“No.” Her voice sharpened. “You don’t get to shove me aside because you think I can’t handle this.”
Tony winced slightly. “Oh, this feels personal. I’m gonna stay out of it.”
“Smartest thing you’ve said all morning,” Luca muttered. Rocco ignored both of them completely. His focus stayed locked on Luna, and God, the fear in his eyes nearly undid her. She felt that same fear—that something would happen to him.
“You don’t understand,” he said quietly.
“Then explain it to me,” she breathed. Another silence filled the apartment. Rocco dragged a hand over his face roughly and groaned.
“When we were deployed—” His jaw clenched hard. “Gunner got mean after a while.”
Luna’s stomach tightened. “What do you mean?”
“He liked combat too much,” Rocco said. The way Rocco said it sent a coldness creeping slowly up her spine. “He started taking risks,” Rocco continued quietly. “Started acting reckless and aggressive.” His eyes darkened. “There were rumors that he hurt civilians.”
Tony shifted uncomfortably near the wall, and Luca looked away. That told Luna everything she needed to know. She knew from their therapy sessions that Rocco had shared some of his past with his friends. From the look on their faces, she knew that what Rocco was telling her was the truth.
Rocco swallowed hard. “Nobody could prove anything. But after a while—” He shook his head. “The guy I knew from boot camp wasn’t there anymore.” The apartment suddenly felt freezing cold. Another knock rattled the door, making her jump.
“Your girl gonna make this difficult?” Gunner called through the wood door casually. “That’d be rude after I waited all these years to see you again.” Luna’s pulse stopped. He called her his girl. The possessiveness in the statement made her skin crawl instantly. Rocco moved in front of her so fast she barely registered it happening. His protective instinct was kicking in.
“You stay away from her,” he snarled toward the door. A laugh answered him. The guy actually laughed.
“Oh, there he is.” Gunner sounded delighted. “Was wondering when you’d stop pretending to be civilized.” Luna saw the exact moment Rocco almost lost control. His fists clenched hard enough that the muscles in his forearms jumped violently.
Tony stepped forward instantly. “Easy.”
“I’m gonna kill him,” Rocco said quietly. The terrifying part was that he sounded serious.
Jonesy stepped in before the situation exploded further. “No,” the older man barked sharply. “You are gonna think before you do something stupid.” Rocco’s breathing turned ragged, and she worried that he wouldn’t hear Jonesy. “You hear me, boy?” Jonesy snapped again. “That’s what this son of a bitch wants.”
Luna watched Rocco physically force himself back under control. Every breath that he took looked painful. War really had taught him how to cage violence inside himself, and now she understood why he’d been so careful with her from the beginning. Rocco knew exactly what lived underneath his restraint.
Another voice suddenly echoed from outside her door—this time, it was female, and whoever it was sounded pretty annoyed. “Are you people seriously fighting in the hallway at eight in the morning?”
Everybody froze. Gunner laughed softly outside the door. “Oops,” he said. Luna’s blood ran cold because somehow that simple word sounded worse than all the threats that he had made.
Luna had no idea how her life had spiraled from boxing and flirting into safe houses and stalkers in less than twenty-four hours. But judging by the hard expression on Rocco’s face as he shoved his clothing into a duffel bag with military precision, this wasn’t something he was taking lightly—at all. She had packed a bag, as ordered, but the thought of leaving her home just plain pissed her off.
The woman in the hallway had finally scared Gunner off long enough for Jonesy to start shouting orders at everyone. He was efficient, like this wasn’t the first dangerous situation that they had all been in together—which honestly wasn’t comforting.
“We leave down the back stairs,” Jonesy ordered quietly. “Let’s go.” Nobody argued with him, not even Luna, because thesecond Gunner laughed outside that apartment door, something primal had settled in her chest. Fear, real fear, but it wasn’t for herself. It was for Rocco, because the man looked one wrong word away from snapping in half.
Tony led the way down the rear stairwell while Luca stayed behind Luna, constantly checking over his shoulder. Rocco brought up the rear, his eyes sharp and restless as he scanned every corner automatically. He was protecting them all—always protecting.
It hit Luna hard seeing him like this, because she suddenly understood why peace mattered so much to him. She got why quiet mornings, boxing, and routine meant everything. He had spent years surviving but not really living.
Outside, Jonesy’s old SUV waited behind the building. “Move,” the older man barked. Luna climbed in beside Rocco in the backseat while Tony jumped into the passenger seat and Luca slid behind the wheel.
The second the doors locked, the tension inside the vehicle became suffocating. Nobody spoke at first as the city moved around them normally while Luna’s entire world tilted sideways. People crossed streets and sat at coffee shops; meanwhile, a dead soldier from Rocco’s past was hunting them. It felt unreal.
Rocco sat beside her, completely rigid, his gaze fixed out the window while one hand rested near the waistband of his jeans. He was ready, prepared, and armed. Luna swallowed hard at the sight of him, because this was a version of him she had never seen before. He wasn’t the careful man who kissed her forehead, or the boxer who teased her in the ring. This man looked dangerous, and deeply, deeply exhausted.
Without thinking, Luna slid her hand into his, and Rocco went still instantly. Then his fingers tightened around hers hard enough to almost hurt, like he needed the contact. It was like it was the only thing grounding him right now. That broke her heart a little.
“You okay?” she asked softly. That was a stupid question, because obviously he wasn’t okay. Still, Rocco looked at her like the question mattered anyway.
“No,” he admitted quietly. The honesty in his voice hurt worse than if he’d lied. Tony glanced back at them briefly before looking toward the road again.
