“I know that, and you know that, but if we want our money, we’ll need to prove it in court.”
“Then take Caldwell and the RCS to court,” Yuri snapped. “And not just so you get your six thousand dollars, but I would take them to court for... well, I’m not sure what I’d take them to court for exactly, but singling out our ships like this has to be illegal. We should ask Evelina what she thinks. She’d be able to figure out what charges to file.”
He blinked. “You’re not serious.”
“I’m deadly serious.” Yuri took a sip of tea. “We have to do something, Alexei. Have to find some way to fight back. Otherwise they’ll just walk all over us.”
“I agree.” Sacha handed Alexei a cup of tea, never mind that he hadn’t asked for one. “We need to take some kind of stand, or things will only get worse.”
Alexei headed to the table and sat down, then took a small sip of the warm liquid, letting it coat his throat and ward off the chill from his walk. “I was more of a mind to send you down to Ketchikan to meet with the clan there rather than to sue the governor.”
He expected Sacha to agree. After all, the request wasn’t anything unusual. Sacha had been to Juneau hundreds of times when he’d been captain of theAurora.
But Sacha rubbed a hand over the stubble covering his chin, then glanced at Maggie. “I... ah... I think you should be the one to go, Alexei.”
He straightened in his chair. “Me? We still need to move more goods from the warehouse to Juneau, and I’d prefer to be here to oversee that. And there’s always the possibility that one of our ships will return to Sitka and end up getting searched and held up.”
“Under normal circumstances I’d be willing to go, but, ah...” Sacha scratched the side of his beard, then opened his arm and dragged Maggie against his side. “We weren’t going to say anything just yet, but Maggie here is expecting a little one, and I don’t want to be away from her.”
He stared at his gruff, burly brother, his form so large he towered over the rest of them. But he looked neither gruff nor burly given the way he tucked his wife into his side and smiled from ear to ear.
He could already picture Sacha with a little one toddling around behind him. He’d teach his child to handle tools in the shipyard and let him take the helm of a ship from time to time. And Maggie already made a near-perfect mother to her two half siblings. She’d be phenomenal with her own child.
“Congratulations,” he managed, his throat gritty.
“This is the best news I’ve had all year! And I’ll make the best uncle you’ve ever seen. I swear I will.” Yuri scampered around the table, then wrapped both Sacha and Maggie in a giant hug. “And I’ll start by going to Ketchikan so that neither of you have to leave Sitka.”
“Thank you, but no,” Alexei snapped.
“Absolutely not,” Sacha barked at the same time.
Yuri pulled away from the hug, his brow furrowed. “Why not? I can speak Tlingit.”
Alexei shook his head. “Because I need someone who can get information from the clan elders, not someone who will accidently make the elders’ daughters fall in love with him.”
“I can get information without making a woman fall in love with me.” Yuri crossed his arms over his chest.
He probably thought the gesture made him seem stern, but it only reminded Alexei of a petulant child.
“No. I’ll go to Ketchikan, and it’s not up for further discussion. You and Sacha can handle things here. Now wash up. It’s time for dinner.” Alexei pushed himself up from the table and headed into the parlor to get Maggie’s younger siblings.
But he couldn’t stop replaying the conversation from the governor’s office in his mind.
He didn’t enjoy having the Caldwells put a target on his back, but up to this point, it had seemed necessary. As Yuri had said, someone needed to stand up to the powerful family.
But now a baby was on the way. The Sitka Trading Company and the Amos Family Shipbuilders had been in his family for four generations. Whatever he did next, he needed to make sure it didn’t jeopardize the future Sacha would want to give to his children.
13
They didn’t make it below the snow line before nightfall, but somehow Mikhail found a cave for them to sleep in. Bryony didn’t know how he managed to spot it on the side of the mountain, nor did she know how he managed to find wood to start a small fire near the opening so the smoke would vent out the front of the cave. All she knew was that Mikhail Amos somehow transformed what should have been a cold, wet place to camp into something that felt warm and comfortable.
The entire group was exhausted, and after they ate some of the venison and biscuits they’d saved from last night, they spread out their wet coats at the back of the cave, set their boots by the fire, and crawled into their bedrolls.
Or rather, everyone crawled into their bedrolls except Mikhail. He went back out into the storm, saying only that he would return after an hour or so. Then he pushed his arms through the thick sleeves of his parka and disappeared.
She wasn’t sure how long she lay in her bedroll, aware that Mikhail was still out there somewhere while the others all drifted off to sleep. She also didn’t know how long she stared at her brother, watching the even rise and fall of Heath’s chest, just to make sure he was still alive. Each time she tried to close her eyes, memories of the cliff rose to greet her, of Heath’s panicked gaze as he reached for her arm, of her looking down to find Heath’s feet scrambling for purchase on the side of the cliff, of the endless abyss of snowy gray that yawned beneath him. Of the moment when she realized she wasn’t strong enough to pull her brother up.
Then Mikhail had spoken.On the count of three.And she’d realized that she hadn’t been alone, and that saving Heath wasn’t entirely up to her.
