Page 80 of Thunder Pass

She caught his eye, the jerk of his head toward Luke. With a thrill, she realized what he was doing—giving her a chance to use her lifelong knowledge of Luke Chilkoot to their advantage.

But how?

If her father had an Achilles heel, it was being mocked. He couldn’t bear that, and so it rarely happened. When it did, it shocked him even more.

“You know what this reminds me of, Luke? That silly prophesy about Ice Falls that you made us swear by. ‘A waterfall frozen in time, destined to be ours.’ We had to recite it every morning. Then it turned out that Naomi had just made it up!” She elbowed Sarah as she snickered. Her sister got the message and they both scoffed with laughter.

Luke went rigid with anger, his jaw clenching hard.

“It was complete crap, that prophesy,” she went on. “All this might be the same.” She swept her arm in a gesture that encompassed the guards, the clearing, everything Luke had said. “Fool’s gold. A fantasy.” She turned to the guards. “Did you hear about Ice Falls? It was such a fiasco.”

Luke swung his gun toward her. “Don’t talk to my men.”

“What, they can’t handle being spoken to by a woman? That’s weak, Luke. Really weak. What makes you think you can beat the U.S. government if you can’t even control your own daughter?”

“Daughters,” corrected Sarah. Ruth motioned for her to stay out of it. She had a plan here, and Sarah might muddle it.

“I will win,” Luke growled.

“Against the largest military in the world? How? You all are going to prison. Again.”

“No, because I have an ace to play.” His voice rose.

“More bullshit,” snorted Gunnar.

Luke wheeled on him. “It’s not bullshit. Do you even know what’s under this pass?” He waved at the rock wall above them. This place…” He sucked in a breath, as if suddenly realizing he probably shouldn’t say any more. But he’d gone too far to stop now, Ruth could see the urge to gloat overcome him. “I own it now. I own what’s under it. We don’t even know how much gold there is, but it’s enough to make everyone pay attention. The State, the U.S. Government, other countries.”

Other countries…like Russia, Ruth thought. Was that why Dmitri the heavy hitter was involved?

“The good news is, I’m prepared to make a deal,” Luke continued. “On my terms.”

38

In the shadow of Thunder Pass, surrounded by armed men, his heart racing, Gunnar discovered that his brain was suddenly clicking on all cylinders. “Your name. Chilkoot. That was the trail that prospectors used during the Klondike Gold Rush. That’s why you chose it. You were looking for gold ever since you came here. It was right there in your name the whole time.”

Luke tipped his head in acknowledgment. “My great-grandfather heard about it from a Russian explorer. He killed him to keep the information to himself. It got passed down to my father, but he had other business interests. My father told me about it.”

“Before or after he went to prison?” Ruth asked.

Luke shot her a look loaded with both respect and anger. “You’ve done your research.”

“It’s amazing what can be learned when you’re not under someone’s thumb. Your real name is Fredrik Norsk, isn’t it?”

He didn’t answer that, since they all knew it was true. “You should have stayed with the family, stupid girl. You could have gotten your share of paradise. I knew if I stayed here long enough, and looked hard enough, I’d find gold. Over the years I found enough black sand and pyrite to keep me going.”

“You told my dad,” Gunnar said as another piece clicked into place.

“Got a little drunk one night in Afghanistan after we nearly got blown up by an IED. I learned my lesson. I never talked about it after that.”

“So he followed you here?”

“The sneaky bastard. I didn’t even know he was here. When I finally recognized him, it was like a lightning bolt waking me up. See, Naomi didn’t believe I’d ever find the gold. I let her convince me that establishing our own place, completely cut off from everything, would be more satisfying than an actual gold mine. It was, for a time. But it was a mistake. Never listen to a woman,” he added with a cruel smile. “Snakes, every damn one. That’s why the men are in charge this time. The only women allowed will know their place.”

The guards nodded along, as if Luke was singing their song. Gunnar knew how good Luke was at manipulating people.

“Are you saying my dad followed you here to look for the gold too?”

“Of course he did. He used to chase off other prospectors who came through.”

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