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but not the goblin who had enthralled Mermeia’s gambling-loving female population.
    I slowly turned and looked up—and up. “You know my name.” I shouldn’t have been surprised, but I was.
    I’d been to Sirens before—and I’d seen its owner. You know the saying that the most dangerous predators are the most beautiful? Well, I’m here to tell you that it’s true. Tamnais Nathrach was all long limbs and lean muscle. His eyes were large and dark, his black hair fell to the middle of his back like a sheet of silk, and his skin was silvery gray.
    He was dressed all in black, from the shirt that exposed enough of his sculpted chest to be intriguing, down to seriously fitted trousers and the tips of his highly polished boots. 
    Tamnais Nathrach’s dark e yesglitteredinthedimlight. “Could I interest you in a game of chance?” His smile—with a bit of fang peeking into view—said he wasn’t talking about dice.
    “I’m taking a chance every time I walk through those doors, and it doesn’t cost me a thing.” He could interpret that any way he wanted to.
    “Your cousin is among my regular clientele, so while it is not unusual to see a beautiful woman accompanying him, this is the first time his arm has been adorned with a relative—and a professional seeker. Unfortunately, you have never come into my establishment for pleasure. I assume you are looking for someone.”
    I saw no reason to lie. I knew his coming up behind me just as I was about to look for the ring couldn’t have been a coincidence. “I’ve found the some one ; now I need the some thing .”
    He looked where I’d been looking. “You’d be wise to stay away from Sethis Mortsani.”
    “I don’t do wise.”
    His lips curled with the faintest of smiles. “So I’ve heard.”
    Lord Mortsani’s chips meant he’d come in here with enough coin of the realm to buy them. Maybe. Was there any other way he could have gotten them? Tamnais Nathrach seemed to enjoy making small talk with me. I shrugged to myself. Go big or go home. 
    “Does your cashier accept anything other than coin of the realm?” I asked bluntly.
    “Never.”
    “Do you?”
    “I have been known to assist guests who suddenly find themselves financially disadvantaged.”
    “Has Lord Mortsani ever been financially disadvantaged?”
    “The arrangements made between the house and our guests are strictly confidential.”
    “Of course they are.”
    “If I like the guest.”
    Now that was interesting. I stifled a smile.
    “Do you like Lord Mortsani?” I asked.
    “I never have, and I never will.”
    Tamnais Nathrach went up a couple of notches in my estimation, dark mage or not. Or at the very least he had good taste. But then there were those doors downstairs. . .
    “Then I’ll refer to my question regarding Lord Mortsani’s funding sources,” I continued.
    “He has not tried to use any of his wife’s jewelry, if that’s what you’re asking.”
    “I am. So you know about that.”
    The goblin inclined his head. “I make it a point to know much about those who place large wagers in my casino.”
    I’ll bet he did. Tamnais Nathrach had spent five years as the magical power behind the goblin throne. A man like that didn’t do anything halfway. In his previous profession, halfway done could easily mean all the way dead. As the owner of Mermeia’s finest casino, knowingly accepting stolen goods would damage his reputation, to say the least. As a businessman or a pirate—or seafaring businessman—your reputation was everything. Nathrach would know everything about the men and women who brought the most money through his pornographic doors.
    “Nor do I believe any other casino that Lord Mortsani frequents would knowingly accept stolen jewelry as payment,” he continued. “However, if he sold any pieces prior to crossing my threshold, I would be none the wiser.”
    “And if he asks for the help of the house?”
    “I will politely refuse.”
    “That won’t make him