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CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

APOLLO

T hirty minutes after the meeting, the teams assembled.

Apollo stood in the driveway, watching as Ares and his squad headed east while Strider and Zeke led another group west. Cherry insisted on joining Apollo's team with Silas, Regan, and Thomas, her fierce maternal energy radiating like heat from her slight frame.

"Let's go," Apollo commanded.

The exclusive neighborhood lay eerily quiet as they walked to the first property on their list, a sprawling colonial with manicured gardens. Apollo signaled for his team to spread out, covering the perimeter while he and Cherry stepped up to the front door.

A middle-aged woman answered, her eyes widening at the sight of Apollo's imposing figure.

"Good evening, ma'am," Apollo said, his charm slipping into place like a well-worn mask. "I apologize for the intrusion, but we're conducting a neighborhood security check. Have you noticed anything unusual? Strangers or suspicious vehicles, possibly?"

"Uh… I don't know. I don't think so," she stammered. "Are you a police officer? Did something happen?"

"My house is a few streets down on Wolf Place-"

"Oh, the big one behind the trees, with the large gate with a 'W' on it?"

Apollo gave a patient smile. "Yes, ma'am."

"You know, we've always been curious about that place. We moved in fifteen years ago and have never really seen anyone come or go. Everyone I've spoken to says they've never seen it for sale or anything. Honestly, we weren't sure if anyone even lived there."

Apollo's wolf growled.

Go. Find mate.

"The land has been in our family for generations."

"Have you seen anything or not?" Cherry asked.

Apollo turned and glared at her before turning back to the homeowner, whose mouth hung open in shock.

"I apologize for my mother-in-law," said Apollo. "We just had someone break in, and it's left her a bit upset. Something very precious was stolen."

"Oh my goodness, when was this?"

"On October twenty-third."

The woman thought for a moment, and then she shook her head. "No. I'm sorry, I didn't see anything."

Apollo nodded. "Thank you. If you can think of anything, will you please call?" He pulled out a business card and handed it to her.

She stared at the thick matte black card, running her fingers over it. "Do the police have any leads?"

Apollo's wolf barked, tired of wasting time.

"I have my security looking into it. Thank you for your time."

Before the woman could ask any more questions, he turned with Cherry and marched down the steps.

"Maybe I should do the questioning," said Cherry. "I could help people remember better."

"Maybe you should go home. Your people skills are-"

"Are what?" she snapped.

Apollo looked at her, and his wolf growled. "Are better left for people guilty of doing something worth having their head bitten off for."

Cherry looked at him and huffed. They joined the others at the end of the driveway and headed for the next house.

The pattern repeated at each house: polite questions, careful observations, and ultimately, dead ends. By the fourth property, Cherry's patience wore thinner than a piece of paper in a thunderstorm.

Apollo's team moved through the neighborhood with methodical precision, each property revealing nothing but ordinary lives. The fifth house on their list sat back from the road, partially obscured by ancient oak trees. As they moved closer, Apollo touched Cherry's arm.

"Wait," he said softly. "Something's off."

Cherry froze, her eyes narrowing as she scanned the property. "What?"

Apollo inhaled deeply, his enhanced senses picking through the layers of aromas. "No one's been in or out of this place for more than a week. But there's something else..." He frowned, concentrating. "A faint trace of chemicals. Industrial-grade cleaners."

Silas appeared at Apollo's side, his hand resting on the weapon concealed in his jacket. "Windows are covered. Security cameras at every corner, but I don't think they're on."

"Excessive for this neighborhood," Apollo murmured. "Also, look at the lawn. It's overgrown. Even for this time of year, it hasn't been cut in weeks. Same with the hedges." He signaled to Thomas and the others to circle around back while he, Cherry, and Apollo headed for the front door.

No lights emanated from inside the house, and the whole building felt utterly silent. He rang the doorbell, and it echoed hollowly inside off the walls. No footsteps sounded, no lights flickered on. Apollo rang again, then knocked firmly.

"No one's home," Cherry stated, impatience edging her voice.

Apollo scanned the property once more. "Or they don't want to be disturbed." He backed up, examining the brick exterior. It wasn't rundown, but it hadn't been cleaned in a long time. Something strange for someone who had paid almost five million dollars for a house.

He pulled out his phone and scrolled down the list he'd made. "This place was purchased eight months ago by a shell corporation. Paid in cash."

