Author's note: Hello dear readers. I had so many things to address in this chapter that I found myself obliged to cut it in half. This chapter is still almost 5000 words long! It starts slow in this first part, but the second one is gonna be a lot more explosive... And the good news is, I'm almost done writing the second part, so it wouldn't take that long for me to release it :) Thanks to my wonderful French Beta, Bebec, for her precious advises and support. And now, place to the story. Enjoy!
Chapter 18
Tribe Night (Part 1)
Chloe stopped at the butcher on their way back home to buy for Doom his promised reward. She was so proud of her hound, and profusely told him so. She'd showered him with kisses and pettings to show him her appreciation, which had made him look as proud as a peacock. As his recompense, Doom choose an entire lamb calf. He was salivating just looking at it. He'd certainly deserved the prize. Chloe believed that he was going to make an outstanding partner and couldn't wait to start working with him.
It turned out that no strange car seemed to be following her, which didn't mean anything in itself. She'd turned her cell phone off just in case, yet it didn't take a genius to figure out that she was going back home. So her follower might just not want to risk doing a tailing that could expose him.
All her celestial friends were waiting for them at the penthouse when they got there at the end of the day. Another bottle of Champagne was opened in their honor even though the firsts interested couldn't drink of it. In spite of the shadow of the FBI weighting down on them, everybody's mood was high, thanks to Chloe's and Doom's success. Chloe entertained them with the tales of Doom's exploits, to the greatest pleasure of Beatrice.
After they celebrated some more, Doom settled down in a corner to eat his lamb calf, and Trixie retired to her room to leave the adults talk freely.
Chloe told them of the details regarding the possible FBI agent who'd been following her since at least last night and of her hypothesis that they might all be tracked through their cell phones. Everyone agreed to stop using their phones to transmit sensible information, at least for the time being, and Maze assured that she would get her hands on untraceable cells phones shortly, to keep their communications going.
Afterwards, Maze and Chloe went down to Lux to watch the video recordings from last night to discover what that agent had been doing there. They easily followed his whereabouts as he talked with the waiters and bartenders one at a time all night long. Seeing that, they called an emergency meeting with all their staff before Lux's opening for the night.
Once the twelve employees were there and gathered together, Chloe showed them the man's picture and inquired about what he had been asking around. She soon learned that the agent had not only showed up last night but also the night before. According to her staff, none of them had found strange his lines of questioning since a lot of people had been asking about Lucifer and what was going on with him lately.
The agent, if that's what he was, had been clever, dispatching his questions around the staff as not to raise suspicions. Of what the staff remembered from their talks with him, he'd inquired about where Lucifer went and when he was supposed to come back, about the new management and how the staff felt about their new bosses, about who Chloe and Maze were to Lucifer, and who lived in the penthouse in Lucifer's absence.
Concerning Lucifer's whereabouts, the staff had only been able to answer what Chloe had told them, which was that he had to leave to attend to a family matter and that there was no way to know when he'd be back. Unfortunately, they'd passed on the fact that he had recently demonstrated without any ambiguity to everyone at Lux that Chloe was his lover and the center of his life. And now the FBI also knew that she'd moved into the penthouse with her daughter and that Maze had moved back in her own loft. It certainly wouldn't take them long to discover that everything Lucifer owned was now also Chloe's. If they didn't already know it. At least, nobody seemed to have talked about Amenadiel being around or his siblings living temporarily with her. Michael had been very discreet after all and no one had yet the chance to meet Azrael.
Chloe strictly forbid her staff to answer any more patrons' questions regarding her personal life or her daughter, and asked them to keep an eye out for that man. They were to report to Maze or herself as soon as they saw him back at Lux.
Remembering at the last second that nothing about that FBI man should transpire in a conversation on their cell phones, Chloe warned her staff not to call them on their usual phone numbers anymore and said that she would give them new ones as soon as she had them.
"Anyway, in case of an emergency tonight, you can reach us at The Blue Laguna, where we're going to party," specified Maze.
"Why aren't you partying here?" asked Tracy, one of their oldest waitress.
