Fic - Friend of the Devil
Apr. 13th, 2020 05:19 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
cornerofmadnessFor evil_little_dog Happy Birthday. A Lucifer/Prodigal Son crossover (from Lucifer's pov)
Title: Friend of the Devil
author:cornerofmadness
Characters/Pairings: whole team
Disclaimer: Not mine, Chris Fedak and Sam Sklaver & DC Comics owns them
Summary/Teaser: Lucifer and Chloe have come to New York City on the trail of a serial killer and team up with the locals chasing the same man.
Rating: teen
Notes: written for evil_little_dog for her birthday after she said something to me about Lucifer and Malcolm comparing daddy issues. This got WAY out of hand.
XXX
Lucifer looked up at sky, which pissed down icy rain. It had been a long time since the devil had come to New York City to play and this was not helping. Of course, they were outside in Central Park. Next to him Chloe shivered – unused to this level of cold - as she spoke to a distinguished looking man whose saturnine appearance gave Lucifer ideas both carnal and sartorial. Maybe he ought to try a goatee again. His gaze slipped past them and beyond the saturnine man’s two detectives, a shapely attractive woman and her partner who was built like a linebacker.
Lucifer was more interested in the exceedingly well dressed, slender man. He hovered over the shoulder of their medical examiner who was busy overseeing the transfer of a young woman’s dead body into the body bag. He hadn’t seen such fantastic dress sense in years. Certainly no one in Decker’s team had his sense of style. Detective Douche couldn’t even come close. Lucifer would have to ask where the young man shopped.
“And you’re sure they’re following Chumash folklore?” the young man called over to Chloe.
She nodded. “We’re sure but we believe the killer is Sam Hinds, who has no connection to the Chumash tribe, Detective….”
“Bright, and he’s our profiler, a consultant,” the older detective said.
“Ah, and Lucifer’s my consultant.” She hooked a thumb his direction.
“Lucifer? Really?” The man’s dark eyebrows rose.
“Lucifer Morningstar,” he said swaggering over. “I didn’t catch anyone’s names.”
“Because you weren’t paying attention,” Chloe hissed, looking embarrassed for him.
“Is it a consultant thing to be overdressed and weird?” the heavy-set detective said sotto voce to his partner, and she rolled her eyes.
“JT,” their commander said, and then sighed. “I’m Lieutenant Arroyo. Detectives JT Tarmel and Dani Powell.” He gestured to the couple. “And as I said, that’s Malcolm Bright over there next to Dr. Tanaka.”
“So not Chumash himself then,” Bright said, squatting down to peer at something on the victim’s body
“No, looks like cultural appropriation.” Lucifer smirked. “Are you sure you want to get so close? He’s left rattle snakes at each scene. Most of the victims have been bitten.”
“Bright likes snakes,” JT said wryly.
“I was looking at the bite, and I don’t think the rattler is around. We’d have heard it by now,” Bright said, and then pointed. “Edrisa, something’s wrong there with the way her pantleg lays.”
“Her calf muscle has been removed,” Dr. Tanaka replied.
“We have evidence on as to what he’s doing with the missing parts. We had eleven cases in LA,” Chloe said. “And then it stopped. When we saw the news that you had four similar killings here, we arranged to come out to share what we know.”
“Tell me about the folklore, please, Chloe.” Bright straightened up and bounced over to them.
Lucifer cut in front of Chloe and ran a finger over the red herringbone tie Bright wore until Chloe tugged him back irritably. “Is that a Turnbull and Asser seven-fold silk tie? It’s exquisite.”
Bright beamed. “It is. You have an excellent eye. Yours is fantastic too.”
Lucifer fingered the electric blue silk. “A Charvet.”
“I think we just met the man who’s going to marry Bright,” JT said to Dani who slapped a hand across his chest.
“Lucifer, if you’re done?” Chloe shot him the evil eye, one that was echoed by Dr. Tanaka, which made Lucifer curious. “We believe Hinds has convinced himself he is the Sun providing for his daughters, which in the Chumash lore is a bit alarming as his daughters wear aprons made of rattlers and they all eat humans.”
Rather than being repulsed, Bright’s eyes gleamed, and he rocked up on his toes. “A cannibal? Now that is fascinating.”
