Hey guys!

Sorry I'm only updating now, but I have exams coming up for the next two weeks so there won't be as many chapters as the last two weeks but don't worry I'm still going to post as many as I can write! But please don't pressure me, if you think it's helping, well it's really not because it makes me feel so guilty but I still have to work to pass my exams!^^

Anyway, back to the story^^

Love, Lilly

Chapter Fourteen: Safe House

Jonathan was ramping. The blood coursing through his veins felt like an intense fire filled with murderous rage.

Jace had been standing in front of him. Right in front of him. If, instead of talking, he had just stretched his arms and squeezed hard enough, he would have been dead by now and he wouldn't feel so awful.

Clary had stood in front of him too, and although, she wasn't the main reason he had been on that roof, he hadn't been able to keep his eyes from lingering. She was beautiful with her plaited hair, falling loosely on her right shoulder with the yellow flower just above her ear and her emerald gazing from him to Jace with a confused look. But Anson Pangborn, that brainless idiotic beast of Emil's brother had to shoot the place down.

Jonathan had left without even knowing if Clary was okay. If she was alive. The thought that she may not be anymore was somehow frightening him, deep to the core of his heart –or whatever the name of the organ beating in its place was. So, in a moment of despair, he hoped Jace was as good as he pretended to be and had saved his wife.

He looked up from the chair he had been slouched into when they had come 'home'. He hadn't bothered to change despite the blood slowly drying on his cuffs, he didn't mind. He felt tired, sinking into the soft leather of the chair watching his father with a distant dark eye.

Valentine was nervously pacing up and down the living room, his hands tied behind his back. He, on the other hand, had taken a long hot shower and had changed into clean clothes.

"We had him!" he fulminated. "He was right in front of us!" He threw his hands in the air in despair. "How could this had happened Jonathan?"

He shrugged. "Maybe Emil was pissed off that you didn't need his stupid list anymore and sent Anson for their retaliation."

Valentine stopped abruptly. He slowly turned his head in his son's direction.

"That would make sense if Emil didn't have Anson on a tight leach. He knows how his brother can get… out of control. No, I think something has happened today, something that forced his hand when I refused to meet him at Pandemonium tomorrow," Valentine said, thinking out loud. "But what?"

"I have no idea. But he couldn't know we were there," Jonathan added and stood up. "On the roof I mean. No one followed me I'm sure of it, as I am sure no one followed you." Valentine nodded.

"Then they must have been following someone else then," Valentine said.

"Maybe they were following Jace and his little friends," Jonathan said scornfully. "On the way of betraying us, I'm sure he betrayed other people too, why not Emil?"

"No," Valentine replied. "Emil isn't one of revenge, not unless it concerns family."

"And that daughter of his is a dumb slut with no self-esteem, hardly considerable as one of Jace's girlfriends. As for Alexander," Jonathan wrinkled his nose but didn't finish.

"Jace is married and I know how much you care for the little redhead, I highly doubt he would cheat on her though," Valentine retorted. "However, Tatiana is as good a way to start as any. I'll go talk to Emil, you, find me someone talented enough with computers to find me Jace Herondale real address and everything he ever owned. I want to know everything."

"What makes you think Emil will tell you anything?" Jonathan asked.

"Oh, he will."

xXx

Clary's heart had stopped beating, or Jace's heart was so strongly beating between them that it felt as if hers didn't beat at all, he wasn't sure. Clary's face was flushed, her hands pressed flat against his chest. She seemed to hesitate before pulling him back against her body and his mouth found hers. Her hair was spread around her face in red waves of shining copper. He slid his hands along her bare thighs and under her shirt –his shirt– and she let out a short breath at the heat he was radiating. He gently smiled and leaned over, kissing her throat, whispering how much he loved her in her ear, feeling her entire body shiver under his touch. Clary wrapped her legs around his waist, suppressing a soft moan but–

"I can't," she said. She pushed him back, keeping a hand around his neck and sat on his lap. She bit her lip and blushed deeply. "I'm sorry. It's too soon."

"I understand." Jace forced a small smile, keeping his breathing even.

"You're mad," she said.

