Chapter 10
Every now and again, I would doze off as Alec held me. At one point, I must have been in a pretty deep sleep because when I woke, Alec was gone. I sniffled, and used my thumb to wipe the dampness from my cheeks. I drew my eyebrows together and called out for Alec. A moment later, he came in and sat back down on my bed.
I laid back down on his chest and I listened to the steadiness of his heartbeat, feeling myself relax. I heard him draw in a breath and I knew that he was about to speak.
"Clary?" He whispered.
"Hmm?"
"Magnus just called me."
I nodded, although I knew what was coming. I buried my face in his shirt, and he squeezed me tighter against him. I did not want to hear how Jace's interrogation went. I knew he hated me know.
"Jace has set up a meeting with the leader of the cartel. They're meeting him tomorrow night, a few blocks from Pandemonium. They are going to have police surrounding the place," he paused, and looked down. He reached with his spare hand, brushing a loose curl from my ponytail out of my face. I glanced at him before hiding my face again.
"I know that there is something else, so you might as well just say it," I mentioned.
Alec chuckled silently, before drawing in a sharp breath. "Magnus requested you be there. They don't have many officers there and you were the leader of this case, so he says it is imperative for you to be there. You don't really have a choice," Alec said softly.
The thought of seeing Jace, putting himself in a dangerous position, was terrifying and heartbreaking. The tears that had been my acquaintances for the last few hours, being to flow down my cheeks once again. "I can't Alec," I begged. "Please, talk to Magnus. Get me out of this, please Alec."
Alec tilted my head up, forcing me to look at him. "Jace needs you there."
I shook my head, keeping my eyes on Alec's steady, piercing blue ones. I could get lost in Alec's eyes. They were one of the most beautiful things I had ever seen and even though his face was ageing a little bit, his eyes remained full of life and fun. "Jace hates me."
Alec shook his head. "No, he doesn't. Clary, I saw the way he was looking at you the other night. There is no way that he could hate you. He loves you, Clary. He loves you more than anything," Alec assured me.
"How do you know that?" I asked vulnerably.
"It was the way he looked at you when you laughed. His eyes shone with happiness and delight. It was when you yelled at Isabelle that he looked at you with speechlessness and awe. It was whenever your mouth quirked up on one side when you were embarrassed, that he looked at you like he could not possibly imagine his life without you in it. It was when you smiled, and he smiled back, that he looked at you with more love in his eyes than I ever thought one person could possibly hold for another singular person.
"He does not look at you with disgust or pity or lust. He looks at you with adoration and beauty and love. His love for you is not simply a spark placed randomly in his heart; it is a wildfire, taking over his sense, taking over his mind. There is so much love, Clary, he loves you so much. And when there is that much love, it cannot be thrown away so easily. He is hurting, just like you are, Clare bear. And I know for a fact that you love him just the same.
"So go tomorrow night. Protect him. I think he needs it. And after that, you can talk things over with him and he will forgive you. I know he will." Alec's eyes rested steadily on mine, but there was a wave of absolution burning in the softness of his gaze.
"He- he really looks like that when he's around me?" I asked quietly.
"He really does," Alec said, softly.
I was quiet for a moment, and a small smile quirked the side of my mouth. "That's it there, the smile that Jace adores so much." I lay back against Alec's chest again, and I felt him wrap his arm around me.
"Thank you," I whispered.
"Any time, Clare bear," he replied just as softly.
So we sat in silence and relaxed in the company of the other person, and eventually I fell asleep, feeling not quite as heartbroken as I did before.
The following evening, I got out of my taxi and walked into the police station. The rest of the crew that was assisting tonight was already there and being prepped. I pulled on a bulletproof vest and grabbed a gun, loading the bullets into it but putting it on safety.
When I had first began working for the police, I was deathly afraid of using guns. The loudness of them always shook me and I thought that I would never get used to it. Magnus noticed my nervousness around guns and he and Alec took me to a shooting range one evening after work. They taught how to hold the gun properly, how to aim, and that made me feel better about shooting. The sound ricocheted off the walls and vibrated in my bones, making me feel power and in control.
After that night, guns did not bother me as much as they used to.
Across the room, everyone gathered around Magnus who was standing in the center of the room. I stayed where I was, and continued prepping.
"Everybody listen up!" Magnus demanded. "Jonathan Herondale is not to be harmed! He is doing us a favor and without him, we would not even be in this position of power here! The mission here is to collect Jordan Kyle, the leader of the cartel, and to protect Jonathan!" he shouted. "Everybody got that?"
