Page 77 of Wrong Pawn. Right Capo.

“That’s the only thing about his work life that he told me, I swear! Now please let my baby go!” she cries.

I oblige, releasing my hold on the girl as she scampers toward her mother, wailing louder than before.

“If I find out you’re lying to—”

“I’m not,” she interrupts fiercely. I furrow my brow at her when she reaches into her blouse, bringing out a small, rusty key.

“Here,” she stretches her hand toward me. I take it. “It’s the key to the shack. The truth is in a lockbox under the floorboards in the back room.”

I clench my jaw, nodding once as I go to walk out of the cabin, but her voice stops me. “Looking for Caughn means you want some sort of justice. Please… take revenge on the people that killed my husband.”

I bite down the urge to tell her that her husband was no saint either, and simply walk out.

***

After driving in the truck I’d stolen while heading to the ranch, I reach the shack, shove the door open, and instantly move over to the back room. Within seconds, I spot a loose floorboard.

It creaks as I step on it, and I instantly drop to my knees, peeling it back to reveal a cold, steel box. The box requires a passcode, but with one shot fired at the latch, it flies open. Inside is a single sealed envelope.

I tear it open, taking in its contents. There are photographs, handwritten notes, and photocopies of bank transfers.

My brow furrows as I scan through, realizing that all of this is the ex-commissioner’s handwritten ledger of a decade of corruption that transpired between him and the mayor.

And a deed to a mining claim. The claim is in the name of Victor Caughn. The location is Ruby Mountains, Eastern Nevada. Coordinates are scribbled in the margin, right next to a faded Polaroid attached to the deed.

A man with a forgettable face, thin lips, and dead eyes stares back at me from the photo. Anger tightens my chest as I stare back at it. Caughn.

I force myself to steady my breathing, then take a moment to piece it all together. The ex-commissioner left evidence to expose the mayor because he didn’t fully trust him… and just maybe this deed is proof of Caughn’s location… as leverage.

Chapter twenty-seven

Adriano

Day One of the Deadline—Late Night

Ruby Mountains, Eastern Nevada

Darkness has already taken over the sky, a daunting reminder that my deadline to save Elena is drawing to a close. This was supposed to be the ending to my grand vendetta—the final blood debt paid in full—but now it has turned into a sick, tangled trap.

I was supposed to tear down the Rossi Empire and walk away, yet my enemy’s daughter has systematically dismantled every defense I have. She was supposed to be nothing but a clean piece of leverage, but the raw reality is that she’s become the only thing keeping me anchored to my own goddamn sanity.

The thought of those bastards putting their hands on her, threatening her life, makes the blood in my veins boil. I fucking hate that she has this hold over me, that a Rossi has crawled beneath my skin and rewritten who I am, but the brutal reality is stark: if anything happens to her, I will burn the rest of the world to the ground.

I shake the thoughts from my head, refocusing on the mountain slope ahead. The ridge is several feet above normal ground level, so I hike the last leg. The air is thin and it’s difficult to breathe.

When I get to the top, I see the cabin. It’s a small structure, nearly invisible against the mountainside. Smart hideout.

As I watch the house, smoke curls from a pipe on the roof. I know someone’s home, so I position my gun and kick the door down. The smell of beans, smoke, and something sour hits my nostrils when I enter.

To my fucking surprise, Caughn doesn’t scamper up; instead, he takes a bite of the canned beans in his bowl, then slowly sets his spoon down and looks at me with a calm expression that makes me want to smash his head. He looks younger than the picture portrayed him to be. Perhaps early thirties.

“Bellandini,” he gives a smile that touches his mouth, but doesn’t reach his eyes. “Took you long enough. Father told me you were in hiding, but I knew you’d come.”

The fire in the large stove behind him crackles as his words echo in my mind. Father?

“Father?” I keep my gun aimed at him, briefly scanning the room. There’s nothing but maps, gear, and radio equipment. But when I bring my eyes back to him, he moves fast, catching me off guard.

In a split second, a long, burning piece of wood from the stove flies in my direction. I quickly duck just in time for the wood to graze the top of my head, clattering against the wall behind me.