Page 27 of Giving Up the Ring
“You believed them too easily,” Gunner insisted. That one hit like a knife straight to the chest, because some ugly, buried part of Rocco had spent years wondering the same thing. What if he should’ve checked himself? What if he had stayed longer? What if?—
“No,” Luna said sharply behind him. Everybody turned toward her, including Rocco. She stepped away from Jonesy slowly, eyes locked on the back door. “You don’t get to do this,” she said firmly.
“Luna—” Rocco breathed.
“No.” Her voice sharpened. “You do not get to weaponize his guilt because you’re broken.” Dead silence filled the cabin. Then Gunner laughed softly outside the door, only this time, he didn’t sound amused. He sounded unhinged.
“Oh,” he said quietly. “I like her, Roc.” Rocco’s blood turned to ice because every survival instinct he had screamed the same thing instantly—they needed to get out of there before things escalated. Because suddenly, he knew with absolute certaintythat Gunner wasn’t going to stop until he took away the one good thing Rocco had left—Luna.
LUNA
Luna had spent years studying trauma. She understood panic responses, hyper vigilance, and survivor’s guilt all too well. She understood how war could twist a person into someone unrecognizable, but standing inside that cabin listening to Gunner speak through the back door—well, that wasn’t just trauma. It was an obsession, and somehow that made it worse.
“I like her.” The words crawled over Luna’s skin like something filthy. Rocco reacted instantly. His entire body went rigid, every muscle locking tight while something vicious flashed across his face. Not fear, but murder—actual murder.
Luna saw it happen in real time. The careful, gentle man she knew had disappeared beneath raw protective instinct, and suddenly she understood why everyone kept watching him so closely, because if Rocco lost control right now, someone was going to die.
“Easy,” Tony warned quietly from the front of the cabin. Rocco didn’t answer him. Hell, he didn’t even blink. Instead, He just stared at the back door like he could already see through it.
Outside, Gunner laughed softly again. “You always get this attached?” he asked casually. “Or is she special?” Luca muttered a curse under his breath, and Jonesy stepped closer to Luna subtly, positioning himself between her and the windows, protecting her. They were all protective, which honestly should have comforted her, but instead, it made everything feel more real.
Rocco’s voice came out low and deadly. “You say one more thing about her?—”
“What?” Gunner interrupted. “You’ll kill me?” Another laugh filtered through the back door. “That’d just be another brother dead because of you.” Rocco flinched like he’d been punched straight in the chest. Gunner seemed to know exactly how to hurt him.
Without thinking, Luna crossed the room quickly and grabbed Rocco’s arm. He looked down at her immediately, and there was the man she knew, still buried underneath all that rage. But he was barely holding on.
“Don’t let him inside your head,” she whispered.
Rocco’s jaw flexed violently. “He already is.” The honesty in that answer hurt because she knew he meant it.
Outside, footsteps creaked slowly across the porch, circling as though he was pacing while he figured out his next move. If she had to guess, Gunner was enjoying himself. Luna’s pulse pounded harder every second, not because she thought Gunner would break in, but because she was starting to realize thiswasn’t random. This man didn’t want a quick confrontation. He wanted psychological warfare. He wanted Rocco to unravel piece by piece, and judging by the look on his face, it was working.
“You know what the worst part was?” Gunner asked through the door quietly. Nobody answered, so he continued. “You moved on. You got your peace while I was buried alive.” Rocco inhaled sharply, and Luna’s stomach twisted. Oh God, if he were buried alive, that would explain why he seemed so broken now. That would bring any sane person to the brink of destruction.
“You don’t know what happened,” Rocco said tightly.
“No,” Gunner snapped suddenly, barking out his laugh. The shift in his tone made everybody tense. “You think I forgot screaming for help?” he shouted. “You think I forgot waiting for my team to come back for me?”
Luna saw real pain crack through Rocco’s expression then. He seemed devastated because a part of him believed every word that Gunner was saying. “That’s not on you,” she said firmly to Rocco.
Gunner laughed bitterly outside. “Of course, the therapist says that.” Luna stiffened. He knew who she was. She wasn’t just some random woman because he knew details about her.
Rocco realized it at the same time because his face darkened instantly. “How long have you been watching us?” he asked quietly.
“Long enough,” Gunner said. Cold slid straight down Luna’s spine. How long had this man been outside the gym, or outside her office, or her apartment, watching them fall for each other? The thought made her feel sick.
“You’re sick,” she snapped toward the door before she could stop herself. Everybody turned toward her instantly. Even the pacing outside paused.
Gunner laughed softly. “So, the doctor is capable of losing her temper.”
Rocco stepped in front of her so fast she barely caught the movement. “Enough,” he snarled.
The cabin fell silent again as the sound of boots descended the porch stairs slowly. He was moving away, but nobody relaxed, not even a little. Tony finally spoke first after almost a full minute had passed. “Think he’s gone?”
“No,” Rocco answered immediately.
Luca nodded grimly. “Agreed.” Because men like Gunner didn’t just leave, not after all this. Luna looked up at Rocco carefully. The man looked wrecked, and underneath it all, he looked terrified—for her. That was the part she couldn’t stop seeing. Not fear for himself, but fear that she’d become collateral damage in whatever nightmare he dragged home from war.