"Don't take it wrong, but after a week coming here every night, I need a change of air," Chloe answered with a smile.
A few of her staff chuckled in understanding and a bartender, Fred, if she remembered his name correctly, assured her that The Blue Laguna was a great place, if somewhat not as high class as Lux.
When they came back up at the penthouse, Azrael was playing a game with Trixie on the living room table, still not dressed to go out. Doom was leisurely sprawled out beside them.
"I thought you were supposed to get prepared while we had our staff meeting?" asked Chloe, a bit puzzled.
Azrael fidgeted a little in her sitting position on the floor. "I... I'm not sure to be in the mood to party after all..."
"Why? What happened?" Chloe was now starting to feel concerned for her friend.
"Nothing really. It's just... Charlotte was told of my injury by Amenadiel and came to visit me this afternoon." Seeing Chloe's eyes bulge in apprehension, she quickly dissipated her concerns. "She didn't say or do anything bad, don't worry. On the contrary, she was... nice. I'm just not used to see her like that, that's all. I'm still wondering if it's all real or if she is putting on an act that even I can't see through. It's quite disturbing really," she admitted at last.
Chloe smiled softly at her friend. "I don't know your mom very well, and I have to admit that I don't appreciate her particularly, but what I'm sure of is that she loves her children very much, in her own unique way."
Azrael smirked, "Maybe... "
Then the angel seemed to hesitate a moment before mentioning another of her worries. "Charlotte mentioned that Detective Espinoza has been staying at her place for the past few days... And since you two were married and that you divorced him, I wondered if you thought him to be a good influence on her or not."
"Dad is staying at Charlotte's place? Why?" Trixie grimaced in spite of herself. She didn't like Lucifer's mom very much.
"It's just to keep him safe, Monkey. Charlotte is also very special as you know." Chloe reassured her daughter, even if she wasn't sure that it was the only truth about the reason her ex was staying there. Then she addressed Rae's concern. "Dan is a great guy. I would worry more about the influence that Charlotte could have on him, if you ask me."
Azrael chuckled. "True!"
Chloe's smile turned devilish. "And now, you get up from there and you go get ready to party. It looks like you need it even more than I thought."
Azrael sighed in defeat, yet with a small smile at the corner of her lips.
At that moment, Maze joined them from the bar where she'd poured Azrael and herself a shot of vodka. "Don't worry Decker! I'm gonna slut her up."
Azrael suddenly looked unsure of what she had gotten herself into.
"I'm sure you will," Chloe answered confidently. "Take your time. Since I'm already dressed up, I'm gonna got get Ella. We might linger a while with the little surprise I have in store for her. We could meet at the club around ten? Linda said she wouldn't be there before that anyway."
"Alright! But you be careful Decker. You're still not invincible," warned Maze severely.
They'd agreed that Chloe could have a little more freedom now that she was demonstrating celestial abilities. Michael was still not very warm at the idea of letting her out of his sight, but Chloe had promised to pray to him at the smallest sign of danger.
The two angelic brothers would be in charge of taking care of Trixie tonight, with the assistance of Doom of course. Her daughter had chosen to have them watch the movie Frozen, assuring that they would loooove it! It brought a smile on Chloe's face to imagine those two warriors watching such a movie in the company of a little girl. Amenadiel was already preparing the popcorn and showing Michael how it was done. Amenadiel had also planned to introduce his brother to Game of Thrones as soon as Trixie would be in bed, which had probably greater chances of capturing the angel's attention.
So it was around 8:30 pm that Chloe knocked on Ella's door.
"You look great Chloe! You should wear dresses more often," exclaimed Ella in delight at the sight of her.
Chloe's short dark dress was nothing grand, but she also thought it was pretty. She was getting more and more used to wearing dresses lately with Lux to manage.
"Thanks, but you look totally fabulous!"
And the petite forensic scientist really did, with her gorgeous blue dress that elegantly emphasized her best attributes.
Ella beamed at her. "You're too sweet!" But then she narrowed her eyes questioningly and looked behind Chloe as if searching for something. "Where are the others? I thought Maze and Lucifer's sister were supposed to be there."