“The word is gross, dude,” JT said, and Arroyo pinched the bridge of his nose.
“The body shows no signs of being gnawed on,” Tanaka called. “But all four of the others had parts removed. I couldn’t say what happened after that.”
“Are there any signs that he took the parts with him to cook?” Malcolm asked. “That is such a rare pathology that I…”
“Will sound creepily excited by it?” JT raised his eyebrows at him and Bright flushed.
“They did find pans in his home with residue suggesting he did cook them and there was chili made of human flesh in the fridge.” Chloe shuddered. “One he’d taken to a potluck earlier in the week.”
“Really?” If Bright’s eyes got any bigger, Lucifer thought they might all be in danger of drowning in them. “He’s sharing his compulsions. That is amazing.”
“Kid, you might want to take it down a peg,” Arroyo said but Lucifer was amused. Dr. Linda would love this man.
“Detective, you forgot to mention the prepared rack of ribs also in the fridge,” Lucifer offered just to stir the pot so to speak, and Chloe tossed another heated look at him.
“I was hoping to forget that.”
“Really? Prepared? I mean, were they rubbed with spices or?”
“Bright,” Dani broke in, and he turned to look at her. She seemed to have the same affect on Bright as Chloe had on him, as much as Lucifer hated to admit it. Bright shushed. “We don’t need to know.”
“But we do. If I’m to understand the psychopathy at play, I need details.”
“He had it rubbed with a Kansas city style spice mix,” Lucifer supplied those details almost gleefully, curious to see what happened next.
“And now I’m off ribs for life,” JT muttered. “ Keep it up, Bright and you and Morningstar over there are going to be bunking in Claremont with you know who.”
The comment sailed over Lucifer’s head but obviously not Bright’s. He jerked around to face his teammate, a little pout on his lips. Bright shook it off. “So, you think Hinds is here now and this is his work?” He asked that of Chloe.
“You’re finding snake bites right?” she asked.
“She has one on her wrist,” he replied. “But it’s the wrong time of year for rattlers. It’s too cold yet for them to be up and about. He has to be getting them somewhere.”
“Is this where you tell us you know a guy?” JT asked.
“He did point us at an exotic animal dealer before, got bit by a snake and I had to take him home and put him to bed after he left the hospital against medical advice,” Dani reminded him.
“And he does like snakes.” JT nodded.
“Really?” Lucifer drew out the word, looking at Bright anew. “I’ve been known to befriend a snake or two.”
“Told you they’re perfect for each other,” JT said to Dani who rolled her eyes. “So now we have a snake-loving psycho who’s sharing his kills, a little ‘the devil’s in all of us now’ so you can’t blame me for the evil I’m doing.”
“Why does everyone always blame me for every evil they commit?” Lucifer sighed heavily.
Bright’s head snapped around and he looked Lucifer over. “You actually believe you’re the devil? That you are indeed Lucifer Morningstar.”
“I don’t believe it. It’s the truth.” Lucifer thumped his chest.
“I don’t know what fascinates me more, a cannibal or a man who thinks he’s the devil.” Bright smiled like a boy who just lost his virginity.
“Focus, kid,” Arroyo said. “Why don’t you and Powell take Detective Decker and Lucifer to chase down the snake angle, and they can give you more details. JT and I will finish here.”
“Gladly. And JT, I do know a guy.” Bright glanced skywards. “It stopped raining, and hey, look, double rainbows.”
Lucifer stared up at the twinned rainbows. “Ironically the Chumash people believed that they entered this world over a rainbow bridge. Hopefully this killer of yours won’t take this to mean he’s doing the right thing.”
“I’ve had happier thoughts,” Chloe said.
“Haven’t we all?” Dani shuddered.
Chapter Two
Lucifer had been amazed at how fast it all went. Bright had really known a guy, and that guy put them on the trail of someone looking for rattlers. It led to where Hinds had holed up all the way across the country from LA. Lucifer supposed he thought he could go from one megacity to another and hide. It was a good guess, after all. Hinds hadn’t accounted for Chloe’s tenacity nor the excellent work put forth by the New York team. Lucifer had suggested that they all go out to celebrate while their bosses argued over who got to prosecute Hinds first. To his surprise, Chloe hadn’t put up much of a fight. It was Bright who had to be cajoled. There was something dark lurking in his corners and Lucifer wanted to suss it out.
