I called him right back. “Don’t be hanging up on me.”
“You keep talking to me about nonsense, and I’m gonna do a lot worse than hang up. Now, I told you I have a meeting.”
I’m not going to lie; his threat scared me, but I tried not to let it show. “Well, I got a flat tire by the dry cleaners, and your daughter’s in the car.”
“The one over by Farmers Boulevard?”
“Yep, and the only reason I’m here is because you said you don’t want anyone else doing your shirts but them.”
“You said Mariah’s with you?” The way he said it made me feel like he didn’t give a shit about me, just Mariah.
“Mm-hmm. You coming to get us or what?”
“I can’t right now, London. I’m just about to start this meeting. Just call Junior’s people. They’ll send somebody over to change it.”
I exhaled loudly into the phone. “I guess.”
“Listen, I love you, London. Now, get back inside with Mariah and lock the doors. That’s not the best of neighborhoods. I don’t want anything happening to you before we have a chance to talk.”
Don’t ask me why, but I hung up with a smile—before someone frightened the hell out of me.
“Miss—”
I screamed, turning around to find a man standing between me and the back of my car, where my daughter was sitting, watching this whole thing. He looked dirty and disheveled, but I told myself that didn’t automatically make him a bad person.
“Miss, everything okay?”
“No,” I said, embarrassed by being rattled. “My tire. I had a blowout.”
“That’s too bad,” he chirped.
At that point, I was about to show him where the spare tire was, because I assumed he was about to offer assistance. Well, you know what they say about assuming things.
“Guess I can’t drive it off, then,” he continued as he pulled a gun on me from under his hoodie. I gazed down its barrel.
“Please. My daughter—”
“Will be okay if you hurry up and hand over all yer shit!” he snarled, cutting me off.
“Mommy?” Mariah called out from inside. Thank God the man’s back was turned to her, so she couldn’t see the gun.
“Wait a minute, baby. The nice man is going to help us.” I looked at him and pleaded, “Please ... just leave us alone. You don’t want to do this.”
“Who the fuck are you to know what I want and don’t want? Lady, I’m losin’ my patience. Now, give up your shit!”
“Okay. Okay, here.” I was willing to give him everything, as long as Mariah and I could walk away from this alive. I let my purse slide off my shoulder into my hand, then tossed it to him.
“What else you got? What about that jewelry and that watch? Don’t even think about holdin’ out on me.”
I took off my wedding ring and watch and handed them to him. “That’s it.”
“What you got in the car? I said I want it all,” he shouted.
“Nothing. Just my daughter.”
“Check again, or I’ll make her check.” He glanced in Mariah’s direction. Just the thought of him going near her was enough to make me take action. I opened the car door. Behind me, I could hear him riffling through my purse with his free hand. I knew he was distracted, so I began fishing beneath the driver’s seat for something he hadn’t bargained for.
“Mmm ... you got a nice ass.”
I dreaded that his eyes were on me again rather than on my purse. I reached around a little more frantically for what should have been easy to find. Then it hit me—my gun wasn’t there. It was in the glove compartment, locked away so Mariah wouldn’t find it. Damn, motherhood had made me sloppy, but I had to think of something. This guy was starting to act creepier than before. “Um, my glove compartment is locked. I’m gonna need the keys out of my purse.”