See Me As I Am

ChloePOV: Two Witnesses

Chloe had been thinking through everything in her head over and over as she headed to see Dan. It bothered her that she couldn't figure out why he'd shown up to warn Lucifer. As far as she could tell Dan hated Lucifer, so why would he go out of his way to investigate a threat against him, especially one he never told Chloe about? The only explanation that made sense was that Dan had some kind of inside knowledge about the hit on Lucifer or knew someone else who had inside knowledge. Dan had been partnered up with Malcolm at the precinct since Malcolm's return to work. Maybe he'd noticed something and followed up. That still didn't explain why he'd looked so messed up when she'd seen him or how he'd run off when she'd tried to ask him about it. No, even her best case scenarios involved Dan lying to her. Chloe knew she wasn't going to like what he had to say, but she still wanted answers.

Dan had said he was going home to shower, so that's where she went to look for him. Hopefully, he hadn't been lying about that as well.

Chloe parked in his driveway and got out. Well, Dan's car was here, so at least that was a good sign. Walking up to the door she rang the bell. Nothing. She rang it again. This time she heard a slight scuffling noise, and then the door opened.

"Oh hey Chloe," Dan said. "I didn't expect-"

"Like hell you didn't," Chloe snapped, walking in without an invitation. "You think you can just mysteriously know things, look beat up, and walk away without me wondering why?"

There were still cuts on Dan's face, but his clothes were clean and his hair was wet. He'd probably just gotten out of the shower.

"By all means," Dan said dryly as he closed the door behind her. "Come in."

"What tip?" Chloe asked again.

"Just let it go," Dan said, with a sigh. "Please."

"You know I can't do that," Chloe told him, firmly. "Somehow you knew about a murder attempt on my partner and I'm just suppose to shrug that away like it's nothing?"

"We aren't together anymore," Dan snapped. "I don't have to tell you everything."

"You're right. You don't," Chloe agreed. "The only reason I'm here is because I know you. This is your chance to tell me your side of the story." Her voice had been kind up until now but it shifted into authoritative cop as she continued. "You get just one chance. If you'd rather keep your secrets then I'll just have to figure it out on my own. Because you know I will."

"You'll hate me," Dan said softly.

"And how much do you think I'll hate you once I figure it out on my own?" Chloe shot back.

There was a long silence during which she waited for him to speak. Chloe had said her peace. The ball was in his court, but if he didn't talk soon she was gonna walk away.

"I knew Malcolm was going to try to kill Lucifer because he told me," Dan confessed.

"And you didn't turn him in because?" Chloe snapped.

"If he goes down," Dan said. "I go down."

"He's blackmailing you?" Chloe scoffed. "You are gonna have to do better than that!"

"If I turned Malcolm in then he'd tell everyone it was me," Dan said, slowly. "I was the one you were looking for. I was the cop who shot Malcolm. There's a trapdoor that's how I got out."

"The 999 key we found was yours," Chloe whispered.

"So I take it that means you've already found the trapdoor?" Dan sighed.

"Yeah I did," Chloe yelled. "And you killed a man in cold blood!"

"He isn't dead," Dan defended himself. "And I only did it to protect you. Malcolm was about to shoot you."