A pale stripe of morning light cut across the polished floor. Everything in the room was perfectly in place, untouched except for him, lying motionless, the only disruption in the order he'd built. A quiet sound at the door made him stiffen.
Footsteps? Impossible. No one had a key to his apartment.
His hand darted beneath the pillow before thought could catch up. The cold weight of the gun steadied his shaking pulse as he swung it up toward the door. Dimitri's finger hovered on the trigger. His green eyes narrowed into slits, fever-bright from a night bled dry of sleep.
The door banged open, and Lilith, Jaxon, Melissa, and Hayden spilled inside, arms full of coffee, notebooks, and laptops, their voices overlapping in cheerful disarray.
Four pairs of eyes locked on the gun pointed at them.
Lilith was the first to recover. Her copper hair caught the morning light, fiery like everything else about her. Even in jeans and a loose blouse, she looked perfectly composed, as though she'd stepped out of a magazine instead of barging into his apartment.
She lifted her coffee like a white flag, "Jesus, Dimitri! Most people greet their friends with a 'good morning', not a firing squad."
Jaxon let out a low whistle, grinning as he set his coffee on the dresser. Dark hair falling carelessly across his forehead, leather jacket slung on like a second skin, his easy grin refused to acknowledge the danger still lingering in the air.
His light brown eyes gleamed with that familiar mischief, more amused than alarmed, "If I had known you slept with a gun next to you, I'd have brought champagne. Very honeymoon chic."
Melissa's glasses slipped down the bridge of her nose as her outrage burst out. A flush rose on her pale cheeks, a strand of sleek black hair falling loose as her obsidian eyes more used to cross-examining witnesses than staring down a loaded gun blazed.
She snapped, "Are you insane? You could've shot us! Who does that?"
"Apparently me," Dimitri muttered, voice hoarse.
Hayden, taller than the rest and steady as ever, stepped forward. His short black hair was neatly combed, his brown eyes holding the kind of patience that could coax words from the most stubborn child.
He didn't raise his voice, didn't need to, "Lower it. We're not your enemies."
Dimitri's hand trembled once before he set the gun down on the nightstand with a dull click, "How did you even get in?"
"You either left the door open, or we broke the window, or we picked the lock. Pick your conspiracy," Jaxon shrugged casually.
Dimitri didn't even need to think to know which one was true.
Lilith scoffed, stepping closer, "You look like hell. Honestly, I don't know whether to drag you out of bed or call an exorcist."
"Exorcist sounds about right," Melissa snapped, still bristling.
"Nah," Jaxon chuckled, hands sliding into his pockets. "He's just possessed by the ghost of sleepless nights. Classic Dimitri."
A ghost of a smile tugged at Dimitri's lips, but it didn't last.
Lilith placed a coffee on the bedside table, her copper hair catching the light. "Here, you go. I figured you'd forgotten how to function as a human."
He took it with a tired nod while she faltered at how hollowed-out he looked.
Dimitri took a sip and grimaced. Anything sweet, he could stomach, hell, he needed it. Bitterness, though? He reserved that for whiskey alone, and only when he was thinking too much or sinking too deep. Coffee, in his book, was supposed to carry sugar like salvation.
He lowered the cup, "Let me guess. Jaxon made the order. Black, bitter, and soul draining, just the way he likes it."
Jaxon lifted his hands in mock surrender. "Touché but it's not me this time. That was Hayden's idea."
Hayden said, "You need it. You're running on fumes, and I knew you wouldn't admit it though we can all see it."
Dimitri's gaze flicked up to Hayden's. They were both psychologists, but Hayden worked with children while Dimitri worked with monsters, and yet somehow, Hayden always seemed to know when the ghosts were winning.
Lilith leaned against the edge of the table, crossing her long legs, "You look human, but just barely. Something happened yesterday, didn't it?"
"I saw a few ghosts," Dimitri said, his voice low. "And a few lies."
Melissa groaned, "Great. Cryptic Dimitri is back. You know, some of us are not fluent in ominous one-liners."