"No no!" Jace assured her and he kissed her forehead. "I'm not mad!" Just turned on, he wanted to say.

"It's not that I don't want to –believe me I do– but I have so many questions I want to ask you and if I don't do it now–"

"What do you wanna know?" Jace asked. He rested his back against the wall, keeping her in the circle of his arms.

"Does Aline and Sebastian work with you?" Clary asked, and she mentally slapped herself for being jealous that Aline would know something so important about her husband and she didn't.

"Yes, Aline is a techie and Sebastian is… Sebastian," Jace answered, a smile forming on his lips.

"What does that mean?" Clary asked amused.

"It means that four days ago he was a desk-nerd and now he's an almost-agent. Next."

"How do you know Jonathan Morgenstern?" Clary wondered aloud. She felt Jace freeze under her. "Please. I need to know why I should hate him when he's been so sweet to me all this time."

"Sweet?" Jace repeated in disgust.

"Jace," she begged and he sighed. She turned around to face him, remotely conscious that she was straddling him.

"You met Valentine Morgenstern, right? He's his dad and this story starts with him." Clary nodded. "He was my mission. I was supposed to become close to him."

"Why?"

"Because before that, he always was a step ahead of us, selling secrets, dealing information, killing agents, kidnaping other's family to make them talk. Jules was sick of it so she sent me in under the name Jace Wayland. After a few months, he started trusting me. After a year, I was like his son but Jonathan never trusted me. I still don't know if it was because he knew I wasn't who I said I was or because he didn't like the fact that his father loved me as if I were his own."

"Did you?"

"Did I what?"

"Love him as a father?" Clary asked.

"No. My father is Stephen Herondale, I never had any doubt about that. He didn't do anything to make me search for another father figure. He was the one who has always been there for me and cared for me. If Valentine loves someone, it's himself, nothing else is comparable."

"The greatest gift a parent can give a child is unconditional love. As a child wanders and strays, finding his bearings, he needs a sense of absolute love from a parent."

Jace smiled. "Who said that?"

"I don't know," Clary admitted, "but my mom used to say that to me all the time when I was little and I asked her why she loved me."

"Well, I'm not sure Valentine is capable of that kind of love," Jace finally said. "As for wondering why someone would love you, I think you need to meet yourself." Clary kissed his cheek.

"So Jonathan hates you for stealing his father away from him," Clary summarized. Jace nodded. "Why do you think he was threatening me? You know, earlier at the party?"

"He wants you," Jace said and Clary grimaced, wrinkling her nose. "He does, and I can't say I blame it for that. I don't think he wants to hurt you either," he added and Clary could see it pained him to admit it.

"But why did he say I'll be better off with him?"

Jace took a deep breath. "Clary you have to listen very carefully, okay?" She nodded fervently, her emerald shining with fear and confusion. "They're in New York because they're after me and Alec –well mostly me– and they won't stop until I'm dead."

Clary's heart seemed to shrink into her chest and skipped several beats before she spoke again. "But couldn't we just talk to–"

"That's what I love about you," Jace said. "You'll do everything to protect the ones you love. But these people don't talk Clary."

"So what are we going to do?" She asked, her voice trembling as the fear of losing Jace took a hold of her and wouldn't let go.

"You are leaving the city," Jace said. "With Mags and Simon and Izzy."

"What?"

"You'll go to Idris and stay there until we come for you," Jace continued.

"Idris?"

"It's an island in the Pacific, far enough for Valentine and small enough so that the idea of going there would seem insane," Jace explained. "If we don't come, Aline will send you new identities and you'll have to start somewhere new."

Tears we're flowing down her cheeks. "What do you mean if you don't come? –I don't understand –I'm not going anywhere without you! I can't do it –I won't do it. I need you!" She threw her hands up in the air, despair painted all over her face. "You can't do that to me!"

"I need to know, you'll be safe," Jace said.

"What about my parents?" She asked. "What about your parents? And Alec's and Simon's?"

"The Agency has dispatched two security details, your parents are with Alec's on their way upstate in Luke's house and the protection on my parents has been increased. Don't worry about them, they'll be fine."

