“No,” he said, shaking his head. “Abby might have married my brother for a reason, but that reason is because she loves him.” He frowned. “It will destroy him to find out the truth even if she was trying to save him.”

“Do you always do what’s best for your brothers?”

He looked down at the pictures I couldn’t see. “You have no idea.” He sighed. “I did what I could after the fire, but as you can see from the list of the dead, a ten-year sentence from Adam isn’t going to cut it. Adam was charged with two hundred sixty-four counts of involuntary manslaughter—two for each of the victims.”

“How did the District Attorney get away with that?” I asked.

“Adam was indicted under two different theories of the crime. Criminal negligence manslaughter, and misdemeanor manslaughter.”

I nodded.

“My hands were tied,” Maddox continued. “I couldn’t help my brother—until I let Polanski in on what made me one of the youngest ASACs in Bureau history. I had an in. He almost didn’t believe me. My little brother was dating and is now married to the daughter of a person of investigative interest in one of our bigger cases—Mick Abernathy. I got Polanski—with the director’s approval, of course—to waive the charges if Travis agreed to work with us, but cracking this case is going to take longer than his jail sentence might have been.”

“He’ll be an asset?” I asked.

“No.”

“The FBI is recruiting him?” I said, astonished.

“Yes. He just doesn’t know it yet.”

My face screwed into disgust. “Why tell him at his wedding?”

“I won’t tell him on his wedding day. I’ll do it the morning after, before I leave. It has to be in person, and I don’t know when I’ll see him again. I don’t go home anymore.”

“What if he doesn’t agree to it?”

Maddox blew out a long breath, wounded at the thought. “He’ll go to prison.”

“Where do I come in?”

Maddox turned a bit in his chair, his shoulders still tense. “Just…hear me out. It was one hundred percent the S.A.C.’s idea. He just happens to be right.”

“What?” My mind was racing, and my patience was wearing thin.

“I need a date for the wedding. I need someone else from the Bureau to attend and witness the conversation. I don’t know how he’ll react. A female agent will be a good buffer. Polanski thinks you’re the perfect candidate.”

“Why me?” I asked.

“He mentioned you by name.”

“What about Val? What about Constance?”

Maddox cringed and then stared at his finger while he tapped it on his desk. “He suggested someone who would fit in.”

“Fit in,” I repeated, confused.

“Two of my brothers are in love with women who…lack finesse.”