"That's because you like answers more than questions," Jaxon said smoothly, slipping into the chair by Dimitri's desk like he owned the place. "It's why you're a lawyer, not a detective."
Melissa glared. "And it's why people trust me in court instead of thinking I'm sleeping with half the jury."
Jaxon grinned, unbothered. "I don't kiss and tell."
"Please," Melissa shot back. "You kiss and post."
Hayden sighed from the armchair he'd claimed, "Children, please. Can we not do this while Dimitri looks like death warmed over?"
Lilith tilted her head, watching Dimitri over the rim of her coffee. "He has looked like death before. This is worse."
Dimitri tried to wave her off. "I'm fine." The word cracked as it left his mouth. It was very unconvincing.
Hayden's voice was quiet, but it cut through the room. "No, you're not. You didn't sleep. Your hands are still trembling from the adrenaline, and you're pale enough that Melissa's probably about to write your will for you."
Melissa muttered, "I already drafted a rough version in my head."
Jaxon chuckled, leaning back. "Leave me his vinyl collection and maybe the gun though knowing Dimitri, it's probably married to him already."
Melissa rolled her eyes. "Honestly, who sleeps with a gun next to them? That's not normal. That's therapy-needing behavior. You're a psychologist, you should know that."
Dimitri gave a humorless smile. "Therapy doesn't stop bullets."
Lilith arched a brow, "That's definitely going on a world's most depressing coffee mug."
The tension cracked into laughter but when it faded, Lilith's voice softened, "You know, you can tell us when you're drowning, right? We're not just here to watch you sink."
For a second, Dimitri almost told them everything, almost, but he stopped those impulses quickly, "Don't worry. If I drown, I'll leave you a note with good quotes for your articles."
Lilith didn't laugh this time; she sighed as though expecting the answer. Dimitri stared down into his coffee, unable to meet their eyes.
Jaxon leaned forward with a conspiratorial look. "Speaking of quotes, Lilith, didn't you say you got tipped off about something weird? That is why we're here in the first place, well, aside from making sure he is still breathing."
Lilith looked at Jaxon, "Oh, you mean the case details that mysteriously landed in my inbox?"
Dimitri's gaze snapped to her, "What do you mean?"
Lilith shook her head as she crossed to the desk and flipped open her laptop. The screen lit her face in a pale glow as she typed in the password.
"You all look too comfortable," she murmured, "Want to see something that'll ruin your day?"
Jaxon leaned over immediately, his elbow brushing hers. "Depends. Is it a picture of me looking flawless? Though that would ruin y'all's day not mine."
"It's a body," she said flatly, pulling up the image and tilting the screen toward him.
Jaxon recoiled with a half-grimace, half-grin. "Christ, Lil. You could've warned me before throwing corpse-of-the-day into my face."
Melissa squinted at the photo from where she was standing. "Wait, is that an actual dead body?" Her voice pitched higher, nerves cutting through her usual sass.
"Looks like it," Lilith said with an eerie calm, as though she were reporting on the weather.
"Someone's been killed again," Melissa exhaled, shaking her head.
"No, it's not new. This is the second victim," Dimitri's voice cut in. His gaze was locked on the photo, frowning.
Hayden, who had been silent, leaned over Lilith's shoulder. His eyes lingered on the corner of the image. "Hold on, what's that?" He tapped the screen gently. "Those swirls....with the white grains in them?"
Everyone looked at the photo, then toward Dimitri who hadn't moved, but whose jaw had tightened ever so slightly.
Jaxon's voice sounded, "Yeah. What the hell is that supposed to be?"
Dimitri hesitated but then decided to mention it. "It's a signature. Thanatos' signature. One the public never knew existed." His fingers began a steady, restless drumming on the table. "And now the copycat's using it."
The table went still, the only sound the dull, steady rhythm of Dimitri's fingers drumming against the wood.
Even Melissa, usually the first to fire back with a quip, lowered her voice to a whisper, "But if nobody knew about it, how could someone else?"
