Page 193 of California Wild

Jesse barely heard any of it.

His jaw clenched, fingers flexing against the grip of his rifle. He had told her to trust him. To wait.

But how many more times would she wait before she didn’t?

How many more times could he walk away before she stopped being there to walk back to?

He exhaled sharply, shutting his eyes for a second, forcing himself to reset.

The mission. The job. The reason he was sitting on this goddamn plane instead of holding her, instead of figuring out how the fuck to be the man she needed him to be.

A sharp voice cut through the hum of the cabin. “Wheels up in five.”

Jesse let out a slow breath, rolling his shoulders, shaking out the tension.

Five minutes.

Then it was go-time.

He opened his eyes, steeling himself, and pushed everything else away.

For now.

Chapter 30

Hayley laid in her bed, arms wrapped tightly around herself, trying to breathe through the chaos unraveling around her. The air was thick with the weight of what had just happened—Caiden quitting, Jesse deploying, both of them leaving her behind in the span of fucking minutes.

Her stomach twisted violently.

She barely made it to the bathroom before she collapsed to her knees, gripping the edge of the toilet bowl as dry heaves wracked through her body. Panic curled hot and sharp in her throat, clawing its way up alongside the nausea.

Gone. They were both gone.

She squeezed her eyes shut, willing herself to breathe. She knew what Jesse’s job was. She knew he didn’t get to choose when he left. But that didn’t stop the ugly fear from creeping in, wrapping around her like a noose.

The weight of it all was crushing her. The pregnancy. The band. The label breathing down her neck. And now Caiden, her best friend, the one person who had always been in her corner, walking away because he couldn’t handle the truth.

She pushed herself upright, hands shaking, stumbling back into the bedroom. She grabbed her phone off the nightstand, her fingers barely working as she typed out a message.

Need to meet. Now.

Zoe’s reply came almost instantly. I’m at my office. Come see me.

* * * * *

Hayley barely registered the band lounging in the reception area—Billy, Kilgor, a few others from their crew—watching her with wary eyes as she stormed past them.

She threw open Zoe’s office door without knocking.

“Did you hear?” Her voice was raw, unsteady.

Zoe barely glanced up from her laptop, already bracing for impact.

“Well, good morning to you too,” she said dryly. “Hear what?”

Hayley dropped into the chair across from her, pressing the heels of her hands into her temples. “Caiden quit.”

Zoe’s fingers stilled on her keyboard. “What?”

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