Hello, my lovelies. I'm sorry that this chapter is late, but I had to take the SAT last week, which was really important. So I spent most of my time studying and not writing, even though I wanted to do the exact opposite. But it's here now. So, enjoy!

And thanks to my beta, HeronFrayWood, this chapter has been edited.

P.S. There was a problem last chapter. Apparently a reviewer (yes I know who you are) decided that it would be fun to comment "screw you" ten times because they didn't like the story. Well, all I have to say to that is, you're only wasting your time, not mine. You may not like the story, it's your right not to, but saying things like "screw you" is just uncalled for. Besides, I'm proud of this story, so if you think your childish negativity is going to stop me from writing it, you've got another thing coming. And to those of you who've stuck by this story and actually paid attention, I'd like to thank you for your support. You are the ones that keep a smile on my face when I'm going through really tough times. Kisses!

Disclaimer: All TMI characters belong to Cassandra Clare :)

Chapter Songs:

**Afire Love by Ed Sheeran (Scene 1)

**Do My Thang by Miley Cyrus (Scene 2)

**Vegabonds by Grizfolk (Scene 3)

When Jace woke up the next morning, he found that his arms were wrapped around one of his pillows instead of Clary. Groaning, he buried his face into the pillow, breathing in the scent of strawberries and her. Feeling around the bed, he felt nothing but soft sheets, which were still a little warm, making him think that it hadn't been long since she'd left. But as he felt around some more, his hand landed on a folded piece of paper. After grabbing it, he fell back onto his own pillow, ran a hand through his hair, and flipped the paper open. He grinned, seeing that it was a note from Clary.

Jon called. I'm meeting him up on the roof. I didn't want to wake you, but you can come join us when you wake up. It was kind of a bummer having to leave you. I'd be lying if I said waking up in your arms didn't make me feel incredible. So, thanks for last night. I mean that, Jace.

P.S. Your hands totally wandered . . .

Chuckling, Jace glanced over the note once more, seeing that she added the time that she'd written it in the bottom right corner. 9:35 am. He closed the note and turned his head, eyeing the clock on his dresser. It was quarter to ten now. He cursed under his breath, realizing that he'd just missed her. He'd really been looking forward to seeing her in that outfit again. Damn . . . next time then.

With a sigh, he placed the note onto his dresser and forced himself to stand. That was some of the best sleep he'd had in years. But even if he didn't want to leave just yet, he made his feet move in the direction of his bathroom so he could get cleaned up.

Afterward, he fished out a black t-shirt from his dresser and shrugged it on, along with a pair of jeans. He stretched and grabbed his phone just in case before stepping out of his room. Tiredly strolling across the hall, he opened Clary's door and let himself in. Her window led right to the roof, albeit he would have to use some upper body strength, but if he wanted to get up there quick, this was his best shot.

Jace trailed over to the window and lifted it up, sticking his head out. Turning around, he sat in the window sill, his back to the outside. He reached out, grasping the bar above the window as he lifted himself up into a standing position. His hands then quickly held onto the ledge above him and used that alone to lift himself up. The muscles on his biceps bulged as he raised himself onto the ledge, slapping his hands together to get the dust off afterwards. Then, with little effort, he was on the roof, spotting Clary and Jon sitting with their legs dangling over the edge.

Jace smiled at the sight, glad that Clary still had her brother to lean on. He couldn't imagine how much pain she'd feel if she'd lost him too. Not wanting to really think about it, he jumped over the wide gap, pulling their attention. Taking a seat next to Clary, he allowed his legs to dangle.

Jon gave him a small nod and held out his fist. Jace pounded it with his and they blew it up afterward, causing Clary to laugh. They'd definitely bonded over the last few months, even if they did grate on each others nerves more than they got along. But when it came to Clary, they both had one thing in common: they'd do anything for the stubborn redhead.

Wrapping his arm around said redhead, Jace leaned down to kiss her, quickly running his tongue along her bottom lip, tasting green apple there. His favorite. With great reluctance, he pulled away, knowing that Jon didn't want to watch his little sister lock lips with her boyfriend. But after getting another look at her parted lips and tasting his favorite fruit on his tongue yet again, he'd seriously considered pushing Jon off of the roof so he could properly kiss his girl. Clary seemed to be thinking the same thing when she bit her lip, an almost misty look in her emerald green eyes.

God, she was beautiful. So damn beautiful.

Jon chuckled. "I see the honeymoon stage hasn't fizzled out," he said. "It's almost as if you two are in—"

"Love?" Jace suggested.

Clary blushed slightly, most likely not wanting to have this conversation with her brother, of all people. But no words were necessary, because one look from her got Jon all the information he needed to know.

"Oh, hell," he muttered.

"What?" Jace asked. "Jealous?"

Jon turned, giving him a look of disgust. "Why in the hell would I be jealous of the guy that's with my sister?"

Jace frowned. "Well, when you put it that way . . ."

"Could both of you please shut up?" Clary took another bite out of her apple. "There's more important things that we have to discuss."

Jace nodded. "So," he said, taking Clary's apple briefly to take a bite. Handing it back, he turned to Jon. "What brings you here?"

"What do you think?" The older boy scoffed. "Something obviously happened yesterday. I'm just here to make sure that she was taken care of."

Jace furrowed his brows. "You knew?"

Clary turned to him. "Jon and I have always been able to . . . sense if something was wrong with the other."

