Page 6 of Fierce Pursuit

The old woman's mouth pressed into a firm line, years of defiance etched into the corners. "She does not want you," she said, her voice laced with quiet fury, the kindthat had survived wars and famine. "She is safe here. You go away. Now."

Safe? She wouldn't be safe until she was under my control. And in my arms.

The thought intruded unbidden. I fought it, pushed it down where it belonged.

This wasn't about how badly I wanted her.

This wasn't about claiming her the way I'd always wanted to.

I would honor my wedding vows and not touch her.

This was about the vow I made to my dying wife. The wife I failed to protect.

I would not fail her sister.

"Ya Konstantine Nikolai Ivanov." I let the weight of my name settle between us, let it sink into her bones like ice.

Her fingers trembled around the knife's handle. A bead of sweat trickled down her temple.

Good. She knew the name. Knew what it meant. What I could do.

"Solovyov is looking for her," I said, my voice low enough that only she could hear. "If he finds her, she dies."

A flicker of hesitation crossed her features, fear wrestling with defiance. She knew I wasn't lying. The truth of the danger was written in the lines of my face, in the coldness of my eyes.

I reached into my pocket, pulled out a card, and pressed it into her palm. Her skin was rough, calloused, the hands of someone who had worked her whole life. She didn't recoil from my touch. Brave woman.

"If anyone else comes for her, you call me. If she returns, you call me."

A long pause. The kitchen seemed to hold its breath. Then, a single nod, a surrender of sorts.

I turned to one of the younger cooks, who looked between us nervously. "Where?"

He swallowed hard, Adam's apple bobbing, and gestured over his shoulder. "L stop."

I turned on my heel and stalked out the back, my mind already on what came next.

The hunt. The capture. The reckoning.

When I caught Marina, there would be no more running.

No more games.

No more distance between us.

She was mine now. Mine to protect. Mine to keep.

And God help anyone who tried to take her from me.

CHAPTER 3

MARINA

My lungs burned, but it didn’t matter.

I had to push through.

I had to push harder.

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