Chloe smiled mischievously. "They'll join us later, but in the meantime, I thought we could do something special."
Intrigued, Ella retrieved her purse and followed Chloe outside, looking all excited by the mystery.
Ella gasped in awe when she realised what the surprise was. "Wow! That's a 1963 Aston Martin DB4 Convertible! Is that Lucifer's?"
"Yes, but it's also actually mine now," Chloe said smugly.
"Are you kidding me? He gave it to you?"
"Not exactly," Chloe started mysteriously, "the truth is even crazier than that. Lucifer put my name on all his belongings."
"What?" Ella's lower jaw dropped in shock. "Who could have foreseen that Lucifer Morningstar could someday commit so completely into a relationship?"
Chloe chuckled joyfully. "I'm the first one surprised, believe me, but he has. Well, we both have actually."
Ella suddenly crushed her into a tight hug. "I'm so glad for you Chloe. That's wonderful! You two are so great together."
Chloe returned the hug warmly. "That would be a lot more wonderful if he were actually there with me..."
Ella disengaged from their embrace and squeezed both Chloe's arms reassuringly. "I'm sure he'll be back soon, Chlo."
"I know." Chloe pushed aside her sadness and forced a smile on her face. "But tonight is not about feeling miserable for myself because my man is not there, but about having fun. So what do you think of showing me your driving skills?" Saying that, Chloe retrieved her keys in her purse and threw them at Ella who caught them easily.
"Are you serious? Awesome!"
They took a big detour by the beach roads where there was fewer cars so that Ella could push the vintage car to almost its full capacity. With her youth's experience up her sleeve, Ella's driving ability revealed to be out the chart and could probably even rival that of a professional driver. In Chloe's book at least. Conveniently, it also meant that any potential pursuer would have absolutely no chance of keeping track on them tonight.
The detective was usually nervous when Lucifer drove fast, but even if Ella pushed the engine at every opportunities, she made sure to really speed up only when the way was clear and it was safe to do so. Ella had been elated and jubilant the entire ride and Chloe had to admit that she too had a great time speeding up the roads with the music beating load through the speakers.
When they finally made it to the club a little after ten, they were in a great mood to start the actual party. They found Maze and Azrael already seated at a table, sipping drinks.
Azrael looked magnificent! Chloe didn't even know that Maze owned dresses that were not made of leather. That dark red dress was absolutely divine and contrasted perfectly with Azrael's stunning green eyes. The make-up that had been undoubtedly applied by Maze highlighted even more the angel's otherworldly gaze. To complete the perfect picture, her long usually straight dark hair had now a few curls in it that made her look even more gorgeous than usual.
To confirm Chloe's personal impression on Azrael's stunning sight, she noticed many men and even women gazing not so subtly at the angel, obviously swept away by her beauty and natural grace. The celestial being's magnetism was uncontestable, probably rivaling that of the Devil himself.
After the introduction between Ella and Azrael was made and that the angel had her first taste of a Lopez's hug, the little scientist took control of the situation.
"From now on and until the end of the night, all your drinks are on me. I won a lot of money betting on Lucifer's and Chloe's relationship, and on Doom's performance at the precinct, and now I want to spread the love!"
"Not complaining here, Hellen," assured Maze who already had a few empty shuts in front of her.
"It's... It's Ella," she staggered shyly.
How could Maze still be forgetting her name? Or was she doing it on purpose to destabilise her? Hard to tell with the self-proclaiming demon.
Shrugging internally, Ella made her way to the bar to give her credit card to the bartender and make sure that everything her guests ordered would be billed to her during the entire night. She took the opportunity to order drinks for Chloe and herself.
Ella chose to sit close to Azrael so she could chat with her more easily. Lucifer's sister was a complete mystery to her, and she was glad of the opportunity to learn more about the alluring woman. Fortunately, the music was not very loud and allowed for proper conversations, which was one of the reasons she had chosen that club in the beginning. The entraining Latino music that was playing here was another reason.
Ella put a Mojito in front of Chloe and lifted her own glass to start a toast. "To your moving in together with Lucifer! God help you!" she added playfully.
