10. Leith

10

LEITH

" W hat did you say to that man, Leith?" Rowan asked, stalking towards him after depositing her grandmother with friends on a bench under the red and gold leaves of an ancient oak. He could feel Ms. Cannell giving him the stink eye all the way across the town square.

Rowan had changed out of her cute, paint-stained overalls into a creamy yellow dress with a bright yellow flower print that nipped in at the waist and swirled around her laced-up brown boots. Soft red waves of hair spilled over her shoulders and curled around her ample breasts. She'd even put on a touch of mascara that emphasized those wide green eyes and slicked something across her lips that made them shiny and even more kissable.

"You look amazing," he said, unable to resist reaching out and twirling a lock around his finger.

She frowned at him, pulling the curl from his grasp with a flick of her hair. "Stop being charming and tell me what happened. Granny said you were talking to that Tim guy about her, and now rumors are flying about how you're not only her lawyer but half the town's."

"I gave him a letter telling him and the people he works for to leave your grandmother alone and to communicate with her only through me," he said, trying to figure out how mad at him she was. By talking to Tim in front of a pack of the small town's busybodies, he'd forced her hand. "And, to remind you, I am her lawyer, Rowan."

She gave him a long look, a muscle flexing in her jaw as she chewed on his words. Finally, she blew out a breath and said in a calmer voice, "Before we left for the meeting, I told Granny you're her lawyer, so she already knows. She just didn't want the rest of the town all up in her business, especially since she'd been so vocally against ever hiring one."

The tension in his shoulders eased. Rowan fulfilled her end of the bargain. But he needed the rest of the story. "And? How did she react when you told her?"

"Surprisingly, not as bad as I feared. Still bad, though. Dragged me off into a corner and scolded me for going against her wishes and hiring you," she said with a wrinkle of her nose. "Funny thing is, I think she's more pissed about you being a soul-sucking lawyer than a crossroads demon."

He snorted. "Technically, I'm just a demon. The soul-sucking and crossroads aspects are optional," he said. Though the souls of the wicked were both spicy and delicious. "However, I am responsible for the active crossroads in my area. Part of the deal I made with the demon queen to live in this realm." Not that he'd been so much living up to his end of the bargain as pretending it didn't exist. At least until Rowan came knocking at his crossroads, that was.

"Oh, really?" she said, cocking her head, her gaze brushing up against his glamour and peering beneath it. She hummed under her breath and licked her lips.

He resisted the urge to preen. Then she blinked, and his glamour slid back into place.

"Also, it seems she's annoyed that our ‘bit of hanky-panky' — her words, not mine — messed up her Beanie Baby display." A slight flush of pink bloomed on her cheeks.

"I'll have to apologize to her for the mess we made." He gave her a slow smile. "And for any future messes."

Her blush deepen. Narrowing her eyes, she shook a finger at him. "Don't make me fire you."

He grinned, recognizing a half-hearted threat when he heard one. "So now that your grandmother knows she has a lawyer, I can officially start prepping our next steps."

"Okay. Good. Because the sooner you can get some results for Granny, the better. Might change her opinion on lawyers if you make this whole mess go away." She tapped a finger on his chest. "Might even change my opinion about you if you can put some hurt on them to make up for them being pains in our collective asses."

A bolt of lust crashed through him at the glimpse of her violent side. "I'll get right on that. I am looking to get in her good graces, after all." He lowered his voice. "Yours as well."

Her breath caught. Shivering, she wrapped her arms around her waist as a crisp autumn breeze blew across the square.

He took off his suit jacket and draped it over her shoulders.

"Thanks, but I'm okay," she said, trying to shrug out of it.

"You're cold." And he wanted her wrapped in his scent so everyone would know he'd staked his claim. He smoothed out a nonexistent wrinkle on the lapel, stilling her attempt to hand it back. "I'm already on your granny's shit list. Just think what would happen if I let her precious granddaughter catch a chill," he said, his thumb sliding over her collarbone.

