CHAPTER 11
Chloe almost managed to stick to her initial plan to give Lucifer some space and to not be the one running back to him. She almost didn't drive to his place to find his penthouse empty.
A few days later, as she drives to work, her mind – once again – goes over the sight of his empty wardrobe. The Devil wasn't a light packer, but he almost took every single outfit he owned, so apparently, he decided to get away for a long time. Up to this point, some part of her was almost wondering if he even planned to get back from wherever he decided to escape to. She pulls into her parking spot at the station and gets out of her car without even realising it. She heads for her desk and hits its corner on the way. This effectively brings her back into the present moment. She curses under her breath.
"Fuck this!" She mutters. "I'm not going to be one running after him once more! Not this time!" She sits down and takes out a folder from the pile on her desk. She dumps it angrily. "All I need is to keep busy until I feel better and he comes back."
Despite all her resolves, a part of her can't help but jump and look at her phone when it beeps, or vibrates, hoping it's him writing to apologize or explain why he left. But each time, it's only a painful reminder that he bailed on her as the screen-saver on her phone – displaying him in the moonlight – lights up. Joe pulls her out of her thoughts and Chloe is almost glad for the interruption.
"You okay, Partner?"
"Yeah. Just a bit worried. That's all." She replies, not selling the part one bit.
"I'm sure you guys will be just fine." Joe quickly adds.
"How do you know I was worried about this?"
"Well outside the fact that you've been staring at your phone ever since you got here, and the edginess in your voice, I'm also a cop and detecting is kinda part of my resumé." He ends with a small smile.
"It's nothing." She says. "Just a minor fight. He'll be back soon."
"Are you trying to convince me or yourself?" He points at her screen. "But between me and you, you might want to change the picture on your phone. You can always use it again later when you guys made up."
"It's not mine. I mean he gave me the phone and the picture was on and didn't have time to change it yet." She explains.
"No explanation needed, Partner. Whatever works best for you."
"Joe..."
"Bethlee, Decker!" The Lieutenant calls out from the frame of her office door. "We have a case. And since Mr Morningstar decided not show up lately, you're both on this one. I've texted you the address."
"On it, Lieutenant!" Joe answers immediately. "Meet you at the car?"
"Yeah." Chloe looks away for a second. "I'll be there in a minute. There's something I have to do first.
"Sure."
Crime scene – Santa Monica Pier
"You know checking your screen every five minutes isn't going to bring him back to you faster." Joe tells her lightly.
"What?"
"Never mind. I see you took my advice?"
"Your advice?"
"You changed the screen-saver."
"Oh. Yeah." She puts her phone away. "No big deal. As you said, I can always put it back later. I wanted to change it anyway. It wasn't really work-appropriate." Then her phone goes off. She presses the answer symbol with a lightning speed and walks away from her temporary partner to get a bit of privacy. "Hey, Ella." She pauses. "Not even the slightest trail?" Another pause. "So he's really gone off the grid, I guess." She looks at Joe, her eyes glistening. "No, it's fine. Thanks anyway. Talk to you later."
Joe closes the distance to her and puts his hand on her shoulder. "You okay there? It sounded like bad news."
"No, it's fine." She replies.
Joe hesitates for a bit before he speaks again. "Take it from someone who's been there, running to him won't solve anything, especially if he decided to go under the radar..."
"Look, Joe, no offence, but you don't know him, you don't know me and we have an unsolved case on our hands so if you don't mind, I'd like to concentrate on my work." She harshly says, cutting his rambling short.
"Alright." He simply replies, taken aback by her response.
Once they've looked at the crime scene and gathered a few witnesses, Chloe decides to head back for the station to take some of their statements. Joe takes the opportunity to be alone with her to step closer, not yet invading her space.
"Detective Decker?" He carefully asks, going back to her official title.
Chloe turns back. "Yes?" She asks, surprised by the way he addressed her.
"I'm sorry I overstepped earlier. It wasn't my place to speak about this matter." He looks at her. When she doesn't say anything he continues. "It's just, I have been through a similar situation with my ex-wife. Let's just say that running after her didn't help at all our situation. This is what I meant when I said..."
"It's alright, Joe." Chloe interrupts him. "I shouldn't have snapped at you the way I did, though, as you said, you clearly overstepped." She smiles at him. "Truce?"
"Truce, Detective."
"Can you call me Chloe?" She replies. "We're partners after all, at least for now, so no need with this whole detective thing." She explains, hiding the real reason why she didn't want him to call her Detective.