A nod of understanding and some murmured 'yes sirs' flooded the room. I stayed silent. I already knew the rules of this mission. They were the same two months ago when I first received this mission. Jace and I had been together for almost two months. That filled my stomach with butterflies, soon replaced by sadness as I realized that that might not be the case anymore. I sighed, and finished loading up.
Not five minutes later, we were hustled into black SUV's and were headed to our destination. We were more than an hour ahead of when the meeting was supposed to take place. After the officers were out of the cars, the SUV's were parked blocks away and the drivers walked over. Everyone set up, including the sniper that was situated on a roof across the street.
We were in a dank alley way. There were no street lights close enough to project light into the darkness of the alley, but there was a lamp situated on one of the walls, that I assumed to be burned out. I climbed the rust infested ladder to the top of one of the buildings. I looked down into the alley, and crouched, hiding myself in the shadows. No one would see me.
The walkie talkie by my side was awoken by Magnus's voice coming through.
"Everybody in place? Over."
"One in place, over."
"Two in place, over."
"Three and four in place, over."
"Five and six in place, over."
"Seven in place, over," I said finally. I was the last person.
We were less than a half hour away from the meeting time, and Kyle's men were beginning to show up. An SUV pulled into the back end of the alley, leaving only one way open. Three men got out, and stood around the car. They searched the alley thoroughly and when it was deemed satisfactory, they spoke into their ear pieces, and Kyle got out of the car.
Kyle was not as I expected. Most drug lords were kind of gruffy looking, long beards, a cold glare in their eyes. Kyle was almost the complete opposite. He wore a suit, and his light brown hair was neatly combed back. He looked like he was getting ready to go to a business meeting instead of passing drugs along to the next person. Had I seen him in the streets, I would assume him to be a lawyer or something like that because he looked so professional.
His eyes were another thing that shocked me about him. Most people in his line of work had eyes that were mean; unyielding. His had more of a playful smirk in them; the look a poker played got when he knew he was about to win. He was an arrogant man and he knew how to get what he wanted.
I reached down and turned my walkie talkie off as Jace arrived. He stepped out of the cab he was in and walked to the middle of the alley, maybe ten steps away from Kyle. I reached down and grasped my gun, waiting for the moment that I would have to pull it out. I could hear the conversation clear from where I was.
"I thought you told my men that you were done in this business now. That was what, four days ago?" Kyle smirked.
"I changed my mind," Jace said.
"Who says we even want you back? I mean, you were pretty clear to my men that you did not want your position anymore. I mean, what made you change your mind?"
"That's none of your business," Jace snarled.
Kyle chuckled, and replied, "Did I hit a weak spot there?"
"Do you want me back or what?" Jace demanded.
I did not hear Kyle's response, as footsteps echoed behind me. I stood up, suddenly on full alert, walking away from the roof slowly so as not to draw attention to my movements. As I turned to look at the meeting below, I was struck on the side of my head and thrown to the side. I cried out with pain, and groaned. I reached down, taking my gun firmly in my hand although my head was starting to spin, when a gunshot exploded in my ears and my arm began to sting with pain.
I dropped my gun and held my arm, feeling the bullet hole with my fingers. I gritted my teeth, and drew deep breaths in through my teeth. Someone kicked my gun away from me and I felt very much in danger knowing that I had no way to protect myself now. I tried to look at my attacker but his face was enclosed beneath a ski mask. I kicked out, trying to hit his knee caps when he chuckled and kicked me in the side.
My red hair began falling out of my ponytail and helmet and the man crouched down, taking a handful of it and yanking it towards him. I stifled a groan and he smirked at me. "It must be you that Jonathan is so attached to. You know your red hair stands out in a crowd very well." His voice was deep and gravely, scratchy the way your voice is after spending a night at haunted houses in October. It made him sound even more threatening.
My eyes widened. They had been looking for me as well. They knew that I was a weak spot for Jace. They were going to exploited me and use me against him. He could get killed. My fear was replaced with fear for Jace, and I tried to scream but he shoved a gag in my mouth, yanking my helmet off and tying it behind my head.
He began to haul me to my feet but I threw my elbow back, hitting him in the stomach. He growled in my ear, and I squirmed but he only squeezed me tighter. He ripped my vest off my torso, revealing my long sleeved black shirt beneath it. "Now, you have no protection at all. I could shoot you in the ribs and you would not have anything to protect your body from the shot." He laughed, the sound resonating from low in his throat.
