Page 96 of Ruthless Daddies

Dmitri moves to intervene, but Alexei is fast, managing to slam Ivan into the wall with a sickening thud. I rush forward, grabbing Alexei from behind and locking my arms around him. He struggles, twisting violently, and we both crash to the floor again.

“Stay down!” I roar, pinning him as Dmitri kicks the knife farther out of reach.

But Alexei doesn’t give up. He headbutts me, pain exploding behind my eyes, and I roll off him, gasping. Ivan’s there in an instant, hauling Alexei up by the collar and slamming him into the wall.

“You’ve caused enough damage,” Ivan growls, his voice deadly. “This ends now.”

“You’re going to kill me, Ivan?” Alexei says, his voice steady, almost mocking. “After all, Morozov men stick together.” His tone is dripping with false sincerity. “I taught you better than this—we protect our own, don’t we? Isn’t that what you’ve always believed?”

“Don’t listen to him,” I say through gritted teeth, my body still aching from the earlier fight. “He’s manipulating you.”

But Ivan doesn’t lower the gun, nor does he pull the trigger. His jaw tightens, his breathing sharp, his finger hovering over the trigger.

With lightning speed, Alexei pulls a second gun from behind his back, aiming directly at Ivan. My heart lurches as I realize what’s happening, and before I can shout a warning, the deafening crack of a gunshot splits the air.

It’s not Alexei’s shot.

It’s Dmitri’s.

Standing off to the side, his gun raised, Dmitri fires point-blank. The bullet hits Alexei between the eyes, and for a moment, the smirk on his face freezes in place, his body jerking back. Then he collapses, lifeless, his weapon clattering to the ground beside him.

“Are you okay?” Dmitri asks Ivan, his voice calm but firm.

Ivan exhales shakily, lowering his gun. “He…he almost had me.”

I step forward, my chest tight with residual fear and anger. “He almost had all of us. If you hadn’t?—”

Dmitri cuts me off with a curt nod. “I wasn’t going to let him.”

I glance down at Alexei’s body, my stomach churning. There’s no satisfaction in this victory, no sense of triumph. Just a hollow ache, knowing what could have happened—and what already has.

Alexei’s lifeless body lies crumpled on the floor, but I can’t bring myself to look at him. My focus is on Alice—bound, gagged, trembling in the chair.

I drop to my knees before her, hands shaking as I untie the ropes around her wrists. Her skin is raw, the marks from the bindings stark against her pale flesh. “Alice,” I whisper, my voice breaking. “I’m here. You’re safe now.”

Her wide eyes meet mine, tears brimming as the gag falls away. She gasps for air, her breaths ragged, and as soon as her arms are free, she collapses into me. My arms wrap around her instinctively, holding her as tightly as I can. She’s shaking, her tears soaking into my shirt, and I feel my own eyes burn.

“I thought—I thought I’d never see you again,” she sobs, her voice muffled against my chest.

“Never,” I whisper fiercely, pressing my lips to the top of her head. “I’ll never let anything happen to you. I swear it.”

Dmitri kneels beside us, his hands gently brushing over her arms and shoulders. “Alice, look at me,” he says, cupping her face in his hands. She lifts her tear-streaked face to him, her lips trembling. “I’m sorry we didn’t get here sooner. I’m sorry we doubted you. I was wrong.”

Alice’s lips part, but no words come out. Instead, Dmitri leans in, pressing a gentle kiss to her forehead. “I love you,” he says, the words so quiet I almost don’t hear them. “I should’ve told you before, but I love you.”

Ivan stands back for a moment, his arms crossed tightly over his chest as he watches us. His face is unreadable, but when Alice looks at him, something shifts. He takes a slow step forward, then another, and before I know it, he’s kneeling on the other side of her, pulling her into his arms.

“I love you too,” Ivan says, his voice rough with emotion. “God help me, Alice, I love you. And I’ll do whatever it takes to make this right.”

Alice looks at each of us, her tear-filled eyes wide with disbelief. “You…you all love me?” she whispers, her voice barely audible.

“Yes,” I say firmly, brushing a strand of hair from her face. “We love you, Alice. More than anything.”

Her lips quiver, and fresh tears spill down her cheeks. “I love you too,” she says, her voice breaking. “All of you. I—I didn’t know if you felt the same.”

We gather around her, our arms wrapping around her as if to shield her from the world.

Alice pulls back slightly, her gaze moving between us. “I thought I’d never see you again,” she says, her voice trembling. “I thought I’d never get to tell you how much you mean to me.”

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