Page 171 of Save Me

CHAPTER 51

Dae

I pull a disgusted face as I enter the basement of this abandoned house out in the middle of nowhere.

Footsteps of the men behind me echo on the concrete floor, but I don’t focus on them. All I see is the piece of shit hanging by his wrists from the chains attached to the ceiling.

“Wake up!” I yell at Daniel Park at the same time I splash his bruised body with the vinegar from the bucket in my hands.

His tormented screams rip through the silence of the room.

This is my third and final visit to this dank, dark room where he’s been imprisoned for two weeks. It’s been two weeks since we pulled Kennedy out of that run-down cabin.

Two weeks that has allowed her bruises to heal.

But not long enough to quell the burning anger in the pit of my stomach whenever I think about how he intended to take her away from me.

“Why is this motherfucker still breathing?” Kyle, Kennedy’s twin brother, growls behind me.

He’s accompanied by his father, Kennedy’s uncles, and even her older cousin, Diego. They all wanted to watch this piece of shit meet his end.

No, scratch that. They all wanted to make sure Daniel Park took his final breath.

But I refused to let them strip me of this honor.

This fucker is all mine.

“Because every breath he’s taken for the past two weeks has been agony,” I tell Kyle without glancing over my shoulder.

“Please, kill me,” Daniel Park begs, as if on cue. His labored breathing and drooped eyelids speak to the weakening state of his body.

“Such a different tone from a few weeks ago,” I say through gritted teeth as I grab a handful of Daniel’s hair.

He winces when I yank his head upright by the hair. “Just two weeks ago, you were ready to take the love of my life from me.”

Saying it out loud reminds me all over again. Before I know it, I punch Daniel in the face to the sound of bones cracking.

I cup his neck and squeeze, bringing his face to meet mine.

“I would’ve let you live,” I seethe through gritted teeth. “Even after what you did to me, how you hurt my sister,” I say, squeezing tighter. MiSoo and I have stayed in contact. She’s never given me complete details, but I see the pain in her eyes. I know this bastard hurt her during their marriage.

“You lost everything. The police have enough to put you away for years. I would’ve made you suffer while in prison, but you’d still live. But …” I shake my head, squeezing even tighter still.

At this point, the son of a bitch is gasping for air.

“But then you hurt her …” I can’t even say the words because rage clouds everything. My vision, my throat, everything. I don’t know what happens, but at some point, I come to.

Kennedy’s brother, father, and uncles tell me to calm down. That it’s over.

He’s dead.

I look down to see Daniel Park beaten, bloodied, and lifeless, a heap on the dirty floor exactly where he belongs.

“I’ll see you in hell,” I curse him in Korean before spitting on his body.

I step back, but as I leave, I face Kennedy’s brother, Kyle.

There’s an evil smile on his face. “Welcome to the family.”

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