Chapter 29
29
Daniel
T he house was dark and quiet, and while there were other family members at home, Daniel couldn’t have felt more alone.
He couldn’t sleep. His mind continued racing with thoughts of Aria and how different she looked. The light had left her eyes. No longer did she seem to have the energy for easy banter. He would have given anything to hear a snarky comeback, even if it meant she was protecting herself from him.
Pacing the living room, Daniel attempted to make sense of everything he knew. Aria wasn’t happy. So why was she insisting on staying with that creep? He had a vague memory of one of her exes being controlling and manipulative. That described Cayden perfectly. What was he missing?
He stopped in the middle of the darkened room. She was scared. That had been new. It was as if she’d expected Cayden to pop out of nowhere and do something to her.
No, that wasn’t quite right.
She was scared for Daniel.
But why? What could Cayden possibly be holding over her head?
None of it made any sense. The longer he went over the problem, the more frustrated he became. If she’d talk to him, if she’d ask him for help—maybe they could figure this out. She was too stubborn for her own good.
A loud banging erupted against the wooden door a few feet from where he’d ended up in his pacing. He jumped, having a hard time trying to reconcile what he’d heard with what it meant.
He pulled out his phone to check the time. It was nearly midnight. Had he fallen asleep?
Another loud banging had him lurching for the door to prevent whoever it was from waking the whole house. He didn’t dare hope that Aria had come here. She wouldn’t have knocked that loud. It could be Cayden, and if it was, he’d be in for a rude awakening.
Anger ripped through Daniel as he reached the door and yanked it open, fully prepared to tear into the man who might be on the other side, but then he came up short.
Mateo stood in front of him, chest heaving and fury in his gaze. Beside him was a worried but equally upset Sophia. The former yanked a hand through his hair, then jutted his chin toward the house. “We need to talk.” Without waiting for a response, Mateo pushed himself into the house.
Sophia offered him an apologetic smile and followed suit.
Daniel had only just shut the door when Mateo spun to face him, his voice low and brimming with ire. “I only came here because I felt I owed it to you. I was fully prepared to handle this on my own, but Sophia insisted that you were more involved than I gave you credit for.”
Daniel folded his arms, straightening. While he appreciated that something was finally happening, he didn’t like the thought that Mateo had brushed off his feelings for Aria in the first place. “I’m listening.”
Mateo’s hand dug through his hair again, mussing it out of control. “Turns out you were right.” He muttered expletives in place of Cayden’s name and shook his head. “…he’s manipulating her.”
“That’s not news,” Daniel shot back. “I told you as much.”
“It goes deeper than you might think.” Mateo glanced at Sophia, who nodded as if to give him encouragement. Were they concerned about how Daniel was going to take this new information? That must have meant it was really bad. “He threatened you.”
Confusion hit him first. Why would the man threaten him? They didn’t know each other. Then understanding ripped right through it. Because she cared. Because Aria wouldn’t allow anyone to hurt him. Ice-cold rage coiled in Daniel’s chest. No wonder she was so scared for him when he’d stopped by unannounced.
His hands balled into fists. “What exactly?” he hissed.
Mateo rubbed the back of his neck. “Apparently, he’s on some board or some nonsense at that fancy university where you’re taking classes. He threatened to get you kicked out.”
“I don’t care about that!” His words started out in a holler, but when Sophia flinched, he lowered his voice to a growl. “I couldn’t care less about that degree.” His eyes turned to Sophia. “You told her that, right? She doesn’t have to make herself miserable just because I’m toying with being an architect.”
She lifted a shoulder. “Of course I did. But what would you expect? She’s stubborn. She’s not going to be the reason you lose it.”
He released another growl and yanked at his own hair. “Well, screw it. I’m going over there right now and she?—”
“It’s not only you, Daniel.” Mateo’s voice was quieter, more reserved. It was such a change that Daniel gave him a double take. “Cayden threatened to destroy my business and what your brothers have going here.”
