Special Agent Walsh flashed his badge to stop John Denton and Lisa Pellecchia. The couple was leaving the hospital for the airport. “Sorry, sir. Ma’am. You can’t leave Las Vegas just yet.”
Lisa looked up at Denton from her wheelchair. “Why not?” Denton asked.
“Because Nicholas Cuccia has escaped custody, for one thing. And I say so is the other reason.”
“You say so?” Denton asked.
“This is serious, Mr. Denton. A federal drug enforcement agent is in a coma right now because of Nicholas Cuccia. We have reason to believe Cuccia may be looking for Mr. Pellecchia. Until we can locate the suspect, we don’t think you or Mrs. Pellecchia should be left unprotected.”
“Then take us to the airport,” Lisa said.
“She has a point,” Denton said. “If this is really about protection.”
“We don’t have the manpower,” Walsh said. “Sorry.”
“So we’re detained until this guy is caught?” Denton asked. “Are you serious?”
“I’m afraid so.”
“For what? Unless you’re going to arrest us. Are we being arrested?”
Walsh wasn’t in the mood for a lawyer. “I can do that. If you’d like. I can arrest you.”
“For what?” Denton repeated.
“For what?” Lisa added.
“Assault,” Walsh said. He turned to Denton. “Back at the Bellagio. I think you know what I’m talking about.”
“This is bullshit,” Denton said.
“We need to find Mr. Pellecchia,” Walsh said. “Ma’am, do you know where he is? You might save his life. Nicholas Cuccia has killed at least three people today.”
Lisa spoke without thinking. “His girlfriend,” she said. She looked to Denton. “Right?”
Denton frowned. Walsh waited. “Mr. Denton?” he said. “You could save the man’s life.”
Denton looked down at Lisa. She looked up at him with a gentle smile. “I lived with the man for five years,” she said. “I figured it out.”
Denton nodded at Walsh. “All right,” Denton said. “All right.”
The puppy lay asleep on Samantha’s lap as Charlie set a cover on the pot of sauce he was cooking. She smiled at him when he took a seat on the couch beside her.
“Smells pretty good,” she said.
Charlie leaned across her lap to pet the dog. He kissed Samantha on the cheek. “So do you.”
“About how long will that sauce take?” Samantha asked.
“Forty minutes.”
“Can you make it take forty-five?”
They kissed.
“I missed that,” he told her.
“Me, too,” she said.
They kissed again. Samantha held ight. It was good holding him again. She missed him. She was glad he was there.
He moved closer as they embraced around the dog. He leaned into a kiss when he felt something hard under his leg. “What’s this?”
He pulled a.25 from between the couch pillows.
“Oh, shit,” Samantha said. “That’s what he shot me with. Beau, Carol’s husband. I just assumed he took it with him.”
“Yeah, and so did the cops,” Charlie said as he set the gun on an end table. “Which reminds me,” he added as he removed the.22 he had bought from the hookers from his pants pocket and set it alongside Beau’s gun.
“Where did you get that?” Samantha asked.
“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you,” Charlie said.
The puppy was climbing on Samantha’s chest. It licked at both their faces as its tail wagged excitedly.
“Ooooh, the pretty baby!” Samantha said in a high-pitched voice. “Oooh, the pretty baby!”
She picked the dog up to hold against her face. Charlie shook his head as he backed away from them on the couch. He said, “I knew I should’ve bought flowers.”