[15 minutes later] [Outside Lux]
Lucifer walked beside Delilah along the side street outside Lux.
Delilah kept close to him, calmer now than she had been earlier. The fear in her eyes had not completely disappeared, but the conversation inside had helped enough for her to breathe without looking like she was about to fall apart.
She glanced back toward the club doors, then toward the stage lights flashing through the windows.
"Can I come back sometimes?" Delilah asked. "Sing on the stage like old times?"
Lucifer looked at her with a small smile.
"Anytime," he said. "That stage is yours whenever you want it."
Delilah nodded slowly.
For a second, she only stared at him, as if she wanted to say something more but could not find the right words. Then she stepped forward and pulled him into a tight hug.
Lucifer froze for the briefest moment before his arms settled around her.
Delilah held onto him with more strength than he expected. It wasn't glamorous or polished like the version of herself she showed the public. It was desperate, grateful, and painfully human.
Lucifer's expression softened slightly as he looked over her shoulder toward the street.
Then his eyes sharpened. 'Here we go.'
A piece-of-shit car slowed to a stop in front of them.
Lucifer noticed the sounds before anyone else did. He heard the engine and noticed the window go down. He saw the weapon being raised. His body moved before Delilah could respond.
The first shot rang out.
Lucifer turned her around instantly, putting himself between Delilah and the shooter. He wanted to use his speed to get her away, but she was human. If he moved too fast with her in his arms, he might injure her worse than the bullets would.
So he took the shots instead.
Bullets slammed into him one after another, tearing through his clothes and leaving smoking holes across his suit. The force pushed him back slightly, but nothing pierced his skin. 'Arg! It stings.'
Delilah cried out as two bullets grazed her right palm, which was on Lucifer's back and shoulder.
Lucifer tightened his hold around her and kept his body in front of hers until the shooting stopped.
Before the shooter could fire again, a city bus came barreling into the street and smashed into the side of the car with brutal force. The impact threw the vehicle across the road, crushing metal and scattering glass across the pavement.
For one breathless second, everything went still.
Then the screaming began.
People outside Lux shouted and scattered. Phones lifted. The bus hissed as it stopped. The wrecked car sat twisted near the curb, smoke rising from its broken frame.
Lucifer let out an unholy groan as he pushed himself upright. His clothes were torn open with smoking bullet holes, but there were no entry wounds. Not a single mark sat beneath the ruined fabric.
He looked down at Delilah.
She was alive.
Her eyes were wide with terror as she stared up at him, breathing fast and unevenly. Her right palm was bleeding, and blood stained the fabric near her shoulder.
Lucifer's jaw tightened.
"Wait here for a moment. I'll be right back."
Delilah stared at him, too shocked to answer properly or feel the pain.
Lucifer stood and walked toward the wrecked car, anger burning beneath every step.
The shooter's body had been thrown from the crumpled vehicle and lay among broken glass near the curb. He was badly injured, but still alive, his breathing shallow and uneven as Lucifer stopped in front of him.
Lucifer looked down at him with cold fury.
"You shouldn't have done that. Now, look at you... Ever heard of Karma?" His devil face flickered for a moment, just long enough for the shooter to realize who he was dealing with, right before his death.
The shooter's voice came out broken and terrified. He knew the devil had come to claim his soul, and he was going to hell. So, he wanted to give the devil a clue or something so that he'll take it easy on him in hell.
"I... I'm sorry... I just pulled the trigger for money..."
He coughed hard, his body shaking once before going still.
He was dead.
Lucifer turned away and walked back to Delilah while pulling out his phone. She was still on the ground, holding her injured palm close to her chest as her shoulder continued bleeding. He crouched beside her and called for an ambulance.
"I need an ambulance outside Lux," Lucifer said, his voice controlled despite the anger in his eyes. "Female victim, bullet wounds to the right palm and right shoulder. She's alive and conscious."
He ended the call and looked at Delilah.
She stared at the smoking holes in his clothes, then at his face, unable to understand what she had just seen.
Lucifer pressed one hand gently near her shoulder to slow the bleeding.
For a moment, his thoughts turned inward.
'I should've seduced her and kept her inside the club. If he had done that, maybe she wouldn't have been hurt at all.'
But if he had changed too much, he might not have met Chloe tonight. He might not have met Linda the same way either. The whole chain could have shifted into something worse.
His gaze dropped to the blood on Delilah's hand.
'Tsk. She still got hurt.'
Sirens began to rise in the distance.
"You got shot! Then how...?" Delilah whispered, still in shock.
"Because I'm immortal," Lucifer said with his classic smile.
...
Up on top of a building stood Amenadiel. He was glaring at Lucifer so ominously that if anyone saw his expression, they'd wonder: is he observing this moment? Or did he cause it?
...
[Approx. 10 minutes later]
The cops and ambulance arrived at the same time. The medics took Delilah to the hospital. Meanwhile, Lucifer went to his penthouse and changed his clothes.
Maze walked out of the elevator. She went straight to him and asked, "You saved a human?"
Lucifer put on his coat and said, "Yes. Maze. I did. She owed me a favor. So, I couldn't let her die yet."
Then he turned toward her. She was still in her party dress. He walked closer and wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her closer to an intimate hug. Maze didn't resist; instead, she was enjoying the moment. She lifted her face with a smile. Their lips were almost touching.
"Stop thinking about what I did... instead, think about what I'm gonna do with you after I talk to those cops," He whispered against her lips.
"Should I get a couple of dancers?" Maze asked softly.
"No," Lucifer's hand slowly shifted lower. He cupped her butt cheeks and gave them a nice squeeze. "I want to ravish you... only you, tonight."
Maze was about to cup his cheeks and just kiss him, but to her disappointment, he pulled back like a fucking tease. He then winked at her before walking toward the elevator.
"By the way, you look beautiful tonight."
...
[Back at the crime scene]
The cops were swarming around the place. An unmarked cop car pulled up. The door opened... LAPD homicide detective Chloe Decker got out.