Mercer’s voice cut through the storm again. “You know what happened after they buried us?” he shouted. Nobody answered him. “They lied.” Rocco’s face hardened, but Mercer continued anyway. “They cleaned up the mess and left us to rot because dead soldiers are easier than broken ones.”
The cabin fell silent except for the storm, because nobody in that room could fully deny it. Luna looked toward Rocco and saw the pain flash across his face again. Not just for himself, but for all of them—for the boys they used to be before war hollowed them out.
Then Mercer said the one thing that changed everything. “You think you’re protecting her, Rocco?” A dark laugh followed. “You brought her straight into the graveyard with the rest of us.” Rocco went perfectly still, and Luna realized immediately that one hit hardest of all.
ROCCO
“You brought her straight into the graveyard with the rest of us.” The words hit harder than the bullets, because deep down, that was exactly what Rocco feared. Every second since Gunner showed up, one thought had been tearing him apart from the inside—Luna was only in danger because she loved him.
Rain hammered the cabin while Mercer’s laughter echoed through the woods, cold and broken and furious. And for one terrifying second, Rocco almost believed him. Then Luna grabbed the front of his shirt hard enough to yank his attention toward her.
“No.” Just one word, but she said it with absolute certainty. Rocco stared down at her as glass scattered around them from the gunfire outside. The storm raged through the mountains, and Luna still looked at him like he was worth fighting for.
“You hear me?” she said fiercely. “None of this is your fault.”
Mercer barked out another laugh from outside. “She still thinks you’re the hero.” Something inside Rocco finally snapped into place. Not rage, but clarity, because Mercer and Gunner were both trapped in the same place—the war, the betrayal, the grief. They’d let it become their entire identities. And Rocco almost had too—until Luna. And until he found boxing, and Jonesy dragged him into a gym and forced him to keep living. Until Tony and Luca became brothers in a different kind of battlefield. Until someone finally looked at him and saw more than damage.
Rocco slowly rose to his feet. “Roc—” Tony started.
But he shook his head. “No more hiding.” Mercer immediately fired another shot through the cabin, but Rocco didn’t flinch, because suddenly he understood something important. Mercer wanted them to be afraid. He wanted them trapped in the same endless war he still lived in, and Rocco was done giving him that power.
He looked toward Gunner. “You wanna make this right?” Gunner looked stunned by the question. Rainwater dripped from his hair while guilt and grief battled across his face.
“I don’t know how,” he admitted quietly. Rocco nodded. That might have been the first truly honest thing Gunner had said all night.
“Then help me end it,” Rocco said. Silence filled the cabin as Gunner nodded.
Outside, Mercer shouted again. “You really trust him after all this?”
Rocco’s jaw tightened. “No,” he answered honestly. “But I remember who he used to be.” That hit Gunner hard enough that he looked away.
Tony moved beside Rocco immediately. “What’s the plan?” His old instincts returned instantly, only this time it didn’t feel like war. It felt like survival.
“Mercer’s focused on the front,” Rocco said quietly. “Storm cellar exits near the east tree line.”
Luca grinned grimly. “Now we’re talking.”
Jonesy crossed his arms. “I’m too old for this shit.”
“You’re staying with Luna,” Rocco said firmly.
Luna’s eyes narrowed instantly. “Absolutely not.” He turned toward her. And Christ—he loved this woman. He loved her stubbornness and her fire. Rocco loved the fact that she’d walked straight into his worst nightmare and refused to let go of him anyway.
Rocco cupped her face gently despite the chaos around them. “Baby,” he said softly, “I need to know you’re safe.”
Emotion flashed across her face so fast it nearly wrecked him. “You'd better come back to me.” The words landed right in the center of his chest. Rocco kissed her hard before he could stop himself. Rain crashed against the cabin around them while thunder shook the walls, but for one second, all he could focus on was her. Luna kissed him back like she already understood this might change everything.
When he finally pulled away, her forehead rested against his. “I love you,” she whispered. Rocco froze, closing his eyes briefly because nothing had ever sounded so beautiful.
“You picked a hell of a time to say that,” he murmured roughly.
A shaky laugh escaped her. “It felt emotionally appropriate.” Even now, she could make him smile. That alone was enough reason to survive this. Rocco touched his forehead to hers one last time before turning back toward the others.
“Let’s end this,” he growled. The storm swallowed them whole outside as rain soaked through Rocco’s clothes instantly. He, Tony, Luca, and Gunner moved through the woods behind the cabin—silent and focused. For a moment, it almost felt like another deployment. Except this time, he knew exactly what he was fighting for.
Mercer’s position became obvious fast. Lightening flashes lit up the trees near a rocky ridge overlooking the cabin. “He’s dug in,” Luca muttered.
“Yeah,” Rocco answered quietly.
