.

obviously disoriented. “Jaime, it hurts.”

      She gently took his hand and ran her fingers over the skin in a soothing motion then squeezed lightly. “Shh. Don’t worry. You’re going to be okay. Just try to rest.”

      He seemed placated by her words and drifted off again and she wondered for a moment who Jaime was. It was apparently someone important to him. A girlfriend...or a wife? He wasn’t wearing a wedding ring, but she’d heard that some law enforcement agents didn’t when they were on duty.

      She finished changing the rest of the bandages, then gathered the old ones and leaned back. She was worried about him dying, but she almost had bigger problems if he lived. He was an FBI agent, and FBI agents were experts at discovering the truth. They were trained investigators, and the last thing she needed was someone asking questions about her and Chloe. Still, she couldn’t regret her decision to help him. He definitely would have died if she’d left him in the forest. Somehow she and Chloe would make it through this latest challenge. All she had to do now was figure out how.

      * * *

      A few days later Jack opened his eyes and groaned. Every muscle in his body seemed to hurt, and pain radiated from each of his wounds. He suddenly became aware of a girl about ten years old leaning over him and touching his lips with a wet cloth. He swallowed hard, his mouth incredibly dry.

      “Water...please.”

      The girl’s eyes widened when she realized he was conscious. “Aunt Casey! He’s awake! He just said something. Come here, come here!”

      A few seconds later the woman he had mistaken for a princess stood before him with a grin on her face. “Hello, Agent Mitchell. Welcome back to the living.” She felt his forehead. “Not a bit of fever. You are definitely on the mend.”

      The girl smiled at her aunt. “You did it, Aunt Casey! He’s alive!”

      “God did it,” the lady corrected gently. “I just helped out a little.”

      Jack was happy to be breathing, but his immediate need was for something to drink. He felt as if he’d swallowed a cup full of sand. “Water...”

      “Of course,” Casey answered. “Let’s get you up a little bit first. Chloe, you put the straw up to his mouth once I lean him forward so he won’t choke.” She put her arms behind his back and gently lifted him forward, being careful to stay away from his shoulder wound. It hurt to move, but it felt so good to take a drink from the straw that he ignored the pain. He finished and Casey let him gently lie back down on the floor.

      He looked around the small room and took in his surroundings. There was a small fire in the grate, and the rest of the room was obviously a log cabin with rustic yet comfortable furnishings. His eyes returned to the two ladies that were watching him closely. “Where am I?”

      “You’re sharing our cabin,” the lady answered. “My name is Casey, and this is my niece, Chloe.” She paused. “I found you in the woods. You had been shot, so I brought you here to try to help you.”

      Jack soaked in the information and searched for the memories. Bits and pieces of information flitted around in his brain. The last thing he clearly remembered was Stevens aiming his weapon at him and the bullet knocking him to the ground, and then a princess hovering over him. He looked back at Casey. She was definitely his princess. He remembered the clear blue eyes, but little else about how he had ended up on the floor in this cabin.

      He looked around again, considering the bucolic setting. All in all, it was probably a good thing that she had brought him here. His life was obviously in danger, and Stevens could have very well finished him off for good if he had shown up in a public place in his current condition. He was clearly unable to defend himself. Still, he wondered why the woman hadn’t taken him to a hospital like most people would have done. He turned back to Casey and decided it was time to get some answers.

      “Why not a hospital?”

      The woman’s blue eyes quickly darted away for a moment, and Jack instantly knew that something wasn’t quite right.

      “The nearest hospital is quite a distance away and I wasn’t sure you’d make it. You had lost a lot of blood.”

      Jack mulled over her answer. He didn’t think she was lying, but she was definitely hiding something. His brain seemed foggy and he felt very weak and disoriented, but his investigator instincts told him that there was more to the story than she was telling him.

      “How long have I been here?”

      “Four days. You’ve been drifting in and out of consciousness, which is to be expected.”

      He looked around at his makeshift bed. They had given him a pillow and blankets, and he was lying on a green braided carpet. “Why am I on the floor?” he asked.

      “Because you weigh a ton!” Chloe blurted, then shyly shrank back. The two women shared a laugh, and Casey tugged on Chloe’s braid affectionately and received a smile for her efforts. Casey’s expression seemed somewhat relieved that the conversation had shifted and Jack noticed that her posture seemed tense. Yes, something definitely wasn’t right here, but he didn’t get the sense that he was in any danger with them. On the contrary, they had saved his life.

      “We tried to get you to the couch, but you passed out and we just couldn’t manage to get you up there,” Casey said. “You’re a pretty big guy, Agent Mitchell. You’re lucky we got you in as far as we did.”

      “Jack,” he corrected. “Please. Call me Jack.”

      “Well, Jack, now that you’re awake, do you want us to help you up to the couch? It might be more comfortable.”

      “No, not right now. I’m okay right here.” Just that small bit of conversation had tired him out and he felt himself becoming drowsy.

      Casey noticed and felt his forehead again, then picked up the cup he had used and leaned back. “Okay. Chloe, let’s let our friend get some more rest. Can you throw another log on the fire? I’m going to go back outside and chop the rest of that wood.”

      Jack felt a little strange to be lying on a floor out of commission while a woman was outside chopping wood, but there wasn’t much he could do about it. This whole scenario seemed strange and out of place, and he couldn’t seem to make sense of any of it. A host of questions floated around in his mind, but for now, he let sleep consume him.

      The next time he awoke Casey was sitting by his side and gently changing his bandages. It was obviously later in the day and the evening sunlight was barely coming through the windows. The pain was a little less severe, but still throbbed at even the smallest movement. At least his head seemed clear and he was able to think straight for a change.

      “Aspirin. Do you have any aspirin?”

      Casey nodded. “Sure thing, Agent Mitchell...ah, Jack.” She reached for a bottle that was on the end table, took out two tablets and helped him hold his head up enough to take them with water from a straw. “They’re actually a little stronger than aspirin and might make you a little drowsy.” Jack raised an eyebrow but didn’t question her about the pills. He had so many questions at this point that what type of pain medicine she was giving him was pretty far down the list.

      “So you’re the one who stitched me up, right?”

      “That’s right.”

      “What was the damage?”

      “You got shot four times. Your leg injury missed the bone and is just a flesh wound. With some physical therapy you should heal up quite nicely. The gash on your forehead is the same. There was a lot of blood, but no bone damage. The one on the side there is a testament to God’s grace—it just missed your vital organs by a hair. Your shoulder wound also missed the bone, but I had to dig out the bullet.” She held up a little bag that was sitting on the end table. “I saved it for you as a souvenir.” She gave him a soft smile. “All in all, it’s amazing that you weren’t hurt any worse. I was really worried that you’d go into shock