Page 1 of Fierce Pursuit

CHAPTER 1

MARINA

The moment I saw him, my world crashed around me.

Konstantine. My brother-in-law…and my sister’s killer.

The diner’s fluorescent lights flickered, casting a dull glow over red leather booths and the cracked linoleum floor, but all I could see was him from where I stood staring through the crack between the two kitchen doors.

Sitting at the farthest table, back to the wall, piercing blue eyes scanning the room like a predator assessing his surroundings.

My stomach twisted, bile rising in my throat.

I couldn’t move. Couldn’t breathe.

How?

I had been so careful.

No credit cards.

No social media.

I’d stayed in my lane, kept my head down, worked this dead-end job just to survive.

And yet, he was here.

He had found me.

Panic clawed at my chest, but I fought to keep my expression neutral. The last thing I needed was to alert the rest of the staff there was an issue. They would ask questions I couldn’t answer. My fingers clenched into fists, my nails digging into my palms, the slight pain grounding me as I abandoned my post at the kitchen doors and returned to the plate of fries I no longer wanted.

“Oh my God, Marina! He is so freaking hot!”

Anna’s shriek made me flinch, bringing me back to the moment.

I snapped my gaze to her as she pushed through the kitchen doors, a whirlwind of neon-pink nails and endless energy weaving past the cooks.

She didn’t know.

She didn’t understand that the man she was ogling was the reason my sister was dead.

I forced a fry into her hand, hoping the simple act would shut her up and give me a second to think. But Anna was relentless, bouncing with excitement.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” she demanded, taking a seat across from me at the tiny break table. “I mean, Marina, seriously, why didn’t you tell me you were dating the hottest man in Chicago?”

“I’m not,” I said automatically, barely registering her words.

My heart was pounding so hard I thought it might crack my ribs.

Anna scoffed. “Then why did he ask for your section?”

She grabbed my wrist and yanked me up before I could protest, dragging me toward the doors leading to the dining area. “Girl, if you’re not dating him, can I have him? Because that man is sex on a stick. I tried everything—flirty eyes, lip biting, even the cleavage lean, and he didn’t even blink. He only wanted you.”

I barely heard her.

My vision tunneled as I peered through the crack between the doors.

He hadn’t changed.

---