“Yes.” Mr. Dunning gestured to the first line. “It takes effect on the day of your wedding.”
“I see. Thank you.” She drew in a breath. She wasn’t going to get out of signing this contract, not with how all three men were watching her. But there was still a chance it might never go into effect. If things went her way. If Yuri helped her escape, and she managed to stay hidden. If her father ended up in prison for his crimes.
Dear Father, please let Yuri’s plan work.
She uttered the prayer, then took the pen, blinked the burning away from her eyes, and signed.
26
Sitka; Three Days Later
“How many of the Caldwells’ ledgers do we have in all?” Sacha asked as they climbed the steps to the office on the second floor of the warehouse.
“Eight,” Yuri answered, striding up the familiar stairs despite the darkness shrouding him, his brothers, and Jonas, who had finally arrived from Juneau. “Two a year, going back four years.”
“One records the actual number of seals taken versus the number reported, and the other details who was paid to ignore the discrepancy.” Alexei closed the outside door behind them, shutting out the winter chill. “You have to give them credit for keeping meticulous records. I’m almost envious.”
Sacha let out a low whistle. “Four years is a long time to steal over two hundred thousand dollars a year from the government and not get caught.”
“Looks like they’re about to get caught now.” Mikhail reached the top of the stairs first.
“I expect to be up late tonight taking a nice long look at everything, but no one else has to stay,” said Jonas, Evelina’s husband and the Deputy Marshal for Alaska.
He was right about it being late. The children were all in bed, but Jonas had wanted to see all the ledger information, and Alexei had wanted to wait until everyone was in bed to discuss it. This wasn’t the type of thing they could have someone overhearing.
More and more ledgers had trickled into the stream of donations coming from the Caldwells over the past few days. Rosalind had never once shown up at the library, so Yuri hadn’t had a chance to ask her about them. They did manage to send Bryony up to the governor’s house with a book-donation form for Rosalind to fill out.
She only saw Rosalind for a few minutes but said that she looked unharmed. Other than that, Yuri’d had no contact with her, and that still made him worry.
When no ledgers had come in the crates today, Alexei had said they should have a meeting. Jonas had arrived in town yesterday with Kate and Nathan. Jonas had been largely quiet since they’d told him about the ledgers, only saying that he wanted to see everything together before deciding the best course of action.
“Has Rosalind sent over evidence of anything else?” Mikhail asked. “I find it hard to believe this is the only area in which the Caldwells are trying to circumvent the law.”
“The seal-harvesting ledgers are all we have. If she finds something more, she might keep it for herself in case her father tries to find her after she leaves. That was the original plan.” Yuri reached the top of the stairs and looked for the lamp that usually sat on the windowsill of the second-floor office of their warehouse, but it wasn’t there.
“I left the lamp at my desk last night. Let me light it.” Alexei’s shadowed form headed deeper into the office.
“How many days until you and Rosalind leave?” Mikhail nodded toward the harbor, his shadowed form still visible beneath the thin layer of clouds only partially concealing the moon.
“Two.” At least that’s what they’d agreed on last week, but it would help if he could actually talk to her and make sure that was still the plan. What was he supposed to do, just stay up all night on Friday, waiting for her to arrive at their house so they could sneak her onto the ship and leave before dawn?
He’d like to have things a bit more organized than?—
Something caught his eye outside the window that overlooked the shipyard. “What’s that?” It almost looked orange.
He went for a closer look.
“Just a minute,” Alexei called. “I found the lamp. Now I just need to light it.”
“No, keep it dark.” Yuri spoke quietly, just loud enough for Alexei to hear him across the office. “Someone’s down there.”
“Where?” Mikhail was instantly by his side, surveying the shipyard.
“There.” Yuri pointed. “Behind the dry dock.”
It was hard to make out the figures beneath the hazy light of the moon, but three shadowed forms eventually came into view, moving between the dry dock and stacks of timber stored beneath the dry dock’s roof that kept the ship from getting too wet when they were working on it.
That flicker of orange appeared again, and only then did Yuri realize one of them was carrying a lantern.