"Very well, Chloe." He says, getting into the car.
A few weeks later
Chloe still hadn't heard back from neither Lucifer, Maze, nor Amenadiel and it was slowly eating her inside. She pushed herself to go from day to day, trying not to show her concern to anyone, especially not to Trixie. As far as the little girl knew, Lucifer had gone away for a family matter. And so far she managed to keep up appearances, at least during the day. The nights, on the other hand, were a completely different matter, but it was now better than what it was before. First, she cried a lot, almost to the point where she cried herself to sleep. But days after days, she cried less and less, mostly tossing and turning at night before she fell asleep until the pain she felt was barely a distant memory, slowly giving way to a burning anger towards the person she loves – or rather loved - and whom she thought loved her back. Slowly but surely her wound was closing, although it remained open under the surface. But it wasn't easy to deal with, to stop her brain from replaying it over and over, and since she couldn't simply remove her heart, she threw herself into her work, staying at the precinct up to 10 pm when Dan had Trixie, and Joe often stayed at the precinct with her, acting as some sort of moral support, not mentioning the subject, but still being there, just in case she needed someone. The only times he spoke of the Devil was just to ask if she had any news. But after a few denials, he didn't bother to breach the subject anymore.
Her now not-so-temporary partner had proven himself very efficient at work and somehow had made his way into her professional life full-time. Just like his desk had moved from the far corner of the bullpen to the one right next to her, going as far as taking Lucifer's chair, he had grown closer to Chloe, and he was now a very close friend of her.
Around 9:30 pm, Chloe was getting ready to leave the office to go home which she hoped would be empty. Although she cared for her room-mate, she wasn't in the mood to deal with Maze's habits tonight. It's not like she did want to go home anyway, but after a very strong hint from the Lieutenant that she was spending way too much time at work, given her current condition, she finally decided to leave her pile of paperwork for her next working day. Guess the mountain of paperwork came with a more efficient closing rate. Besides, she'd have plenty of time to deal with this once the Lieutenant eventually decides to put her on desk duty until it is time for her official maternity leave. She was heading for her car in the sub-parking lot, lost in her thoughts when she bumped into Joe. She gasped in surprise.
"Sorry, Chloe." Joe chuckles. "I didn't mean to startle you. You're leaving early today." He jokes.
"And you're leaving late." She banters.
"Touché." He smiles. "You're heading home I take it?"
"I am. And per the Lieutenant's orders, I am to stay away from the office for the next week or so. According to her, I spent way too much time in the office and I need some days off."
"I see." He walks beside her. "She's not wrong you know. I was concerned about this as well."
"I'm fine." She says. "But I guess a few days off won't harm me."
"They won't." He replies. "Any plans?"
"Not sure." She answers. "Truth be told, my flat isn't my happy place at the moment, at least when Trixie isn't home." She pauses. "I might go visit my Mom. I haven't seen her in a while."
"Sounds like a nice plan. How about we go and celebrate this well-deserved vacation?" Chloe looks back at him. "I know they're not of your own choosing. But like you said, it will do you good."
"I don't know..."
"Come on, Decker. Don't be a wet blanket. Live a little. My treat."
She sighs and Joe smiles widely, knowing he won this round. "Alright. But just for one drink."
"After you!"
O'Donnell Bar – A little past 11:30 pm
The two of them had relocated from the bar to a booth at the far corner of the room. Joe was on his second beer and Chloe was starting her fourth virgin mojito. Joe takes the last sip at his IPA.
"Last one for me, then I switched to Coke. Can't let you not-drink alone, can I?"
"Joe, you don't have to. I'm perfectly fine with you drinking beers. Besides, if I concentrate hard enough, I can almost taste the rum in the drink."
He chuckles. "I know I don't have to, but we're partners, and as such, I should support you in this alcohol-free crisis." He adds.
"So I've heard." Chloe answers, rather bitterly, and very sarcastic.
Joe almost immediately regrets his last comment. "I'm sorry." He apologizes. "I didn't mean to add salt to injury."
"Don't worry about it." Chloe says, refocusing her attention on him. "It's just me. Maybe I should just get over this whole thing and consider him gone for good. You know, move on with my life. It's been almost three months now. What are the odds of him coming back anyway."
"Well, maybe you should ask him directly. This way you'd know for sure what his end game is. If he has one."
"Weren't you the one who said chasing him would only make things worse?" She answers. "Besides, he isn't answering any of my calls anymore. And I stopped trying a while ago."