"I like to call it sibling telepathy," Jon said. "It's cooler that way." He rubbed the back of his neck and turned to his sister. "But yeah, you pretty much woke me up out of my sleep last night. But I remembered you telling me that you were with him, so that made me feel a little better."

"Just a little?" Jace asked in mock hurt.

Jon chose to ignore that, keeping his eyes on his sister after sending him a look. "Did you tell him?"

She nodded. "Last night."

He raised a brow. "And you're . . . okay?"

Clary reached out to grab Jace's hand, lacing her fingers through his. "Better than okay." Jon narrowed his eyes as if he were trying to make sure that she was telling the truth. She sighed. "He took care of me, Jon. Cross my heart."

Jon glanced at him for a moment before turning back to his sister. "He better have," he muttered.

Clary rolled her eyes. "He did. Besides, that wasn't even the most exciting part of last night."

"Something else happened?" he asked. Then he paused. "Wait . . . you two didn't—"

"No!" Clary yelled. "We didn't. And I'd appreciate it if you stopped asking me that."

Jon held his hands up in surrender. "Okay. Okay. I was just curious."

"Well, even if we did, that's not something I'd want to tell my brother." She shivered. "It's bad enough that you tell me about your 'conquests.'"

"Well, if I had a brother, that wouldn't be a problem."

Clary scoffed. "Are you seriously blaming me for being a girl?"

"Clare . . ." he drawled out. "I'm just dicking around." He ran a hand over his face. "So what actually happened last night?"

She turned to Jace and nodded her head over to Jon, silently telling him to let him in on what happened. Jace let go of her hand, wrapping his arm around her waist, his gaze falling on Jon.

"My mom kind of clocked my dad in the face last night."

"Kind of?" Clary laughed. "I'm pretty sure she broke the asswipe's face."

Jon's eyes widened. "What made her do that?"

Jace shook his head. "He found out about us yesterday and started freaking out. Not much happened after that. He started giving my mom shit about not telling him anything, I stepped in, he tried to hit me, Clary slammed him into a wall," he paused enough to let Jon chuckle. "But most importantly, my mom finally kicked him out. Gave him a nice little bloody nose on his way, too."

Jon smirked. "Nice."

"He deserved it," Clary said. "You should've heard the things he said. I swear, if she didn't hit him, I would've."

"Yeah, but knowing you, Clare, you probably would've killed him."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Piss off."

"Make me."

"Guys," Jace unwrapped his arm from Clary. "As much as I love the sibling banter, there's still something I don't get."

Clary turned to him, brows furrowed. "What?"

"It's about that painting," he said. "How'd it get there without you two knowing?"

"Our mom had been trying to get a few of her paintings in an exhibition for a while, but she never told us where." A small grin spread across Jon's face. "She always did have a knack for surprises."

Clary nodded. "And she always showed me her paintings, but there was one that she was working on that she never allowed anyone to see. She only wanted people to see the finished product. I'd waited, and waited, and waited, but she never said anything about it. I just assumed that she never finished it, but it looks like she did. It was more beautiful than anything I'd ever seen her make and trust me, she's made a lot of amazing things. It had always been a dream of hers to get her artwork displayed and it finally came true." Her gaze turned sad. "I wish she could've seen it there before everything happened."

"It would've made her happy as hell," Jon said, grinning widely. "What did it end up being?"

"It was of her and dad on top of the Empire State Building," Clary explained. "The night of their first kiss."

Jon didn't say anything in response, just nodded. Jace imagined that even though he masked it well, talking about their parents affected him just as much as it did Clary. He knew what masking emotions looked like. He'd perfected how to cover everything up over the years, but now that he had Clary, he knew that he didn't have to hide anymore. He didn't have to be anyone but himself because she accepted and loved him just the way that he was. Jace could only hope that Jon found someone that accepted him like that—demons and all. And although he used to not believe in "the one", he knew that Jon's girl was out there somewhere. She had to be.

"So," Jon said, changing the subject. "Do you two have any idea where Stephen went after he left?"

Clary shrugged. "He was too busy holding his bloody nose to tell us."

Jon removed a dagger from his jeans and began twirling it around his fingers. "I could track his phone and bank account records, if you want. Find out exactly where he's staying."

Jace shook his head. "I don't really care where he is. Besides, it's not like he has to be protected or anything. I'm the one with a target on my back," he said, letting out a harsh laugh at the irony of it all. "I mean, I thought that this whole mission would make him step up and realize that this was the time to be a father, but just like always, all he worried about was his next case. As long as he's solid, he could give fuck all about the rest of us."

Jon furrowed his brows. "What's wrong with him?"

Jace shrugged. "I think being one of the best lawyers New York could offer got to his head. My mom said he started getting extremely narcissistic after he started getting more and more clients. He was practically sitting on cash, but then my mom got pregnant with me and he wasn't sitting so high anymore. To this day, I still feel like he resents me for being born."

Clary scoffed. "That makes absolutely no sense."

"To him it did," Jace said. "If it weren't for me, he probably would've left my mother and got himself a trophy wife instead. He was probably praying for an opportunity to leave. I guess he figured that it would be better to be kicked out than to just leave on his own."

"So you think he always wanted an out?" Jon asked.

Jace ran a hand through his hair and looked out towards the horizon. "Pretty much. Better to get thrown out than to say you willingly turned your back on your family." He looked down when Clary's hand settled on top of his. Clenching his jaw, he shook his head. "But it doesn't really matter anymore. He left and that's the point. My mom and I will be fine without him." He couldn't stop the flash of hurt that crossed his features. Yeah, his father was an asshole, but he was still his father. He hated how much time he wasted thinking about what could've been. He hated growing up craving his father's support, but never getting it. God, he just . . .

