Page 15 of Inspiring Dominic

“Well, damn,” Gaby huffed. “Y’all left it all out there on the dance floor. Thought Tomás and I were gonna have to bring out the hose and cool you off.”

Samara grabbed a drink menu that was on the table and began fanning herself. “Dom made a liar out of me, so I stand corrected.” She glanced my way. “Okay, salsa dance champ. You did that shit.”

“You were right there with me,” I acknowledged. “What do you say we take a quick break and head back out there?” I hadn’t danced in forever, and I had to admit, it almost seemed like I’d been waiting so long to get back into it because I hadn’t met Samara yet and dancing with her was way better than it would have been dancing with a random woman.

“Hold that thought,” she muttered, making sure Gaby and Tomás weren’t paying attention when she dropped her head to the left. “It’s about that time.”

I nodded, both of us standing from the table while Samara told Gaby we’d return in twenty minutes before they headed to the dance floor. I couldn’t deny the thrill I felt as I followed Samara to the back of the club.

Chapter 5

DOMINIC

“Luca must have arrived while we were dancing,” Samara noted. “You ready?”

“Yeah, I’m right behind you.”

We went to the back of the club where a security guard was waiting at the bottom of the stairs. When he saw Samara, he nodded and let us pass.

“An old friend?” I asked as we ascended the stairs.

“Sort of. His wife knows Gaby, and she was sick and needed surgery. He couldn’t afford it on his security salary. I helped raise money back in the States to help out his wife and the family, so I guess you can say he owes me one.”

My eyes couldn’t stop staring at her ass while she walked ahead of me. “That’s nice of you.”

“I’m a nice person.” She peered over her shoulder and down at me. “Although I’m surprised you heard me with the way your eyes are burning a hole in the back of my dress.”

“As long as you know.” I didn’t stop looking until we reached the top and turned a corner.

“It’s showtime,” she muttered, right before she ran her hand down my arm, batting flirtatious eyes my way.

“You can’t be up here,” the security guard warned, standing at the entrance of a dimly red-lit hallway.

“We just wanted to pay our respects to Luca for his mother.”

“He’s not accepting visitors right now.”

Samara pulled out an envelope from her purse. “Can you just let him know that I met his mom back in the States and she was a sweet woman. I used to write her every now and then, and planned on giving her this letter. My boyfriend and I were dancing and heard Luca was here, so I figured I could give it to her son instead.”

“Like I said,” the security guard repeated, “he isn’t accepting visitors right now.”

“It’s okay, Rudy,” someone said on the security guard’s walkie-talkie. “You can let them through.”

Samara gave the security guard a smug look as we passed, her plan working perfectly. Although we had a role to play, I was taking note of everything about this exclusive section of the club.

There were four doors that we needed to pass before we arrived at the one where another security guard was stepped back, allowing us to enter the room. The door shut behind us, making me even more alert.

One thing about being in an indoor and outdoor Cuba nightclub, they hadn’t had a metal detector at the door, nor did anyone pat me down and I was a big dude. Unfortunately, that’s exactly what they did after they shut the door.

“You’ll get this back after you leave,” the guard said, placing my Glock in a lock box. I didn’t miss the curious glance Samara slid my way. I gave her a look back as if to imply I never went anyplace without a gun.

Another door opened and there were more guards with a man sitting in a large, red chair—cigar in one hand, and a woman’s ass cheek in the other.For a man who doesn’t know what his father is doing, he has a lot of security.Something told me Samara’s contact didn’t have the full story on Luca.

“You knew my mother?” he asked Samara.

She nodded, handing the envelope to another guard who inspected it first before giving it to Luca. “I did. She helped me with a few fundraisers I did to raise money for Cuba over the years.”

Luca smiled, putting down his cigar and motioning for the woman to go stand by the other two. “Sounds just like her.” He opened the letter and read it quickly. “Thank you for sharing this with me.” He handed it back to the guard. “Now for the real reason you’re here.”

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