Page 53 of Girl Lost (The King Legacy #1)

LUNA STOOD ALONE in the kitchen of the safe house—Corbin’s house—folding laundry, of all things. The domesticity of the 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?”

He opened the box to reveal a ring—not the massive diamond she’d once dreamed of but a simple band that she recognized immediately. It was the promise ring he’d given her when they were just kids, full of dreams and hope for the future. The ring she’d left with the adoption papers for him to sign.

Tears blurred Luna’s vision as Corbin slid the band onto her finger. The ring wasn’t just a symbol of what they’d been but of everything they were about to become. The past, the pain, all of it led here, to this moment. “It’s ... beautiful,” she managed, her throat tight with emotion.

Corbin pulled her close, his arms strong around her. “I owe you a bigger one,” he murmured against her hair. “And after that, maybe a bigger house. A bigger car. To hold a bigger family.”

Luna looked up at him, her heart so full she thought it might burst.

This was it, she realized. This was what she’d been searching for all along. Not the thrill of the mission or the satisfaction of a job well done, but this—a family, a home, a love that could weather any storm.

The road ahead wouldn’t be easy. There were still challenges to face, wounds to heal, a world to change.

But they would face it together. As a family.

And that, Luna realized, was all she’d ever really wanted.