Page 68 of Burning Hearts

Jamie gasped. “Tristan!”

He didn’t sound good at all, but at least he was awake again.

“Hey, sis. Sorry I’m out of it.” He squeezed her hand, but she didn’t allow him to let go. “We’re gonna get you out of here. Don’t worry.”

She bit her lip.

“Time for someone to save you for a change.”

She could’ve collapsed right then she was so relieved. Jamie didn’t want to hang on to Logan if he was injured though. He didn’t need to carry her. “My legs work just fine.”

Tristan said, “Good, because you’ll need them to walk out of here. Unless Hammer has an ATV in his pocket.”

“Sorry, don’t,” he called over from far away, giving her a sense of the space they were in. But with nothing but black in front of her face, it wasn’t exactly helpful.

She was relying on her hearing in a way that made her feel the need to pause and thank God for what she’d always taken for granted.

Logan shifted his grip on her waist, rubbing up and down her side a little. Just enough to let her know he was with her.

She turned to him, no clue what she was looking at. “Are you okay?”

After this, she would have far more respect for people with vision restrictions. She had no idea how long this terrible blackness would last. Some people lived with it their whole lives. She wanted to do something to help them.

What it took to face the world without being able to see what was in front of her face told her exactly how much strength they possessed. Now that she had an inkling, Jamie had a new goal—a new avenue to funnel her money into.

If they got out of here.

“Don’t worry about me.” Logan’s voice was soft. Close. “You don’t need to take care of us. We’re going to take care of you.”

“And the fire.”

“Huh?”

She said, “Can’t you smell smoke on the wind?”

“That’s probably from the plane, not a wildfire.”

“We’re not going that way,” Hammer said. It sounded more like he didn’t want to than they shouldn’t. “We’re going east because that’s where the jump base is.”

“What about the others?”

Logan said, “We need to get Jamie to a doctor.”

She bit her lip. That didn’t sound good. “Am I going to die?”

Logan shifted her around, and she felt his breath on her face. “I’m not going to let that happen.”

She found his shirt with her hands, absorbing his strength for a second before she lowered her forehead and touched it gently to his shirt. If she turned her head, she would be able to hear the beat of his heart under her cheek. That would hurt way too much, and she needed to be awake, not passed out again, so she just imagined she could hear it.

That she could hear hers as well. That they beat in the same rhythm, full of love for each other and love for Jesus.

Maybe she’d hit her head harder than she thought. Jamie let out a tiny chuckle.

“Nothing about this is funny.”

She didn’t have time to respond to that, because her brother said, “Ready to go.”

“Let’s move out,” Hammer ordered.

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