I began struggling harder and he kicked the back of my leg, making me fall to my knees before him. He slapped me with a momentum that could have knocked teeth out. I groaned pushing myself up to my elbows having had been pushed over. He kicked the soft part of my stomach sending me sprawling on my back. I groaned and coughed. "Are you ready to behave yourself now?" he snarled at me.
I looked up at him, and spat. He smiled, deathly calm and stood back up, wiping his face off. I shrunk back in fear as he brought his foot back and kicked me three more times in the stomach. I groaned and rolled over onto my stomach, hoping to block anymore advances. He hoisted me to my feet and pushed me against one of the little half walls on the roof.
Bringing his hand back, he punched me viciously in the face so many times I lost count. I felt blood running down my nose from where I was positive he had broken my nose, and I knew my lip was split, causing more blood to run down my face. My eye was swollen shut already. I coughed and blood came out, making me sick to my surely bruised stomach.
He got down in my face, and asked me, "Are we ready to behave ourselves now?" I nodded, and fell limply against the wall behind me. He hoisted me up and went to the stairs leading inside the building. A moment later we emerged in the alley. He was practically dragging me, and my head lolled to the side because I could not find the strength to lift it up.
Someone had gotten that light working, and I was bathed in warm light. I could not see anybody from where I was but a moment later, I heard Kyle's calm voice calling the man to bring me forward. The man picked me up, his huge arms wrapping around my stomach. I saw Kyle's men surrounding me and I knew that Jace was not far ahead of me. Kyle's men left my side, and walked to Jace, holding him back as he tried to catapult himself towards me.
"No! You let her go!" He shouted. Kyle laughed mercilessly and walked toward me. He grabbed my chin and yanked it toward him. "Oh, she is a beauty, isn't Jonathan?" I tried to struggle, trying to summon that fire within me, but I couldn't quite fight my way to it. I just groaned softly, and Jordan Kyle smiled at me.
His hand left my chin and continued downward, caressing the side of my neck before slowly treading further down my body. His hand now lay upon my breast, softly. I began to panic, and he brought his other hand to my bruised cheek, rubbing his thumb over my cheekbone. Jordan smiled at me once more as his hand left my breast. I let a breath out, believing that he would leave me alone.
He noticed my relief and shoved his hand down my shirt, resting his hand on my breast once again, the cover of my bra above his hand. His fingers rested on my skin and I began to panic, thinking they were going to rape me in the alley in front of Jace. I whimpered, and Jordan pinched my nipple and my not swollen eye squeezed shut trying to block out any part of this disgusting man's fingers on me.
Jace growled and yelled at Kyle. "You leave her alone! Stop! Leave her alone! Leave her alone!"
Kyle looked back at Jace as his fingers pinched my nipple once again, simulating nerves inside me that my mind refused to feel but my body welcomed. I bit down on my lip, feeling the pain of my split lip and trying to focus on that and not Jordan's icy, cold fingers.
"You see Jonathan, my men alerted me to seven cops in the area that were watching us. Of course, no one else knew about this meeting, so I know that you are working with the cops. If you have been the whole time, I don't know, but I know for a fact you are now. My men took them out and we knew that the red head beauty you love was going to be here. We have been watching her for months. We knew she worked with the cops, and somehow you did not. You allowed her to get closer to you.
"But she was only trying to get information out of you. She turned you in to her boss, for heaven's sake! I knew that I could not trust you anymore, Jonathan." His fingers twisted my nipple and he brought his other hand down to my other breast, doing the same torture to my other nipple as well. A tear slid down my cheek and I wanted more than anything to just run into Jace's arms and let him hold me tight against him, protecting me from all the dangers Jordan Kyle proposed.
I looked Jace in the eye, and I saw misery inside them. I tried to say his name but my throat hurt too much and I did not have the strength. I loved him and I need him to know that. He was the love of my life. I knew this. I think I had known this for a while, I had just been denying it before. I wish I had told him before. Jordan took his hands out of my shirt, and turned back to Jace.
"Anyway, we really must be going now." He turned back to me, and stroked my cheek, before ordering the man holding me to put me in the car. I tried to struggle, whimpering as sore parts of me screamed in pain. My arm was still bleeding intensely, but nobody seemed to be too alarmed by it. I heard another gunshot, and the rest of the men got in the car, and I was left to think that the love of my life was dead.
Another tears slid down my cheek before I lost consciousness.
