The governor sat frozen beside his brother for a moment, his expression far more calculating. He didn’t protest, didn’t lash out, but his narrowed eyes flicked between Mikhail and Alexei.
Mikhail found himself swallowing. They might have won this particular case, but in doing so, they’d humiliated the Caldwells in front of the entire town.
The governor finally stood, his voice chillingly calm when he spoke. “Your Honor, I strongly suggest you reconsider your ruling. Dismissing this case so hastily does not reflect well on the administration of justice in Alaska.”
The judge merely arched a brow. “The evidence presented does not justify a trial, and the law does not exist to serve your personal vendettas. I will not waste my courtroom’s time by entertaining this case any further. Now if you can’t respect my decision, I suggest you remove yourself from this courtroom. Either that or my bailiff can forcibly remove you.”
“You can’t just remove us,” Preston Caldwell spat. “We’re plaintiffs in the next case.”
The judge leaned forward, eyes narrowed. “Would you like to test me on that?”
The governor grabbed his brother’s shoulder and muttered something into his ear, then the two men turned and stalked toward the exit, their polished shoes tapping hard against the wooden floor.
Dr. Wetherby, who had been sitting directly behind the Caldwells with Heath, huffed out a breath and stood. His normally upright posture sagged ever so slightly as he turned and headed to the door, with Heath and Dr. Ottingford behind him.
The judge banged his gavel again. “We will take a twenty-minute recess before hearing the harassment case.”
When he banged his gavel for a final time, the courtroom erupted, but the judge couldn’t seem to escape the room fast enough. He stood, then headed straight for his office, not remotely disturbed by the commotion.
Mikhail released the breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding, then leaned back in his chair, staring at the door where the judge had just disappeared.
He was free.
It seemed too easy. He’d been expecting a trial, assuming he’d face several weeks of uncertainty before knowing what would become of the next ten years of his life. But the ordeal was over before it ever really began.
Which meant he could now take Bryony in his arms and tell her how he felt about her.
He looked around the courtroom to find her. She’d been seated two rows behind him, tucked between Yuri and Kate, but he didn’t see her now. She must have slipped out at some point. He couldn’t blame her. She probably didn’t want to have any conversations with her family or end up facing the Caldwells in the hallway outside.
“We did it, Mikhail!” Evelina leaned over and gave him a hug, a laugh bubbling from her chest. “We did it!”
“Thank you for helping me.” He squeezed his eyes shut, deepening the hug. “Thank you for getting me out of this mess without needing to face an actual trial.”
She laughed. “Don’t make it sound so serious. Any good lawyer would have done exactly what I did. It’s always worth attempting to get a case thrown out. There’s nothing for the defense to lose.”
“No. That’s not what I mean. I mean...” His throat grew thick, and that blasted heat returned, toying with the backs of his eyes, just as it had done for the past three days he’d sat in that wretched jail cell with Alexei’s Bible beside him. “I mean, I appreciate your help. I couldn’t have done what you just did today. I wouldn’t have gotten out of this so easily if not for you. In fact, I might have ended up facing a decade in prison. I don’t know anything about courtrooms or judges or legal matters. I just know the wilderness. So thank you.”
She grew still inside his arms. “Are you all right?”
“Yes.” Moisture filled his eyes, but he blinked it away before anyone could accuse him of crying. “I’m more than all right. Better than I’ve been in years, actually. But still, I wanted to make sure I thanked?—”
A body crashed into the side of them. “Did you see that? The new judge is amazing! He let you off scot-free!” Yuri squeezed them both in a hug.
“He was rather masterful.” Alexei approached next, then wrapped Mikhail in a quick hug that ended with a pat on the back. “But he’s also new. Hopefully he has the integrity and sense not to end up in the Caldwells’ pocket over time.”
“I hope so too.” Sacha came up and wrapped him in a bear hug. “Can you imagine a judge in Sitka who’s actually fair and honest? Not sure we’ve had that since the Russians.”
“Not sure you had that with the Russians either,” Jonas muttered, stepping in for a hug of his own.
Inessa and Ilya hadn’t come to court, which meant the only person who’d been there and then left was Bryony.
He looked around again, just to make sure he didn’t see a familiar flash of red hair framing creamy skin, but there were too many people milling about the courtroom.
“She already went back to the house,” Alexei muttered. “She didn’t want her family to try talking to her and cause a scene.”
It made sense. He didn’t exactly want her talking to her family either.
“I need to get ready for the harassment hearing.” Evelina gave him another hug, then opened her satchel and produced a second stack of papers. “But you should go back to the house and talk to her.”
