A/N: Special thanks to my wonderful beta-reader, TempestJuvano!

Chapter 10 – We are now at the finish line, aren't we?

Chloe was in one of the conference rooms with a laptop and a bunch of documents, which covered the huge table in front of her. She was reviewing the call history and emails of Wayne Price, Vincent Skalbeck, and some of their other co-workers. They had received the warrant in the morning. She immediately threw herself into work – she needed the distraction anyway.

Her previous conversation with Lucifer echoed in her mind almost constantly. Sometimes it seemed quite unbelievable to her that she had brought herself to have this conversation with him. That she had shared this – this strange, naughty desire with him. She felt as if that conversation had changed everything.

When she closed her eyes, she could still see Lucifer's searching gaze, which seemed to penetrate her soul. She should have been happy that he agreed on this. Hell, he should have been happy that she had offered him the opportunity of a threesome. But – he didn't seem happy. He usually made jokes, hints, and innuendoes about them sleeping together, with unveiled glee and excitement. Why had he seemed, she wondered with a sense of deep confusion – why had Lucifer seemed so…sad? She remembered looking into his eyes, as he tried to hide the sorrow they held, and she was bewildered.

Chloe tried to focus back on work. She finished going through the call list and found nothing, so she switched to the emails. There had got to be something in them. She blinked at the screen, as she scrolled through mail after mail.

Just then, a subtle, familiar noise caught her attention: the soft thumps of a pair of very expensive shoes on the precinct's floor. She raised her head and saw Lucifer's tall figure appear in the open doorway. His steps were calm, yet it seemed as if some kind of tension was radiating from his posture. He was wearing one of his elegant light grey three-piece suits with a burgundy dress shirt and a neatly arranged pocket square.

"Good morning, Detective," he greeted her as if their previous conversation had never happened. It was somehow reassuring and unsettling at the same time. "What are you working on?" he asked nonchalantly as he sat on the swivel chair next to Chloe and spun around a few times.

"We got the warrant. I'm going through Mr Price's and some of his co-workers' phone calls and emails. Do you want to help?"

"Gladly," he answered, rolling closer to the laptop with his chair. Like Chloe, Lucifer was in need of some distraction too.

He leaned forward a little bit to have a closer look on the computer and his arm brushed Chloe's in the process. Although it was just a light graze, they both flinched. Lucifer looked at her hesitantly and met her surprised gaze. Her eyes flickered to his arm, and then back to his eyes very quickly, and swallowed the lump that started to form in her throat.

She knew it – everything had indeed changed. The touches had gained a secret meaning. Judging by his darkening gaze, Lucifer was probably thinking the same. But before Chloe could decide her next move, Lucifer broke the spell. He cleared his throat, and turned his gaze from her to the screen, reluctantly. Chloe paused for a beat and regained her composure.

She quickly updated him on the new information and what she'd been doing. They split the work; while Chloe checked the victim's emails, Lucifer did the same with Vincent's father-in-law's messages on another computer.

This reduced their physical closeness, and Chloe could calm her wildly beating heart a little. Sometimes, she sneaked stealthy glances at Lucifer, who was uncharacteristically silent. As time passed, she slowly got engrossed in her work.

"This company has a really interesting profile," she mused aloud. It had been half an hour of silent work between the two of them, so her words sounded a little too loud in the space of the conference room.

"What do you mean by that?" Lucifer asked as he looked up from his screen.

"They are developing state-of-the-art technologies. I mean, really cool stuff."

She closed an email, and leaned back, as she explained.

"Oh, true," Lucifer agreed as he relaxed in his chair too. "Some interesting developments in Mr Price's emails, too. These new types of drones sound really impressive."

"Right?" Chloe smiled at him. "It's one thing that they can transport – like vaccines, or medication, but they can inject too! From what Mr Skalbeck said in his mail, it's like they're better than the coolest robots, because of their motor skills." Chloe was warming up to the topic. "The company even donated several drones to some African countries – to deliver vaccines, I think, to rural, less developed areas. This explains all those African themed artworks in Mr Price's office."

She turned back the screen, absently scrolling. She opened an email without subject, and her brows furrowed. "I think I've found something?"

She read from the email, which had been sent by Wayne Price, and had been deleted. She listed several deleted emails from the last month in the Trash folder.

"I talked to Erin today. She thinks you make her happy, but I know she's wrong. What you're doing to her is sick. You will ruin her, and you will ruin the company. If you don't stop, I swear I'll destroy you. And do not think I'm joking. If you hurt my little girl, I'll kill you."

"Well, that's a big, fat threat, don't you think?" Lucifer grinned widely, eyebrows raised.

"Yeah," Chloe sighed. "It seems he was much angrier with him than what he admitted to us. But it's still just motive. We'll need something else, some proof or indication to arrest him." Her eyes widened suddenly. "The footage of his home security system! How could I forget it?" she chided herself. She was indeed distracted today.

She opened up the folder that contained the footage on her laptop. She opened a video with the date of the murder, and they began to watch the footage.