"It's my fault," she whispered. "When I mistake him for you. I kept saying your name over and over again and I told him you were blond and–" Her voice broke off. "All this –it's happening because of me."

xXx

Jules was staring right in the woman's eyes.

This woman was barely recognizable. Jules remember Reyna Branwell. She remembered her very clearly. They had shared a room at the Farm for a year and after that, they had worked together for years before Jules was transferred to the New York Office.

Reyna was beyond beautiful. She had waist-long strawberry blond hair falling in perfect and regular waves of silk, her eyes wear a light gray, almost transparent –their trainers repeated over and over they would help her get someone's trust because it would feel like you could see through them– the high cheekbones of her oval face were always splashed with pink, as were her thin lips. She was tall and always stood proud. That was why Jules had so much trouble reconciling the image of the Reyna she knew with the one of the woman sitting in front of her, nervously tugging on the sleeves of a worn out bleached blue cardigan, her eyes staring down at the table. The lines of age and life were weighting on her.

"Why did you come back Reyna?" Jules asked. She tried to put a friendly hand on hers –after all they had been friend at one point– but Reyna yanked it away as if they were poisonous. That's when she noticed that they were shaking.

Three knocks on the glass behind her call her back to order. She knew Aldertree wasn't only watching Reyna, he was also assessing Jules' ability to lead when her personal feeling were involved. She needed to be as professional as she could.

"State your name and identification number for the tape," Jules ordered gently, rearranging a lock of fair hair behind her ear. "Please."

"Reyna Branwell, 1708AlphaCharlie63."

"You're here on your on request, is that correct?" Jules continued, without bothering to open her file. She knew everything she needed to know.

"Cut the bullshit Jules!" Reyna snapped. "I'm here about him." She took a deep breath. "About Valentine. Is it true?" Her hands were shaking with rage, or maybe it was fear Jules realized but couldn't tell. Reyna had always been hard to read. That was what made her such a good operative.

"You know protocol, I can't discuss an ongoing operation with you," Jules answered. "We don't even know if you're still part of the Agency."

"Damn it Jules! There–"

"Calm down," Jules said between gritted teeth, moving her head imperceptibly toward the glass and Reyna understood. "Good. What was your relationship to Valentine Morgenstern?"

"He was my mission, 25 years ago."

"And after this mission, you vanished," Jules finished.

"I took something," Reyna said, "Before I left him. He–"

"What did you take?"

"He forced me to have him, I –I did–didn't but he made me," Reyna sobbed collapsing on the table, her head disappearing behind a wall of hair.

"Who are you talking about?"

"His –my son, Jonathan," Reyna said.

"Jonathan Morgenstern is your son?" Jules repeated in disbelief. "How is that possible?"

Reyna's snapped back up so fast, Jules slightly flinched. "You were there when they give the perimeters of the mission. I had to do anything possible to get information out of him about the missiles codes."

"And you did," Jules said. "Why didn't you came back after that?"

"Because he wouldn't let me." There was a look in Reyna's gray eyes that told Jules she wouldn't talk anymore about that subject.

"Okay. What did you take?" she repeated.

Reyna looked at the glass before she answered. "I don't know what it is exactly."

Aldertree suddenly barged into the room. "Do you have it?" he asked, his voice hard and demanding. Reyna shook her head.

"Search her," he said and two men wearing black gear came into the room. Reyna screamed but wasn't strong enough to fight them off.

"It's not on her, sir," the darker-haired of the two said.

"Give it to me," Aldertree hissed. Reyna looked blankly ahead. "Give it to me!"

"Get out," Jules said. He turned his head, a look of bewilderment in his eyes.

"What?"

"GET OUT," she ordered staring at him. He seemed the quickly weighed the pros and cons and eventually he left the room, slamming the door in a loud bang. "Sorry."

"It's okay," Reyna said but her voice was only a whisper. "I need to speak to someone but I don't know how to contact him."

"I'll try. Who is it?"

"Jace Herondale."

So what do you think Reyna has? Be creative!^^

Review!

So that you know: there will be another update this weekend and maybe one tomorrow (I'm not promising anything) so no need to ask me when^^

I hope you liked it^^

See ya!

Lilly