Clary dialed the number written haphazardly on the piece of paper in her hands. A knot formed in the pit of her stomach, as she had never had to make this sort of phone call before.
"Hello?" a masculine voice answered.
"Hi. Is this Sebastian Verlac?" she asked.
"Yes. Who's calling?"
"This is Clary Fray. I'm working with police department and-"
"I remember you!" He cut her off. "Is this about Aline? Is she okay?"
"She's perfectly fine. I'm calling to tell you that we have decided to place her in protective custody until we catch the man who killed your aunt."
"So she's in danger?"
"Not necessarily. We just feel we shouldn't take any chances when it comes to her safety. There was another murder, and a child was left behind. We don't want to risk the suspect coming back for either of them."
She heard a heavy sigh come from him. "I just cannot believe this happening."
"I know this must be really hard for you. If you ever need anything, even just somebody to talk to, don't be afraid to call me back on this number."
"Thank you so much, Clary," he said before hanging up, his voice tight.
Clary sighed as she put down the phone. She closed her eyes and buried her face in her hands. This whole case was getting to her. Valentine was tearing other families apart just like he had torn theirs apart.
She still remembered how her brother Jon had left right after Valentine had "died." He had idolized their father and followed him everywhere. His death had destroyed him and he ran away.
Her head shot up as pieces of the puzzle clicked together. Jonathan. That's why he didn't kill that little boy. The fair-haired boy named Jonathan reminded him of his own son. Valentine may have been cruel, but the one thing he would never do is hurt his own family. Maybe she had something to with the reason Aline was still alive? Maybe he was making sure he didn't blame the children for the mistakes of their parents, just like he wouldn't want Clary and Jonathan to be blamed for his mistakes?
She was pulled out of her thoughts by a knock on her door. With a groan, she got up from her couch and went to answer it. Checking the peephole first, she rolled her eyes as she Isabelle standing in the hallway.
"You know you could have used that device you call a phone to let me know you were coming over, right?" she said as she opened the door.
Izzy pushed past her and waved her off with a flick of her wrist. "I was in the area already," she responded.
Clary noticed the large tote bag that Izzy had with her and her eyes narrowed. "What is that bag for, Iz?"
Izzy shrugged. "It has some supplies."
"Supplies?"
Sighing, Izzy turned to face her. "You've been crazy stressed recently, Clary. So you and I are going to go out to Pandemonium tonight."
Clary groaned loudly. "Iz, I don't feel like going out tonight. Or any night soon for that matter."
"I don't care, Clary. We're going out. You're going to get hammered, dance with some hot guys, and destress."
"I don't really have a choice in this, do I?" she sighed.
"No you do not."
A few hours later the girls stepped out of a cab in front of Pandemonium. Isabelle had managed to squeeze Clary into a tight, short, and low cut black dress that left her feeling extremely over exposed.
Izzy scanned the line before apparently seeing someone she knew. "Great, they're already here!" she shouted excitedly.
"Who's already here?" Clary asked, following Izzy's line of vision. Standing close to the front of the long line were Alec and Jace. "Are you kidding me, Isabelle?"
"Sorry, but you're not the only who has been stressed beyond belief. And they're my friends, too," she said, starting to walk over to the duo.
"Okay. I'm gong to need a lot of alcohol," Clary muttered to herself and followed her best friend.
"Hey, short stack," Jace greeted, his eyes roaming over body. "You clean up pretty nice."
"Fuck off, blondie," she growled.
"You know, that's not how most people would respond to a compliment. A simple 'thank you' would suffice."
"Yeah. Not happening, Jace," she said, not looking at him as the line began to move forward. She flashed the bouncer her ID and went in, heading straight for the bar. She ordered a shot of tequila and downed it right away.
"Wow. Not even ten seconds and you're already drinking. Guess you're not as uptight as I thought," Jace said from behind her.
She motioned to the bartender to get her another shot and turned to face Jace. "Don't you have something better to do than bother me? Like maybe go dance with some of the skanks who are eyeing you right now?"
"You know," Jace started, leaning in closer to her, "you don't really seem that much different from all those 'skanks' at the moment with the way you're dressed right now."
"Maybe, but at least I'm not eye fucking you like they are," she said, gesturing to a group of girls who were standing at the edge of the dance floor and staring at Jace, not that she could exactly blame them. Jace was a very attractive man, especially at the current moment in his dark washed jeans and slightly unbuttoned black shirt. When he looked over at them the burst into a fit of giggles like a bunch of schoolgirls and Clary scoffed.
"It's not their fault that I'm so damn good looking," Jace said, winking at the group of girls. Clary could have sworn one of them almost fainted.
She was about to reply when a hand suddenly wrapped around her upper arm and Izzy appeared at her side. "C'mon Clary! Let's go dance!"
Clary didn't have a chance to say anything before Izzy dragged her off into the middle of the dance floor. She danced with Izzy for a few songs, but wasn't really feeling it. A man finally came up and took Izzy away to dance with him, and Clary took that as her chance to retreat back to the bar, where she took a few more shots.
Izzy had been right. She'd been way too stressed out lately, and she just needed to let go for a little while. So once the effects of the alcohol set in, she went back to the middle of the dance floor and did just that. She let go. She through all inhibitions out the window and danced to the music, more provocatively than she ever would have sober. She felt the hungry gazes of men on her, and stepped up her game.
A pair of hands gripped her hips and she froze for a second before recognizing the scent of the person behind her.
"You're way too sexy for your own good right now," Jace whispered into her ear as he pulled her tight against him. "All the men in here just can't seem to keep their eyes off of you, red."
Clary just smiled. "I know. I was putting on a show for them."
"I would very much like it if you put on a show like this more often."
"Maybe if you get lucky," she responded as she continued to dance to the beat of the music, but now she was going out of her way to grind on the man behind her.
She heard him intake a sharp breath of air. "You have no idea what you're doing to me right now, Clarissa."
She turned around and brought his face down to hers. "I'd really like to find out exactly what I'm doing to you. Want to go back to my place?"
Kinda a filler chapter. Not exactly sure where I'm going at the moment. But hey, you got some drunken Clace.
Reviews are greatly appreciated.