Hey hey! I come bearing gifts LOL. Not gifts but another chapter^^ This is exciting !

Lilly

Chapter Six: Taking Chances

Jonathan sighed, leaning back in the leather armchair next to his father's. Emil was sitting in front of them, his hands properly folded on the massive oak desk.

"You realize that what you're asking for is – how can I put this – very difficult to find?" Emil said.

"And I know, dear Emil, that if there's one person who can get me a list of all the real identities of the covert agents at the CIA, it would be you," Valentine answered calmly.

"That is a long list," Emil replied. "You wouldn't have any more information, I suppose?"

"A little bird told me what I'm looking for is in the New York Domestic Protection Division," Valentine explained. "I am not sure, however, that I can trust this bird. It tends to change sides very quickly."

"It tended, Father," Jonathan replied, the cruel smile on his lips sending chills down Emil's spine.

"Oh, yes," Valentine agreed. "It is not among us anymore."

"That, I think I can manage," Emil said. "The NY DPD is not as secure as the CIA believes they are."

"How long?" Valentine asked.

"A week." Emil exchanged a look with one of his body guards. Jonathan recognized him as Malachi Dieudonné, Emil and Anson's right arm and occasional hit man. Malachi slightly nodded. "Maybe two. I tell you what, why don't you enjoy New York until I contact you? It is really beautiful in the summer."

"Very well," Valentine agreed and stood up, followed by Jonathan.

"The apartment is yours for as long as you need it," Emil added.

"That's very generous," Valentine thanked him. "But I found a quieter place for us to live."

Jonathan frowned, he didn't know about this. Not that it mattered to him at all. If they were staying longer than he had thought then–

"Jonathan," Valentine said and he blinked, brought back to the reality.

"What?"

"Did you take a look at the room like I've asked you to do?" Valentine asked.

"Of course," Jonathan answered. "His safe is in the room adjacent, state-of-the-art."

"Do you think you'll be able to break it?"

"I just don't see why you wouldn't pay him," Jonathan said, an exasperated sigh escaping his lips. "The Pangborns aren't good enemies to have."

"I'll pay for the list," Valentine said, "there's something else he owes me though. And I intend to find it."

"What is it about?" Jonathan asked curiously. The look on his father's face was strangely familiar.

Valentine, he had come to realize, never yelled at him. He always spoke with a measured tone, whether he was angry or disappointed or happy – although the occurrences of this last one were extremely rare; it was more satisfaction than happiness. But his eyes were as clear as any words. And what Jonathan saw was a deeply buried rage that he had a hard time to control.

"Your mother."

Jonathan fell silent. He didn't want to talk about her. Ever.

"What were you thinking about?" Valentine finally asked.

"Nothing of importance, Father," he answered and stepped out of the elevator, his hands stuffed in his pants' pockets.

Jonathan pushed the thought of Reyna Branwell aside and smiled because, suddenly, Clarissa wasn't so inaccessible anymore.

xXx

Sebastian's heart was racing in his chest. It was eleven in the morning and he was supposed to have called Jules almost two hours ago. But Tatiana was half-lying on top of him, her head resting on his chest, so he comforted himself in the idea that there wasn't much he could do.

"Wow," she whispered and kissed the skin under her lips. "Don't take this the wrong way, okay? But you're much better than what I expected."

"Thanks, I guess," Sebastian answered, a smile slowly forming on his lips. It always felt good to be appreciated.

Tatiana was really beautiful, the kind of girl he thought he'd never have a chance with. She had light brown hair, falling in heavy curls on her naked back, damp with sweat and sticking to her skin. Her hazel eyes were mesmerizing and her body was perfect. He couldn't stop caressing her soft skin, and smiled again when he felt her shiver under the tip of his fingers.

She had taken him home the night before. And for Tatiana, home was a large apartment in the Upper West Side with a breath-taking view of Central Park from her bedroom's French windows.

Sebastian wasn't sure what he had expected, but whatever it had been, she had exceeded every one of them. He wasn't even sure he had slept at all, or how many times they had sex because to him, it seemed to have lasted until dawn.

It pained him to admit that Jace had been right. Tatiana had seen all kind of tough-looking guys in her life and she probably fell for him because he was clumsy and shy instead of cocky and arrogant. The thought of Jace failing at any attempt of shyness pleased him; but again, he had never seen Jace in action.

"What are you thinking about, Declan Carter?" Tatiana asked, propping herself onto her elbows, her chin on her hands. Sebastian lost his train of thoughts at the sight of her hair, gracefully hiding most of her breasts. She caught his wandering eyes on her and bit her lip.

Sebastian didn't have much experience with women. His last girlfriend had been with him for almost five years and before that he had just tried to go through high school without dying, which when he did –graduate high school that is – he thought it was a miracle.

"No—nothing," he said, shrugging.

Tatiana brought the sheet around her chest, sitting up cross-legged.

"I know what you're thinking," she said and her face darkened. "'How the hell am I going to get out of here if she's awake?' Don't bother, if you want to leave just go."

"No!" Sebastian replied and straightened up. He coughed. "Last night was... great, I was just going to invite you for brunch or something, but I thought that maybe you wanted just a one night stand."

"Are you asking me out on a date?" Tatiana asked in disbelief.

"If you count brunch as a date then I guess so, yeah. Why?"