"I hate him," Jace said finally, feeling defeated.

Clary's hands lifted to his face and she turned his head, pulling him down to her. "I know," she whispered. "But he doesn't deserve your grief or anger. If you let this control you, you'll be letting him win. Don't subject yourself to that."

He nodded, taking in her words. Letting out a sigh, he said, "You're right."

Jace had always hoped that his father would change, but after last night, he knew that there was no turning back for Stephen. He was a narcissistic douchebag. Always would be.

Clary leaned forward to kiss him sweetly. She smiled. "Aren't I always?"

Chuckling, Jace raised his hands to her face and pulled her into another small, chaste kiss, smirking when Jon started making gagging noises. Pulling away, Jace laced his fingers through hers again, reveling in the comfort it brought him. With his free hand, he tucked her hair behind her ear.

There was a vibrating sound and Jon fished his phone out of his pocket, looking at the message. Jace and Clary watched as he smiled, responding to the message. When he was finished, he hesitantly turned back towards them, probably hoping that they hadn't noticed. But after seeing that they had, he turned away, cursing under his breath.

Clary nudged his shoulder with her own. "Who was that, big bro?"

He bit back a grin and rubbed the back of his neck. "Tessa."

Her eyes widened. "Tessa Gray?"

"Yes, Tessa Gray."

Jace furrowed his brows. "Who's Tessa?"

"Luke's secretary," Clary said, keeping her gaze on her brother. She cocked her head to the side. "Why were you two texting?"

Jon rolled his eyes. "It's no big deal, Clare. I ran into her at the Academy and we just started talking. We hadn't seen each other since we graduated, so we wanted to catch up." He switched the dagger to his other hand. "We're going out to lunch today."

A wide grin spread off of Clary's face, causing Jace to grin also. "So, is this like a date? Do you like her? Is that why you're smiling like an idiot right now?"

Jon chuckled. "Jesus, Clare Bear. We're not dating or anything yet, just hanging out. Yeah, I'll admit that I like her, but that doesn't mean that we're going to start dating. Not that it wouldn't be awesome—she's awesome, but you know how things are. Can't always get everything you want in life."

Clary seemed to know something that he didn't. "I wouldn't be so sure of that." She tapped her chin, a small smirk on her face.

Jon narrowed his eyes. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"I don't think Tessa would want me telling you this," she said.

"Since when has that stopped you?"

She glared at him. "Since me being a girl got in the way of our sibling bond."

"Tiger . . ." Jace raised her hand, kissing the center of her palm. She let out a breath at the action and he grinned, glad that he knew just how to calm her.

"Fine," she said. "Tessa may or may not have told me a while ago that she thought that you were—God, this is gross," she let out another breath. "She thinks that you're hot, with an extra T."

"She said that?" Jon asked.

"Yeah, and some other stuff, but I am so not repeating it." She shook her head, probably trying not to think about it. "But yeah, she's into you. And not just physically like all of the other bimbos you've dated, she thinks you're nice." A smile slipped onto her face. "So, I definitely approve. Tessa's great. Don't screw it up."

"Don't worry," Jon smirked. "I'll take good care of your friend."

"You better." She rested her hand on his shoulder. "She could be good for you."

"You might be onto something," he said.

"Where are you taking her?" Jace asked curiously.

Jon shrugged. "Not sure yet."

"Well, I know a place, if you're not looking for anything fancy," he said.

"Let me guess," he glanced over at him. "McDonalds?"

Clary laughed and Jace shook his head. "No, I was talking about Taki's."

Jon stopped fiddling with his dagger. "Never heard of it."

Jace scoffed. "What is with you people?" He met Jon's gaze. "Taki's is a restaurant, just down the road. Best food in New York, guaranteed. I'll text you the address if you want."

Jon turned to his sister. "Is he serious?"

"Yes," she said. "We go there all the time. I think Tess would like it."

"Alright, I'll check it out."

"Great," she dropped her hand. "I'll be checking in with her later to see how it went. So, don't do anything stupid."

Jon chuckled. "Yeah, no pressure or anything."

Jace leaned down to Clary to whisper in her ear. "Maybe this girl will be able to remove the stick from his ass."

Her hand flew to her mouth as she let out a soft giggle, slapping his arm.

Jon raised a brow. "What was that?"

"Nothing," Jace said, not wanting to risk getting thrown off of the roof by an angry Jon. "Just—good luck on your date."

He didn't look like he believed him, but he dropped it anyway. "I don't need luck, Herondale. When it comes to girls, I know what I'm doing."

Clary grimaced. "You know, sometimes it scares me how alike you two are." She took the final bite out of her apple. "You're both cocky as hell."

Jace chuckled. "You say that as if it's a bad thing."

Clary raised a brow and tossed her apple into the air. Jon smirked and with a flick of his wrist, his dagger flew out of his hand, impaling the apple core into a nearby tree.

He crossed his arms. "It's not a bad thing. Modesty is for the weak, something all three of us aren't."

Jace wrapped his arm around Clary's neck and pulled her into him so she couldn't see. Lifting his fist, he connected it with Jon's in a silent agreement. Yeah, they were cocky bastards, but she loved them both either way. Clary pinched his side, forcing him to loosen his grip.

"You two are ridiculous."