He’d been even more surprised when JT had suggested this place he knew, a large bar with pool tables and dart boards in one room and the bathrooms bridged to the other room that had a karaoke stage that would be starting soon. They had played pool for the first hour with JT and his wife running one table and Gil and Chloe running the other. Dani and Bright were awful at it and Lucifer couldn’t hold his own with either of them as his partner. He was more than happy to stake out a good table in the karaoke lounge and buy a round of drinks while they waited for the singing to start.
“Do you sing as badly as you play pool?” JT smirked at Bright.
“I’m not sure anyone can sing as bad as he plays pool.” Arroyo laughed, savoring his quality bourbon because Lucifer refused to buy anything that wasn’t the best.
“Lucifer might be as over dressed as Bright and is doing the twinsies thing with the scruffy.” JT rubbed his own clean shaved chin. “But at least he can hustle pool.”
“I told you I’m better at squash,” Bright protested.
“That is so the rich White boy answer.” JT snorted, and Bright shrugged. But of course he was wealthy because Lucifer knew exactly how much the Christian Lacroix silk tie Bright wore cost because he’d paid a thousand for the identical one. They were sort of twinned if Lucifer was honest, both in black suits and charcoal shirts.
“Never apologize for the things you have,” Lucifer said. “My detective’s mother is a famous actress but she gets embarrassed sometimes at the wealth,” he added fondly, not bringing up Chloe’s own topless scene. He understood that she wanted to leave that in the past, not that he personally felt she had anything to be ashamed of.
“Because coming up through the ranks they mistook being privileged for a lack of dedication to the job. Speaking of which, I should call Mom and see how she and Trixie are getting along,” Chloe replied, sitting back in her chair. She pulled out her phone.
“Give them my love. Tell Trixie I expect a full recounting of her misadventures,” Lucifer said and Chloe narrowed her eyes at him. Lucifer laughed, sipped his scotch and gave his attention to the New York crew. “And while Detective Decker makes her call, we should take the time to get to know each other better.” Lucifer propped his chin up on his fist. “Tell me, Malcolm, what is your deepest desire?”
Malcolm jumped a little as Lucifer’s power enveloped him. “I want to be loved for who I am.” His big baby blues widened as his cheeks flushed, shocked at his instantaneous confession.
JT looked up from the karaoke playlist he was perusing with Tally and Dani. “What are you even talking about, bro? This is not the time or place for your daddy issue stuff.”
His wife buried her elbow in his ribs. “JT!”
“Well unless that’s a proposal for Dani, it’s not the time or place,” JT rubbed his side, and Arroyo shot him a look this time.
Dani shook her head. “That’s not what he means. He thinks he’s broken. I keep telling him that he can be fixed.”
Malcolm’s grateful look was something Lucifer picked up and tucked away for later use. He put his hand up to summon back the waitress to bring a second round as he said, “I’m more of the abandon all hope type.” Lucifer grinned. “But only after you’re gone when it’s too late to change. You should listen to the lovely lady, Malcolm. In fact, you should whisk her away in your private jet and join me in LA for a little sweet fun.” He lowered his voice, letting it go husky. “I own Lux, one of the best nightclubs in town. We three could have such a lovely time together.” Lucifer reached out and stroked both of their chins.
Dani jerked away, narrowing her eyes at him but softened a bit as she studied him. Malcolm melted a little at the touch. Another nugget Lucifer filed away.
“Here I was thinking marriage but maybe Dani gets her own TV show, a reverse take on Sister Wives.” JT chuckled, and Dani swatted him with the karaoke booklet.
“Detective, why limit yourself to just one sex and partner? Three is better than two, am I right?” Lucifer smirked.
“Yes,” Malcolm whispered, went even redder and down his bourbon in one swallow.
“We’re just learning all sorts of things about you tonight, dude,” JT said as Dani and Tally stared. Lucifer noted Arroyo seemed unsurprised and wondered why. “Maybe you should stick with moaning about the Daddy issues because there’s not enough booze in this joint for me to hear about your sexual preferences and threesome fantasies.”
