Travis glanced to Thomas and then back at me. “Like what?”

Thomas returned his hands to his pockets. “They want to recruit you, Trav.”

“The mob?” he asked. He shook his head. “I can’t fight for Benny. Abby will leave me.”

“Not the mob,” Thomas said. “The FBI.”

Travis laughed once. “What do they want with me? I’m a college kid…a fucking part-time personal trainer.”

“They want you to use your previous contact with Mick and Benny to gain intelligence on the inner workings of their illegal operations,” I said.

“They want you to work undercover,” Thomas clarified.

Travis stood and began to pace. “He’ll want me to fight for him, Tommy. I can’t do that. I’ll lose my wife.”

“Then, you’ll have to lie,” I said matter-of-factly.

Travis looked at me and then at his brother, crossing his arms. “Fuck you both. I won’t do it.”

“What?” Thomas said.

“I won’t lie to Pigeon.”

Thomas narrowed his eyes. “You don’t have a choice. You can either lie to Abby and keep her or go to prison and lose her.”

“I won’t lie. Can’t I tell her? She grew up around men like Benny. She won’t blab.”

Thomas shook his head. “You’ll put her in danger.”

“She’ll be in danger if I fuck with these guys! You think they’ll shoot me in the head and be done with it? People like that take out your entire family. We’ll be lucky if they stop with Abby. They’ll probably move on to Dad and Trent, Taylor, and Tyler, too! What the fuck have you done, Tommy?”

“Help me take them down, Travis,” Thomas said.

“You sold us out. For what? A goddamn promotion?” Travis shook his head.

I inwardly cringed. I knew Thomas was dying inside.

“Dad told us we couldn’t go into law enforcement. Mom didn’t want it!”

Thomas sighed. “Says the guy who’s majoring in criminal justice. You’re wasting time, Travis. Abby will be awake soon.”

“You fucked us all! You son of a bitch!” Travis screamed, punching at the air.

“Are you finished?” Thomas asked, his voice even.

“I won’t lie to Abby. If I have to lie to her, it’s a deal-breaker.”

“So, you’re not taking the deal?” Thomas asked.

Travis laced his hands on top of his head, looking distraught. “I can’t lie to my wife.” His arms fell to his sides, and his eyes glossed over. “Please don’t make me do this, Tommy.” His bottom lip quivered. “You’re my brother.”

Thomas stared him in the eyes, speechless.

I shifted to my other leg, keeping a confident stare. “Then, maybe you shouldn’t have engaged in an illegal activity that caused the deaths of a hundred and thirty-two college kids.”