Jon rocked back and stood on his feet. Grinning, he leaned down to kiss his sister on the forehead. "You love us."

"Be lucky that I do." She looked up at him. "You heading home?"

He nodded. "Yeah, my date's at noon."

"Okay." Jace let go of her, allowing her to wrap her arms around Jon's waist, squeezing him tight. "Good luck," she whispered.

Jon tucked her hair behind her ear. "Thanks, Clare Bear."

She pulled away. "Promise to call me afterwards?"

He nodded. "Promise you won't freak out?"

With a roll of her eyes, she said, "Cross my heart."

Chuckling, he leaned down to kiss her head one last time and said, "Hope to die." Backing away from her, Jon trailed over to Jace, pulling him into a back-clapping hug. "Thanks for taking care of her," he said.

Jace didn't respond verbally, just nodded. It was such a small gesture, but it said a lot. And he could tell by the way Jon nodded back that he understood everything that he meant to say, but couldn't say.

With that, Jon climbed back onto the edge of the roof, giving them a small salute before he jumped off. With him gone, Jace turned back, expecting to see Clary, but all he saw was a flash of red disappear off of the roof, followed by a tiny giggle.

He grinned. And knowing that she wanted him to chase her, he quickly got off of the roof, trailing after her. Clary's window was already open, so he jumped through it feet first, landing softly on the floor. He reached out to turn the lock, but before he could, Clary was right there, wrapping her arms around his neck and pressing her lips to his.

Jace's eyebrows shot up, but he didn't stop to think about it. His hands settled on her waist and he pulled her closer, not able to stand the distance. It was obvious who held the dominance over the kiss and he had to say that he found her assertiveness extremely hot. She pressed harder into him, causing him to settle back into the window sill. One of his arms wrapped tighter around her waist, his free hand rising to her face. But before either of them could deepen the kiss, Clary's phone went off.

She broke away, her head immediately dropping to his chest as she attempted to catch her breath. Jace's hand slipped down to her back pocket and he removed her cellphone, wanting badly to toss it out of the window for interrupting them. Clary took the phone from him and answered it without looking to see who it was.

"Hello?" Her free hand slid down to his chest as she raised her head. After a moment, she smiled. "Hey, Jordan. What's up?" Rolling his eyes, Jace leaned back down, brushing his lips along neck. Her eyes closed and a couple more seconds passed before she spoke again. "No way." She let out a small gasp when he bit down on the sensitive spot near her collarbone. "I'll—uh—see what I can do." She tried to back away, but Jace grabbed her hips, keeping her there as he assaulted her neck with barely there kisses. "Okay—see you soon," she said quickly. After hanging up, she lifted one of her hands to slap his shoulder.

Smirking, Jace pulled away to look her in the eyes. His gaze roamed over her pink cheeks as he held his hands out in surrender. "Hey, I was just finishing what you started."

"You practically made me moan in my best friend's ear." She hit him again when he started laughing. "Asshole."

Letting out a breath, he lifted his hands to her cheeks, cupping her face gently between his palms. He leaned his forehead against hers. "I'm sorry," he whispered, looking between both of her eyes. "Forgive me?"

She crinkled her nose. "You know it's hard to deny you anything when you look at me like that."

Chuckling, Jace leaned forward to peck her on the lips. "I know." His thumbs brushed over her cheeks. "What did Jordan want?"

"His car broke down," she said, reaching up to grab his hands to lace them with hers. "He wanted to know if I could see what was wrong with it while they're at lunch."

Jace shook his head. "I told him not to get that thing."

Clary raised a brow. "Why wouldn't he? It's a classic." She let go of his hands and wrapped her arms around his neck again. "A 1967 Mustang Shelby GT500 is pretty hard to come by these days, especially a polished beauty like his."

Jace stared at her. "Holy shit."

"What?"

"I didn't think talking about cars could turn me on as much as it is now," he said, gripping her waist. "Say something else."

Clary snorted and backed out of his grasp. "We don't have the time. Jordan is waiting." She turned, but before she could get away, Jace grabbed her hand, tugging her back to him.

"Please?"

With a roll of her eyes, she trailed back over to him, resting her hands on his shoulders as she pushed herself onto her tippy toes. She smirked before trailing her lips over his jaw, leading a path to his ear. And in the most sultry, sexiest voice, she whispered one simple word.

"Engines."

And, damn it, if that still didn't turn him on.

.o.O.o.

Once they pulled into the school parking lot, Clary opened the passenger door to Jace's car and hopped out, glancing around until she spotted her best friend's car across the lot. Jordan had already popped the hood and was currently staring at the engine like it was some kind of alien. Grinning, she turned back to Jace.

"Grab my toolbox, yeah?"

He smirked. "Yes, ma'am."

Scoffing, Clary flipped him off and started heading over to Jordan. There was already a small group of guys from the football team surrounding him, but they all looked just as confused as he did. At the sight of her, Jordan let out a relieved sigh and pushed through the group to get to her. He reached out to ruffle her hair before pulling her into a side hug.

"Thanks for coming, Fray." He pulled back and pointed to the guys behind him. "I thought one of these idiots would know something, but they apparently know nothing about cars."

Clary furrowed her brows. "Then why are they here?"

"To watch," one of them said, smirking down at her.

She raised a brow and felt Jace come up next to her. He handed the toolbox over and wrapped his arm around her waist, tugging her back against his chest. "Here to watch what?" he asked.

The guy's eyes traveled down to Jace's arm, then back up to him. Clary could only imagine the look that he was giving the kid.

