now. It was simply too early.

Beads of perspiration clung to my forehead like second skin and goosebumps covered my skin as I sprinted towards the busy road. Without giving it much thought, I began to run across the road absentmindedly as usual, tuning out everything—the sound of the cars honking, tires screeching, even the small bells from bicycles. The only thing that filled my head was the need to escape.

It was actually a very dumb move. Somehow, I managed to trip and fall when I had almost gotten to the other side and I started to get dizzy from starvation as I tried my best to get up. My luck seemed to run out, however, because suddenly, my whole body wasn't co-operating with me and I just lay on my side, clutching the loaf of bread to my upset stomach as I prayed for miracle.

It did not take long before I felt strong arms wrap around my torso and I started to shake my head, too lazy to even peel my eyelids open… or maybe it was because the light had become to bright for my dizzy eyes.

They had finally gotten me, but I wasn't going down without a fight.

I began to wiggle weakly in the stranger's arms but this only caused him to tighten his grip and spit at my face, "You better stay still, you wretch, or so help me God…"

God, he reeked of alcohol. Nothing like the sweet-smelling bread I had stolen from his store.

I fisted the bread tighter, still holding it against my stomach. I let him carry me to the other side of the road again, and then I attacked. I tilted my head to the side a little, then I closed my teeth around the man's flesh until I drew blood and once his grip loosened, I jumped down from his arms.

"Why, you fucker!" He yelled at me, but I was already running again, even with wobbly knees. I did not make it far this time. One minute, I was sure that I was going to escape the store owners and the next minute, I was staring wide-eyed at expensive looking leather black boots. Someone had suddenly appeared in front of me, causing me to come to a halt. No, no, not now.

After trying to side-step the huge man twice, whilst keeping my gaze on the ground to hide my face and he did not budge, I snarled, "What are you doing? Move!"

My words were hardly audible with a face mask covering my mouth, but that was the least of my worries at the moment.

"Do you even know what you have done?" He snarled back at me, but I was not in the mood to chit-chat, so I tried to side-step him again. He stopped me, again.

"Are you even listening? Look over there, you ruined my boss's car! He might miss an important meeting because of you. You better start praying that the other car arrives in time. Also, I noticed you're being chased; I figured I should help them get you, you menace." He barked at me. I turned at the same time and gasped in utter shock as I spotted the damage I had allegedly caused. An Audi had just crashed into a pole and was half damaged. I was so dead; I was so fucking dead.

I spotted another man standing at a far end, one hand in the pocket of his pants while the other fiddled with his phone. I could only see his side, but it was enough to know that the man was a big shot, and he looked really upset. Oh shit, shit. If this man threw me behind bars I was never going to come out. Who would save me? Certainly not my dead parents or my relatives who had forgotten about mu existence.

My stomach rumbled, and I was about to ask this man if I could hide somewhere and eat the bread before he handed me over to the store-owners, when I heard,

"There you are." On hearing the store owner's voice, I practically lurched myself into the expensive-looking stranger's arms. He pushed me away at once and scrunched up his nose. I smelled horrible; I knew it already, and I did not care.

The three men had lined up in front of us, glaring straight at me with murderous looks in their eyes. I went to hide behind the mysterious man, ignoring the way he glared at me when I did so. All the while, I made sure that my face was completely covered up with the hat on my head and a face mask. It was the last piece of dignity I had left—my identity.

"Give us the man, he has something of ours." One of them said, moving closer to us. Of course, they thought I was male. I shook my head no, but the mysterious man was already moving aside so they could have me.

"No, no, please!" I yelled but one of the store-owners grabbed my arm and yanked me to him, causing my hat to fall off from the force of the pull. My hair loosened and fell across my back, showing my face off almost completely. It was just the face mask left now.

I still held the loaf of bread with one hand to my chest like my life depended on it… because actually, my life depended on it.

People passed by with questioning glances, but they never actually stopped moving. The cars went by as usual, and the freezing wind did not relent. Everything was going on as usual, that was the thing about this part of New York.

The man who held me suddenly grew a smile on his ugly face and with one hand, ripped the face mask off my mouth. I was fully bare now… so much for dignity. My whole body shook with both fear and starvation now, but I still held the bread close, and tightly too. I could not just afford to let it go.

"Who would have thought our culprit was female? Such a beautiful girl, doing despicable things…" He purred, licking his lips as he gave me a once-over.

"Please, please leave me alone. I promise I'll never do this again, I'm just so hungry, I—" He did not let me finish, proceeding to forcefully wrap his arm around my torso to pick me off the ground but then a loud, authoritative voice interrupted,

"Let her go."

We all looked at the direction of the voice at the same time and I used to opportunity to escape the man's hold. I was still trapped in the middle of all the men though, so my only hope was being saved by the big shot whose car I accidentally crashed.

Now that I thought about it, I was probably in a worse situation now.

"And why should we listen to you?" One of them asked.

The rest chorused, "Yeah, why?"

He did not say anything for sometime, just watched me keenly as I quietly tried to open up the bread. My cheeks flamed red the moment our eyes met, and I really looked at him now. No doubt, he was easily the most intimidating man I had ever laid eyes upon. Not necessarily because of his physique; it was simply something about his aura.

Just looking at him, I could already tell that he had tons of women clamoring for his attention. You know how those books described men who were so devilishly handsome in a way that should be considered sin? Yeah, that was the situation here.

That sharp jawline, piercing gray eyes and jet black hair… everything about his face screamed front page. He was so tall, too. Lean, yet forbiddingly fit. Yeah, definitely way out of my league. Just like Callum, but I had gone ahead to love him so hard, even when the truth stared me dead in the eye. I was never good enough for these kind of men; everything about me was just too ordinary.

"You will let her go, because I will pay for what she had taken from your business. Sam." He beckoned at the mysterious man that had approached me and he nodded, taking out a wad of cash from his breast pocket. He moved forward and handed the cash over to one of the men.

I already had some bread in my mouth, but I had stopped chewing, staring wide-eyed at the crisp hundred dollar notes instead.

"That's too much!" I protested, not caring that my mouth was filled with food. They all ignored me, though.

"Thank you, Sir! She's all yours!" One yelled excitedly and the others followed suit with their appreciation. Then, without sparing me a second glance, they took off.

I was left with the two men, staring at me with deep concentration.

Slowly, I asked, "What do you want from me?"

Without missing a beat, he responded, "You will be coming with me."