Page 13 of The Prettiest Outlaw

Axe throwing was more of a stress relief than I anticipated. I wasn’t the most accurate, but the act of powering myself up and flinging that axe with all of my might actually caused some endorphins to fire up. Before I knew it, Jameer and I were laughing and joking. His disposition might have come from the beer he was drinking like a fish, but I knew mine came from the exertion of energy.

He won, as he was much more accurate with his throws than I was, but I didn’t care about that. I cared about how light and happy I felt as we left the facility.

“Yo, throwing them damn axes gotta nigga back touching his stomach,” he told me as we walked out of the vestibule and into the cold night air. “We should grab something to eat.”

“I could eat.” I gave him a smile. I didn’t see things going any further with Jameer than this night, but I felt sure that we could end the night cordially. “Where do you wanna go?”

“One of my guys owns a restaurant out this way. You could ride with me.”

I didn’t know dude. “Nah, I don’t wanna leave my truck. I’ll follow you.”

“It’s not far. Your truck will be fine. You can ride with me.”

Uhm. He was one of thoseconvincingdudes. The ones that tried to convince you that whatever thought or plan they came up with was better than the thought or plan you had for yourself. They tended to be pushy, and since most women were socialized not to be oppositional, the pushiness worked. Most women gave into that personality type. I was raised by Gianni Outlaw. I did Outlaw shit.

I planted my feet and stared directly into his eyes. “Nah. I’m good. I’m driving my own truck. I’ll follow you.”

He snickered, shrugged his shoulders, and wiggled the toothpick with his tongue. “Suit yourself, lil mama.”

We took off for the parking lot. When we got to where we had both left our vehicles, his was there, but mine was gone.

“Where your shit at, lil mama?”

I stood there dumbfounded. In the spot where I had left my truck sat… nothing. My truck wasn’t there. I looked around, actually doing a 360-degree turn to canvas the entire parking lot, but there was no little candy apple red Acura MDX.

My mind was completely blank. I had no idea what to do.

“Were you legal, lil mama? You think your shit got towed?”

“I’m legal. There wouldn’t be a reason for my truck to be towed.”

“Then it was probably stolen.”

My heart sank lower in my chest because that was my fear—that my truck had been stolen. “I don’t know what to do.”

“Well, what we can’t do is stand here all night looking around like that motherfucka is gonna show back up. It’s fifteen degrees out here. Hop in my ride. We can go from there.”

My feet began to follow him before my eyes truly focused on his vehicle. Once my brain registered what I was looking at, I stopped walking forward and started walking backward towardAxe Marks the Spot. At the same time, I pulled my phone from my purse and called Langston.

“Short Cake?”

“Hey. I’m on the corner of Common Ave and West Place at a place calledAxe Marks the Spot.” I gave him that information as quick as hell. “I think I’m being set up.”

“Slow down, baby, and share your location right now. Then tell me what’s up.”

It hadn’t even dawned on me to share my location.

Jameer walked toward me. I walked away from him.

“What’s happening, lil mama?” Jameer leered at me. “Let’s go sit in my van and talk about what to do next about your truck.”

“Who the fuck is that?” Langston questioned.

“I’m on a date, and my truck was stolen.”

“A date? Who is this motherfucker?”

“Just somebody I met on an app.” I looked at Jameer. “I’m good. This is my brother on the phone. He’s gonna come scoop me.”

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