Chapter 13
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—”
“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 the second 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.
“We’re almost there,” he assured.
“Where exactly are we going?” Luna asked.
Jonesy answered from the passenger seat. “To a cabin outside the city.”
“A safehouse?” she asked incredulously.
Luca snorted softly. “You say that like it’s a dirty word.”
“It’s just weird. I never thought that I’d have to go to a safehouse for any reason,” she admitted.
Tony grinned slightly. “You date fighters long enough, weird becomes normal.” Rocco stayed quiet beside her—too quiet.
Luna watched him carefully now, picking apart all the tiny details she usually noticed automatically in patients.
His clenched jaw, hyper vigilance, and the way he constantly scanned the area for any threats.
He was experiencing an adrenaline crash, fighting against survival instincts.
But underneath all of that, she could still see the guilt in his eyes.
She could practically feel it radiating off him.
“Talk to me,” she murmured quietly. Rocco’s eyes flicked toward hers.
“What?” he asked.
“You’re disappearing into your head again.” His mouth tightened slightly because he knew she was right. The SUV turned off the highway onto a narrow wooded road while silence settled heavily again.
Finally, Rocco spoke. “He used to call me brother.”
Luna’s chest tightened. “Gunner?” she asked.
He nodded. “He was the closest thing I had to family over there.” His voice roughened slightly. “We watched each other’s backs for years.” And now the man was threatening him—threatening them.
“How did nobody know he survived?” Luna asked quietly.
Rocco laughed bitterly beside her. “You really think the military doesn’t lose people?
” Nobody answered that, but apparently, they all knew the answer.
Trees thickened around the road as Luca finally slowed near a small cabin hidden deep in the woods.
It looked isolated, quiet, and best of all—safe. Or at least safer than her apartment.
The second the SUV stopped, Rocco got out first automatically, scanning the area before opening Luna’s door himself. He was still protecting her, even out here in the middle of nowhere. Luna stepped out slowly, staring at the cabin while cold air wrapped around her.
“This is insane,” she whispered.
Jonesy grunted. “Welcome to our lives.” Tony started unloading bags from the back while Luca checked the perimeter of the property, as if this was second nature to him, and maybe it was.
Rocco touched Luna’s lower back gently, guiding her toward the cabin steps.
“You warm enough?” The softness in his voice caught her off guard after seeing how hard he’d been all morning.
Luna looked up at him, and suddenly she saw it clearly.
Rocco wasn’t afraid of Gunner hurting him; he was afraid of Gunner hurting her.
That realization settled heavily in her chest.
“You don’t have to carry this alone,” she said quietly. Something flickered across his face then—pain or maybe exhaustion.
“Yeah,” he said softly. “I kinda do.” Before she could answer, Tony suddenly swore near the SUV. Everybody turned instantly.
“What?” Luca barked. Tony held up a small object carefully between two fingers.
It was a photo. Luna’s stomach dropped immediately, because even from where she stood, she recognized the picture.
It was from this morning at her apartment.
Only this time, written across the bottom in thick black marker were four words.
FOUND YOU AGAIN, brOTHER.