Finding Valor Read Online Free Page A

inside. Unlock it.”
    Josh fumbled the keys out of his pocket and pressed the middle button on the fob. Kassie yanked the back passenger side door open and crawled inside. “Holy shit!”
    She backed out dragging a lumpy pillowcase. She plunged her hand into the bag and pulled out a fistful of bills.  
    Josh grabbed the sack of money and shoved it back in the car. “Are you crazy? What if someone sees this?”
    “Hey, I’m not the one that hauled it to school in the back of my car.”
    Josh shoved his hands in his hair. “I have no idea where this money came from. What if it’s stolen? What if it’s drug money? What if—”
    Kassie pinched Josh’s lips shut. “Why don’t you just call Hunter and ask him?”
    Josh lifted his chin, freeing his mouth. “I don’t know Hunter. How about you call him for me?”
    Kassie pressed her lips together and shook her head.
    “Why not?”
    “That son of a bitch asked me to marry him and then disappeared without so much as a word.”
    “He asked you to marry him?” What was wrong with everyone? “You’re not even out of high school.”
    “Neither are you.” Kassie huffed and crossed her arms over her baby bump.
    “I need to go get Dad’s bike. Meet me at Mom’s, okay?”
    “Oh, hell no. I’m not getting caught in that crossfire.”
    “What are you talking about?”
    “You moved in with Uncle Ezra when Aunt Marge refused to let Channie in the house.”
    “Mom and I are fighting?” Josh couldn’t imagine things getting so bad that he’d move out.  
    “You gave up racing and got married, what do you think?”
    “I think I’m screwed.”

Chapter Two
REVELATIONS

    Hunter didn’t even bother counting the night’s haul before he shoved the money into the pillowcase in the back of his closet. It’d been at least two weeks since he’d strengthened the touch-me-not spell on the sack of live mistletoe he used to protect his stash. He was too tired to deal with it tonight. He stripped out of his clothes and crawled into bed.  
    But he couldn’t fall asleep. He couldn’t stop thinking about Channie and Josh. They’d all agreed that it would be safer to not call each other unless it was an emergency. Extreme loneliness didn’t qualify. He couldn’t even call Ms. Stephanie for a quick roll in the sack. That was a one-way deal. Hunter was on call twenty-four hours a day, and by gawd, he’d better not keep her waiting. He knew her most recent gift, a Kawasaki ZX-14R, wasn’t just to make him happy. It was to cut down on the time it took for him to answer her booty calls.
    Sex with Ms. Stephanie was fun. That woman knew all sorts of tricks. But it was a temporary distraction, and left Hunter feeling more lonely than ever. He laced his fingers behind his head and studied the cracks in the ceiling. He wondered if Kassie missed him at all. He wished she hadn’t dumped his sorry ass.  
    “This is stupid.” Hunter punched his pillow then got out of bed and took a quick shower. He didn’t bother shaving his face, or anything else. Ms. Stephanie insisted that he keep his entire body as smooth as a baby’s butt. One trip to the waxing salon was all it took for him to know that wasn’t for him. If she called, he’d let it go to voicemail and claim his battery died. He was in no mood to entertain Ms. Stephanie.
    He cast a balance spell, a quick-reflex spell, a listen-up spell and a bright-eyes spell on himself before putting on his helmet. All that magic wore him out, but he was putting his life on the line every time he got on that bike. That didn’t mean he didn’t enjoy it.
    Hunter headed north on Interstate 15 with no destination in mind. Once he was out of city limits, he opened up the throttle and worked his way up the gears. At about seventy miles an hour he really got on it. The front wheel lifted off the pavement into a hair-raising wheelie. He held it for a good fifteen seconds before easing off the throttle and leaning forward to bring that bad-boy