Dimitri's jaw tightened. Guilt pressed against his ribs, the urge to tell them the truth clawing at him. They deserved answers but answers came with danger, and he would never, could never, drag them deeper into this. His fingers kept tapping, betraying what he wouldn't say aloud.
"That's what we still haven't figured out," he said finally.
Hayden's gaze flicked to Dimitri's hand, then to his face, but he did not say anything. He let it pass.
Melissa spoke up, dragging everyone's attention, "But why Lilith? Was it because she's your friend or because she's one of the best reporters in the city? Because if it's the second, then whoever sent this was trying to make sure it reached the news."
Lilith stiffened but didn't flinch. "And if it's the first," she added herself, "then the message was meant for you, Dimitri."
The words pressed down on him. He drummed his fingers again without realizing, the muted thrum filling the pause until he forced himself to stop.
"Either way, we need to know where it came from." He pulled out his phone, snapping photos of the email and the attached picture. "I'll try to trace the sender, but" He exhaled through his nose. "I'll need Axel to run it through his side. He has access I don't."
"Axel," Jaxon muttered with a crooked grin. "Haven't heard that name in a while. Haven't had to put up with his dramatics either."
Dimitri pressed the call button and, after a few rings, Axel's voice burst through the speaker, loud and brimming with irritation. "You know, Dimitri, one day you're going to call me at a normal hour. A human hour. Do you have any idea what time it is?"
"It's eight in the morning," Dimitri deadpanned.
"Exactly! The sacred hour when decent people are still in bed, catching the last threads of their dreams and here you are, ruining mine. I was dreaming I was on a beach, surrounded by waiters serving me mimosas."
Jaxon smirked, leaning back. "Yeah, he hasn't changed."
"Wait, was that Jaxon?" Axel's tone snapped awake, halfway between surprise and mock accusation. "Of course it's you. Leather jacket still glued to your back, or did you finally donate it to some poor soul in need of a personality?"
Jaxon snorted. "Still got it. Still better looking than you in it."
"Oh please," Axel groaned dramatically. "Dimitri, hang up before my blood pressure spikes."
"Both of you, shut up," Dimitri said, his patience thinning. He angled the phone closer. "Axel, I just sent you photos. An email, attached with a picture. It was sent to Lilith."
That sobered Axel's tone instantly. There was a brief silence where he could have been checking the email. "Lilith, huh? Could mean they wanted it in the news cycle or maybe they knew she's close to you."
Melissa crossed her arms, "So, which is it? Are we in danger because we're close to him, or is Lilith just the best way to get attention?"
Axel's voice hummed through the speaker, half-distracted as he clicked away at his end. "We'll try tracing the email. Not to mention, Dimitri, you got a picture yesterday and now Lilith. That's two in less than twenty-four hours. Either someone's got a flair for dramatic timing, or they're circling your little circle."
The room went dead still. Four sets of eyes snapped to Dimitri.
Melissa's glasses slid down her nose. "Yesterday?"
Lilith's voice sharpened. "You got a picture too?"
Dimitri averted his eyes, "It's part of the case. Confidential."
"Bullshit," Lilith snapped, "You saw me pull up a corpse on my screen and didn't think that was the moment to mention you got the same thing yesterday?"
"Technically it wasn't the same thing so it might not be from the same person."
Jaxon pointed a finger at him, "I wear a badge too, Dimitri. I know what 'confidential' means. But this?" He tapped the desk near the laptop. "This was in her inbox. That's not just classified, that's personal. What if one of us gets a picture tomorrow? Or before the day's even over?"
Hayden didn't raise his voice, but the truth of his words hit harder, "You think you're protecting us, Dimitri but all you're doing is keeping us blind, and blind people stumble straight into the fire."
"The photo I got yesterday," Dimitri began, "shows a girl walking in an alley and in the shadows behind her seems to be a person, waiting in hiding. I think it's the copycat killer stalking someone, but the picture came so dark and blurry it is impossible to tell out any features right now. No new body has been found yet so hopefully the girl stays alive until we locate her. For now, I don't know who sent it."
Lilith's brow furrowed. "Wait, you think the same person sent both emails? The one you got yesterday and mine today?"
