Finding Valor (37 page)

“What’s wrong?”

“Oh, Channie.” Hunter lifted his chin and gazed at her with such grief it stopped her heart. His green eyes swam with tears. “I didn’t want to start off this way.”

Channie’s first thought was that something horrible had happened to Josh. She reached out to him through their bond and nearly fainted with relief when she felt him there, but her anxiety spiked when he immediately shut down the connection. “What is it? Just tell me.”

Hunter swiped at his eyes with the back of his hand. “Can we go inside and sit down?”

“Of course.”
 

Hunter sank into the leather cushions of the sofa and rested his elbows on his knees. He stared at his hands, hanging loose between them. “It’s Shep.”

“What about him?” Channie perched on the edge of the armchair.

“He’s dead.”

Channie’s chest constricted, making it hard to breathe. She shook her head in denial. “No. Not Shep.”

Hunter nodded. “Steward, too.”

“How?”

“I wasn’t there. But I heard all about it from them that survived.” Hunter seemed to retreat within himself. He wrapped his arms around his waist and hunched over like an old man. His voice dropped to a monotone whisper as he retold the story of the ‘Black Mountain Rescue.’

Channie grieved for the ones that had died, but her heart bled for their families. She knew what they were going through. Daddy’s death didn’t feel real yet—and she’d have to deal with that someday soon—but Abby’s lifeless body invaded Channie’s dreams on a nightly basis. She knew she’d never recover from that horror.

But when Hunter told how Josh had disarmed everyone, friend and foe, with magic and then used his shield to obliterate the enemy against unimaginable odds, a warm glow of pride and gratitude soothed the ache. “Josh is a hero?”

Hunter nodded. “He’s definitely growing into his power-name. He’s more Valor than Josh now.”

Tears stung Channie’s eyes. The Book of the Dead had declared that Josh had one year to ‘learn and grow’ but she hadn’t fully realized what that meant, until now. She’d fallen in love with sweet, shy Joshua Abrim—not Valor Veyjivik, the war hero.

“Channie?” Hunter leaned forward and rested three fingers on her knee. “Are you okay?”

She nodded and blinked back the tears but couldn’t keep her voice from wavering. “Losing his memories of me was part of the plan all along.”
 

“Josh’s memories are suppressed, not lost. And even if they were, he still loves you. He will always love you.”

“Because of our bond.”

Hunter frowned. “You’re acting like that’s a bad thing.”
 

“Josh is bound to me. He doesn’t love me. How can he? He doesn’t even know me.”

“When me and Josh shared that apartment in Vegas, we got pretty close. He told me more than once the story of how y’all met. He said it was love at first sight.”

Channie closed her eyes, too ashamed to look at Hunter. “I used a come-hither spell on him to make him kiss me.”

“He told me.” Hunter chuckled. “I wish I could’ve been there to see it.”

Channie knew that Hunter used humor as a defense mechanism. She’d often admired the way he could laugh even when consumed with emotional pain. This was not one of those times. “It wasn’t funny then and it’s certainly not funny now.”
 

Hunter sobered up immediately. “You know you can’t use magic to make someone love you. Josh fell for you because you’re sweet, smart, funny, sassy and sexy as hell. You’re still the same girl.”

“But Josh isn’t the same boy. You said it yourself…he’s more Valor than Josh.”

“That was an exaggeration. I just meant that he’s…I don’t know…braver? More serious about following his destiny. His power-name is influencing him, sure, but he’s still Josh.”

“The Book of the Dead changes people. Look what it did to Momma.”

“Your momma had no right to use that book in the first place.” Hunter leaned forward and took Channie’s hands in his. “Ms. Wisdom said that as long as the Book of the Dead has Valor Veyjivik’s name on the cover, it ain’t gonna hurt Josh. And I’m telling you, that boy ain’t never gonna stop loving you.”

~***~

“He’s right.”

Channie gasped as her heart-bond leapt out of her chest. She shot out of her chair and whirled around to find Josh leaning against the doorframe. Her hands flew to her mouth.

Josh rubbed the back of his neck as a crimson flush spread across his cheeks.
 

Channie’s heart swelled with joy as tears filled her eyes. He might be Valor Veyjivik, but only Josh Abrim would blush like that. She ran across the room and threw herself into his arms.
 

He hesitated for half a second then tugged her closer and kissed the top of her head. That was also pure Josh.

