Chapter 462 Courage Pt 1

Chapter 462 Courage Pt 1
AMELIA 

I've never been so glad to see him in all my life.

"Devon," I say, the word a gasp. "How did you—"

He doesn't let me finish. "Did he hurt you? Are you hurt?"

I shake my head. "No, but how did you—"

"I'll explain later," he assures me. "Right now, we've got to get this asshole tied to that chair. Quickly, before he wakes up. Bring that chair over there. I have rope under the bed."

I grab it and Devon grabs a duffel bag from under the bed. He opens it and fishes out rope and a couple of knives. He's been lying under the bed the entire time. It's clear that he planned this thoroughly.

He didn't abandon me. He said he'd help me kill Ash and here he is. I tell him, "I thought you weren't going to show up. I thought you tricked me."

"I don't blame you for assuming the worst," he says, looking up at me. His eyes are glinting with mischief and something else, something I won't dare name. He points at my gun. "You know how to use that thing?"

I stare at it. "Yes."

He's watching me intently. "Are you sure? I'm giving you a choice here. You could do it, or I could. At the end of the day, it doesn't fucking matter. You're sure?"

I nod. I'm not sure at all, but I nod. "Yes."

I can tell by the way he's eyeing me that he doesn't believe me. He hooks his hands under Ash's arms and hauls him up. He places him on the chair in a sitting position. "Hold him. Make sure he doesn't fall. I'm going to tie him up." I do as he says. It takes a considerable amount of effort to do so. Devon starts with his feet, then he moves to his arms. I feel like he'll jerk to a wake at any moment now, but he doesn't. Devon finishes and dusts his hands. He looks at Ash in disgust, then he spits at him. "Fucking asshole."

Ash is still unconscious, so I think this is the perfect moment to ask him questions. "How did you get in here?"

"That's the easy part," he says, running his fingers through his thick dark hair. "Finding out whether Ash had been lying about the location was the difficult part, mostly because I was waiting outside your apartment the whole day. He told me about Ethan."

I say, "I didn't know. I wanted to reach you to ask for your advice, but I didn't know how to. In the end, I decided to come. I felt like I didn't have a choice."

He nods. "You did the right thing. This fucker was testing you. You're here now, that's all that matters."

"He told you exactly where he'd meet me, then?"

"Yeah," he says, looking at him. "Fucking idiot. He never thought I'd try something against him. I told you that his arrogance would kill him in the end. I wasn't wrong."

"There are two guys downstairs," I tell him. I don't know why, but it just crossed my mind. "They could come up here looking for him, don't you think?"

"They won't, not unless he calls them."

We both stand and watch him. There's blood trickling down the side of his face from where Devon hit him with the bat. I don't know when he'll wake up, but it seems like it'll take a while. "Maybe he's already dead," I tell him.

He scoffs. "There's no fucking way he's dead." He gets closer to him and punches him across the face. I look away, I'm not sure why, but I do. Ash groans and blinks quickly. He's looking at Devon, perplexed. He finally looks at me. I don't think he understands what's going on here. One minute, he had full control of the situation, and the next he's tied to a chair in his own hotel room.

"Devon?"

"Surprise fucker," Devon says. He chuckles once. "Glad to see me? You shouldn't be. Amelia, come here."

I take a few steps until I'm standing right next to him. Ash looks at me. He's squinting. Realization dawns on him suddenly. He looks back and forth between the two of us, a line forming between his brows. "You motherfuckers."

"I'd give you a lengthy explanation on why I'm doing this, but I think you know. There's no way you don't know." He turns to look at me. "Ready?"

I look at the gun in my hand. For a moment, I had forgotten all about it. I look back at Ash and he looks terrible. His face is all wrong. I'm not used to seeing fear etched all over it. Devon says, "Shoot him. Do it now."

"No," Ash says. "Don't you dare shoot. You're going to regret this for the rest of your lives if you do. I work for powerful people, they're not just going to let you slide. Everyone knows I was going to meet you here tonight. Everyone. I'm going to give you the chance to walk away. Do it now before it's too late."

"What's the matter?" Devon asks me, completely ignoring Ash. "You lost your nerve?"

I lick my lips. "Won't everyone hear it?"

Without taking his eyes off me, he reaches into the pocket of his leather jacket and hands me a gun with a silencer. I hand him mine and take his. I look at it for the longest time. Even Ash has stopped talking. I'm trying to muster the courage to do it.

Devon comes up behind me. "You shouldn't be afraid of pulling the trigger, Amelia. Forget about feelings and emotions. He's not a person, he's an animal. He tried to force himself on you tonight, he killed your husband." I finally look at Ash, anger coursing through me. Devon's lips brush against my earlobe. He says, "Take a good look at him. See how pathetic he is? You said so earlier, didn't you? I heard you. He's pathetic. He's worthless. He's nothing. You went through all this trouble for this moment, don't forget that. You're only here because of this. I could do it for you, but this is your moment. This is your chance to rid the world of a worthless piece of shit called Ashton Rockford. Go on, do it. Aim right at his face."

I do as he says and I see the panic in Ash's eyes. I'll admit that it's mildly satisfying. He's afraid of me now. I feel powerful, invincible. I'm in control now, full control. I get to decide whether I kill him or not, but either way he's dying in this room. He starts talking again. He tells us that we'll regret this moment, that we won't get away with it. I'm not even listening. I'm just focused on one thing.

"Do it," Devon says again. A moment of silence falls upon us. I hold my breath. I empty my mind. I place my index finger over the trigger.

I pull.