Page 48 of California Wild

But she was still there.

Every mile. Every breath. Every goddamn heartbeat.

By the time he got back, his shirt was soaked through, muscles raw. It helped. Not enough.

He peeled it off in the kitchen, cracked two eggs into a pan. Toast. Bacon. Made coffee strong enough to take the enamel off his teeth.

Checked his phone.

Nothing.

He told himself he didn’t expect a message.

Still hurt like hell.

His thumb hovered over her name. He didn’t press it.

Instead, he turned the screen dark, flipped the phone onto airplane mode, and shoved it facedown on the counter.

Out of sight. Out of mind. Like everything else.

Then his work phone rang.

The vibration against the wood was loud in the stillness, slicing through the fog in his head.

Jesse snatched it up. “Navarro.”

“Get dressed.” Colson’s voice was all steel.

Jesse froze. “Say again?”

“You’re back in.”

A cold jolt shot through his chest. “What happened?”

“The guy covering your spot? Car wreck last night. Tib-fib break. He’s out.”

Jesse sat down hard. His mind reeled. His pulse ramped.

After all the waiting. The training. The therapy. The probation.

This was it.

Colson didn’t offer second chances. If he was making this call, it meant something.

It meant everything.

“I need you at briefing. Gear up. We deploy tomorrow, 0600. You understand me?”

Jesse stood, already moving. “Roger that.”

A pause.

“Navarro,” Colson said, quieter this time.

Jesse stilled, phone still pressed to his ear. “Yeah?”

“Don’t make me regret this.”

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