“In fact, I also discreetly did what Cody’s been asking for on your behalf. I had an attorney contact the other victims. In exchange for them signing a non-disclosure agreement, the attorney would tell them who attacked them and let them know he was locked up. Only the first victim wanted to know. The other two declined the offer. The fourth…we didn’t get to her in time. I don’t know if it would have made a difference to her, if she would have still… I don’t know. And I’ll have to live with that the rest of my life.”
Brooke allowed that maybe they were too concerned about their reputations, but the governor had done the right thing in the end. “You protected your ass but gave them a chance to knowthey were safe. I hoped you would do something behind the scenes to ease their pain and suffering and you did.”
Cody stepped up next to her and faced off with the governor. “I assume you have an NDA for Brooke.”
The governor pulled it out of his suit jacket inside pocket. “The money is yours no matter what. This is more than just an NDA; it is an insurance policy that Adam will stay locked up in a psychiatric facility for the rest of his life.”
Cody eyed the governor with suspicion. “Did you stipulate it in the NDA?”
Governor Harris handed the document over. “Brooke is only held to the NDA terms so long as Adam is locked up. If he is released, so is she.”
Cody turned to Brooke after he read through the document. “It’s true. It’s very specific. If Adam is released, you are free to tell the police, or anyone you want, what he did to you. With no statute of limitations on murder, you could send him to prison for life.”
Brooke sighed with relief. “I’ve already instructed Mr. Wagner to continue to tell the police I did not see my attacker. The story will remain as it’s been reported. Whoever the stalker might have been has moved off campus. End of story. So long as Adam never gets out.”
The governor gasped. “You did this already.”
“Yes. I’m not always as out of it as people think. I hear and see what’s going on. So long as you keep your son locked up in that psychiatric hospital under a qualified doctor’s care, I will remain silent. While I don’t think you should have to pay for what he did, I will hold you responsible for ensuring he pays for what he did by never letting him go free again. He will never be allowed to hurt another person. Is that clear?”
“Yes. He will never leave that place, or one like it,” Governor Harris assured her. “Keep the money, Brooke. I need to knowthat I did something, however inadequate it is. I wish I could…do something to ease your pain and suffering.” He took the few steps to her and stood in front of her, as humble as he’d ever been. “I’m sorry you were hurt. I’m sorry you lost your daughter. I’ll think of you, I’ll think of her, every day for the rest of my life.”
“I hope you do.” Brooke turned to Cody, handed him the check, then walked out the back door, past the governor’s security guard, and to the lawn, where the lights from the house couldn’t reach her. She put her face up to the dark sky, stared at the stars, and let the tears fall. The anger she’d carried around with her eased with each tear streaming down her face. Telling the governor how she felt about her daughter and all she’d lost made it a little easier to carry.
Cody came up behind her minutes later and wrapped his arms around her with her back pressed to his chest. He leaned his head down on her shoulder. “They’re gone, honey. I had no idea you’d contacted Doug about not turning Adam in to the police.”
“You left the office the other day to get me a bowl of ice cream. Your phone rang. I went to grab it and take it to you in case it was a client or your office, and I saw the governor’s name. It felt like my burden had been placed on your shoulders to carry alone because I simply checked out on dealing with the very present issues facing me and what happened.”
“The governor could wait until hell froze over as far as I was concerned.”
“He can’t fix his son. He can’t fix what his son did. So I knew he’d try to hold on to what he still has. His job. His reputation. His ability to help others.” She didn’t let politics or his outstanding record cloud her judgement on that, and tried to hold on to the fact he was a very good public servant and maybe this situation would make him even more sympathetic and empathetic in the future.
“When I thought about what I really wanted to happen to Adam, I realized I already had it. He’s locked up and getting the help he needs. So long as he remains at the hospital, I can live with no one knowing he’s the one who—” Her throat closed on saying the words again. “But I wanted the other women to have the same sense of safety I feel knowing he’s not out there watching or coming for me anymore.”
She turned in his arms and looked up at him. “When I do feel that way, I have you to remind me I’m safe. I don’t know if they have someone to do that for them, but I could force the governor to make that assurance.”
“I knew you were getting stronger, I just didn’t realize you’d come so far so fast. It is so good to see you standing up for yourself and them. And I’m sorry you’re hurting. You carried her inside you. She was so very real for you. I feel like she’s fog. I can see her, but then I reach out to grab her, and she slips through my fingers.”
Brooke cried even harder from his words. He got it. He might think she felt more deeply, but he’d described how she felt perfectly. The baby had become something so close to being solid and real, then she’d faded and disappeared before her eyes.
She held him so tightly her arms ached.
“What do you want me to do with the check?”
“I don’t want to talk about it tonight. I don’t want to talk at all. Just take me to bed and hold me.”
He hooked his arm around her shoulders, pulled her close, and walked her back to the house.
Susanne met them in the living room and wrapped them both in a hug. “I am so proud of you, Brooke, and how you handled yourself tonight.” She kissed Brooke on the head. “Goodnight, you two.”
Brooke turned and buried her face in Cody’s neck.
“Come on, sweetheart, you’ve had a hell of an evening.” He scooped her up into his arms and carried her up the stairs to their room, set her down by the bed, and undressed her like she was a child. She simply didn’t have the energy to do it herself. He helped her under the covers and joined her a minute later after stripping to the skin. She went into his arms the second he lay beside her. She didn’t speak or sleep that first hour. She cried, then rested quietly against his chest. He kept his grip tight around her and whispered soothing words to let her know he was there for her. They fell into an exhausted sleep hours later as the moonlight streamed through the window.
When she woke to a slightly graying sky before dawn, she quietly left Cody’s loving embrace and snuck away to her favorite spot to think.
Chapter Thirty-One
Cody had woken up every morning wrapped around Brooke for weeks and he loved it. And her. More each and every day. So when he opened his eyes to the bright sunlight and saw Brooke’s side of the bed empty, his happiness at greeting another day with her dimmed to concern. Especially because of the turbulent visit they’d had with the governor last night.