He got another elbow to the ribs from Dani this time. Lucifer laughed. “He has nothing on my daddy issues.”
“Want to bet?” Dani asked.
“It’s hard to beat having your father cast you out of heaven because hell needed a ruler. My brother, Amenadiel, has tried to make me see this was a matter of trust in me. It’s an honor I could have done without,” Lucifer said bitterly, and then turned to the waitress who finally made her way around. “Another round for my friends, please, darling.”
“You believe that, don’t you?” Bright asked, his gaze hot as hell as he studied Lucifer. “You seemed convinced that you’re a fallen angel, that you rule hell. I can’t sense a hint of lie or disbelief. I almost wish I was a clinical psychologist because you’d be a fascinating patient.”
“They call me the Prince of Lies, which is truly so unfair. I rarely lie. I have no need but yes, of course I believe it. It’s true. I’m the Prince of Hell, Lucifer himself.” He spread his arms wide. “And my father is the worst.”
“That depends. I suppose judging by the Old Testament, God does have a vindictive streak.” Bright shrugged. “But if you’re truly the Morningstar, wouldn’t your fall be predicated on the fact you were so arrogant he sought to punish you?”
Chloe slapped the table a couple of times and then pointed at Malcolm and touched her nose to indicate she was listening and agreed.
Lucifer rolled his eyes. “That’s one version of the story. Mine is my old man has unrealistic expectations and heaven won’t help you if you fail to live up to them. That’s why I walked away from hell. It’s my act of defiance. Every prodigal son has to have one.”
“I’ll agree with that.” Bright bopped his head.
“So you think you can beat my daddy issues?” Reclining back on his chair insolently, Lucifer thumped the table as the waitress returned and distributed their drinks.
Bright waited for her to leave before saying. “I can give it a run for its money. In a way, my father cast me into hell as well.”
Lucifer sat from his slouch. “Do tell.”
“I had the perfect life growing up. The Miltons are close to American royalty. The Whitlys have a long history of medical achievements.”
“But your name is Bright,” he interrupted.
Bright held up a hand. “Changed it to get away from my father’s legacy. Until I was ten I had a life of extreme privilege and I was happy…until I found a girl locked in a box in my father’s basement study.”
Lucifer widened his eyes, leaning forward. “What?” Out of the corner of his eyes he saw Chloe put her phone away, instantly engaged in what was happening.
“My father is Martin Whitly, the infamous serial killer, The Surgeon, and I’m the one who turned him in.”
“Ooo, that loses you points on the honor thy father front,” Lucifer replied. “Good for you. That is such an overrated commandment.”
Bright glanced away. “We lost everything. Well, not the money but we became pariahs and as much as Dad would have loved for me to follow in his footsteps, I became a forensic profiler.”
“And where is dear old dad now?” Lucifer asked.
“Claremont psychiatric facility and living in my phone so I don’t get any peace.” Bright sighed and shot back his bourbon again.
That clarified the puzzling statement he’d overheard at the crime scene. “Change your number.”
“It’s complicated.”
“Martin Whitly.” Lucifer rolled the name around his mouth. “Sounds like someone I should look up.”
“If you really are the devil, you’ll see him someday.” At that Bright smiled a little.
Lucifer reached over and closed his hand around Bright’s wrist. “We should talk appropriate punishments.”
Arroyo slapped the karaoke playlist down on their hands. “This is getting weird. Kid, pick a song because you’re singing tonight.”
“I already know what I’m singing,” he said, the spell broken.
“Then you go first,” JT said. “Because I have to hear this.”
“Okay.”
Bright was as good as his word. When it was his turn to take the stage he belted out a strong rendition of Shinedown’s Monsters. Lucifer could believe his monsters were real and knew how to kill.
“Damn, he can actually sing,” JT muttered, and Dani looked equal parts shocked and enraptured.