Chloe winced and the words just left her lips without her thinking about it. "Oh please, leave the bastard out of this!"
Chloe's reaction stunned Ella speechless, her glass still in the air.
Chloe quickly apologized to her friend. "I'm sorry Ella! It's just... Me and your Big Guy, we're not on speaking terms right now."
"Oh! I- I can understand that. It's not always easy to keep our faith intact. I just didn't know you were a believer..." Ella narrowed her eyes at Chloe as if wondering if it was truly the case.
Chloe fidgeted nervously. "I wouldn't call it exactly that..." Then a smile returned on her face and she lifted her glass to resume their toast. "But I can drink to Lucifer and me."
Everyone lifted their drinks joyfully, and just like that the awkwardness disappeared and the happy mood was back.
Chloe made sure to just dip her lips in her drink without actually swallowing anything. She started wondering how to dispose of her cocktail without alerting her friend to the fact that she didn't want to drink alcohol, when Maze took it out of her hand without warning and emptied it in one swallow.
"Not bad!" the demon commented about the taste. "Let me get us something else, I'm already out of booze and intend to drown myself in alcohol tonight."
Without waiting for approval, Maze rose up and headed for the bar.
Chloe smiled at Maze's back fondly. Count on her demonic friend to always protect her and now her unborn child too. Chloe had already explained to her the importance of not drinking alcohol while being pregnant, and apparently it hadn't fallen on deaf ears. She'd also warned her and Azrael of her intention of keeping her pregnancy secret for as long as possible. In her eyes, it wouldn't be fair for everyone to know about it before Lucifer did. There was already enough people aware of it as it was, and she was still believing in the possibility that Lucifer could come back before it showed.
"Sooo, you're really Lucifer's sister?" Ella threw at Azrael.
Rae chuckled a little. "I'm afraid so."
"It's just, I don't really see the resemblance, and yet... there is definitely something in you that reminds me of Lucifer, even if I can't put my finger on it. On the other hand, you two are definitely more alike than you are to Amenadiel," she added with a wink.
From there the two women dived into a conversation. Chloe was first afraid of what Azrael could reveal about herself, but was quickly reassured at seeing how the angel skilfully dodged Ella's questioning and even turned the conversation around to become the one doing the questioning about Ella's life. Furthermore, she clearly had Lucifer's ability to bend the truth and seemed not shy of slipping a lie here and there when needed.
Soon Maze came back with new drinks and handed one to Chloe. It looked like a Sex on the Beach, but a taste of it confirmed that it was in fact a mocktail.
Chloe smiled warmly at her friend. "Thanks Maze. Really, I appreciate."
"Don't mention it, Decker. I'm not doing it for you anyway," the demon dismissed offhandedly before draining half of her glass of what looked like to be whisky.
Apparently, four beautiful women unaccompanied couldn't go unnoticed for long, and soon an elegant man with short pale brown hair came to address them.
"Hello ladies! I am Stephen, the manager of this club. I hope you're having a good time. Don't hesitate to ask me anything. My job is to insure that you will have the best night possible." He was charming and tastefully dressed, and in a way reminded Chloe a little bit of Lucifer.
Maze took the opportunity to make her demand. "What could insure for us to have a good time would be if you kept the booze coming. I find myself very thirsty tonight."
"If it's all it takes to make you happy, consider it done. Ladies..." He bowed to them slightly and sent them a seductive smile before leaving them to their conversations.
Chloe had the net impression that his gaze had lingered a little longer on her. It was actually flattering. She returned his smile politely, hopefully without letting him think that she could be interested.
Maze cocked her head to watch him, or more precisely his backside, retreat towards the bar where he seemed to give some instructions to one of his waitress. "Humm, I wouldn't hurt him..."
"Come on! Forget the guys. We're here to have fun, and to dance!" On that, Ella pulled on Azrael's hand to lift her up.
The angel followed with a smile and even Maze rose up to join them. Linda chose that moment to arrive and decided to take a drink first with Chloe before starting the actual dancing.
It didn't take long for the three dancing beauties to be surrounded by a flock of men doing their best to catch their eyes.
