All of the breath left her body, and she was glad she hadn't reached for her glass of wine. "What do you mean? You can get him released?"
"No. Not that. But I can get his sentence reduced. The death penalty removed. His sentence commuted to life in prison. And with the possibility of parole."
"I see." She licked her lips, her heart pounding so hard she was having a difficult time thinking. "This is--Daddy, this is incredible." She reached for her phone. "I need to call Spencer. He'll be--"
"No."
The word came out with the force of a demand, and she froze, cold terror creeping up her spine.
"You know that I'm close with the governor. And I'll tell you right now that I've already spoken to him about this. I say the word, and he'll take action."
"And you'll say the word when?"
"When you break off this wedding. When you walk away from that man."
She closed her eyes, knowing in that moment how it felt to hate someone you'd once loved. "That's horrible."
"Is it?"
"You're playing with a man's life, and you're making me a pawn in some goddamn medieval game."
"He already chose his path. He drove that car. He was involved in a murder."
"He wasn't," she protested. "He thought he was driving his friend to a convenience store. He had no idea the other guy was going to rob the place, much less kill the clerk."
"He was a participant. And he had a gun."
"Because he always had a gun. It was holstered under his jacket, but he was outside in the parking lot, and--"
"Felony murder," her father said coldly. "He drove the car."
"Wrong time, wrong place," she retorted.
"Perhaps. And perhaps that's why I'm making this offer."
"Contingent on me walking away from the man I love?" This was a nightmare. An epic, horrible nightmare. "You're going to let a man die--"
"The law is clear." Her father's voice was cold. "And so is my conscience."
"Daddy." She heard the plea in her voice and hated it. But she'd get down on her knees and beg if that would convince him.
But there was no convincing him.
"You walk away. You don't tell him why--I won't risk the governor's reputation being tarnished. Or mine, for that matter. You walk, Brooke. And you don't look back."
He left without another word, leaving her alone to make her choice.
She canceled the girls' night, then spent the longest night of her life trying to decide what to do. A marriage balanced against the weight of the life of a man.
She was still awake when the sun rose, and she numbly dressed to go to her friend's house for the wedding. It wasn't meant to be fancy, and she held her simple white dress over her arm, still not sure what she was going to do.
It wasn't until she saw Brian, Spencer's best friend from Trinity, that everything became clear.
"Hey, gorgeous," he called as she walked down the gravel drive to the guest house where the wedding would be held. She turned, recognizing his voice, but not finding the speaker. Then she saw Brian sitting in the gazebo drinking a beer. She cut over to him and offered him a smile that she hoped looked genuine. Despite it being her wedding day, she wasn't in much of a mood to smile.
He lifted his beer in greeting and offered her a dazzling white grin. With his Robert Redford eyes, blond frat boy looks, and trust fund attitude, Brian hardly seemed
like the kind of guy to claim Spencer as a friend. But the two had met on Spence's first day at Trinity and had struck up a solid friendship.