***
Apollo
He could still feel his heart racing its way out of his chest.When Apollo had sensed Rocko’s sudden pain, he nearly ripped the door off its hinges to get to him, prepared to tear any threat apart, limb from limb.
Waves of relief flowed over him once he’d confirmed for himself that Rocko wasn’t physically injured.Huh.It seemed Tom hadn’t simply taken off on his wife and young daughter.This had turned into an urgent search-and-rescue mission, and they’d start with Levy Construction.
“According to the police report, there was no sign of foul play or leads, and after a couple of weeks, the case lost steam.Tom was lumped into the dredges of society, men who abandoned their families and responsibilities and took off for greener pastures,” Ace said.“There was little interest in finding him.”
“It’s a sad fact that the percentage of men abandoning their girlfriends, wives, and children is ever growing,” Renee said, and Apollo could hear the sadness in her voice.
“Scum,” Hendrix growled.
“Assholes,” Griffin agreed.“What kind of man does shit like that?”
“Not a real man,” Blade said.
“One who deserves to have his bell rung,” Ace growled.
“Agreed,” Apollo said.“Right now, we need to get eyes on Levy Construction.I want to gather as much information as possible on the owner, employees, families, and contacts.Hell, I want to know every step they take.Who they associate with, what they do at two a.m.when they think no one’s watching.”
“On it,” Griffin said as he checked the gun he had strapped around his ankle, hidden in his boot.“Want to take a car ride, Rocko?This should be right up your alley.A little recon, Detective?”
“Definitely,” Rocko agreed.“Let me go get my Glock, it’s locked up in the trailer.Maybe with any luck, I can catch a stray direction or impression once we get to the location.I’d love to get my hands on the work truck Tom drove in that picture.He’d likely been using it to get to work that day when he was kidnapped.”
“How do we know which one he was driving?”Jagger asked.“I’m sure they have more than one work truck.”
“Wait,” Rocko said as he reached for the box with Tom’s belongings.“Here it is.”
Apollo looked at the picture Rocko handed to him of Tom standing in front of his work truck.
“Seventy-nine.It’s right here on the side of the truck,” Apollo confirmed.“Helpful.”
“I’ll take any help we can get,” Rocko chuckled.
“Yes, let’s go have a look around,” Hendrix said.
“You coming along?”Griffin asked the resident hippie.
“Hell yeah.You two might need backup.”
“Backup?I’m not planning on confronting anyone today,” Rocko said.
“Okay, diversion then.When you need to go looking for that truck, I can pretend to be a customer or some shit,” Hendrix stated.
“Whatever, come on,” Griffin chuckled.
Hendrix was always worried about his contribution to the team, as he considered himself less capable than the others without an active mutation.
“Report in when you arrive,” Apollo ordered.
“Will do,” Rocko said, and Apollo grabbed his hand as he walked by, pulling him close.“And don’t go doing anything stupid.”
“Me.”Rocko feigned indignation.“Stupid.”
“You know what I mean.You almost gave me a heart attack this morning, so for my sanity, be careful.”
Rocko flashed that sexy damn grin of his.