Lucifer assumed she had never seen this side of Bright. It had to be hard to be the son of a serial killer solving crimes but not harder than being Hell’s commander in chief doing the same. When it was his turn, Lucifer went with the obvious, Sympathy for the Devil not that many had it. Chloe maybe, on a good day when he wasn’t being too annoying but where was the fun in that? When he went back to LA, he’d need to concoct a way of luring this team out there. He wasn’t nearly done playing with them. They were too much fun.
evil_little_dog Happy Birthday. A Lucifer/Prodigal Son crossover (from Lucifer's pov)Title: Friend of the Devil
author:
cornerofmadnessCharacters/Pairings: whole team
Disclaimer: Not mine, Chris Fedak and Sam Sklaver & DC Comics owns them
Summary/Teaser: Lucifer and Chloe have come to New York City on the trail of a serial killer and team up with the locals chasing the same man.
Rating: teen
Notes: written for evil_little_dog for her birthday after she said something to me about Lucifer and Malcolm comparing daddy issues. This got WAY out of hand.
XXX
Lucifer looked up at sky, which pissed down icy rain. It had been a long time since the devil had come to New York City to play and this was not helping. Of course, they were outside in Central Park. Next to him Chloe shivered – unused to this level of cold - as she spoke to a distinguished looking man whose saturnine appearance gave Lucifer ideas both carnal and sartorial. Maybe he ought to try a goatee again. His gaze slipped past them and beyond the saturnine man’s two detectives, a shapely attractive woman and her partner who was built like a linebacker.
Lucifer was more interested in the exceedingly well dressed, slender man. He hovered over the shoulder of their medical examiner who was busy overseeing the transfer of a young woman’s dead body into the body bag. He hadn’t seen such fantastic dress sense in years. Certainly no one in Decker’s team had his sense of style. Detective Douche couldn’t even come close. Lucifer would have to ask where the young man shopped.
“And you’re sure they’re following Chumash folklore?” the young man called over to Chloe.
She nodded. “We’re sure but we believe the killer is Sam Hinds, who has no connection to the Chumash tribe, Detective….”
“Bright, and he’s our profiler, a consultant,” the older detective said.
“Ah, and Lucifer’s my consultant.” She hooked a thumb his direction.
“Lucifer? Really?” The man’s dark eyebrows rose.
“Lucifer Morningstar,” he said swaggering over. “I didn’t catch anyone’s names.”
“Because you weren’t paying attention,” Chloe hissed, looking embarrassed for him.
“Is it a consultant thing to be overdressed and weird?” the heavy-set detective said sotto voce to his partner, and she rolled her eyes.
“JT,” their commander said, and then sighed. “I’m Lieutenant Arroyo. Detectives JT Tarmel and Dani Powell.” He gestured to the couple. “And as I said, that’s Malcolm Bright over there next to Dr. Tanaka.”
“So not Chumash himself then,” Bright said, squatting down to peer at something on the victim’s body
“No, looks like cultural appropriation.” Lucifer smirked. “Are you sure you want to get so close? He’s left rattle snakes at each scene. Most of the victims have been bitten.”
“Bright likes snakes,” JT said wryly.
“I was looking at the bite, and I don’t think the rattler is around. We’d have heard it by now,” Bright said, and then pointed. “Edrisa, something’s wrong there with the way her pantleg lays.”
“Her calf muscle has been removed,” Dr. Tanaka replied.
“We have evidence on as to what he’s doing with the missing parts. We had eleven cases in LA,” Chloe said. “And then it stopped. When we saw the news that you had four similar killings here, we arranged to come out to share what we know.”
“Tell me about the folklore, please, Chloe.” Bright straightened up and bounced over to them.
Lucifer cut in front of Chloe and ran a finger over the red herringbone tie Bright wore until Chloe tugged him back irritably. “Is that a Turnbull and Asser seven-fold silk tie? It’s exquisite.”
Bright beamed. “It is. You have an excellent eye. Yours is fantastic too.”
Lucifer fingered the electric blue silk. “A Charvet.”
“I think we just met the man who’s going to marry Bright,” JT said to Dani who slapped a hand across his chest.
“Lucifer, if you’re done?” Chloe shot him the evil eye, one that was echoed by Dr. Tanaka, which made Lucifer curious. “We believe Hinds has convinced himself he is the Sun providing for his daughters, which in the Chumash lore is a bit alarming as his daughters wear aprons made of rattlers and they all eat humans.”
Rather than being repulsed, Bright’s eyes gleamed, and he rocked up on his toes. “A cannibal? Now that is fascinating.”