Channie inhaled deeply, pulling his unique scent of lemons, sandalwood and musk into her lungs. His heart pounded against her cheek, beating in tandem with her own. Their bond lit up the room.

Horror replaced joy as Channie realized that Josh had just fallen into Vengeance’s trap. She pushed away from him, ripping her heart in two. “You can’t be here. You need to go.”

“I’m not going anywhere.”

“You don’t understand! It’s a trap.”
 

Josh arched his eyebrows. “Didn’t Hunter explain it to you?”
 

Hunter scratched the back of his head. “I hadn’t quite gotten around to that part, yet.”

“What part? What’s going on? And how did either of you make it past the protection spells?” A sense of dread crashed down on Channie. She’d been so excited by Hunter and Josh’s arrival, she hadn’t stopped to consider how they’d done it. “If the protection spells don’t work, then I have to leave. I have to escape and turn myself over to Momma.”

“Slow down there, girl.” Hunter extended a hand as if trying to calm a skittish colt. “The protection spells work exactly the way Vince wants them to. Me and Josh are the only ones that can pass through without Vince. You’re stuck here until he decides otherwise.”

“How do you know any of that?”

“Because I’m Vince's right-hand man.”

“How do you even know Vengenace Veyjivik? And why would you work with him?”

“Remember when I told you I was working as a double agent, pretending to work for the Veyjiviks so I could feed them false information and pass their secrets on to Ms. Wisdom?”

“Yeah?”

“Well, I’m doing it again. Only this time the only person I’m spying on is Vince and the only one I’m reporting to is Josh.” Hunter leaned back and laced his fingers behind his head. “Vince thinks I’m hunting for his long-lost son, but instead I’m sneaking him in to see you. Pretty neat, huh?”
 

“I don’t understand. How did he exclude Josh from the protection spells?” It required a drop of the person’s blood.

Hunter’s eyes widened. He licked his lips and glanced at Josh then grinned and pointed at himself. “Trusted associate, remember?”

“So you what? Told Vengeance that you snuck up on Josh, poked him with a needle and stole a drop of his blood?”

“Something like that.”

“What if Vengeance comes back early?”

“He’s not coming back. He put me in charge of you. Besides, he calls me at least once a day to check in.”

“But that’s to check up on you, right? Why would he tell you his business?”

Josh cleared his throat. “Hunter’s also sort of an assistant. Vince would call him if he decided to come back here so Hunter would have time to change the sheets in the master bedroom and stuff.”

“Oh, okay. That makes sense.” Channie turned around within the circle of Josh’s arms so she could gaze into his dark blue eyes as her own filled with tears.

He kissed the tip of her nose. “I hope those are happy tears.”

She shook her head. “I have to try to escape and get back to Momma or my death pledge will kill me. Will you help me?”

 
“No. I can’t help you escape, even if I wanted to. And I most certainly don’t! Hunter, Vince and I are the only ones that can safely pass through the protection spells.”

“Even if you shield me?”

“Vince knows about your death pledge and took every precaution. There’s no way for you to escape so you might as well stop trying.”

“So, if Vince isn’t coming back…” Channie tried to keep the swelling sensation of hope in her heart from spreading. She wouldn’t be able to handle the disappointment if Josh refused. “Do you want to stay here with me?”

Josh’s cheeks flushed pink as he nodded. “I’d like that very much.”

Hunter cleared his throat. “Can I borrow your car for a couple of hours so I can go see Kassie?”

“Don’t you think it’s a little late?”

“Wait…we’re in Colorado?” A grin spread across Channie’s face.

“We’re about five miles above Nederland and thirty-five miles from downtown Louisville.” Josh pressed the side of her head against his racing heart. “Why don’t you give Kassie a call and see if she’s still awake?”

They have phones.
Channie’s heart constricted so violently it made her gasp.
I’ll have to steal Josh’s while he’s asleep and call Momma. Tell her where I am.
 

Josh pulled his phone out of his pocket and waved it in front of Channie’s face. “I have a feeling I need to put this someplace where you can’t get to it. Am I right?”
 

“Are you reading my mind?”

“No.” Josh grinned at her. “I just know how a devious mind works.”

“I don’t want to escape. But I have to keep trying.”

Josh tossed his keys and his phone to Hunter. “I don’t care if Kassie is asleep. Go wake her up.”