"I did say that." He scoots closer to her, not quite touching her yet. "But you're not 'chasing him', you're going there to talk to him and finally get some answers and some closure if things don't turn out well. There's a big difference."
"Maybe you're right." He gives her a you-know-I-am look. "But even if that could work, I'd still need to find him though. Maze won't help, Linda hasn't heard from him since he left and Ella tried to find him weeks ago but didn't hit any result."
"Can I offer my services? I'm off for the next days and sometimes a fresh set of eyes can help." He winks at her.
"I'm not sure."
"So that's a no?"
"That's a maybe, depending on a lot of things. But thanks anyway for offering. I appreciate it." She grabs her purse. "I should go home."
"Right." He answers, getting out of the booth to let her out. He stands there awkwardly until he finally reaches his decision and hugs her, surprising her.
Chloe freezes, kinda Lucifer did, the first time she hugged him. But she doesn't push Joe away. Neither does she step away from his body when he releases her, his face close to hers, their lips inching closer. That is until Chloe snaps out of it and clears her throat, breaking the moment.
"Ahem." She coughs, trying to deal with the awkwardness that follows this almost-kiss moment.
"Keep in touch?" Joe says.
"Yeah. Talk to you soon." Chloe says as she walks away. She turns right before she exits. "I had a great time. Thanks for the evening, Joe.
"You're welcome." He simply answers, smiling widely.
A couple of days later – Chloe's place
In the end, Penelope was at a convention when Chloe wanted to visit so she didn't leave her house. She was now seated on the carpet, many maps open around her and some sort of huge paper boards filled with a list of possible locations where Lucifer could be on her wall. This was NOT how she had planned to spend her days off, but between her mum not being available and Trixie wanting to spend the week at her Dad's because her cousins were going to be there, she had to keep herself busy, and somehow Joe's previous statement stuck in her mind, so she made good use of her skills. She puts the papers down in frustration and takes a sip at her alcohol-free beer. She almost drops the bottle as she hears the doorbell. The thought that he finally decided to come back snakes into her brain, despite the many reasons why it won't be him. Still, she holds her breath as she opens the door. But she isn't as disappointed as she thought she'd be when she sees Joe's features on her porch.
"Hi." She says, moving away from the door. "Come in."
"Evening." Joe says as he steps in.
"Not that I don't want to see you, but why are you here?"
"Well, you said you'd talk to me soon and I haven't heard from you since we went out so I decided to check up on you."
"Yeah. I was..." She unconsciously turns to her stack of papers on the floor. "… busy."
"I can see that. Any luck yet?"
"Not yet." She walks over to her drink. "Want one? I only have the alcohol-free ones, but their taste isn't that bad."
"Sure." He grabs one lying on the counter. "I like a no-so-fresh ginger ale just as much as the next guy." He hands her a rolled magazine. "I found it this morning. Maybe it'll help with your research."
She takes the magazine and sees the name of the tabloid on the back cover. She frowns in disgust as she realizes it's the same one that published the story after her Dad's funeral. Then she sees the front page and can't breathe for a second. Her free hand balls into a fist and she feels a mix of anger, pain as tears well up in her eyes. She takes a deep breath and takes another look at the cover. Here on the front page of a people magazine – the worse kind to be precise – was a picture of Lucifer drinking a shot of whatever alcohol he chose off the body – right above the skirt line – of a red-haired woman. She seemed to be one of the dancers of the club and the people surrounding him didn't mind the party going M-rated at all. It had the following title: "Lucifer Morningstar, the glamorous – and recently single – owner of Lux decided to leave the City of Angels for Sin City and opens his new club Babylon with one of the wildest parties Las Vagas has ever seen."
Chloe throws the magazine on the floor and rushes to her room. "The bastard!" She mutters as she slams her door shut.
"Chloe?" Joe calls out. "I'm sorry you had to find out this way but I thought..."
Chloe almost runs into him as she exits her room, travel bag in hand, her eyes filled with rage and pain.
"Does your offer to help me still stand?" She simply asks.
Joe remains silent for a second, not sure of what just happened. "Ahem. Of course. I'll drive." He simply says.
"Thanks." She replies before closing her front door.
A few hours later – A bit outside of Vegas.
To say the four-hour drive to Las Vegas had been awkward was an understatement. Chloe had been very quiet and refused to look anywhere else than through the window. Joe figured she was replaying what she read in the tabloid. At some point, Joe couldn't stand the silence anymore. Even the radio wasn't enough to get rid of the heavy atmosphere.