She shivered again, but this time it wasn't from the cold. "Fine. Thank you." She harrumphed, burrowing into the warmth of his coat. "Oh, I think you may get some more business soon." She tipped her chin towards several individuals milling around in front of City Hall, sending furtive glances their way.

He gave a thoughtful hum. More clients on the same case elevated its priority. Not that it wasn't already on the top of his to-do list. His drive to protect Rowan and her grandmother wouldn't have it any other way. But maybe he should ask Stan to cut his time off short and delve into DownHome and its elusive CEO as soon as possible. Info on them was now a top priority. He knew there was something juicy there he could sink his teeth into.

"So, what's the next step?" she asked, flipping up the collar of his jacket. The wind swirled leaves around their ankles.

"Well, I told you about the letter I gave Tim. That was an opening salvo. Doesn't have much legal bite to back it up, so it's merely a stop-gap measure until I can build a solid case to move forward." His brain was already compiling a list of possible statutes and regulations he could use.

"So, to build this case, you need background on what's happened and what they've done so far?"

He nodded. "That's part of it, certainly. We'll pull together background and documents, conduct interviews with affected parties, work to uncover anything that might be of use in the case, that sort of thing."

"Okay. I'll get you a copy of everything I have so far, including texts and other communication from those jerks," she said, tapping a finger against her chin, a cute little line forming between her brows as she thought. "And I can talk to folks around town, do interviews, and stuff. I know pretty much everyone."

He bit back a smile at her enthusiasm. "That's not necessary." What are you doing, you idiot? he growled at himself. Use this as an opportunity to keep her close. And don't you dare blow it. Clearing his throat, he added, "However, we are a small staff with limited resources at our disposal. Your assistance would be greatly appreciated."

"Excellent." Rowan beamed at him, then grabbed him with a gasp, her short nails digging into his forearm. "Ooh, I know. Let's check out their headquarters. Really take a look at this shady company and the people who run it. I just know that Seymour Myles is bad news."

He caught himself before he shot down her idea, his brain dissecting exactly what she said. Was that a "Let's" as in "let us"? As in the two of us spending time together? His heart did a little happy dance, fluttering inside his chest.

They could set up an appointment to meet with the CEO and his legal team — Leith figured he'd need to do that at some point anyway — and Rowan could be there as his assistant…

But she wasn't thinking about doing that in the future. No, no. The woman had no patience. She wanted to do it tomorrow, as in Friday. "You know," she said, her eyes sparkling as she gazed up at him, her hand resting on his chest, "they're based in Charlotte, only a couple of hours from here. I'm thinking we take a little road trip, do some recon, and see what's really up at DownHome."

"But that's not…" he trailed off as she barrelled right over his tepid protest.

"Excellent." She patted his pectoral, each point of contact a spark of heat that traveled through his body and straight to his cock. "A road trip. My fave. I'll drive. You bring the snacks." Recklessly impulsive plan settled in her mind, she popped up on tippy-toes, gave him a kiss on the lips and a pat on the cheek, and darted off to collect her grandmother.

Dumbstruck, he watched her go, a bright, colorful flame in the night. She turned and waved at him from across the square. He was pretty sure Granny flipped him off, but surely he imagined that. After all, it was dark.

Just appearing at headquarters like that, that's not how it works, he thought.

And she didn't care, her spontaneous nature springing into action once again, as it had with the crossroads. But this time, he would be there to rescue her if anything went sideways. He'd bet a gold favor token they wouldn't make it past the lobby. Which, fine by him. While relatively useless to the case, a road trip to Charlotte meant he got to spend an entire day with her.

Also, did she even realize she'd trapped herself in a car with him for a day? Did she care?

In the shadows of the evening, an increasingly smug grin spread across Leith's face. It wasn't the most conventional way to approach building a case, but honestly, it couldn't have worked out better if he'd planned it himself.