Hunter’s grin split his face. “Thanks!”

“Just be sure my car’s back by six thirty tomorrow morning and leave my phone with the guards at the gate.”

“Guards?” Channie’s mouth went dry. “Won’t they call Vengeance and tell him you’re here?”

“Hunter hired them. They report to him.” Josh took Channie’s hand and led her to the couch. “There’s something I need to tell you.”

~***~

Josh hated to add to Channie’s grief, but she needed to know about Diego. He held her on his lap as she sobbed. Her tears soaked through his shirt in a matter of seconds but she stopped crying much sooner than he’d expected. Kassie had thrown a bigger fit when Eric broke up with her.

Josh kept an arm around Channie as he leaned to the side and snagged a tissue off the end table. “Here.”

She blotted her eyes then blew her nose. “I didn’t really know Diego all that well. But he was the trips’ daddy. Those poor babies are orphans now. I know Aunt Wisdom’s busy with the rebellion and all, but I hope she’ll take some time off to help the boys work through their grief.”

“Actually… Wisdom left right after Diego died. My dad and Liz are fostering the triplets.”

“But…they’re empties. They won’t be able to handle the boys’ magic.”

“I made shields for them. CoCo promised to keep them charged.”

“Wow. You’ve really taken charge, haven’t you?”

“I delegate a lot.” Josh didn’t want Channie to start feeling guilty for keeping him away from his ‘destiny.’

Channie sighed and returned her head to Josh’s shoulder. “Where are you going when Vengeance comes back?”

“Don’t worry about me, babe. Hunter and I have it all figured out.”

Channie sat up and frowned. “That’s supposed to reassure me?”

Josh laughed then kissed the tip of her nose. “Have a little faith, okay?”

“Can you at least tell me your plan to keep yourself safe?”

“It’s better if I don’t. You are a hostage after all.” He trailed his fingers up and down her arm. Josh froze when he realized what he was doing.
Stop over thinking every little thing
.
Channie will tell you to stop if she doesn’t like it.
“We don’t want to give Vince a reason to torture you for information.”

Channie squeezed her eyes shut and fisted her hands. “I hate this!”

“Do you want me to cast a relaxation spell on you?” Josh pried her fingers loose and rubbed circles on her palms.

“No. Just keep touching me. That helps more than any be-calm spell ever could.”

Josh’s heart jumped at the thought of ‘touching’ Channie. He still needed to take things slow, but that was going to be hard to do with her sitting on his lap. Especially since he could tell she wasn’t wearing a bra.
Damn. Think of something else.
“Hunter said this place is fully stocked. How about we make some popcorn and watch a movie?”

“I’ve got a better idea.” The tip of Channie’s tongue darted out and licked her bottom lip.

“Oh yeah? What’s that?” Josh couldn’t have pried his gaze from her mouth if his life depended on it.

Channie stood up and tugged him to his feet. “Let’s make cornbread.”

Josh had a hard time hiding his disappointment. He kept his face averted as he dug through the cabinets, looking for a mixing bowl and a square pan while Channie searched the pantry for the right ingredients. She claimed she didn’t need any measuring cups or even a recipe. Josh found a set of nested glass bowls and set them all on the counter. “Will one of these work?”

“The middle one.” Channie barely glanced at the bowls then pointed at the oven. “Can you set that to about three fifty?”

“We’re at a much higher altitude. You might need to make some adjustments to the recipe.”

Channie frowned, puckering her lips.

Josh wanted to kiss her. No. He
needed
to kiss her. A purple haze seeped out of his stomach. He sucked the lustful energy back inside but not fast enough.
 

Channie arched her eyebrows then smirked at him.
 

Josh pretended he hadn’t noticed her reaction, even though the heat creeping up his neck indicated otherwise. He set the oven then cleared his throat. “You need anything else?”

“I…um…need to go get something in the loft. Promise to stay in the kitchen?”

“Just tell me what you need and I’ll go get it.”

“No. That’s okay.” Channie’s cheeks turned pink. “I’ll be right back.”

When she returned, she was wearing different clothes. Jeans and a sweater replaced the baggy sweats.
 

Josh hopped his butt onto the counter and watched her mix all the ingredients. She looked so damn cute with a smudge of flour on her cheek. Who knew that cooking could be so freaking sexy?