She paused at the banister. "What?"
"Whatever happens tonight, whatever they decide, it doesn't change how I feel about you."
"Maybe not. But it might change how I feel about myself."
Diana climbed the stairs without looking back, leaving Rowan standing alone in the lobby. She had work to do, a case to prepare, a community to prove herself to. Again.
By noon, the inn was spotless. By two, Diana had organized every document, receipt, and permit the Council might request. By four, she'd changed into her best dress and Miriam's locket, armor for the battle ahead.
At five-thirty, she walked across the square toward the Council Glade, spine straight, chin high, ready to defend everything she'd built.
Behind her, the inn waited like a held breath, beautiful and vulnerable and entirely dependent on whether its human keeper could convince five supernatural leaders that she deserved to stay.
34
ROWAN
When Diana went back upstairs, Rowan pulled out his phone. Gerald Finch answered on the second ring, his voice tight with barely contained panic.
"Rowan–."
"Where are you?"
"Home. Why?"
"Because I need to see the paperwork. The complaint forms, the payment records, everything." Rowan grabbed his jacket from the hook by the door. "I'm coming over."
"I can't?—"
"You can and you will. Unless you'd prefer I explain to your supervisor how you've been taking bribes to manufacture problems for local businesses."
Twenty minutes later, Rowan sat in Finch's cramped living room, photocopied documents spread across the coffee table. Bank deposits, complaint forms, detailed instructions on exactly what violations to cite.
"How much did they pay you?"
Finch didn’t even try to deny it. "Two thousand. Up front." Finch's hands shook as he poured whiskey into a coffee mug. "Said there'd be more if the Council voted to revoke her license."
"They have names on any of this paperwork?"
"Corporate account. Something called Backwoods Consulting." Finch gulped his whiskey. "Look, I didn't know it would go this far. Thought it was just harassment, not actual removal proceedings."
Rowan gathered the documents into a manila envelope. "You're going to make this right."
"How?"
"Call your supervisor. Tell him you discovered irregularities in the complaint process. Anonymous tip that led you to evidence of bribery and false reporting."
"But—"
"But nothing. You do this, or I make sure everyone in town knows exactly what kind of man takes money to destroy honest businesses."
Finch nodded miserably. "What about the Council meeting?"
"That's not your problem anymore."
Rowan left Finch's house with the evidence and drove straight to the Book Nook. The store was closed, but lights glowed in the upstairs apartment. He pounded on the back door until Lucien answered, his dark hair mussed and his expression irritated.
"What?"
