Page 69 of Some Cowboys Fight for Love

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.”

“Areyou 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 saveher.

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.”

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