And that was what it really boiled down to. The man had cornered Aria, found her weaknesses, and exploited them. He was a particularly evil kind of monster.
Daniel didn’t realize what he must have looked like until he caught a glimpse of fear in Sophia’s eyes. It wasn’t necessarily that she was scared of him, but rather for him—as if he was going to combust at any moment.
He sucked in a deep breath, then forced himself to exhale. “What are we going to do about it?” he whispered. “You didn’t come all this way just to tell me what fools we’ve all been. I assume you have a plan.”
Mateo glanced over at Sophia, then back to Daniel. “I have a couple ideas, but I’m not sure they’re going to work.”
“Don’t say that,” Sophia said. “I think you hit the nail on the head when you said you wanted to play against the guy’s need for control.”
Daniel cocked his head. That sounded promising. As much as he knew the old Daniel would have gone into this situation with fists raised and brute strength, that wasn’t going to work. The man they were after wasn’t going to bow out with merely a show of aggression. He played a different kind of game of warfare.
Mateo sighed. “Fine. I’ll tell you my idea, but we have to do this the smart way. No throwing punches.”
Daniel had figured as much, so all he did was cross his arms and nod. “Let me have it.”
“Are you sure this is the right room?” Daniel muttered under his breath.
Mateo grinned, and it was the first genuine one Daniel had seen since last night. “The girl at reception assured me that the guy staying here was the only one who had been here more than a week. It has to be him.”
“And she just… gave it up? Couldn’t she get fired for that?”
He shrugged. “What can I say? I’m good with the ladies.”
Daniel rolled his eyes. “Let’s get this over with. The sooner we convince him to leave, the better.”
“Lighten up. This is going to work.”
“You don’t know that. The guy is a narcissist. And if he’s not, he’s only a few steps away from it. The longer he’s here, the worse Aria becomes.”
He strode toward the door and Mateo slapped a hand against his chest, stopping him. “Remember. We’re only here to get information. Nothing more.”
Daniel scoffed.
“I mean it. No picking fights.”
Jaw aching from how hard he bit down, Daniel gave Mateo a curt nod. “Yeah. I get it.”
Mateo stepped in front of him, a few inches shorter and likely less imposing—less of a threat. He rapped his knuckles on the door. They didn’t even know if Cayden would be in his room, though it was early yet. They had barely slept themselves.
Daniel had been so wired after learning the news that he hadn’t wanted to wait any longer to confront the guy.
Thankfully, Mateo seemed to have a similar opinion. So, there they were. One to save them all, and the other to burn the world down to save her .
When no one opened the door right away, Mateo knocked again. He sent one more warning glance over his shoulder at Daniel, then snapped his head forward as the knob rattled.
The door swung open, revealing a rumpled Cayden in sweats and a t-shirt. He dragged a hand down his tired face, then peered at them both. His eyes first landed on Mateo with confusion, then shifted to Daniel, and a smirk spread across his face.
Daniel surged forward, already knowing what that smirk meant, but Mateo once again placed a hand to his chest. He wasn’t sure, but he thought he heard the man mutter something about keeping Daniel out of prison.
Cayden didn’t seem ruffled in the slightest. “To what do I owe this… pleasure?”
“We came here about Aria,” Mateo said flatly.
“Are you going to let us in? Or do you want us to air everything publicly?” Daniel snapped.
The man before them chuckled, stepping back as he gestured for them to enter. “Of course. Where are my manners?”
Daniel’s fists tightened. The guy was a sleazeball, and that was putting it nicely. Already, he could tell that Cayden was trying to control the situation with his flippant attitude.
When they were inside, Daniel and Mateo took a seat at the only table in the corner. It had two chairs and was close enough to the bed that Cayden could sit nearby. Only, the man didn’t take a seat. Instead, he chose to stand—probably so he could feel superior.
Daniel hated him.
“Is something wrong with Aria?” Cayden asked. “When I dropped her off at home last night, she seemed fine.”
Daniel snorted, drawing a curious look from Cayden but nothing more.
