Chapter 6
Laura was sitting in a Danny-sized oxford shirt and drying her hair with a kitchen towel when the detective got out of the shower.
“I’ve always liked that outfit on you.” She murmured to Danny. The redhead was in the red and white baseball tee and pair of cotton pajama shorts she’d had since high school.
“Laura, we need to talk.” She ignored the compliment for the time being and pulled a chair up next to her girlfriend.
“Danny, I’m fine. I don’t need you to help me process or anything. Thank you for being my hero today.” She covered one of the detective’s hands with her one of her own.
“No hon, this is not about processing. It’s about how you almost got killed visiting me at work.” She squeezed Laura’s hand. “I don’t think you should come around the precinct anymore.” Danny exhaled as soon as she got the words out.
“What?” Laura snapped up and furrowed her brow. “Danny, I’m fine. I didn’t get killed.”
“But what if I hadn’t been fast enough? Or what if I had been incapacitated?”
“If those things were true, I could have taken care of myself! Or are you forgetting that my dad, the police commissioner, had me enrolled in self defense classes since I could walk?” Laura started to raise her voice.
“How many times have I had to come get you when you’ve gotten into trouble on an investigation?”
“Excuse me? What are you saying, I should quit my job because I can’t take care of myself?” The PI was full out yelling now.
“No Laura, I’m just saying that sometimes you get into dangerous situations without thinking! Do you know how it feels to get a text that says ‘trapped in mob bar, bring backup’, or ‘stakeout went south, need getaway car ASAP’?”
“That’s the job Danny! If I’m being a nuisance, I’ll stop texting!”
“The job is what got my parents killed Laura, you know that. Which means you also know that there’s no way I would let you handle these situations by yourself. I don’t want to lose everyone I’ve ever cared about because of the job!”
“I guess you’re too late for that.” Laura stated quietly.
“Laura-”
“No Danny. I already have one dad to question my choices and to constantly condescend to me. I get that you just want to keep me safe, but if you didn’t want to lose me, you sure went about it the wrong way.” Laura plucked her wet clothes from where they were hanging over the detective’s kitchen sink. “I’m sorry, but it’s over.” She exited the apartment in a huff.
Danny flinched at the sound of her front door slamming shut and sank into her couch with her head in her hands. Leave it to me to ruin the only good thing in my life. She cursed herself when she felt hot liquid pooling in her eyes.
“Bad time?” Danny shot up at the unfamiliar voice and furiously wiped away the angry tears. When her vision cleared, she resisted the urge to laugh at the utterly ridiculous sight of womanizing socialite Carmilla Karnstein perched in her window.