This was a level of game that was way over my head.

            I fidgeted, uncomfortable with how intense his gaze was. “What do you want with me?”

            “I need your help,” Kiran repeated. “I need your luck.”

            “For what?” I narrowed my eyes at him again, stopping myself from saying what I wanted to, which was “no way”. I didn’t want to get mixed up in anything big.

            “Sit down,” Kiran gestured at the bed. “It’s sort of a story that needs telling, and it’s a long one.”

            I eyed him a suspiciously, and Kiran sighed. “I’m not going to do anything. Just sit down.”

            When I continued to stare at him stubbornly his mouthed firmed into a line, and his eyes glittered. “Please sit.”

            It was not a request. The intense light in his eyes had flicked on in an instant, and it made me nervous enough to make my way over to the bed on wobbly knees and sag onto the side of it, staring up at him resentfully.

            “So I sat, now what?”

            Kiran’s face went carefully smooth again. “My apologies, I’ll try not to snap at you in the future. It’s just…time is of the essence, it’s important that you begin to cooperate as soon as possible.”

            I folded my arms over my chest and glared at him. “Why should I?”

            “Because,” he said evenly. “I am the only thing standing between you and a very pissed off Boxcar. There are three very large, very angry men outside this tavern as we speak. You won’t be able to get out of this building alive, never mind out of town.”

            I scowled at him. “So…I do what you say, or you throw me to the sharks.”

            He quirked one dark brow at me. “That’s a rather mercenary way of putting it. I would say, your cooperation in exchange for my protection.”

            “A rose by any other name,” I snarled back at him.

            He gave me an infuriatingly charming smile. “I don’t think you’ve used that saying quite right.”

            “Well aren’t you eloquent,” I spat at him, and flinched back when he leaned closer and narrowed his eyes at me. “I’m surprised you even know that word.”

            “Bastard.”

            “Mouthy bar wench.”

            We stared at one another for a split second, and I didn’t know if I wanted to throttle him, or shove him onto the bed and straddle him. Maybe both…

            Finally he said, “Well, can I trust you not to stab me as soon as my back is turned?”

            No. “Yes.”

            “Good.” Kiran threw himself down carelessly on the other side of the bed, making the rusted springs shriek. “I’ll tell you what we’re going to do now. I’ll tell you the plan.”

                                                             .........................................

            “So,” I said slowly, still trying to take it all in after he’d told me everything. “This is about revenge. Revenge on some guy who owns some gambling house…”

            “Not some gambling house,” Kiran said tersely. “The house. The top one in New London.”

            “I still don’t understand why you need me.”

            “There’ll be guards up in the balcony. They watch the floors all night, looking for suspicious activity.”

            “Right. So?”

            “I need you to be that suspicious activity.”

            “So I’m just a distraction,” I said indignantly.

            Kiran’s grin made me want to punch him. “What, you want to be the star of the show?”

            “Not of your show,” I muttered. “So, what…I go and gamble and attract attention with all my flashy luck…and you sneak in and steal…what?”

            His face went abruptly blank. He was closed off to me so suddenly it was shocking. “That’s none of your concern.”

            “Like hell it isn’t.” I sat up straighter. “You’re thrusting me into this if I like it or not, and then telling me it’s none of my concern what we’re going in there for?”

            “What I’m going in there for,” Kiran said firmly. He stood up then, so fast that I knew the conversation was close to being cut off. I groped desperately for something else to say, skin prickling with pins and needles. I needed to know everything I was getting into.

            “What happens if I get caught? What if they realize…what I am?” I looked down at my arms, at the almost invisible layer of gold that dusted my skin. The room was dark, and if you didn’t examine me closely, you couldn’t tell.

            I thought of Lightfoot examining me closely and it made my cheeks feel hot. I was glad the room was dark.

            “The gambling house will be dark,” Kiran said, and I sat up with a guilty start, feeling like he’d almost read my mind.

            When he turned back to me I tried to compose myself. He sat back down on the bed, closer to me this time. His voice was low now, almost gentle.

            “I didn’t want to involve anyone else in this, I really didn’t. But you’re the only one who might be able to distract Rook.”

            The back of my neck prickled. The name itself had a slippery feeling to it. “Who’s that? The head of the casino? He must have done something to really piss you off.”

            “You could say that,” Kiran muttered. “Look, I assure you that I won’t let anything happen to you. It’s likely they’ll notice you. It’s even likely that Rook himself will guess what you are and come down and visit you. All you have to do is act like you like him, just long enough for me to get what I came for. Then I’ll make sure you get out in one piece.”

            I shifted uncomfortably. “What will stop him from killing me the moment he knows what I am? Or calling the constables?”

            For a second a look of pure darkness flashed across Kiran’s face. “Rook is nothing if not predictable. He likes pretty, shiny things. He likes owning them.”

            I grimaced. “I’m not sure if I’m going to like Rook anymore than I like you.”

            “Well thanks.” Kiran flashed me another wide grin and leaned his back against the wall, tucking his hands behind his head. “Seems like I got myself the most complementary fairy out there.”

            “You’re lucky I’m not full fairy,” I growled at him, “or I’d make you scoop out your own guts and eat them.”

            “You sure know how to charm a guy.”

            I shifted on the bed again, eyeing the door, thinking about making another break for it. Really, even though the plan sounded simple enough, I didn’t want any part of this crap…

            Kiran sat up suddenly, and I flinched, wondering if he’d realized I was pondering another mad dash. His eyes were locked to my face, making me blush red in the dark again.

            “What?”

            “I can make this worth your while. It doesn’t have to be me forcing you into anything.”

            I couldn’t help it, my ears perked up at that. “What do you mean?”

            “I can get us into the top gambler’s house in New London, do you know how much money there is to be won there? You can walk away with enough to live on comfortably for the rest of your life.”

            “Or…” I said sardonically, “you could get us both killed.” But my snappy comeback was just an automatic reaction, I was already day dreaming about all the money I could win. He was right, in a way. I couldn’t get in the front door of most of the fancy gambling establishments, but with him…

            When there’s money to be won… “Okay, that’s sounding a bit better.” I crossed my arms and shot him a narrow look. “Why the hell didn’t you just say that in the first place instead of clapping me in irons, literally?”

            Kiran scoffed. “I was busy trying to stop you from murdering me in cold blood, that’s why.”

            I sniffed and shrugged noncommittally, then blinked at him when he chuckled, a low, honey-toned laugh. “You’re lucky I’m beginning to like you.”

            “Don’t grow too attached. I’ll still stick a knife in your back the moment I get a chance.”

            “Noted.” Kiran stood up and stretched, eyeing the wall as if he could see through it to the outside world. “I’m sure it’s late. You should get some sleep.”

            “Where are you sleeping?” Instinctively I crowded back against the headboard, ready to kick him in the teeth if he got any funny ideas. There was only one bed here.

            “I’ve rented a room across from you.” Kiran strode for the door, saying over his shoulder. “If you think about escaping, try instead, thinking of piles of gold.”

            “Right.” I snorted, and Kiran arched one brow at me.

            “But please, do try to sneak out. I enjoy a challenge.”

            I tucked my feet underneath me, sitting cross legged, trying to ignore the tingles that shot through my stomach at the look he was giving me. It was charged with something dark and filled with tension, and I glared back at him defiantly.

            “Like you said, Boxcar is still out there.”