Page 111 of Girl Lost

“We’re really doing this, huh?” he murmured, low enough that only she could hear.

She smiled, that soft, secret smile that had always been just for him. “Looks like it. You ready for this, Agent King?”

He thought about the man he’d been just a few weeks ago. Alone, driven by a need to prove himself, always looking over his shoulder for the ghost of his father. That man would have run from this, from the messy, complicated beauty of family.

But he wasn’t that man anymore.

“More than ready.” And he sealed the promise with a kiss.

The moment was broken by twin sounds of disgust from the girls.

“Ugh, get a room.” Trinity groaned.

“Seriously,” Summer agreed. “There are children present.”

Corbin laughed, pulling Luna closer. This was his family. Messy and complicated and absolutely perfect.

“Our children,” he said, the words sending a thrill through him. “God help us all.”

38

LUNASTOOD ALONEin the kitchen of the safe house—Corbin’s house—folding laundry, of all things. The domesticity ofthe task felt strange, almost surreal after everything they’d been through. But there was comfort in it too.

The sound of laughter drifted in through the open window, and Luna glanced out to see Summer and Trinity by the pool. They were splashing each other, their faces alight with joy and mischief. For a moment, Luna could almost forget the darkness that had brought them all together, could almost believe that this was just a normal family on a normal fall evening.

Her phone buzzed. Deputy Chief Langston’s name flashed on the screen. Calling from his personal number, not the Agency. She answered with a curt, “Hello.”

“Rosati.” Langston’s voice was all business. “I’m surprised you haven’t accepted the new mission in Malaysia yet. It’s perfect for you.”

“I’m retired, remember?”

“You’re still on that? I’ve got the contract paperwork right here.C’mon ... this is your chance for a fresh start. No ties, no baggage. Just how you like it. Think of it like starting all over.”

“Starting over?” she repeated. “I think that’s exactly what I’m doing.”

“You’re really doing this?”

Her gaze drifted back to the window, to the girls sitting on the edge of the pool in the fading sunlight. “I’m really doing this.”

He sighed. “I’ll cancel the reinvestigation to renew your clearances.” The call clicked off.

She slid her phone on the counter. No ties? Langston couldn’t have been more wrong. The ties that bound her now—to Summer, to Trinity, to Corbin—were stronger than any she’d ever known.

“Everything okay?”

Luna turned to find Corbin leaning against the doorframe, his eyes soft with concern. She nodded. “Yeah, I think it is.”

He moved to stand beside her, his gaze following hers to the pool where the girls were now engaged in what looked like a heated splash war. “They’re good together.”

“They are,” Luna agreed. She hesitated for a moment before adding, “That was Langston.”

Corbin raised an eyebrow. “And?”

Luna shook her head. “I’m not an operative anymore, Corbin. That chapter of my life is over. I have ... other priorities now.”

Corbin looked at her with an intensity that made her heart race, like he was trying to memorize every detail of her face. Slowly, deliberately, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small box.

“Luna,” he said. “Can we share forever?”