Page 167 of California Wild

Too hot.

Flames licking too high, turning everything to ash.

Jesse exhaled, rolling his shoulders, pushing the thought away.

Because this time was different.

It had to be.

His phone buzzed again.

Anyway, thanks, but you don’t have to. I’ll just take a cab.

Jesse huffed, already walking toward his truck.

She should know better than to fight him on this shit.

See you downtown, Fox.

No question. No debate.

Just a fact.

And as he pulled out the keys to his place, he found himself gripping the doorknob a little too tight.

Because for all the ways they had crashed and burned before…

Somehow, she still let him come back.

* * * * *

Jesse drove through the city with the windows cracked just enough to let the cold night air cut through the heat still clinging to his skin. The sweat from his run had long dried, leaving only a tightness in his muscles, a restless energy that no amount of miles could burn out.

The city looked the same. Neon signs flickering, traffic crawling, people moving in drunken clusters down the sidewalks. But for Jesse, everything felt different. The deployment had left something behind in him. A weight that wouldn’t shake loose, a darkness that settled in his chest like lead.

Every stop along his route tonight should have been grounding. A ritual. A routine. Something familiar. But nothing about it felt right.

Eddie was locked up. Jade had disappeared, her spot under the freeway occupied by someone new, some woman jittery and wide-eyed, barely coherent.

Too much had changed in just six weeks.

Jesse should have expected it. But it still unsettled him.

By the time he pulled up to the last stop, something in his chest had already started tightening.

Kwilé’s place was dark.

Jesse grabbed the last pizza box and the water bottles, his boots crunching over broken glass as he walked toward the basement entrance.

Normally, he’d announce himself with a low whistle—a habit they’d fallen into over time.

Tonight, he didn’t.

Something felt off.

The usual curtain that hung over the doorway wasn’t right. It was half-torn down, hanging by a single nail, fluttering slightly in the wind.

Jesse took a step closer.

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