"That's not suspicious at all," Cherry muttered.

Apollo moved to a window, peering through a tiny gap in the thick curtains. The interior remained dark, but he made out nothing but pristine surfaces. Too pristine.

"This place has been cleaned recently. Thoroughly." He turned to Silas. "Get the others. We're going in."

They regrouped at the rear of the property, hidden from street view by a high privacy fence on all three sides.

"No alarms visible," Regan reported. "But there's a keypad entry."

Apollo studied the door for a moment, then stepped back and, with a swift, powerful kick, shattered the lock. The door swung inward, revealing a darkened kitchen. The team moved in, weapons drawn.

The interior smelled of bleach and industrial solvents. Every surface gleamed with unnatural cleanliness. They moved room by room, finding nothing but minimal furniture and bare walls.

"Basement." Apollo pointed to a reinforced metal door. Unlike the rest of the house, the door sported multiple locks and reinforced hinges.

Apollo's wolf paced, hackles raised.

Regan worked quickly, his lock-picking skills making short work of the sophisticated mechanisms. As the last tumbler clicked into place, Apollo pulled the door open, revealing a steep staircase descending into darkness.

The scent hit him immediately: blood, fear, and something else. Something familiar.

"River," Cherry whispered, her voice breaking. "She was here."

Apollo descended the stairs first, heart hammering against his ribs. He reached the bottom and felt around for a light switch. He flicked it on, and everyone else filed down the stairs.

The basement stretched out larger than expected, divided into several rooms by stark white walls. Clinical. Sterile. Like a laboratory or hospital ward.

"Check everything," Apollo commanded.

They each took a different section. The main room contained a metal table bolted to the floor.

Though not a drop of blood appeared anywhere, the fragrance lingered underneath the cleaners.

Medical equipment lined one wall, monitors, IV stands, and instruments whose purpose Apollo didn't want to contemplate.

"In here," Cherry called, her voice echoing from an adjoining room.

Apollo rushed to join her, finding her standing frozen in the doorway of what appeared to be a bedroom. A narrow bed sat against one wall, its sheets perfectly straight. Beside it stood a small table with a lamp. The walls were bare.

"This is where they kept her," Cherry whispered.

Apollo moved through the space, his senses straining for any trace of his mate. But the overwhelming odor of bleach and chemicals masked everything. Someone had meticulously erased all evidence.

Apollo said, fury building inside. "They've sanitized everything."

Thomas and Silas appeared in the doorway. "Boss, you need to see this."

Silas led them to another room, smaller than the others. A desk stood against one wall, its surface empty. A chair sat perfectly centered before it. On the opposite wall hung a large corkboard, completely bare.

"Look." Thomas pointed to tiny holes in the corkboard's surface.

Apollo examined the puncture marks.

"They've taken everything," Regan said from behind them. "Every room is the same. Cleaned top to bottom. No personal items, no papers, nothing."

Apollo's fist slammed into the wall, the impact creating a crater in the drywall. "Damn it!"

Cherry placed a hand on his arm.

Regan returned from checking the upstairs. "Boss, the entire house is the same. Not a fingerprint, not a hair, not even dust. It's like no one ever lived here."

"But they did," Apollo said, moving through the space with renewed purpose. "And they were careful. Too careful."

"Check for hidden compartments," Apollo ordered. "False walls, hollow spaces under the floors, anything."

For over thirty minutes, the team spread out, tapping walls and examining baseboards, running their fingers along the seams of the wooden floorboards.

"Nothing," Regan reported. "If there was anything here, they took it with them."

Apollo's frustration mounted as he moved to the windows, examining the thick blackout curtains. "They didn't just clean this place," he murmured. "They erased it."

Cherry joined him, her face tight with anxiety. "But why leave it standing? Why not burn it down or destroy it if they were so concerned about leaving evidence?"

"Because that would draw attention," Apollo replied. "This way, it just looks like another empty luxury home. Nothing suspicious about that in this neighborhood."

He pulled out his phone and redialed Ares. His twin answered on the first ring.

"We found it," Apollo said without preamble. "The house on Oakridge Place. They kept her here, but they've cleared out. The place has been professionally sanitized, no evidence."

"On our way," Ares replied, his voice taut with urgency.

Apollo pocketed his phone and turned to his team. "Keep searching."