Page 17 of California Wild

Jesse leaned forward, elbows on his knees. “What do you want me to do? Start chanting? Smudge the demons out?”

Kwilé gave him a slow, tired smile. “Wouldn’t hurt.”

Jesse snorted, shaking his head. “Not my style.”

Kwilé nodded, thoughtful. Then, after a moment—

“You’re standing at the edge of something, Jesse.”

Jesse’s jaw tightened.

Kwilé always did this.

The oracle shit. The way he spoke in riddles like he knew things Jesse didn’t.

“Something that you already know.”

Jesse ran his tongue over his teeth. “Yeah? And what happens if I jump?”

Kwilé’s gaze didn’t waver. “That depends on the other side.”

Jesse swallowed, something thick in his throat.

He didn’t say it.

Didn’t have to.

Kwilé already knew.

They sat in silence after that, the weight of something bigger than both of them pressing into the cold air.

Jesse finally reached for the water, twisting the cap between his fingers.

“How’d you end up like this?” he asked.

Kwilé chuckled, voice low. “Same way you did.”

Jesse’s grip tightened on the bottle. “I got out.”

Kwilé’s dark eyes flickered with something ancient. “Did you?”

Jesse didn’t answer.

Because, for the first time in a long time—

He didn’t know.

The night stretched thick and silent as Jesse stepped out of the basement and into the open air.

The damp scent of old wood and stale smoke clung to his jacket, mixing with the cool bite of the coastal breeze. The abandoned house behind him stood like a husk, hollow and broken, just like everything inside it.

Jesse exhaled slow, running a hand through his hair as he moved toward his truck.

Then—a sound.

Soft. Feminine laughter, just barely audible.

Jesse’s head snapped up.

---