“She’s dealing with something right now, and we think you might have insight,” Mateo replied, shooting a warning look at Daniel.
Cayden still grinned, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. “If she were struggling, I’m sure she would have told me. We are engaged, after all.”
Daniel stiffened but forced himself to remain calm.
Cayden’s eyes drilled into him. “She wouldn’t keep something from someone she loves.”
That statement struck a nerve in Daniel and he surged to his feet, fists ready and seeing red.
Mateo was faster, jumping between them. “What did I say? If you can’t control yourself, then go back out to the truck. We could get in trouble for doing this and it’s got to be done right. You’re not going to be able to help her from jail.”
Daniel’s seething gaze never left Cayden’s amused one. “I’d rather be put in prison for the rest of my life than let him hurt her. He’s the reason she’s not acting like herself. He’s the reason she’s miserable.” They’d gone off script, but he couldn’t help it. Mateo was probably right. He should have stayed in the truck.
A deep, obstinate chuckle filled the air, drawing the attention of them both. Cayden shook his head, then clapped a few times. “Bravo. Here to play good cop, bad cop? You think you can confront me and… what? Ask me to leave? It’s not going to be so easy. There’s nothing you can do to touch me. I’ve got all the money and connections in the world. Nothing is going to stop me from getting what I want. And I want her.”
Daniel pushed past Mateo, getting in Cayden’s face. “So… what? You’re going to blackmail her? Threaten the people she loves until she submits to you? What happens when you’ve drained that part of her that actually cares? What happens when she’s finally broken? Do you think you can keep her under your thumb forever?”
Cayden didn’t react to their closeness. He seemed completely unbothered by it. “I’ve always been good about gaining power. You can’t get anywhere in life without it, you know. To have the ability to coerce someone into doing something so completely against their nature… that’s real power. So what if I use her family against her? Love is a weakness, and I’m more than happy to exploit it.” He laughed. “Imagine my joy when I realized I could make her do whatever I wanted simply because I was on the board who picked you for that Cornell scholarship. That right there cinched the whole plan.”
Daniel glanced over his shoulder to see the surprise he felt written all over Mateo’s face. “You think that’s enough?”
“It’s gonna have to be,” Mateo said.
Cayden had the intelligence to look confused and perhaps a little concerned. His eyes darted from one to the other and he sneered. “What are you guys going on about?”
Mateo held up his phone and wiggled it. “For someone who thinks they’re so smart, you certainly run your mouth a lot when you really shouldn’t.”
Cayden’s eyes zeroed in on the phone, likely connecting the dots. “You recorded me without my knowledge? That’s illegal?—”
“Ah, ah, ah.” Daniel wagged a finger at him. Then he motioned between Mateo and Cayden. “Pot, meet kettle.” He poked Cayden in the chest. “Black isn’t a good color on you.” It was his turn to smirk. “I wonder how your company would react if we brought this little stunt of yours to their attention?”
Mateo moved around Daniel. “Even better… what do you think the people over at the university will do when they discover they have a snake in the grass as part of their esteemed alumni?”
Daniel tilted his head as he stared hard at the man before them. “You’re looking a little green there, buddy. Need to sit down?”
He moistened his lips nervously, his eyes darting to the phone. “What do you want?”
Daniel was fully prepared to turn over the recording no matter what, but Mateo had reminded him that would destroy their leverage. What would stop Cayden from coming back? It didn’t feel right. The guy deserved to rot for what he’d attempted to do. But Daniel wasn’t willing to risk Aria for one more second. He glowered at the sniveling excuse of a man. “You’re going to leave, and never come back. You’re going to stay far, far away from Aria and her family. If I hear a whisper that you’re sniffing around, that recording will go viral.”
Cayden’s dark eyes made him almost look inhuman. He sneered once again, then huffed. “You’re going to be sorry you did this.”
Daniel shrugged. “Maybe. Maybe not.” He turned to Mateo. “Come on. Let’s get out of here. Cayden needs to pack.”