Page 28 of Giving Up the Ring
Rocco suddenly stepped away from everyone else and dragged both hands down his face roughly. “I can’t do this to you.” Luna’s chest tightened instantly. She crossed the room before he could spiral any further and grabbed the front of his shirt hard enough to make him look at her.
“You don’t get to push me away because things got scary,” she insisted.
“Luna—” Rocco started to protest, but she shut him down immediately.
“No.” Her voice shook slightly this time. “I’m already in this, Rocco.”
Pain flashed across his face. “That’s exactly what I’m afraid of.” That nearly broke her, because he meant it. Every protective instinct inside him was tearing him apart right now.
Luna touched his face gently despite the adrenaline still screaming through her body. “You listen to me very carefully,” she whispered. “I am not afraid of your scars.” His eyes closed briefly. “And I’m not leaving you alone with this.”
For a second, Rocco just stood there breathing her in like he was trying to survive everything. A loud crack echoed from outside, and Rocco pushed her behind his body. “Gunshot,” he shouted. Every light in the cabin exploded instantly, and Luna knew for certain that the war had just started, and there was nothing that she could do about it.
The cabin exploded into chaos. Glass shattered inward as every light went dark at once, plunging the room into blackness so complete that Luna couldn’t even see her own hands. Someone grabbed her, and Luna gasped before Rocco’s voice hit her ear immediately.
“Down,” he breathed. The force of his body took her to the floor just as another gunshot cracked outside. Wood splintered somewhere above them, and her heart slammed violently against her ribs while instinct screamed at her to panic. But Rocco’s arm locked around her waist like steel, grounding and protecting her.
“Everybody good?” Tony barked from somewhere near the front of the cabin.
“Fine,” Luca answered immediately.
Jonesy cursed nearby. “That son of a bitch is trying to flush us out.”
Rocco stood half over Luna’s body while listening carefully to the silence outside. And suddenly she realized—he wasn’t afraid anymore. The guilt and grief were still there, buried underneath everything, but his survival instinct had fully taken over now. This was his territory, and Luna hated how natural he looked in the middle of it.
“You hit?” he asked quietly against her hair.
“No,” she said.
“Stay low,” he ordered. Another gunshot cracked through the woods. It was closer this time. Luna flinched automatically, and Rocco tightened around her instantly.
“It’s okay,” he murmured. The lie would’ve been sweet if it weren’t completely ridiculous. Nothing about this was okay.
Outside, footsteps crunched slowly through the gravel again as Gunner casually walked towards them. It was as though Gunner knew he already owned the situation. “You know what’s funny, Roc?” Gunner called through the darkness. Luna felt Rocco go perfectly still above her. “I used to think you left me because you were scared.”
There was another slow crunch of boots outside the cabin, and she felt like she was holding her damn breath, waiting for him to continue. “But now?” Gunner laughed softly. “I think you just wanted a new life more than you wanted your old one.” Sheknew that some terrible part of Rocco believed what Gunner was saying.
“No,” she whispered fiercely before he could spiral again. Rocco’s head turned slightly toward her in the darkness, and she framed his face with her hands. “You don’t owe him your guilt.” His hand found hers, and he held them tightly, as though he was trying to anchor himself. Like he needed the reminder of everything that they had worked on since he got back home.
Outside, Gunner sighed dramatically. “You know what the problem is with you, brother?” he asked. “You always needed somebody to save.” Another shot slammed into the cabin wall. Luna jerked violently.
“Jesus Christ,” Tony snapped.
“Can I shoot him now?” Luca growled.
“Not yet,” Jonesy barked sharply. Rocco slowly shifted away from Luna, just enough to crouch beside the broken window. Every movement looked controlled as moonlight cut through the shattered glass now, barely illuminating the hard lines of his face. He looked dangerously beautiful and terrifying. Luna’s stomach twisted because she knew exactly what he was thinking. He wanted to end this and protect everyone. He was going to destroy the threat, and judging by the coldness settling into his expression, Rocco was getting very close to doing exactly that.
Another silence stretched outside, and then Gunner spoke again. Only this time, his voice sounded closer—too close. “You really love her?” Luna stopped breathing, and Rocco went deadly still.
Outside, Gunner laughed quietly. “There it is,” he murmured. “Knew it.” The realization hit Luna like something physically attacking her. He’d been provoking Rocco on purpose. He waspushing him to test him to confirm exactly how much Luna mattered to him. And now he knew.
Rocco stood abruptly. “Rocco,” Tony warned instantly, but he was already moving toward the back door.
Every muscle in Luna’s body locked as she scrambled up and grabbed him hard before he could reach it. “You are not going out there.” Rocco looked down at her, and the expression on his face terrified her. It wasn’t rage, but resolve—cold, horrifying resolve.
“He won’t stop,” he said quietly.
Luna shook her head immediately. “Neither will you if you walk out that door.” Something flickered in his eyes then, because he knew she was right. The truth sat ugly and raw between them. If Rocco got his hands on Gunner tonight, one of them wasn’t surviving it.