"Look, I've got people tracing the email as we speak," Axel said, voice carrying easily over the line. "But don't hold your breath for instant results. Whoever sent it this way, email instead of physically like they did with you, clearly has confidence, so it could take longer than a few minutes. The picture you sent me, though, should be clearer by the end of the day. Agent Carver will be bringing it to me, and we could finally see what's really going on there."
Jaxon raised an eyebrow. "So, we just sit here and stew? Perfect. I love my morning coffee with a side of suspense."
"Patience is a virtue, Jaxon," Axel shot back, playfully.
Dimitri's green eyes swept over the group. "Axel, while you're at it, vet the prison staff carefully. We need to map out Thanatos' connections."
He didn't utter the real name, no one publicly knew Thanatos' real name yet and he would like to keep it that way for now. The hint Kian had dropped lingered in his mind, but he tucked it away, deciding it was better to watch, think, and wait.
A low curse muttered from Axel's side of the line made the group glance at the phone.
"I swear, Dimitri, when I find whoever's stirring trouble in my prison, I'll show them how pleasant hell can be in comparison."
There was a dark chuckle beneath his words, a reminder that his carefree, chatty demeanor only surfaced when things weren't personal. Terror Penitentiary had been a family legacy for generations, and now someone was testing it and him.
The friends exchanged glances, this was a side of Axel they had never seen.
They'd seen him a few times before, always with that careless, almost dramatic air, but only Dimitri and Jaxon had worked with him closely. They knew him as brilliant, capable, and a little over-the-top but now, through his voice, a hint of his edge surfaced: a reckless streak laced with lethal seriousness, showing just how far he would go when the situation demanded it.
Axel's voice broke through the line, teasing. "Wait a minute! None of you have work today or did you all just call in sick to sit with Dimitri?"
Jaxon snorted, "Maybe. Don't judge."
Melissa rolled her eyes, "We just didn't want to leave him alone with his charming paranoia. You should see what he looks like right now."
Lilith grinned, "Yeah, someone has to make sure he doesn't turn into a full-on recluse before noon."
Axel sighed loudly, "The world keeps spinning without you, I guess. My prison, though? That's still my kingdom. I can't exactly call in sick because someone decided to send creepy pictures."
Dimitri allowed himself a ghost of a smile. "Noted."
Lilith teased. "You get to spend your day in prison while the rest of us wrestle with normal life."
Axel's laugh cut through the line, "Normal's overrated. You're all welcome to join me. I've got paperwork to terrorize before the day ends."
Jaxon leaned back, grinning. "Yeah, good luck trying to drag Lilith into your prison. She'd probably have them all filing reports for her by lunch."
Lilith's copper hair caught the morning light as she waved a hand, mock offended. "Excuse me? I'd have them respecting my glory or at least my caffeine addiction."
Melissa laughed. "I think I'd last ten minutes before losing my mind in that place. Dimitri, we are going to make sure you don't wander off and get any more photos on your own today."
"Agreed," Hayden added firmly, "Today's going to be chill. We keep him distracted, make him focus on something other than murder and mystery."
Axel's voice softened, "Fine. Have your fun, but I'll be checking in and Dimitri, keep the coffee coming for yourself. You'll need it."
Dimitri sipped his coffee, letting the warmth settle in his chest. His green eyes swept over the group, lingering on each friend. They were teasing, laughing, and deliberately keeping the conversation light.
The way they'd all called off work, no questions asked, just to be here, to make sure he wasn't left alone in his spiral, it was a fragile thread of normalcy in the chaos surrounding the case, a sense of care he hadn't let himself feel in a long while. A strange ache of gratitude surfaced in him.
Sunlight spilled across the room. For the first time that morning, Dimitri let himself relax a little. His friends had claimed the day, insisting it would be calm, and if they had anything to say about it, he would focus on them instead of the shadows creeping at the edges of his mind.
But even as the laughter carried and the morning stretched lazily on, Dimitri knew the night would bring its storm. For now, they teased, drank coffee, and lingered in the sunlight but tonight, the work would continue.