Page 37 of Ruthless Daddies

“She’s not yours either,” Dmitri shoots back, the grin dropping from his face. His eyes gleam with something sharper now, something colder. “Or are you going to keep pretending she’s just the nanny?”

The air shifts, Nikolai’s jaw clenching so tightly I’m surprised it doesn’t snap. “Dmitri,” he says, his voice low and warning.

“What?” Dmitri says, shrugging again, though his posture is anything but relaxed now. “Just calling it like I see it.”

“Okay, that’s enough,” I interject, stepping between them before Nikolai can throw the punch I see brewing in his eyes. I raise my hands, palms out, trying to calm the storm. “You two need to cool it. Right now.”

“He started it,” Dmitri mutters under his breath, but the corner of his mouth quirks up, like he’s enjoying pushing Nikolai’s buttons.

“You’re acting like children,” I say, glancing between them. “Both of you. Can we just…not do this right now?”

Both of them ignore me.

“You’re reckless, Dmitri. She’s not part of your games.”

“Games?” Dmitri scoffs, his smirk slipping into something sharper. “The only game here is you pretending you can control everything. News flash, not everything revolves around you.”

“Enough!” I step between them, my hands raised, my voice louder than I intended. “Both of you, stop it. This isn’t helping.”

They both fall silent, though Nikolai’s glare remains locked on Dmitri, who doesn’t look the least bit apologetic.

I turn to Nikolai first, my voice softening. “I appreciate your concern, but Dmitri didn’t do anything wrong. He was just helping.”

“Helping,” Nikolai mutters, his tone dripping with disbelief. “Dmitri doesn’t ‘just help.’ He has a reason for everything he does.”

“True,” Dmitri quips from behind me, and I whip around to glare at him.

“Not helping,” I hiss under my breath before turning back to Nikolai. “Look, I’m fine, okay? There’s no reason to?—”

“To trust him?” Nikolai cuts in, his voice sharper now. “Because I don’t.”

“Well, maybe you should,” Dmitri says, stepping forward, his casual demeanor slipping as his gaze hardens. “Because while you were busy sulking at home, I was making sure she got back safely.”

“You—” Nikolai’s voice rises, his face flushing as he takes another step toward Dmitri.

Before he can say anything else, I place a hand on his uninjured arm, drawing his attention back to me. “Nikolai,” I say softly, my voice steady despite the tension simmering between them. “It’s over. I’m here. I’m safe. That’s what matters.”

For a moment, he looks at me, his expression softening just slightly, and I think he might let it go. But then Dmitri, ever the instigator, chuckles behind me.

“What’s the real issue here?” Dmitri asks, his voice laced with amusement. “That I picked her up, or that you didn’t?”

I’m actually confused. This has to be a fever dream.

“It’s you.”

“Me,” Dmitri echoes, pushing off the banister to stand toe to toe with Nikolai. “I’m standing right here,brat.Say it to my face.”

“I’m saying you don’t belong anywhere near her,” Nikolai says, his voice low but lethal.

“Interesting,” Dmitri says, tilting his head. “Because it looks like she was just fine with me being near her.”

“Oh my God,” I mutter, pinching the bridge of my nose. “Will you guys please stop?”

Both of them turn to look at me.

“I can’t believe I’m stuck in the middle of this.”

Dmitri’s smirk returns, and he leans in slightly, his voice dropping to a teasing drawl. “Middle isn’t such a bad place to be, is it, Parker?”

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