Patty

"Why do you let him do that?"

I rolled my head to the side and glanced at the guy sitting next to me. We were supposed to be on a date, but that had been interrupted when Danny came running in, heading straight for me. He'd totally ignored Kurt and sat down on my lap, starting to talk as if we'd been in the middle of a conversation and he'd just gone to the bathroom.

I listened, of course, 'cause when didn't I listen to Danny? I'd been listening to him for years. I wasn't going to change that anytime soon.

"Patty!"

"What?"

Geez.

"Why do you let him do that?" There was a rigid tone in Kurt's voice.

"Why do I let him do what?"

What the hell was he talking about?

"Why do you let him hang all over you like that?"

I know I was frowning, but I couldn't help it. "It's Danny."

It's what he did. Danny James had been invading my personal bubble space almost from the moment we met. I stopped asking why or questioning it a long time ago. Years ago. It was just a given that if Danny was anywhere around me, he was touching me in some manner.

"Well, he needs to stop," Kurt insisted. "I'm dating you, not him."

I stilled for a moment before slowly panning to the right and giving my current boy toy my full attention. Kurt was just a passing fancy and we both knew it. He was a one-night stand who had turned into a couple of weeks. There were no promises between us. There never would be.

Not having Danny in my life was not an option. Not having Kurt in my life looked as if it was going to happen sooner rather than later.

I set Danny on his feet. "I think we're done."

Kurt smirked at Danny.

He obviously didn't understand I was talking about him. And we were done for more than the night. We were done period. I wasn't real fond of people questioning me. There were two people in the world who could get away with that. One had given birth to me and the other one was standing next to me.

"We're done, Kurt. Go home."

And don't bother coming back.

"What?" Sheer outrage made Kurt's voice a little louder than necessary. "Me?"

I pulled in a deep breath through my nose before sending Danny a nod toward the stairs. "Go wait in the office, Danny."

Once Danny hurried off, I narrowed my eyes at Kurt. It was better than wrapping my hands around his neck, which was what I really wanted to do. "It's time you found another place to roost, Kurt."

"Is it because I told you to get rid of that little slut?" Kurt snapped. "If I'd known—"

My hand shot out and wrapped around Kurt's neck as I gave into my true desire. I yanked him closer until we were practically nose to nose, which was quite the feat as I was six foot three and Kurt was five foot ten.

"It's over, Kurt. Go home and don't come back. You're not welcome here anymore." I snapped my fingers as I dropped Kurt to his feet. I knew Liam Hennessey, my second in command, would have my back. He was never more than a few steps from me, especially when the bar was open and full of patrons. "See to it that Kurt is escorted to his car. He's not allowed back in the bar."

Kurt's scream of outrage echoed in my ears as I turned away and headed out of my private booth. As I started up the stairs to my second-floor office, I caught sight of Liam escorting Kurt to the door out of the corner of my eye. Kurt was screeching the entire way.

Good riddance.

Sometimes, my dick got me into messes my head had to clean up. It was a sad fact, but one I was used to. In my line of work, having close relationships wasn't something I did easily. I never knew who might be planning to stab me in the back or working for law enforcement.

I trusted very few people.

Danny was sitting at my desk playing on my computer when I walked in. I smiled at the tongue peeking out of the corner of his mouth. He was concentrating so hard. I knew he had to be playing one of those driving games he loved so much. He was pretty much addicted to them. I figured it was because he wasn't allowed to drive in real life.

I shuddered just thinking about the trouble he could get into driving in Chicago traffic.

I walked over to the small bar and poured myself a drink then reached into the small fridge and grabbed Danny a coke. Decaffeinated. Danny didn't need the added caffeine. He was bouncy enough.

I set the can down on the desk next to the laptop and walked over to sit on the couch. I kicked my feet up on the coffee table and reached for the remote, flipping on the TV. I switched the channel to the news. It never hurt to know what was going on in the city.

"Did you eat, Danny?"

I worried about him, probably more than I should. I was supposed to be some sort of mentor or something, but over the last couple of years, I'd begun to take an interest in Danny for a whole other reason. I should be shot for the things that went through my mind when I was thinking about Danny.

"Yeah," he answered without looking away from the screen. "Liam got me a hamburger when I came in."

I rolled my head toward him. "Did you eat it?"

Danny's head popped up. "I ate."

"All of it?" I saw Danny's face flush before he ducked his head. I sighed. "Danny."

"I ate most of it."

I suppose that was the best I could expect.