"Nothing," the guy said, a little too quickly. "You know what? I actually have to meet someone." He cocked a thumb over his shoulder. "I should—uh—get going."

"Yeah, you should," Jace deadpanned.

With one last glance in their direction, he scrambled away without another word. When he left, the other guys started laughing like there was no tomorrow. One of them held a hand to their stomach as they doubled over.

"You practically made Blake piss in his pants, dude."

Jace unwrapped his arm from around her, looking smug. "Good."

Somewhat glad that he got rid of the creeper, Clary grinned, nudging him to the side so she could get to the car. Setting the box down, she crossed her arms and turned to Jordan.

"What do you think the problem is?" she asked.

"I haven't got a clue, all I know is that I can't start it."

"That could be a lot of things." She bit down on her lip and held out her hand. "Keys?"

Jordan dug them out of his pocket and handed them to her. Clary looked around at the guys standing there doing nothing and shoved the keys into the chest of the nearest one.

"Make yourself useful and try to start it up," she said.

The guy took the keys and stared at her for a moment before opening the door and getting inside. She swore, some guys acted as if they were brain dead when it came to simple directions. Realizing that she didn't have a hair tie, she glanced around, seeing a pencil above one of the guys' ears. Plucking it off, she twisted her hair up into a knot and stuck the pencil in to keep it together.

When the one in the driver's seat attempted to start the car, she paid close attention to everything under the hood. Her eyes scanned over the engine and she narrowed her eyes on the spark plugs, one of them not sparking after multiple attempts. She waved her hand, letting the guy know that he could stop. He got out and tossed Jordan's keys back to him.

"Anything?"

Clary nodded. "One of the spark plugs is out." She lifted her hand to one of them. "There's a lot of buildup on this one. It's going to need to be replaced."

"How much?" Jordan asked.

She cocked her head to the side. "Around one-fifty if you get it fixed at a shop, but you're in luck, because I'll do it for free."

Jordan stared at her. "You can do that?"

She nodded.

He punched the air. "Nice."

Rolling her eyes, Clary bent down to retrieve her toolbox, flipping the latch to open it. Her fingers danced along the edges until she found a socket wrench. Grabbing the wrench, she used it to remove the plug from its housing and wiped off some of the build up in order to read the measurement. She turned her head slightly, seeing that Jace was behind her, talking to his teammates.

"Babe?" she called out.

Their conversation died down at the sound of her voice and Jace was by her side a second later, tucking his hands into his pockets. "Yeah?"

Clary held up the plug. "Could you get another one of these from my box?"

He looked down at the measurement and nodded. "Sure." He reached down and rifled through the toolbox for a moment until he found what he was looking for. She knew that he knew cars almost as well as she did so she had no doubt that he would get what she needed. After a moment he returned with the right plug and handed it to her, taking the old one with him to dispose of. Which in his mind meant tossing it on the ground and kicking it under some random car.

Clary looked up at him and grinned. "Thanks."

He leaned forward to kiss her cheek in response and backed away, giving her a sly wink as he did. "Sure thing, Tiger."

When he returned to the group, one of the guys bowed his head and coughed into his hand. "Whipped."

She expected to hear Jace say something quipped in response, but when she glanced over her shoulder, she only saw him shrug. "What can I say? I spend a lot of time with my girl. Sue me."

Another guy chuckled. "I mean, could you blame him?" He glanced her way. "She's freaking hot, dude."

Jace narrowed his eyes and in a low, careful voice, he said, "Watch it."

Clary rolled her eyes and continued working, but she couldn't put the plug in without some kind of lubricant, which she didn't have. Already knowing that the guys would take it out of context, she turned to them anyway.

Tucking a flyaway hair behind her ear, she asked, "Do any of you guys happen to have some lube?" Their eyes widened, making her blush. "For the car, I mean." God, this was awkward.

One of them stepped forward, Jasper, she remembered his name was. Clearing his throat, he dug into his back pocket and retrieved a small bottle. He grinned shyly and placed it in her hand. "There you are, luv."

Clary looked down at the raspberry flavored lube, her eyebrows shooting up. "Wow—uh—thanks." She whipped back around before she could burst into a fit of giggles in front of the guy's face. Biting back her grin, she opened the bottle and poured a little on her finger. She immediately handed it back, not wanting to think about where it was used before. After putting in the spark, she used her wrench to tighten it up. When she was finished, she tossed it back into her toolbox and brushed off her hands.

She turned to Jordan. "Should be good now."

"Awesome." He took his keys out again and walked over to the driver's door. Settling himself inside, he stuck the key in the ignition and started it up. The Mustang revved beautifully, causing him to laugh. After a moment, he shut it off and got back out, immediately enveloping her in a hug. "You're a lifesaver, Fray."

"I know." Giggling, Clary tapped his shoulder, wanting to be back on her feet. When he set her back down, she held out her fist, bumping it with his. "So you're good now?"

Jordan nodded. "Yeah, I have to show some newbies the school before lunch is over, but I wanted to handle this first." He glanced down at his watch. "But if I go now, I should make it."

"There's new students?"

"Two," he said. "Julian and Raphael. They're cousins, apparently. Just moved here from New Jersey last week."

Clary raised a brow, not having a good feeling about this. "Do you guys get new students often?"

He shook his head. "Besides you, we haven't had a new student since freshman year. Most kids go to the new school up the street, not this dump."