"It's quite difficult to manipulate these recordings, but there is a chance that Mr Price, if guilty, may have tried to remove the clues. If we can't find anything, we can still ask the technicians to have a look at it," she said.

The video showed the yard and the entrance of the house. It was quite uneventful for a while, but then they spotted Mrs Price at the front door. She was wearing a cocktail dress and headed to the garage to leave the property with her own car.

"It's not suspicious so far. Her husband said she went to a charity event that night," Lucifer commented.

After a few uneventful minutes, they saw the front door open again. It was Mr Price who hurried to his car and left the mansion as well.

"Gotcha!" Chloe exclaimed excitedly. She fast-forwarded the recording and stopped when she saw movement again. One hour after Mr Price left the house, he returned. He parked the car and went back to the house.

She stopped the footage, and they sat in tense silence for a few seconds.

"Does this mean that we can arrest Mr Price?" Lucifer asked. He could barely hide the nervousness in his voice.

"Without a confession, it won't be enough. It's only circumstantial evidence. I couldn't see any blood stains or rupture on his clothes that would indicate that he was fighting with the victim. But it means that he doesn't have an alibi, and that's something."

She worried at her bottom lip as she pondered on the problem. It was a gesture Lucifer often saw. He usually found it endearing, but now it evoked quite different feelings in him. If they arrested Mr Price now, he would have the chance to nibble those adorable lips soon. A pleasant warmth pooled in his stomach at this thought, but his chest tightened at the same time uncomfortably.

Chloe pushed back her chair, and the screeching sound woke him from his daydreaming.

"Probably Ella's found something from the strange DNA sample."

They stood up and were about to head to the lab when the tiny forensic scientist barged into the conference room.

"I have some good news for you, guys," she exclaimed cheerfully and waved the paper in her hand. "There's a match for the DNA sample."

"Ella, you're awesome," Chloe beamed at her. "Whose DNA is it?"

"According to the analysis, it was a tiny piece of hair, which belongs to one Mr Wayne Price."

"Perfect. Now we have the sufficient evidence to arrest him," Chloe said and took the paper from Ella. The small woman flashed a bright smile at her and left the room.

Chloe and Lucifer turned slowly towards each other.

"It's not even noon, so Mr Price should be in the office. I'll make a phone call to be sure, then we can go and arrest him. Are you coming?"

She wasn't sure why she asked it, but it helped to break the silence that started looming above them.

"Of course," Lucifer nodded, but he averted his gaze as he left the room.

Chloe soon found out that Mr Price was indeed in the office, and in a few minutes, they were both heading to the company in her car.

Chloe decided to remain silent this time. She knew that they had to speak about their arrangement sometime, but she didn't know what to say. It had been so much easier to think about it earlier when they were so far from closing this case. Now it was all becoming so…real. Although both Marcus and Lucifer had shared their previous experiences with her, she still wasn't sure what the preparation for something like this would entail. It was Lucifer, who broke the silence in the end.

"So," he said drawing out the vowel and tapping on his thighs with his fingers nervously. "We are now at the finish line, aren't we?" he asked the obvious. When she hummed her agreement, he continued, "Have you thought about where you want to…you know?"

"Yes," she answered hurriedly. "I think we should meet at Marcus's place."

"I see," he nodded. She wasn't sure, but she sensed some disappointment in his voice.

"Would you like to meet somewhere else?" she asked hesitantly, keeping her eyes on the road.

"No, it's fine," he said and waved his hand. He took a deep breath and looked at her. He clearly wanted to say something else, but he seemed to stall.

Chloe glanced at him and her mouth curved into a reassuring smile and this did the trick.

"Detective, I would like to ask something else," he started. This was a new territory with the Detective, so he wanted to choose his words carefully.

"Yes?" she asked.

"The day before yesterday, when you asked me about my experience…" he bumbled around, then he cleared his throat. He was a grown Devil, for Dad's sake, why did he act like a virgin teenager? "My experience about threesomes. You seemed to find everything I said – well – interesting. Do you want to try all of this?"

Chloe didn't answer immediately. It was a good question. Did she want all of that? She thought back to their conversation and she knew what Lucifer was talking about. Then some pictures from her dreams popped back into her mind. Lucifer's head between her thighs. Lucifer's tall form covering her smaller one. His skin pressing to hers. His kisses all over her body. She swallowed hard as her fantasy went wild. Lucifer between Marcus and her. She on top of Marcus, riding him, while Lucifer hugs her from behind, his firm chest pressing to her back as he positions himself to… She let out a shuddering breath and answered in a low but determined voice, "Yes."

Lucifer couldn't hide his bafflement. Maybe he didn't want to, after all.

"Are you sure?" he asked sincerely.

She started to feel uncomfortable. Lucifer's reactions weren't what she expected. She had expected him to be smug, inappropriate, excited. Like a kid who was left unattended in a candy shop. Instead, he seemed worried. Insecure. And she didn't like how it made her feel.