“The word is gross, dude,” JT said, and Arroyo pinched the bridge of his nose.
“The body shows no signs of being gnawed on,” Tanaka called. “But all four of the others had parts removed. I couldn’t say what happened after that.”
“Are there any signs that he took the parts with him to cook?” Malcolm asked. “That is such a rare pathology that I…”
“Will sound creepily excited by it?” JT raised his eyebrows at him and Bright flushed.
“They did find pans in his home with residue suggesting he did cook them and there was chili made of human flesh in the fridge.” Chloe shuddered. “One he’d taken to a potluck earlier in the week.”
“Really?” If Bright’s eyes got any bigger, Lucifer thought they might all be in danger of drowning in them. “He’s sharing his compulsions. That is amazing.”
“Kid, you might want to take it down a peg,” Arroyo said but Lucifer was amused. Dr. Linda would love this man.
“Detective, you forgot to mention the prepared rack of ribs also in the fridge,” Lucifer offered just to stir the pot so to speak, and Chloe tossed another heated look at him.
“I was hoping to forget that.”
“Really? Prepared? I mean, were they rubbed with spices or?”
“Bright,” Dani broke in, and he turned to look at her. She seemed to have the same affect on Bright as Chloe had on him, as much as Lucifer hated to admit it. Bright shushed. “We don’t need to know.”
“But we do. If I’m to understand the psychopathy at play, I need details.”
“He had it rubbed with a Kansas city style spice mix,” Lucifer supplied those details almost gleefully, curious to see what happened next.
“And now I’m off ribs for life,” JT muttered. “ Keep it up, Bright and you and Morningstar over there are going to be bunking in Claremont with you know who.”
The comment sailed over Lucifer’s head but obviously not Bright’s. He jerked around to face his teammate, a little pout on his lips. Bright shook it off. “So, you think Hinds is here now and this is his work?” He asked that of Chloe.
“You’re finding snake bites right?” she asked.
“She has one on her wrist,” he replied. “But it’s the wrong time of year for rattlers. It’s too cold yet for them to be up and about. He has to be getting them somewhere.”
“Is this where you tell us you know a guy?” JT asked.
“He did point us at an exotic animal dealer before, got bit by a snake and I had to take him home and put him to bed after he left the hospital against medical advice,” Dani reminded him.
“And he does like snakes.” JT nodded.
“Really?” Lucifer drew out the word, looking at Bright anew. “I’ve been known to befriend a snake or two.”
“Told you they’re perfect for each other,” JT said to Dani who rolled her eyes. “So now we have a snake-loving psycho who’s sharing his kills, a little ‘the devil’s in all of us now’ so you can’t blame me for the evil I’m doing.”
“Why does everyone always blame me for every evil they commit?” Lucifer sighed heavily.
Bright’s head snapped around and he looked Lucifer over. “You actually believe you’re the devil? That you are indeed Lucifer Morningstar.”
“I don’t believe it. It’s the truth.” Lucifer thumped his chest.
“I don’t know what fascinates me more, a cannibal or a man who thinks he’s the devil.” Bright smiled like a boy who just lost his virginity.
“Focus, kid,” Arroyo said. “Why don’t you and Powell take Detective Decker and Lucifer to chase down the snake angle, and they can give you more details. JT and I will finish here.”
“Gladly. And JT, I do know a guy.” Bright glanced skywards. “It stopped raining, and hey, look, double rainbows.”
Lucifer stared up at the twinned rainbows. “Ironically the Chumash people believed that they entered this world over a rainbow bridge. Hopefully this killer of yours won’t take this to mean he’s doing the right thing.”
“I’ve had happier thoughts,” Chloe said.
“Haven’t we all?” Dani shuddered.
Chapter Two
Lucifer had been amazed at how fast it all went. Bright had really known a guy, and that guy put them on the trail of someone looking for rattlers. It led to where Hinds had holed up all the way across the country from LA. Lucifer supposed he thought he could go from one megacity to another and hide. It was a good guess, after all. Hinds hadn’t accounted for Chloe’s tenacity nor the excellent work put forth by the New York team. Lucifer had suggested that they all go out to celebrate while their bosses argued over who got to prosecute Hinds first. To his surprise, Chloe hadn’t put up much of a fight. It was Bright who had to be cajoled. There was something dark lurking in his corners and Lucifer wanted to suss it out.