"Hey," Jace stepped up to them. "Any place that I grace my presence with, isn't a dump."

"Would you shut up," Clary said. "I'm trying to get information here."

"Information about what?"

"There's two new students," Jordan explained, clueing him in. "Julian and Raphael."

"From New Jersey," Clary added, hoping that he understood.

Jace's eyebrows shot up with worry, but he quickly covered it up. "Do you know their last names."

"Blackthorn and Santiago." He glanced down at his watch again. "Hey, listen, I really should get going." His gaze fell on Clary. "Text me later?"

She nodded. "Of course. Tell everyone I said hey. And give Maia a kiss for me."

He grinned. "Got it, Fray." Reaching up, he shut the hood and shoved his hands into his pockets. "See you guys tomorrow." He turned his heel, heading back towards the school. The rest of the guys followed, sparking up another conversation. She was able to pick up on the words "hot", "chick", and "car" before it all faded away.

When they left, Clary allowed her smile to drop, her worry settling in. She raised a finger to her lips and started biting at her nail, too distracted to be disgusted by the raspberry lube she tasted. They couldn't have been there for Jace, could they? Would Starkweather go as far as to put people undercover? She mentally slapped herself. Of course he'd go that far. This was about his only son—his dead son. To him, this was an eye for an eye, just like it had been for her. She hunted the remaining men that killed her parents that night because she wanted to see them endure the pain that she felt. And even if Stephen didn't kill Hodge's son directly, he played a part, so in Hodge's eyes, Jace deserved to suffer.

Clary knew what it was like when it came to revenge. How a person would stop at nothing to get what they wanted. She could imagine all of the sleepless nights Hodge spent in his jail cell planning revenge after his son's death. But now that it was time to act on his vengeance, he wouldn't stop until the action was carried out. It'd been months since the mission started, but Clary knew from experience that time meant nothing. The pain doesn't lessen, it just becomes bearable. He would spend years trying to get revenge if that was what it took, because he had nothing else to live for. But Jace didn't deserve to die for his asshole of a father, and she would be damned if she let it happen. She didn't care who she had to hurt, fight, or kill. Nothing would happen to him.

She didn't realize that she'd drifted off into space until she felt Jace's hands on her face. Her eyes immediately met his as he took another step closer.

"What are you thinking?" he asked.

She let out a breath. "They're here for you."

"You don't know that," he said, his hands falling from her cheeks. "It could just be a coincidence."

"There's no such thing, Jace." She tucked a hair behind her ear. "That's being an Agent 101. Everything happens for a reason. You just have to trust your gut, and from the information I got so far, their timing just seems way too convenient."

"It would explain why things have been so quiet." He glanced around quickly. "They could've been studying and tracking me for the past couple months, seeing where I went to school, who I'm friends with." He shrugged. "Probably the same information you got when this whole thing started. I mean, I hope I'm wrong, but I wouldn't put it past Hodge to do something like that."

"That's what I was thinking," Clary agreed. "He probably went younger this time so they could blend in at school. And if they somehow get you alone, all it would take is one them to catch you off guard and—" Shaking her head, she let out a shaky breath. "I can't let that happen."

"Hey." He gripped her hips and lifted her up onto the hood of Jordan's car. Resting his hands on either side of her thighs, he leaned in to rest his forehead against hers. "I'm not the defenseless asshole that I used to be. I've been training. I'm learning that I can do things that I couldn't even imagine being able to do before I met you. Now, I'm not saying that I'm indestructible, but I can hold my own, Clary. I'm not going down without a fight."

Nodding, she lifted her arms, wrapping them around his neck. "I know you can, but like I said before, it's my job to worry about you. It's bad enough that I'm your girlfriend, but adding the protector part is a double threat. But I know things are different now." She leaned into him. "You're stronger," she placed a kiss to his cheek, "smarter," the other cheek, "and mine," her lips pressed against his.

Jace smirked against her mouth. "I like the sound of that."

Clary shook her head. "But we'll look into them and see if anything strange is going on."

He reached up to remove the pencil from her hair, allowing her curls to fall freely down her back and over her shoulders. He stared at the pencil as if it insulted him and tossed it to the side, meeting her gaze again. "Yeah, it's definitely something."

She ran a hand through her hair. "Then back to the drawing board we go."

Smirking, Jace wrapped one of his arms around her waist and grabbed her wrist. Then, before she could stop him, he was bending down and throwing her over his shoulder.

"Jace," she squealed. "What are you doing?"

He laughed. "What does it look like, Tiger?" His grip tightened on her legs to keep her from falling. "God, you're tiny."

She slapped his back. "Piss off. You're making this look like a kidnapping."

He began walking towards his car. "Don't pretend like you don't love it."

She huffed, surrendering to his hold. "Loving you and loving you being an ass are two completely different things."

Once they reached his car, he let go, allowing her to get down, but she didn't get far before he wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her body into his. Leaning down, her pressed a small, tentative kiss to her lips. With a devilish grin, he responded against her mouth.

"They're one in the same, Tiger."

.o.O.o.

As soon as they got home, the severity of the situation resurfaced. There was no more playing around, it was time to work. Jace sat on the edge of his bed, waiting for Clary to return with her laptop. They couldn't do it on his because it would be tracked and there wouldn't be as much information available. If they wanted know who they were working with, her laptop was their best bet.

