Luna had officially lost control of reality because there was no logical explanation for any of this anymore. Not the gunfire, not the dead soldiers showing up alive in the woods, and definitely not the fact that Rocco and Gunner were suddenly crouched beside each other behind the same overturned table while another unknown shooter tried to kill them both.
“This just keeps getting better,” Tony muttered sarcastically before firing another shot through the broken window. Rain blasted through the cabin in icy waves, soaking the floor while thunder rattled the entire structure hard enough to make Luna jump.
“You should’ve stayed buried with the rest of them.” The man’s voice sounded cold and deadly when he said those words to them. The voice outside sent chills straight down her spine. Gunner looked pale for the first time since she’d met him. Real fear cracked through his expression as he stared toward the shattered front room.
“Oh God,” he whispered.
Rocco grabbed his arm immediately. “Who is it?”
Gunner swallowed hard, jaw tight. “Mercer.” Nobody in the room recognized the name except Rocco. Luna saw it instantly—the tension on his face from the flash of memory, followed by sheer horror.
“No,” Rocco said quietly.
Gunner nodded. “He survived, too.” Another bullet tore through the wall beside the staircase, causing wood to explode everywhere.
“Fantastic,” Luca snapped. “There’s more of you.”
Tony looked toward Gunner. “You got an army out there?”
“No!” Gunner shouted back. “Mercer stopped being one of us a long time ago.”
Rocco’s face hardened instantly. “What did he do?”
Gunner laughed bitterly. “What didn’t he do?” Another crack of thunder shook the cabin, followed by silence outside. Luna hated silence now because silence meant that he was repositioning himself and planning his next move. He was hunting them.
Mercer’s voice drifted through the storm again. “You always were weak, Gunner.” Gunner visibly flinched, and Luna noticed immediately. Rocco did too.
“Hey.” Rocco grabbed the back of Gunner’s neck roughly, forcing eye contact. “Stay with me.” The gesture stunned her—not because it was aggressive, but because it was instinctively protective and brotherly even after everything. Gunner looked wrecked by it, too.
“I shouldn’t have come here,” he whispered hoarsely.
Rocco’s expression darkened. “You came after her,” he said, nodding to Luna. Gunner’s eyes flicked toward her instantly, and she saw the shame there.
“I know, I shouldn’t have done that,” he admitted. “I brought him right to your doorstep.” That caught everyone off guard.
Tony lowered his weapon. “You admitting you screwed up?”
Gunner laughed weakly. “Pretty sure stalking his girlfriend crossed a line.” Despite the chaos, Luna almost snorted, but Rocco didn’t smile. His entire focus stayed locked outside the cabin now, and Luna realized something horrifying. Rocco had shifted again—not into rage this time, but into combat leadership. He wasn’t reacting emotionally anymore. He was assessing threats and making decisions. That should have comforted her. Instead, it terrified her, because this version of Rocco looked like a man fully capable of walking into a war and not coming back out.
Mercer suddenly laughed outside. “You really teamed up with him again?” His voice dripped disgust. “After he left us?”
Rocco’s jaw clenched violently. “We didn’t leave anybody.”
“Bullshit!” Mercer shouted. The roar of his voice echoed through the trees, followed by gunfire exploding around them again. Bullets ripped through the front side of the cabin while everyone dove lower. Luna screamed as glass shattered across the floor beside her. Rocco immediately covered her body again with his own while firing twice toward the tree line. Everything around her became noise and adrenaline.
Tony shouted directions. Luca fired through the broken window. Jonesy dragged furniture for cover, and Gunner cursed beside Rocco while reloading his weapon with shaking hands. And underneath all of it, Rocco stayed terrifyingly calm.
“Three shots from the same angle,” he barked over the gunfire. “Mercer’s northeast of the tree line.”
Tony nodded instantly. “I’ll flank.”
“No,” Rocco snapped. “He wants to separate us.”
Gunner looked over at him. “He’s right.” Another bullet slammed into the cabin wall.
Mercer laughed again outside. “You still follow him like a dog, Gunner?” Rocco felt Gunner tense beside him. Luna saw it happen immediately—the manipulation and emotional targeting. Mercer knew exactly how to keep Gunner unstable.
“Don’t listen to him,” Rocco said firmly. Gunner looked at him like he’d been struck, because Rocco still sounded protective. He still sounded like his loyal friend, even after everything that he had done.
