Page 122 of The Viper
I nodded, taking my mark.
“And—action.”
The lines came easy, natural, like muscle memory—an apology, a confession, a final goodbye. I delivered them to Benji with a steady voice and a full heart. When the camera drifted in for the close-up, I let my real emotions slip through—the gratitude, the love, the quiet ache of everything we’d survived.
“Cut!” Franklin called. “That’s a wrap, everyone!”
Applause filled the room. Crew members cheered. Someone popped a bottle of champagne. I laughed, blinking back tears.
Franklin handed me a mic, and I turned to face the cast and crew who had stood by me through the worst of it. “I just want to say …” My throat caught, but I pressed on. “This film will always mean more to me than any I’ve ever done. Because it taught me what real strength looks like. It taught me what love feels like. And it reminded me that sometimes, the hardest things we go through are the ones that lead us exactly where we’re meant to be.”
There was a murmur of agreement, a few claps. I smiled through my tears. “So, thank you. For your patience. For your support. And for?—”
A deep voice interrupted from the back of the room. “For not firing your bodyguard when he broke every rule in the book.”
Laughter rippled through the crowd. My head whipped around.
Lucas.
He was walking straight toward me, wearing that half-smile that always undid me. The set lights caught the glint of something in his hand.
“Lucas,” I breathed, the mic lowering from my hand. “What are you?—”
He stopped in front of me, close enough that the noise of the room seemed to fade. “You said this film changed your life,” he said quietly. “So, I figured it was the right place to change mine, too.”
The crowd hushed. The air crackled.
Then he went down on one knee.
My hand flew to my mouth.
“I’ve spent my life protecting people,” he said, his voice rough with emotion. “Men who’d give everything for the person beside them. Missions that counted. But it was all about duty—about surviving the next day, not living it. And then you walked in, and I realized what all of it had been leading to. Every scar, every night I thought I wouldn’t make it—it brought me here. To you.”
My eyes blurred with tears.
He pulled the ring from his pocket—a simple band, gold with a single emerald-cut diamond that caught the light. “You’re my beginning and my end, Lexi Montgomery. And if you let me, I’ll spend every damn day proving that you’ll never have to face anything alone again.”
The world around us fell away. I could only see him. Hear him.
“Marry me,” he said. “Be Lexi Dane.”
A choked sound escaped me—half laugh, half sob. “Yes,” I whispered. “Absolutely, yes.”
The room erupted in applause and cheers. Someone shouted, “About time!” and Franklin was actually crying.
Lucas rose and pulled me into his arms, kissing me like we were the only two people in existence. The ring slid onto my finger—a perfect fit, warm from his hand.
“I love you,” I said when we broke apart, my voice trembling.
He smiled, brushing his thumb over my lips. “Say it again.”
“I love you.”
He kissed me once more, slow and claiming. “And I love you, Mrs. Dane.”
Laughter bubbled out of me, bright and uncontainable. “We’re still on set,” I whispered.
“Don’t care.”