Sighing, Jace fell back into his sheets and rubbed his hands over his eyes. After months of silence, he'd actually deluded himself into thinking that it was over. That Starkweather finally gave up. Because if he did, Jace would be able to be with Clary like he wanted. Take her out on a date without risking some psychopath trying to kill him, or telling their friends who she actually was. All of the secrets and the worrying were really starting to grate on his nerves. He knew that Clary didn't want anything special, but sometimes he wanted to do special things for her. Things that he couldn't possibly do with a target on his back.

His internal monologue came to a close when Clary trailed into the room, closing the door behind her. Sitting back up, he watched a she walked over to him, now freshly changed out of the oily clothes she wore when fixing Jordan's car. But seeing her now, wearing only a tank top and ringer shorts, made him want to disregard all promises of being good until they got the information they needed. Christ, did she have any idea what she did to him? She was turning him into an immature douchebag that practically salivated at the sight of legs.

Not paying him any mind, Clary plopped onto the bed next to him, turning to lie on her stomach as she opened and powered up her laptop. Her eyes were narrowed in concentration, her fingers moving quickly over the keyboard as she decoded. Jace's gaze drifted lower, not able to help himself. Her ass looked absolutely amazing in those shorts. And God, those beautiful, freckled legs. He wanted to introduce himself to every last freckle on her body, one by one. He was pretty sure he let out an audible groan at the thought.

"Quit staring at my ass and start thinking," Clary said, never taking her eyes off of the screen in front of her.

Jace bit his lip. "I was thinking."

Her fingers continued to type and she shook her head. "Thinking with the wrong head," she sang.

Chuckling, he reached out, still mesmerized by the sight in front of him as he traced a pattern of freckles on her leg. There weren't many, most of them scattered around, but that didn't stop him from searching. Clary reached back and slapped his fingers away and reprimanded him again for getting distracted.

"Babe," she said, trying to stay on task. "We said no playing around until we got this done. You're breaking your own rules."

Sighing, Jace dropped down next to her, keeping his hands to himself, although his mind was telling him to do the exact opposite. "Fine," he muttered.

"Thank you." Clary grinned. "Now, use that good little memory of yours and tell me their names again."

He fell onto his back, tucking his hands behind his head. "Julian Blackthorn and Raphael Santiago."

She let out a breath. "I wish Jon was here." Her eyes scanned the screen as she typed. "He's a lot better at this than I am."

"Should we call him?" Jace asked.

Clary shook her head. "No, I don't want to interrupt his date for this. I can do it, but it'll just take a little longer."

"Well, we've got all day." He glanced over at the screen and raised a brow. "You need help with anything?"

"I just need you to stay focused. We don't know who we're dealing with, so this could be a lot worse than we thought." She stopped typing for a moment to reach out to him. Her fingers brushed against his jaw, her eyes briefly searching his. "I don't know why, but I have a feeling that this is the last straw. If someone fails Starkweather again, I don't think he'll hire anyone else. He just might try to get the job done himself, and we don't want that."

"But don't we?" He lifted his hand to her waist despite everything. "Wouldn't all of this go away if we faced him head on?"

"You don't understand," she said. "If he comes, he's not coming alone. It wouldn't just be a few people here and there like it has been. He's a mobster, Jace. He has followers willing to do anything for him."

"So you think he has a mafia or something?"

Clary nodded. "I wouldn't doubt it."

"I'm sorry." He sighed. "It's just, sometimes I want this to be over. So we could just . . . be."

"I know. Me too," she whispered. "But it'll be over before you know it. We just have to get through whatever he sends our way and hope that we don't get blindsided in the process."

"And we'll keep training," he said. "So that we really are ready for anything."

She grinned. "And maybe I'll take you to the Academy's weapons hall and see what other weapons you're good with."

"Oh, Tiger. I guarantee you that I'll be good with anything you give me."

Rolling her eyes, Clary pushed him onto his back so she could settle on top of him. Placing her hands on either side of his head, she leaned down to him, her hair falling around them like a curtain. "Do you have to be such an arrogant asshole while we're trying to strategize?"

"I wouldn't be me if I wasn't. Besides, we've already established that you're the brains of this operation. My job is just to sit here and look pretty, which, might I add, I am doing exceptionally well right now."

"I'm going to pretend like I didn't hear that." She threw her arms around his neck. "But I do feel bad about us being interrupted before. With the whole Jon and Jordan thing, we haven't been able to get some legitimate alone time since last night." Her face turned as she splayed kisses along his jaw.

Jace bit down on his bottom lip. "What about the . . ." He motioned toward the laptop.

"Something's loading, it could take a while," she said, lifting her head so she could look him in the eyes. "So, how'd you like my note?"

"You mean the one where you said waking up in my arms made you feel incredible?"

She blushed. "Yeah."

Jace grinned. "I liked it a lot." His hands gripped her waist. "But I would've preferred you."

"Well," she dipped down closer, "I'm here now." She paused when her lips were about a centimeter away from his and whispered, "What are you going to do about it, Herondale?"

He could nearly taste her now, which made it incredibly hard to hold back. Slipping his hands under her tank top, he smoothed his thumbs across her hips. "I like it when you get all bossy," he murmured. "It's sexy."

Her hands slipped into his hair. "Jace?"

"Yeah?"

Her emerald eyes met his. "Shut up and kiss me."

He smirked. "Don't have to tell me twice." Then he was kissing her, holding her hips firmly to his. And the kiss, there wasn't an ounce of innocence in it. Their tongues battled for dominance, neither of them surrendering to the other. She tasted like a fireball, sweet and spicy all in one. A beautiful combination. Her grip tightened on his hair, which he knew meant that she wanted more, and God he wanted to give her more, but he wouldn't go that far. Because once he got started, it would become harder and harder to stop. Clary deserved a lot better than something quick and rushed. She deserved slow and careful.

