Page 74 of Alpha Queen
"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.
