Tony finally turned from the window toward her. “This may get ugly.”
“The hell it will,” Rocco snapped immediately. It was absolutely not going to get fucking ugly—not with her involved, and not with Gunner, or whoever the hell this was, watching her apartment.
Rocco turned sharply toward Luna. “You’re leaving.”
Her eyes narrowed instantly. “Excuse me?”
“I need you to go with Tony and Luca,” he said.
“I’m not running away from my own apartment,” she said. “And I’m not leaving you here alone to deal with all of this.”
“This isn’t a debate,” he insisted. That seemed to be the wrong thing to say to her. Luna stepped toward him immediately, fury flashing across her face now.
“You do not get to bark orders at me because you’re scared,” she spat.
“I’m not scared for me,” he said. The words came out harder than he intended—raw and honest. The room went quiet because everybody understood exactly what he meant. Rocco scrubbed a hand over his face roughly before looking back at her.
“If this guy’s really Gunner—” His throat tightened. “Then he’s already proven he’ll come after you to get to me. He texted your cell phone, not mine. And he’s here at your apartment, not my place. He knows that you’re important to me, honey.” Luna’s anger faded slightly at that, but it wasn’t quite gone. It was just buried under understanding now.
Jonesy stepped between them before things could escalate further. “She goes with Tony and Luca,” the older man said firmly. “You come with me.”
Rocco frowned immediately. “Where?” he asked.
Jonesy’s expression hardened. “We’re gonna find out why a dead man suddenly came back angry and wants to hurt you—or worse.”
A sharp knock at the apartment door startled them all. Every person in the room froze instantly, before a voice came from the hallway. It was a man’s voice and was familiar enough to make Rocco’s blood run cold.
“You gonna hide in there all night, brother?”
LUNA
Luna had never seen a room full of dangerous men go still that fast before. The knock alone had been enough to spike tension through the apartment. But the voice coming from the other side of the door seemed to change everything. Rocco looked like someone had punched straight through his chest. All the color drained from his face while every muscle in his body locked tight enough that Luna thought he might actually snap something.
Tony moved first, stepping away from the window and positioning himself near the wall beside the door automatically, all humor gone from his expression now. Luca followed immediately, his posture shifting into something colder and sharper. Jonesy looked the calmest out of all of them, which honestly terrified Luna the most, because the older man didn’t look surprised—he looked ready.
“You gonna hide in there all night, brother?” The voice came again through the door. He sounded casual and almost amused, like this was some kind of game.
Rocco took one slow breath before looking toward the door. Luna saw it happen right in front of her—the switch from the man she was with last night into the soldier inside him waking fully up. His face hardened instantly, every trace of softness disappearing beneath military precision and controlled rage. It was the most terrifying she had ever seen him. And somehow, it broke her heart too, because this version of Rocco wasn’t peaceful or safe. This was the version of him that war created.
Luna moved toward him before she could second-guess it, grabbing his hand tightly, and his eyes snapped to hers immediately. There she saw that tiny flicker of softness still buried underneath everything else.
“You don’t have to do this alone,” she whispered. Something shifted in his expression then—just slightly. It was enough for her to know he heard her.
The knock came again, this time it was harder. “C’mon, Roc,” the voice called through the door. “That’s what they call you now, right? Rocco?” A low laugh followed. “You always did hate your full name.” Luna felt Rocco’s hand tighten painfully around hers. This was real. Jesus Christ. This was actually real.
Tony looked toward Rocco. “You know for sure it’s him now?”
Rocco nodded, showing no signs of hesitation. “Yeah.” Luca muttered a curse under his breath.
Jonesy crossed his arms. “What’s the play?” The old guy was treating this like it was a damn military operation, and the terrifying part was maybe it was.
Rocco stared at the door for a long second before finally speaking. “You take Luna downstairs through the back.”
“No,” she whispered. The word flew out of Luna’s mouth instantly, and four male heads turned toward her, but she didn’t care. She was absolutely not leaving him now.
“I’m not leaving while some unstable maniac is outside my apartment threatening you,” she insisted.
Rocco stepped toward her immediately. “Luna?—”