"Chloe." He calls out. "Chloe!" He tries, louder.
"Yes?" She says as she snaps back into reality.
"We're almost in Vegas. Do you have the address where he is staying?"
"No." She smirks. "But my guess is he's probably staying at the most expensive hotel in Vegas."
"You know how tabloids are. Maybe this isn't what it looks like."
"Right." She replies. "I guess we'll know once we find the hotel."
After a few tries, they finally reached the top-rated palace in Vegas, and this one was across the street from Babylon. It was almost 2 am as Chloe made her way to the front desk of the lobby.
"Hi."
"Good morning, Miss. How can I help?"
"I'm looking for Lucifer Morningstar. Do you have his room number?"
"I'm sorry but I can't give out this kind of information."
"You're sure about this? I know he is staying here." She says as she discreetly shows the concierge her badge.
"Yes, Miss, I am sure." The guy says. "We value the privacy of our customer above all else." He smirks. "You want his room number, get a warrant, Officer."
Chloe puts her jacket over her badge and walks away. Joe decides to walk over to the desk and looks him straight in the eyes.
"You sure about this decision, Pal?" He smiles darkly. "I mean a lot of bad things could happen if words got out you're hiding drugs or stolen goods." He looks back at Chloe. "My colleague here needs this room number. You give us the number and I'll make sure the raid forces don't get that terrorist alert for drugs and trafficked antiquities. We get what we want and you keep the peace and quiet of your palace." The concierge looks back at him, unsure of what to do. "All I need to do is press this button and the call goes out." Joe says.
"Wait!" The concierge says. He takes a magnetic card and swipes it in the machine and he puts it near the keyboard. "I can't give you the room number, but I guess what happens when I go to the printer to fix it is up to you. Have a good day, Sir."
Joe smiles as he sees the concierge leaves. He looks at the screen and takes the magnetic card he just swiped. Ever since his time with Vice in Chicago, he hadn't used this particular skill set and it felt good to use them for once. He walks back to Chloe sitting in the lobby. "There you go." He says as he hands her the card. "It's room 10366, penthouse suite, top floor."
"How did get this?"
"Magic?" He jokes.
"I'm serious. And please don't tell me he owed you a favour."
Joe becomes serious again. "No, he didn't. But I did use my charms and good looks."
"Joe, not now, please."
He raises his hands in surrender. "I told him that if he didn't give us what you asked, it was possible a SWAT team suddenly barged in to search the hotel for terrorist-related things. Like antiquities or drugs."
"And if he refused?" She asks.
"Well, I would have given it a try." He puts his hand on her shoulder. "Now get into this elevator and go see him. I'll be down at the bar, shall you need anything."
"Thanks." Chloe says, heading back for the elevator.
103rd Floor – Suite 66
After many hesitations, Chloe finally reaches the room 66. She fidgets with the key card, still not sure, whether she should knock, or just open the door. Her hand makes the decision for her and she puts the card in the slot, almost hoping the concierge scanned it wrong so she'd have an excuse not to face whatever is in the room. But the light flashes green and the door clicks open. She leaves her hand on the handle.
"I could always go back down, say the card didn't work and no one would know I walked away." She mentally slaps herself for such cowardice. "Come on Chloe! Face him, or you'll keep wondering what could have been." And with that last sentence, she pushed the door open and silently steps into the penthouse. She immediately looks at the couch, hoping he'd be there, sulking and trying to get himself drunk because he was too sad about leaving her. But at the same time, he didn't seem to be too bothered by that if the cover of the magazine was any clue. She walks further into the suite and hears indistinct chatter, giggles and some breathy noises coming from the huge bedroom on the other side of the penthouse.
As if with some twisted will of her own, she heads for the source of the noises. The closer she gets, the more her brain knows exactly what's happening in there, especially when she hears his accent and the female giggles. But she is a Detective so she needs to see it with her own eyes to believe it. And until she sees it for real - just like she didn't want to believe he was the Devil until she saw him - her brain refuses to believe what it hears. And so she proceeds until she reaches the room, hoping for the best but expecting the worst.
Sorry for the long time between the updates. Got a bit of a writer's block on this one. The story is almost complete. There will only be a few more chapters left. Started on a new one to get my mind off this one, so stay tune if you wish to discover it soon ;).
It's a short one I know, but soon I will close it :).
PS : Please don't hate me XD. And thanks for sticking to the story so far :D.
