"Watching," Malvin said simply. "Learning her routines. Finding out how much Max actually trusts her judgment versus how much he's managing her from behind the scenes.
And when the moment is right," his eyes flicked toward Mia, gauging her reaction before finishing, "creating an opening."
"An opening for what?" Wayne asked, though his tone suggested he already suspected the answer and didn't like it.
"For separating them," Malvin said. "Ruby without Max is a woman with half her memory and none of her allies. Max without Ruby is a man distracted, exposed, and desperate. Neither version of them is nearly as dangerous as the two of them together."
Violet's eyes narrowed, something calculating sharpening her expression. "And the child?"
The table went quiet again, the question hanging over them like smoke.