As soon as Linda sat, the waitress who received instructions from Stephen came to take her order and to refill Maze's whisky.
Once they were alone, Linda took Chloe's hand and smiled warmly. "How are you doing Chloe?"
Linda had that gift to draw out someone's deepest emotions, and as much as Chloe wanted to keep herself together tonight, the question moved her more than she was ready for it.
"I... I'm doing my best really..." She was conscious that her eyes were already filling up with tears. "I-I miss him! It's-It's hard. It doesn't even make a full week and I feel like he's been gone for a lifetime." She sipped at her drink to let herself time to recover her countenance, but only dived even deeper in her sorrow. "I tried... I though I'd put everything about him to memory, before I lost him, just in case you know." Chloe's gaze got lost in the past. "The slightest details of his body, the taste of him, the feeling of his skin, even the look and feel of his devil's face... But I... I'm already starting to forget little details, pieces of him." She looked up in Linda's understanding eyes with desperation. "I don't want to forget more about him! And for Lucifer it's already been close to five months. In no time it will be years for him. What if... What if he forgets about the way he feels about me? What if his will to come back lessens? What if he forgets about us...?" She let escape a sob of agonising pain.
Linda cupped her face and wiped her tears with her thumb. "Chloe, Chloe, don't do this to yourself. Lucifer could never forget about you. He is a passionate and you are his first love. There's no way he can forget how it feels. And besides, I saw him relive emotions that dated from thousands of years ago as if the events happened only yesterday. Believe me, for an immortal like him a few years are nothing."
A smile finally appeared on Chloe's face. "You really think so?"
Linda nodded with conviction. "I know my Devil."
It made Chloe chuckle with a new lightness to her heart. "Thanks, for reminding me."
She was ashamed of having doubted Lucifer's feelings for her even for a moment. After everything they went through and the way he proved his love for her over and over again, she should know better. He'd even told her unambiguously that he would always find his way back to her no matter the time it took him. And he'd said pretty much the same thing in his recent letter. She didn't know why she was so emotional tonight and had difficulty thinking rationally. Maybe it was the hormones from her pregnancy that were making her feel so vulnerable? It had to be it.
The waitress finally brought Linda her drink, interrupting the emotional moment.
Linda thought it was a perfect moment to bring the conversation around to happier topics. "And how are you settling down at the penthouse with Trixie?"
Chloe dried the last remnants of tears on her cheeks. "I'm getting used to it a lot faster than I thought, and Trixie too it would seem. She just loves the place and we both feel at home already. It might take me a little longer to get used to manage Lux though." She grimaced a little sheepishly.
Linda took a drink of her Margarita. "Why is that?"
Chloe shrugged. "I can deal with most of the job easily with Patrick's and Maze's help. I just have a hard time slipping into the role of host. It's not a natural thing for me."
Linda narrowed her eyes at her questioningly. "And why do you feel like it is your job to do it?"
Chloe was surprised by the question. "Well I... I don't know. Because it's what Lucifer did, and it's part of the job?"
"Is it? Really?"
Chloe didn't know what to answer. She'd never thought that there was any other option for her. But maybe there was.
"You're saying that I could find someone else to do it?" The possibility was starting to take form in Chloe's mind.
"I'm not saying that it's necessarily what you should do. I'm only suggesting that things could be done differently if they're not suiting you the way they are."
Chloe thought that it sounded a lot like what Azrael implied when saying that she was pushing herself too much.
"You know what? You're right. I don't have to do everything by myself. I can delegate, and after all, I'm rich! I shouldn't have to do anything I don't feel comfortable with." Chloe nodded forcefully at her new realisation.
"Let's drink to that!" Linda lifted her drink and they toasted happily.
A moment later, Maze slumped into her seat and emptied her new glass of whisky in one go. "I had no idea Azrael was such a party girl."
Chloe and Linda turned their gazes towards the dance floor to discover the angel and Ella dancing lasciviously with a few men, apparently having a great time.