He’d been even more surprised when JT had suggested this place he knew, a large bar with pool tables and dart boards in one room and the bathrooms bridged to the other room that had a karaoke stage that would be starting soon. They had played pool for the first hour with JT and his wife running one table and Gil and Chloe running the other. Dani and Bright were awful at it and Lucifer couldn’t hold his own with either of them as his partner. He was more than happy to stake out a good table in the karaoke lounge and buy a round of drinks while they waited for the singing to start.
“Do you sing as badly as you play pool?” JT smirked at Bright.
“I’m not sure anyone can sing as bad as he plays pool.” Arroyo laughed, savoring his quality bourbon because Lucifer refused to buy anything that wasn’t the best.
“Lucifer might be as over dressed as Bright and is doing the twinsies thing with the scruffy.” JT rubbed his own clean shaved chin. “But at least he can hustle pool.”
“I told you I’m better at squash,” Bright protested.
“That is so the rich White boy answer.” JT snorted, and Bright shrugged. But of course he was wealthy because Lucifer knew exactly how much the Christian Lacroix silk tie Bright wore cost because he’d paid a thousand for the identical one. They were sort of twinned if Lucifer was honest, both in black suits and charcoal shirts.
“Never apologize for the things you have,” Lucifer said. “My detective’s mother is a famous actress but she gets embarrassed sometimes at the wealth,” he added fondly, not bringing up Chloe’s own topless scene. He understood that she wanted to leave that in the past, not that he personally felt she had anything to be ashamed of.
“Because coming up through the ranks they mistook being privileged for a lack of dedication to the job. Speaking of which, I should call Mom and see how she and Trixie are getting along,” Chloe replied, sitting back in her chair. She pulled out her phone.
“Give them my love. Tell Trixie I expect a full recounting of her misadventures,” Lucifer said and Chloe narrowed her eyes at him. Lucifer laughed, sipped his scotch and gave his attention to the New York crew. “And while Detective Decker makes her call, we should take the time to get to know each other better.” Lucifer propped his chin up on his fist. “Tell me, Malcolm, what is your deepest desire?”
Malcolm jumped a little as Lucifer’s power enveloped him. “I want to be loved for who I am.” His big baby blues widened as his cheeks flushed, shocked at his instantaneous confession.
JT looked up from the karaoke playlist he was perusing with Tally and Dani. “What are you even talking about, bro? This is not the time or place for your daddy issue stuff.”
His wife buried her elbow in his ribs. “JT!”
“Well unless that’s a proposal for Dani, it’s not the time or place,” JT rubbed his side, and Arroyo shot him a look this time.
Dani shook her head. “That’s not what he means. He thinks he’s broken. I keep telling him that he can be fixed.”
Malcolm’s grateful look was something Lucifer picked up and tucked away for later use. He put his hand up to summon back the waitress to bring a second round as he said, “I’m more of the abandon all hope type.” Lucifer grinned. “But only after you’re gone when it’s too late to change. You should listen to the lovely lady, Malcolm. In fact, you should whisk her away in your private jet and join me in LA for a little sweet fun.” He lowered his voice, letting it go husky. “I own Lux, one of the best nightclubs in town. We three could have such a lovely time together.” Lucifer reached out and stroked both of their chins.
Dani jerked away, narrowing her eyes at him but softened a bit as she studied him. Malcolm melted a little at the touch. Another nugget Lucifer filed away.
“Here I was thinking marriage but maybe Dani gets her own TV show, a reverse take on Sister Wives.” JT chuckled, and Dani swatted him with the karaoke booklet.
“Detective, why limit yourself to just one sex and partner? Three is better than two, am I right?” Lucifer smirked.
“Yes,” Malcolm whispered, went even redder and down his bourbon in one swallow.
“We’re just learning all sorts of things about you tonight, dude,” JT said as Dani and Tally stared. Lucifer noted Arroyo seemed unsurprised and wondered why. “Maybe you should stick with moaning about the Daddy issues because there’s not enough booze in this joint for me to hear about your sexual preferences and threesome fantasies.”
He got another elbow to the ribs from Dani this time. Lucifer laughed. “He has nothing on my daddy issues.”
