Ruby slipped her phone into her pocket, wiping her eyes as Max walked out of the study. He looked exhausted, his shirt unbuttoned at the collar, his eyes searching hers for any sign of hope.
"Nothing yet," Max said, his voice raspy. "But we're closing in on the harbor. If she's there, I'll find her."
Ruby forced a nod, her heart breaking under the weight of the secret. She knew she was about to walk into a lion's den, and for the first time, she couldn't tell the man she loved where she was going.
The air between Ruby and Max was thick with unspoken words. Ruby looked at him, her eyes searching his, screaming for him to see the trap she was walking into. But she knew she couldn't speak.
Violet had eyes everywhere, even now, Ruby felt the prickle of a gaze on the back of her neck. If she breathed a word of the text, Nancy would be dead before Ruby reached the front gate.