"No, I just —nothing." She shook her head. When she looked at him again a crooked smile had perked up her lips. "Wanna join me in the shower?"

"I'll be right there," Sebastian said, swallowing hard as she let the sheets fall, revealing her entire body. "I just need to call work."

"Okay," she said, kissing his lips, and straddled him. She felt him harden under the thin fabric of the blue sheets. She licked his lips and smiled. "But don't take too long."

xXx

Jace was rocking back and forth in the tech operation room. The DPD was awfully quiet that morning. Aline was frenetically typing on the keyboard of her computer, absorbed in her screens. They were waiting for Sebastian's phone call and how to proceed from his progress.

"How do you think he's doing?" Alec asked, reading files as usual.

"If he worked that shy angle like I told him to, fine," Jace answered. "Why? What is it?" he asked. He could read the concern on Alec's face.

"Nothing I–I just can't shake the feeling that Valentine is here for us," he said.

"Valentine doesn't even know who we really are," Jace replied, setting his coffee mug on the table.

"He knows we're American for starters," Alec countered. "That's something."

"Yeah, he just has 3.8 million square miles to search, I'm sure he's real close," Jace sighed.

"Could you be serious just for a minute?" Alec demanded, trying to keep his voice as steady as he could. "We're not talking about the possibility that he might one day in the future decide to come here and look blindly for us, Valentine is way too smart for that. If he's here, it means that he has something."

"How could you possibly know that, Alec?" Jace asked. "We're not the only thing he's after."

"Does it really matter?" Alec replied. "Do you want him to – I don't know – stumble upon Clary."

"What are the chances of that?" Jace said, anger rising in his voice; anger caused by the simple mention of Clary. "One in twenty-two million?"

Alec shook his head and Jace straightened up. He was about to say something but the shrieking sound of Aline's ringtone cut him off.

"Hello?" she said. "Oh Sebastian! We were worried about you!"

Jace snapped his fingers at her and she immediately handed him the phone which he put on speaker as Alec settled on the chair across his.

"Verlac, you're late," Jace said.

"I know, sorry," Sebastian whispered. "Things have been a little crazy."

"Where are you?" Alec asked.

"At Tatiana's. She's in the shower." Jace couldn't help but smile. "I'm taking her out for brunch."

"Try to get her to talk about herself, as much as possible," Jace ordered. "She needs to open up about her father."

"Okay," Sebastian said.

"While you're at it, check her organizer," Jace said. "It should be in her bedside table."

There was a ruffling sound while he was searching, and then he picked the phone back up.

"How did you kn– never mind – I got it. Oh. There's a party tonight. A masquerade ball, at the American Society Building, she's supposed to have dinner with her father at eight and then go to this thing."

"A masquerade ball, you said?" Jace looked up at Alec, an ear-to-ear smile on his mouth and a twinkle in his golden eyes.

"You have to get her to invite you," Alec said, rolling his eyes at Jace. "This is important."

"I'll try."

"Don't try," Jace said, "Succeed. We'll see you tonight."

xXx

"Clary, this is Maia Roberts and her fiancé Jordan Kyle," Laurel introduced the couple before going back to typing on her phone. Clary rolled her eyes.

I swear, that thing is glued to her hand, she thought.

Clary smiled, her hair plaited in a long fiery braid on her shoulder. She was wearing a liberty-printed short dress with blue polished ballerinas. "Everyone's getting engaged," she noticed. "Must be a summer thing. Anyway nice to meet you."

She shook both their hands. Maia was surprised. She had imagined Clary to have that crazy look of pure-but-completely-insane genius in her eyes but she could only see warmth and kindness. Clary looked like the kind of girl you hated because she was nice to everyone and everyone loved her. You just wanted to be her friend because you knew she would show you a good time.

Maia and Jordan had met Laurel at the Golden Door Gallery down in Brooklyn at 11:30 and Clary had showed up right on time. Jordan was holding Killian in his arms, the little boy babbling as his eyes watched the flying birds in the park behind them, as if they were magical creatures.

"Oh, he's so cute!" Clary awed. "What's his name?"

"Killian," Jordan answered, tousling the baby's golden brown hair.

"Can I hold him?" she blurted out. Maia nodded and Jordan handed her Killian. "He's really beautiful and he looks –" She stared at them for several seconds, glancing back and forth from Maia to Jordan to Killian. "Like both of you, actually."

Maia smiled. "How many do you have?"

"What?" Clary's head, which was absorbed in Killian's giggles as she tickled him, popped up.

"Kids. How many kids do you have? You're a mother, aren't you?"

"Oh no, not yet." Clary smiled and Maia thought she saw a flash of sadness in Clary's emerald eyes.

"Well," Maia said as Clary handed her Killian back, "I'm sure you're going to be a great mom."

"Thank you," Clary said, her cheeks blushing. "So Laurel told me that you wanted me to paint Killian's bedroom?"

"That would be great, yes," Jordan said. "Maia showed me what you did at Pauline Merriweather's house and I thought it was breathtaking."

"Do you have any ideas about what you want?"

"Tons," Maia laughed and Clary joined her.

"How about we discuss it over dinner?" Jordan suggested. "Are you and your husband free tomorrow night?"

"That sounds good."

Read & Review

See you soon! (Maybe tomorrow ^^)

Lilly