still pointing their heaters at them. Dante stopped in front of Dominic and met the Dominican’s eyes. He stepped around the man and walked through his crew towards the doors.
* * *
Once outside, Dante, Dre and Tony T ignored the stares as the three of them left the club and headed to their Ford Explorer.
“Fam, you plan on telling us what the fuck that was just now?” Dre asked, once the three of them were inside the SUV.
Dante didn’t answer Dre and ignored Tony T staring at him from the back seat. He simply stared out the passenger window as Dre drove away. Dante wondered if he had made the right decision in helping the Dominican and not just dumping on the nigga Victor right there in the club.
“Yo!” Tony T called out from the back seat. “We got company, y’all!”
Looking back behind him through the black-tinted window, Dante saw the Range Rover, Bentley, and a second Range Rover drive past the Explorer. They pulled in front of them and blocked the middle of the road.
“Here we go!” Tony T said, pulling his hammer from under his black button-up.
“Relax!” Dante told Tony T and Dre. He then stared at the Bentley as the back door was opened and Dominic climbed out, with his team from the first Range Rover crowding around him. The rest of the team posted themselves in the middle of the road.
“Look at this shit!” Dre said, shaking his head. “It’s this same Spanish muthafucker we just helped out.”
Listening to Dre while watching one of the Dominican’s men walk over to the driver’s side, Dante told Dre to roll down the window. After a quick stare, Dre did as he was told.
“You!” Carlos said, nodding to Dante inside the passenger seat. “Mr. Saldana would like you to talk with him a moment.”
“About what?” Dante asked, staring back at the homeboy outside of Dre’s window.
“Mr. Saldana will discuss everything with you once you two are seated,” Carlos answered, before asking Dante to please come with him.
“Yo, Dre! What’s up?” Tony T asked, leaning forward between the front seats. “Bruh, you not really going to holla at this dude, is you?”
“I’ma be right back,” Dante told his boys. He climbed out, closing the door behind him.
He walked around the front of the Explorer where the messenger was waiting. Dante allowed homeboy to pat him down, finding both his hammers.
“You will receive these back before you leave,” Carlos told him. “Follow me, sir.”
Following a step behind the messenger, while ignoring the hard-staring crew who were watching him closely, Dante stopped once face to face with the Dominican drug lord.
“Who, may I ask, are you?” Dominic asked, as he stared straight into the younger man’s eyes.
“Your messenger said you wanted to talk. I’m listening,” Dante told the drug lord, disregarding the question that was asked.
Nodding his head slowly, but never breaking eye contact with the young man in front of him, Dominic called to his head of security. He then said to Dante, “Sit with me. Let’s talk.”
Dante climbed into the back of the Bentley behind Dominic. The messenger shut the door behind them. Dante looked over at Dominic as he introduced himself. “I am Dominic Saldana. It is clear that you are not from here. I wonder why you would interfere with matters you know nothing about.”
“A simple ‘thank you’ would do.”
Smiling, as he stared at the younger man beside him, Dominic said, “You are correct. I do owe you my thanks, and I do thank you. But again, exactly why would you interfere with matters that are of no concern to you?”
“Maybe I just saw that your security wasn’t handling your business, so I decided to help out.”
“Why do I feel as if that is only part of the truth? Who are you?”
“You seem pretty interested in knowing who I am.”
“I’m always interested in those who are new in town and just show up and interfere in matters, especially with the end result of saving my life.