“Want to bet?” Dani asked.
“It’s hard to beat having your father cast you out of heaven because hell needed a ruler. My brother, Amenadiel, has tried to make me see this was a matter of trust in me. It’s an honor I could have done without,” Lucifer said bitterly, and then turned to the waitress who finally made her way around. “Another round for my friends, please, darling.”
“You believe that, don’t you?” Bright asked, his gaze hot as hell as he studied Lucifer. “You seemed convinced that you’re a fallen angel, that you rule hell. I can’t sense a hint of lie or disbelief. I almost wish I was a clinical psychologist because you’d be a fascinating patient.”
“They call me the Prince of Lies, which is truly so unfair. I rarely lie. I have no need but yes, of course I believe it. It’s true. I’m the Prince of Hell, Lucifer himself.” He spread his arms wide. “And my father is the worst.”
“That depends. I suppose judging by the Old Testament, God does have a vindictive streak.” Bright shrugged. “But if you’re truly the Morningstar, wouldn’t your fall be predicated on the fact you were so arrogant he sought to punish you?”
Chloe slapped the table a couple of times and then pointed at Malcolm and touched her nose to indicate she was listening and agreed.
Lucifer rolled his eyes. “That’s one version of the story. Mine is my old man has unrealistic expectations and heaven won’t help you if you fail to live up to them. That’s why I walked away from hell. It’s my act of defiance. Every prodigal son has to have one.”
“I’ll agree with that.” Bright bopped his head.
“So you think you can beat my daddy issues?” Reclining back on his chair insolently, Lucifer thumped the table as the waitress returned and distributed their drinks.
Bright waited for her to leave before saying. “I can give it a run for its money. In a way, my father cast me into hell as well.”
Lucifer sat from his slouch. “Do tell.”
“I had the perfect life growing up. The Miltons are close to American royalty. The Whitlys have a long history of medical achievements.”
“But your name is Bright,” he interrupted.
Bright held up a hand. “Changed it to get away from my father’s legacy. Until I was ten I had a life of extreme privilege and I was happy…until I found a girl locked in a box in my father’s basement study.”
Lucifer widened his eyes, leaning forward. “What?” Out of the corner of his eyes he saw Chloe put her phone away, instantly engaged in what was happening.
“My father is Martin Whitly, the infamous serial killer, The Surgeon, and I’m the one who turned him in.”
“Ooo, that loses you points on the honor thy father front,” Lucifer replied. “Good for you. That is such an overrated commandment.”
Bright glanced away. “We lost everything. Well, not the money but we became pariahs and as much as Dad would have loved for me to follow in his footsteps, I became a forensic profiler.”
“And where is dear old dad now?” Lucifer asked.
“Claremont psychiatric facility and living in my phone so I don’t get any peace.” Bright sighed and shot back his bourbon again.
That clarified the puzzling statement he’d overheard at the crime scene. “Change your number.”
“It’s complicated.”
“Martin Whitly.” Lucifer rolled the name around his mouth. “Sounds like someone I should look up.”
“If you really are the devil, you’ll see him someday.” At that Bright smiled a little.
Lucifer reached over and closed his hand around Bright’s wrist. “We should talk appropriate punishments.”
Arroyo slapped the karaoke playlist down on their hands. “This is getting weird. Kid, pick a song because you’re singing tonight.”
“I already know what I’m singing,” he said, the spell broken.
“Then you go first,” JT said. “Because I have to hear this.”
“Okay.”
Bright was as good as his word. When it was his turn to take the stage he belted out a strong rendition of Shinedown’s Monsters. Lucifer could believe his monsters were real and knew how to kill.
“Damn, he can actually sing,” JT muttered, and Dani looked equal parts shocked and enraptured.
Lucifer assumed she had never seen this side of Bright. It had to be hard to be the son of a serial killer solving crimes but not harder than being Hell’s commander in chief doing the same. When it was his turn, Lucifer went with the obvious, Sympathy for the Devil not that many had it. Chloe maybe, on a good day when he wasn’t being too annoying but where was the fun in that? When he went back to LA, he’d need to concoct a way of luring this team out there. He wasn’t nearly done playing with them. They were too much fun.
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