Chloe beamed at the sight. "I'm glad she could let go that much. For what I gathered, it's been hundreds of years since she has. It can only do her some good." She furrowed her brows at a sudden question crossing her mind. "Do you know if she's ever really been with a man in her entire existence?"
Maze smirked uncertainly. "I have no idea, but my guess would be no. She's way too caught up in her work to let herself the chance to enjoy herself if you ask me."
"Humm... That's what I thought. But maybe she'll get lucky tonight." Chloe winked at Maze maliciously.
"Let's hope for her!" The demon replied as deviously. "It's never good for anyone to be that much angelic."
As if reminded of her personal vow for debauchery tonight, Maze looked around to find their waitress and signal her for another round.
To their surprise, it was Stephen, the manager, who personally came to serve her. He put a full bottle of whisky in front of Maze with four new tumblers for all the girls.
"I see that my waitress could not keep up with your needs. Let me remedy to that. It's on the house, of course!"
"A cutie, and a gentleman on top of that," Maze purred at him.
Chloe and Linda thanked him warmly.
"Anything for my guests. See you later ladies." He winked at Chloe and once more he was leaving in search of other guests to please or entertain.
Linda looked totally swept by his charm. "Damn! He's good. In every sense of the word..." It never took long for Linda to lose her inhibitions with the help of a little alcohol.
The thing was, Chloe had to admit that her friend was right. Stephen had everything for him; the good looks, the charm, the clothing...
Wait a minute!
On an impulse, Chloe rose up and excused herself to her friends. She went in search of the said charming guy and found him at the bar, talking to some of his staff.
She waited until he was done to draw his attention to her. "Excuse me! Can I have a word with you?"
He turned on the charm and stirred her towards a corner where they could talk more freely. "How may I be of service to you tonight, young lady?"
Chloe hesitated only for a second. She was not used to impulsive decisions, but those were not usual times. "I-I have an unusual proposition that could be very profitable for you."
His open flirting turned to suspicion and then he rapidly shook his head with a small grimace. "I'm afraid you are mistaking about me. I've never accepted money to sleep with a woman, even less with one as beautiful as you." His gaze turned charming once more to make it clear what he was ready to give her freely.
"Oh!" Chloe answered stunningly. Her cheeks turned flush red from embarrassment. "No, no, no, no, no!" she quickly corrected. "That is not what this is about. Not at all. But that's good to know. I mean, for the not accepting money part."
He looked a bit crestfallen and a bit confused too.
Chloe fished into her purse and retrieved one of her new business cards that she handed to him. "Sorry, I should have led with that. My name is Chloe Decker, and I own a club. I'm looking for a manager, someone who could do exactly what you are doing here."
Stephen looked at the business card and startled. "You're the owner of Lux? That's a great place."
"Thanks! But it would need someone like you at the moment to stay the great place that it is."
"Well, I-I'm flattered, but as you see I already have a job, and one that is also quite profitable."
"Whatever your salary here is, I will raise it up 50%," she cut in decisively.
"I..." He shut his mouth in a stunning way, clearly starting to take her seriously.
"Look, you don't have to take a decision tonight. Why don't you come at Lux Monday night so we can talk about it?" She flashed him one of her own charming smile.
He nodded slowly, clearly getting warmer at the idea. "Alright, I'll meet you at Lux and you'll tell me more about what you have in mind exactly. We'll see from there."
Chloe beamed in victory. "Good! It was nice meeting you, Mister?"
"Marshall! Stephen Marshall, at your service." He bowed lightly and took her hand, on the back of which he applied a light kiss.
"You charmer!" she threw at him, half-charmed, half-annoyed.
"Isn't it why you picked me?" he countered smugly.
Chloe rolled her eyes at his nerves and strode away.
She couldn't help but notice the similarities between Stephen and a certain Devil she knew; incredibly cocky, probably as vane as one can be, ready to jump into her pants at the first occasion, and worst, certain that all she wanted was to jump his bones.
He would definitely be perfect to run Lux...
Author's note: There's gonna be a lot more action in the second part of this Tribe Night, I promise. I hope you were entertained nonetheless even if things were a bit slow in the beginning. Please let me know if you liked it. Thanks for reading, and commenting.