"Yes, Lucifer," she told him a little bit more bluntly than she intended. "I've made up my mind. We will have one whole night to try everything. Don't worry, we will discuss the boundaries before anything could happen between the three of us, although I thought this wouldn't be a problem for you since you have had some male lovers as well."

"Okay," Lucifer said. He leaned back, turned his head, and stared out the passenger's window. It took a few seconds for the Detective's words to sink in Lucifer's mind. Although the Detective only hinted at what she wanted, Lucifer easily deciphered the hidden meaning of her words and his heart filled again with a strange mixture of desire and sadness.

He barely noticed that they arrived at the parking lot of SkyFly-Tech Solutions and that the Detective got out of the car and headed towards the building. Lucifer mechanically followed the woman, who seemed more tense than usual. Just as they entered the building, they immediately spotted Mr Price who was standing in front of the coffee cart.

"Mr Price," Chloe called him. The man turned back, and his forehead creased in annoyance when he noticed them.

"You again," he said instead of greeting. "Everyone here has told you everything about Vincent, so please, do not harass my employees." He grabbed his coffee and wanted to leave, but Chloe stepped in front of him.

"We're not here to question your employees, Mr Price. We're here to arrest you," Chloe said curtly.

"What? You can't do that! I didn't kill my son-in-law and you have nothing against me!"

"You're wrong about that, Mr Price. We have a lot of evidence against you," Lucifer chimed in as he stepped closer as well.

Mr Price looked from Chloe to Lucifer and back. His anger seemed to dissipate and be replaced by puzzlement.

"That's not possible," he stammered.

"I can assure you, it is," Lucifer flashed a predatory grin as he leaned closer. The man's stubborn denial began to annoy him, so he decided it was time to find out what he desired. "Now, Waynie, why don't you tell me what-"

"I want my lawyer," he said through gritted teeth before Lucifer could channel his charm.

"You have a right to that," Chloe said and grabbed Lucifer's arm to pull him back. His smile faltered and stared at the man menacingly, but he complied and stepped back.

More and more co-workers showed up in the lobby, watching the unfolding scene in amazement. When Chloe cuffed Mr Price and led him out, some of them began to whisper in excitement.

The journey back to the precinct was uneventful. Mr Price exercised his right to remain silent, while Lucifer and Chloe preferred to avoid any conversation for now.

After they arrived at the precinct, Chloe handed Mr Price over to her colleagues. The man called his lawyer, who was out-of-town at the moment, so the interrogation was postponed to the next day. Chloe made some calls, then Lucifer saw her disappear behind the door of the lieutenant's office. She spent there only a few minutes before she returned to her desk. Lucifer sat in his usual swivel chair and played with the perpetuum mobile toy on Chloe's desk. He seemed to pay no attention, but Chloe knew better. She could see when he averted his gaze from the door as she stepped out from Marcus's office.

"So," she started and waited for Lucifer to look up from the toy. When she was sure that she had his full attention, she continued, "Although we don't have a confession, we have enough evidence to press charges. His attorney will probably advise Mr Price to remain silent, and the case will be taken to court."

"I see," Lucifer said. He leaned back in his chair, but his heated gaze never left hers. "Then our work here is over. I presume you have already discussed our upcoming extracurricular activities with the lieutenant."

He didn't sound judgmental or resentful; his voice was nothing but clinical.

Chloe held his gaze as she answered, "I have. We are ready if you're ready. I have to do some paperwork, but then I'll go to Marcus's place. Trixie is spending the rest of the week with my mom, so everything is settled. We should meet at 8 PM if it's okay for you." She kept her voice low so that the other officers wouldn't hear what they were talking about.

"8 PM is fine for me," Lucifer said.

He rose from the chair slowly and took a step forward. They were barely two feet apart, and it was as if the whole outside world started to fade away. Chloe could smell his cologne and feel the heat radiating from his body while he studied her carefully. His face was indifferent, but his eyes betrayed him. He was undeniably upset for some reason. Chloe got tired of these silent games and also started to be worried about Lucifer. She decided it was time to make a clean breast of it.

"Lucifer," she started softly and stepped even closer, hoping to convey her message. "I meant what I told you earlier. It's okay if you say 'no'."

She sighed deeply. She didn't expect to have this conversation, but she felt that she had to be completely sincere at this point, otherwise they would get nowhere.

"Honestly, I thought you would be glad to have this opportunity," she said with a somewhat sad smile. "To finally – jump into the sack with me. But I don't want to push you into doing something you don't want to. Our friendship, our partnership – you – are important to me, and I would never jeopardize it."

Lucifer visibly relaxed and his gaze softened.

"Detective, I – I have agreed on this. You have my consent and I won't take it back. I just – wanted to be sure that this is what you really want."

"I think it is," she said softly, and gently grabbed his upper arm to emphasize her point.

They stayed like this for a moment, gazing into each other's eyes, then Chloe lowered her hand and broke the moment.

"Very well, then," Lucifer said and adjusted his cufflinks. He seemed to regain some of his composure. "8 PM it is."