“Well, hell.” Any other day of the year, I would have been thrilled to hear about Cavazos’s staffing problems, but Hadley deserved the very best of his resources, and a world-class Blinder would have come in very handy. Blinders can suck all the light out of a room, effectively leaving everyone in that room blind. Thus the name.

Good Blinders can darken an entire house or small building. Great Blinders can darken an entire skyscraper, mall or office complex. I’d even heard once about a Blinder who could create his own patch of darkness outside, in broad daylight. But surely that was just an urban legend.

“Anyone else?” I asked, and at first, I didn’t think he’d answer. The inner workings of his criminal empire were none of my business.

But then he leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest. “I may be missing a Jammer.”

“May? I guess he’s hard to keep tabs on, since he can’t be tracked?” Because something about a Jammer’s personal electromagnetic field scrambled his own energy signature, as well as those of anyone near him.

“She,” Ruben corrected. “And yes. Which is why she’s required to check in with her supervisor every night with a progress report on each project.”

Speaking of checking in… I set my phone on the table and stared at it, still waiting on word from Cam and Anne. “I take it she stopped checking in?”

“And stopped answering her phone. And if she’s been back to her apartment, we can’t tell it.”

“So why is she only maybe missing?”

“She requested some personal time off and isn’t due to check in for four more days. And since she can’t be tracked and has obviously managed to destroy her phone, there’s nothing we can do but wait for her to come back.”

“You know Tower has her, right? Along with your missing Blinder and probably the Binder who disappeared with the contracts he was working on.” And suddenly I realized we’d been alone together for at least twenty minutes without a single punch thrown. That had to be some kind of record.

He nodded. “That does seem to be the obvious conclusion. Tower’s gone entirely too far this time.”

I rolled my eyes. “Because you’ve never kidnapped anyone or bound someone against his or her will, or stolen blood for illicit purposes, or…”

He met my gaze unflinchingly. “Business decisions, all of them. But there are lines even I won’t cross, and selling Skills to the general populace is one of those.”

“Because it violates your personal moral code, or because you’re jealous that you didn’t think of it first?”

Ruben’s scowl deepened. “Passing out Skills to people who don’t know how to use them will lower the value of those with legitimate Skills to market, which—you may have noticed—is my bread and butter. And yours.”

Before I could figure out how to respond, his phone buzzed on the table. He picked it up, and in the second and a half that it took him to read the text message, his expression cycled through amusement and anger to…was that contemplation? He was considering something. Something I wasn’t going to like, based on the look of anticipation he turned my way when he slid his phone into his pocket and stood.

“We’ve got company.”

Before I could request details—before he could even get to the door—footsteps pounded up the stairs outside, light and fast, and the front door flew open. Michaela Cavazos stood in the doorway, knife in hand, beautiful mouth pressed into a thin, pale line, eyes blazing in fury.

Damn it. I did not have time for another catfight.

I stood and pulled my gun, but pointed it at the floor with the safety on—I could aim faster than she could cross the room, no contest.

“I told you to stay away from my husband.” She took two steps into the apartment and kicked the door closed.

“It’s kind of hard to stay away from him when he keeps following me.” I glanced at Cavazos to see him leaning against the kitchen peninsula, arms crossed over his chest, watching us with obvious amusement.

She came closer, and I raised the gun, aiming for her leg. “Don’t make me shoot you, Meika.”

“He won’t let you kill me.” She laughed, and the sound held an edge of madness. He’d pushed her a little too far, a little too often—and he probably didn’t even know it.

I shrugged. “Murder’s a lot easier than divorce. And he can’t divorce you, can he?”

Ruben laughed out loud, and I couldn’t quite make myself regret the warm note of satisfaction winding up my spine.

“Whore!” She came three steps closer, and I disengaged the safety. I didn’t want to kill her, but I wouldn’t hesitate to put a bullet in her thigh. Would he let this go that far?

“Ruben, tell her we aren’t sleeping together.”

He lifted one brow at me. “What you and I do together is none of Michaela’s business.”

I gaped at him. “She’s your wife.”

He nodded calmly. “And the details of my marital contract are none of your business.”

“Fine,” I said, relieved to see that Meika was as frustrated with his lack of cooperation as I was. “If you like the spheres of your life kept separate, tell her to go home. She’s the last thing we need to deal with right now.”

“Actually, she’s exactly what we need right now. Michaela, tell her what your Skill is.”