So that's exactly what he gave her. He kissed her slow, taking his time. Seeing the change, Clary slowed down also, her grip lessening as she melted into him, allowing him to take control. His hands left her waist and lifted to cup her cheeks. They parted for just a moment, long enough to look in each other's eyes. Somehow, without saying a word, they were able to express everything that they were feeling. The worry, the adoration, the love. It was all there. A silent promise that what they felt for each other would never fade.

Clary leaned her head against his and reached up to grab his wrists, pulling them away from her face. Jace watched as she moved his arms around her waist, making it very clear what she needed from him.

Releasing a sigh, Jace held her tighter and leaned down, nuzzling his face into her neck, feeling her skin hum as she spoke.

"You know what I realized?" she said.

He placed a small kiss to her collar bone. "What?"

"We've never talked about sex."

Jace froze under her, his face immediately rising from her neck. She was shyly biting at her bottom lip and he briefly lost his train of thought. "What?" he asked again.

"We've never discussed taking things further." She looked down at herself and furrowed her brows. "I mean, do you even want to?"

He stared at her in shock. "You're . . . serious?"

"Jace, please."

"I'm sorry." He shook himself out of it. "It's just—I don't get how that thought could ever cross your mind." His hands cupped her cheeks again. "Do you know how many nights I've dreamt of being with you that way? Or how many cold showers you've caused me to take? You have no idea what you do to me, Tiger." His eyes met hers. "Of course I want you. I want you so damn much that it actually hurts."

"But whenever we—you know," she motioned between them, "you always stop, even when it's just us."

He let out a laugh. "That's because I want it to be special. As much as it kills me to stop, I know that you deserve more than something rushed. I was a major douchebag when it came to sex in the past." His thumbs brushed against her cheeks. "I want to do it right this time. You only get one first time, Clary. I don't want you to regret it."

"I'd never regret being with you."

"You might not regret me, but you might regret the circumstances. It shouldn't just be a make-out session that went too far." Sighing, Jace tipped his chin, pressing his lips to hers. "Trust me, I really, really want to, but not until we're ready. And when the time comes, I promise that I'll take care of you. It'll be everything that you deserve. Because, baby, you deserve everything."

She smiled. "You make it seem like I'm royalty or something."

"You are royalty. To me, at least." His gaze lifted to hers again. "And believe me, I intend to worship every inch of you when that day comes."

Clary's breath hitched. "Every inch?"

"Every inch," he repeated.

She huffed. "Way to build up the suspense."

"That's child's play compared to my dreams," Jace said. "But I definitely know the feeling."

She tucked a stray curl behind her ear. "So, you do . . . want to? Someday?"

He nodded. "Someday. But I need you to promise me something first."

"What?"

"Don't let anything happen until you're one-hundred percent ready. I wouldn't forgive myself if I knew that you only went through with it because of me. Don't think that I'm expecting anything, or that I'm getting impatient. I mean, Christ, just being able to hold you like this is more than enough for me."

Clary took in a breath. "Okay."

Jace grinned. "Promise?"

Her lips brushed against his. "Cross my heart." Then she pressed down harder, kissing him again. Her arms wrapped back around his neck as she kissed him and his traveled back down to her waist. They molded together like puzzle pieces. She was absolutely perfect for him. Jace parted her lips with his own, deepening the kiss. But before either of them could really get into it, Clary's laptop dinged, sparking her into action.

Her lips left his without a warning and she unwrapped her arms from his neck, reaching out to drag her laptop over to her. She rose up, still straddling his hips and placed the laptop onto his chest so she could get a better look. Jace groaned and dropped his head back. He seriously wanted to cast out every electronic device on earth, especially hers. They seriously had something against him.

Jace ran a hand over his face. "Anything?"

"A few more seconds," she said, typing away. "I'm downloading their profiles. This way, we'll be able to see if this is just a coincidence or something more. But my gut tells me that they're bad news."

A few more seconds passed before the laptop made another sound, most likely signaling the end of the download. Jace heard Clary release a breath as she clicked a single key. Then, there was silence. He didn't take that as a good sign.

He propped himself up onto his elbows so he could take a look at her, doing a double take when he saw how pale she'd gotten in a matter of seconds. "Clary?"

She cursed under her breath and took the laptop as she rolled off of him. Taking a seat beside him, she glanced at the screen again before meeting his worried gaze. "I think you should see this."

Jace immediately sat up, taking the laptop from her to get a look for himself. And as his eyes scanned the screen, he could've sworn he felt his heart drop into his stomach. This couldn't be happening. Not able to look at it anymore, he closed the laptop and tossed it onto the bed. Leaning forward, he rested his face in his hands, letting out a curse of his own.

"Shit."

What did you think?

Love it? Hate it?

Let me know!

A/N: So, what do you guys think Jace and Clary found? Has Starkweather sent the last round of goons? How dangerous do you think they are? Review! Also, what'd you think of their little talk? Will the deed be done soon? Are you guys excited? Because I am! The action is totally coming back and it's going to be better than ever. I know, lots of questions to consider, but here's one more,

Question: Beach, city, or country? Where would you prefer to live? I'm a city girl, so I'd have to say city. I love all of the tall buildings and lights that a city has to offer.