They were locked in a staring contest, Alfonso apparently trying to judge whether or not Blane was hiding something. Too bad Blane was an expert at bluffing. Lawyers couldn’t afford to be anything less.
“Your pet has been euthanized, I’m sorry to inform you,” Alfonso said, abruptly changing the subject.
“My pet?”
“The goose,” Kade interrupted, knocking his elbow into Blane’s side. “You know…we named him Duck Duck.” He turned back to Alfonso. “Duck duck goose. Get it?”
Blane shot Kade a look. Are you fucking kidding me?
Kade gave a tiny shrug. First thing that came to me.
“Though why you’d bring a pet goose—” Alfonso continued, ignoring Kade.
“Duck Duck,” Kade inserted.
“—to Las Vegas is beyond my comprehension,” Alfonso finished. “If you’d care to collect the carcass, we can have that arranged.” His expression was one of distaste.
“Nah, no way could I handle seeing Duck Duck like that,” Kade said with a sad shake of his head. “They can do whatever they do…?”
“They’ll incinerate it,” Alfonso answered Kade unfinished question.
Perfect.
“You’re personal belongings have been collected and are waiting for you in transportation we’ve arranged to the airport,” he continued.
“How thoughtful,” Kade said dryly. Alfonso ignored him.
“Here are your winnings.” Alfonso handed a thick envelope over to Kade. “And in case you are wondering,” he continued, “let me spell it out for you.
“You are hereby banned from the MGM Grand. Your names and photos are on record. Should you show your faces here again, you will be escorted from the premises, in a very unpleasant way.”
No problem.
***
Blane leaned his head back in the cab. God, he was tired. And he smelled. And he was hungry. He opened his mouth—
“Don’t start,” Kade warned, cutting him off before he’d even said a word.
“I didn’t say anything.”
“You were about to.”
They sat in stiff silence for a minute. Then Blane gave a soft chuckle. He glanced at Kade, whose lips twitched. That prompted a full out laugh and before long they were both wheezing from laughing so hard.
“Shit,” Blane said when he could catch his breath. “I can’t even believe all that happened.”
“We’re banned from the MGM,” Kade said. “Do you even know how badass that is?” He high-fived Blane.
“So what’re you going to do with the money?” Blane asked.
Kade shrugged. “I dunno. Guess I could use it to get Mannie that audition.”
“So you do know a guy?”
“I could find a guy.”
Yeah, Blane didn’t want to know. But he wasn’t surprised that Kade would keep his word to Mannie. Hard-as-nails as he could be, Kade had a core of honor and integrity that couldn’t stay hidden, no matter how much he tried to pretend otherwise.
“Don’t be offended, but this is probably the last vacation I ever take with you,” Blane said, crossing his arms over his chest and closing his eyes as he leaned back in the seat. “And I didn’t even get a fucking T-shirt.”
“I hear it can get pretty wild in Miami,” Kade said. “And I really need to work on my tan.”
Blane cracked an eye and looked at Kade, who was grinning shamelessly at him. He sighed.
Shit.
The End.