Page 55 of Marked By Him

Images of her appear. She’s probably curled up on the futon with a book propped open, or maybe she’s at the stove making more ramen. For as unpleasant of a circumstance that she’s in, she’s behaved herself. She’s made the most of being bound to my apartment.

I pull up at the Korean barbecue restaurant at the edges of the village, the one she said reminded her of the place in her neighborhood.

Twenty minutes later, I emerge with takeout bags full of pork belly, bulgogi, and short ribs. Garlic rice and kimchi on the side.

It’s stupid.

I just snagged us dinner like some husband coming home to his wife. Yet as I slide behind the wheel and start the engine, another image materializes in my head—Monroe’s bright, pretty smile of surprise when she sees what I’ve brought her.

The image stays in my mind for the remainder of the drive. I ride the elevator up to the fifth floor with it on my mind, unlocking the door and stepping inside.

“You better be hungry,” I start, using the only form of humor I have. My dry and flat humor. “No more ramen for now. I’ve bought enough meat to feed you for a week?—”

I stop only a couple steps into the apartment.

The ankle cuff lays open on the floor, Monroe nowhere in sight. She’sescaped.

The bags of food slip from my hands. The rage comes fast and hard, slamming into me and tinging everything red. I spin on my heel and take off at a sprint, making it to the elevator in a couple strides.

The second the doors roll apart in the underground garage, I’m at my car, twisting the key in the ignition.

She couldn’t have gotten far. With no phone, no money or means of transportation, she’s stuck on foot in the dark. Even if she left during daylight hours, she would still be within the local area.

Over the next hour, I scour the fishing village. The air is thick and warm with the salt from the ocean and briny smell of dead fish, the streets already barren. Neon lights flicker from the handful of shops still open. Everything else is padlocked, metal grates covering their doors.

I drive through the main roads, then park to sprint down the narrower side streets most vehicles can’t reach. The only living things out this time of night are stray cats and beggars. A few shop owners late on their way home.

I peer inside the darkened window of a butcher’s shop, then duck between two buildings into another side alley.

My breath fogs the air. Not from the cold. From how fucking hard I’m breathing. I’m irate with anger, the bones inside me vibrating.

How dare she?! How dare she break rule one? Rule three? Does she realize what I’ll have to do now?

I pass a gimbap stand that’s closed and then notice a small figure shrouded in the shadows on the other end of the street. They’re waiting outside a lone delivery truck that’s stopped at the convenience store, as if looking for a moment to crawl aboard.

My face clenches in a tight scowl. I set off at a fast stride, coming up from behind. I’m swift and aggressive, locking an armaround her waist. My other hand fists her curls and drags her back toward me. We disappear down the side alley outside the convenience store with her writhing in my hold.

But it’s fruitless for her to even try.

I push her up against the side of the building, withdrawing my knife from inside my jacket pocket. My front to her back, I let my lips brush her ear and the blade I’m gripping press into her throat.

“Thought you were clever?” I hiss, pushing the blade even more firmly against the slender column of her throat. “Thought you could just slip away while I was gone?”

“Jin!” she cries helplessly, twisting against me.

“What have I told you?” I ask, biting at her ear and making her wince. “You will never outrun the mark. You belong to me now.”

14.Monroe

Jin’s cool,callous voice slithers through me like a snake. I snap my eyes shut and shudder against my will.

I can’t say I’m surprised he’s tracked me down.

Even as I spent hours trying, and more often than not, failing at undoing the cuff with one of the hairpins Jin had bought me, deep down, I knew he’d come. He wouldn’t stop ’til he hunted me and took me back.

But I did it anyway.

Maybe because some small part of me yearned for the chase. The thrill these moments bring.

---