Hey guys ! I'm not going to bother you with apologies and other things^^ Just enjoy the chapter. I'm posting two of them right now!

Love, Lilly

Chapter Twenty-two: Plan B

It wasn't quite day but the night wasn't over either. Dawn was slowly rising above the horizon when Maia woke up suddenly, alerted by Killian's cries. It shed eerie shadows of gray against the walls. Jordan hadn't come back from work but Maia wasn't worried; with time she had learned to adapt to Jordan's busy schedule and there was only so much time his bosses at Alicante would allow him to take, even for his son. She rubbed her eyes as she sat down on the couch and stretched her numb limbs before standing up.

"What is it baby?" She asked the little boy once she had entered the room. Killian stopped crying and looked at his mother with his huge hazel eyes. She wondered, not for the first time, what babies thought about. She gently took him in her arms and rocked him until he fell back asleep. She kissed the top of his head and settled him back into his crib before tip-toeing out of the room, closing the door as softly as she could.

She was about to go back to sleep but the front door hissed open and a tired Jordan entered their small apartment, dragging his feet on the floor. He threw his jacket over the kitchen counter and the crystal clattering of his keys falling into the bowl echoed through the walls. He looked up and jumped back when he noticed Maia staring right at him.

"Gee you scared me!" he exclaimed, a hand on his chest.

"Sorry, I just needed to sleep in another room than Killian's," she said.

He slouched in the couch next to her, his feet finding their way to the coffee table. "You look exhausted," he said, twirling a brown curl around a finger.

"I'm fine," she said with a smile. "Besides I think you look worse than I do."

"Probably," he chuckled.

He turned his head to her and kissed her lips lightly. "I love you."

"I know," she said leaning on his shoulder. "It just feels like since Killian was born, we haven't been able to catch a breath. Between work, the new apartment, the wedding and the baby, it's beginning to be a lot to handle on our own."

"You're right," Jordan said suddenly sitting straight. "We need a couple of days away from all of this, away from the city. How about we go and visit your mum in Florida?"

"Come on, you've been working like crazy, they'll never let you take two days off," Maia reasoned.

"I do have a meeting with the board of directors tomorrow," he answered and pinched his lips while he was thinking. "Then maybe you and Ky and go ahead and I'll meet you guys tomorrow night."

"That sounds like a plan," she said. He took her hand and kissed it. She smiled, shook her head and pulled him back against the couch. Before he could understand what was happening, Maia was straddling him.

They were locked in a tight embrace. Maia could feel every single fiber in her body light up as his hands were swiftly moving up her thighs. His shirt was somewhere underneath the coffee table as was hers –in shreds. His mouth was hot and she quickly found herself craving more. She realized that she hadn't had sex since Killian was born and her libido was in serious overdrive. Jordan's was too, she thought or rather felt. His breath was heavy and uneven and his lips brushed every part of her. He held her body as he lay her down on her back.

"Are you sure?" he asked in a ragged whisper.

Maia smiled. If it had been any other occasion she would have laughed and told him something about the fact that she was already naked under him; but she wanted him so much that sarcasm wasn't on her mind that night. She knew he was asking because he was afraid her body wasn't ready for that kind of intimacy. But both her body and her mind was on fire. Not only did she want this, she needed this if she was not to explode. She swallowed hard and nodded, hands already trying to unbuckle his belt.

"I love you so much," he said again, inhaling the coconut scent of her hair.

"I love–"

Three short knocks on the door cut her short. She frowned and looked at Jordan. He shook her head. Neither of them was waiting for someone –especially not at three in the morning. As a reflex, Maia threw her head back so she could see the door of their bedroom where Killian's seemed to remain asleep.

Whoever was on the other side of the door knocked again.

"Go to the room," Jordan ordered her, slipping his shirt back on. His voice was low but hard. "Go!" He repeated when he saw that she hadn't moved.

"What's going on Jordan?" she asked, gathering her stuff.

"Don't worry, everything's going to be okay," Jordan said. His face softened and he kissed her forehead. "Now go."

He walked slowly to the front door, grabbing a kitchen knife as he did so, which he kept hidden behind his back. He quickly look through the peep-hole and his eyes went wide. The door flew open on Jace bloody-faced and a shaking Clary, sleeping –or possibly and more probably fainted– in his arms.

Jace smirked. "Aren't you going to invite us in?"

xXx

Lights were blazing from every corners of the room as the special team burst into Valentine's apartment, snipers ready to shoot. They split into pairs and started searching the premises.

"Something's wrong," Alec murmured to himself. "It's way too quiet."

"What do you mean?" Aline asked through the earpiece.

Alec didn't answer. In the center of the room was an empty chair and around it, blood stained the carpet. A lot of blood. Jace was here. His shackles were lying on the ground, as were the zipcuffs that had undoubtedly restrained his feet to the chair.

"Clear!" He heard one of the pairs shout from the adjacent room.

"No one's here!" he exclaimed and took a deep breath to control his anger.

"What do you mean no one's here?" Aline asked.

"Are you deaf?" Alec said through gritted teeth. "There's no one in this fucking dump! They knew we were coming!"

"How could they?" Jules asked. "We lied to Aldertree, there's no way he knew about this."

"Unless he figured it out," Hodge replied. "I mean, he is a spy."

"That's fucking great!" Alec exclaimed, kicking the chair which went crushing down against a wall.

"There's no one here sir."

"I can see that," Alec said. "Search the whole building, knock down every single fucking door if you have too. I want to know how he got out of here before we arrived!"

"Alec, calm down," Jules ordered.

"Calm down?" Alec laughed nervously. "I'm standing in Jace's blood. He could be dead. As could Clary. And you want me to calm down?! If I get my hands on Valentin–"

"What if he escaped?" Aline suggested.

As she spoke, a ray of moonlight reflected on a silver object.

"Wait a second." Alec bent down and picked it up. It was a fork with three of his dent curved down. "I think someone freed him."

"How do you know?" Jules asked.

"Clary," Alec whispered and his face broke into a smile. "Clever girl."

"Where would Jace go if he got out?" Hodge asked. "Not home or even the safe house."

"I'm not sure," Alec began. "But because Clary's involved, Jace wouldn't go to the usual places. I think he would take her to somebody he knew. Someone who could protect her."

"So you," Aline clarified.

"No," Alec retorted. "Valentine is also after me, he knows she can't come to my place."

"Then where?" Jules asked. Her patience was wearing thin.

"His dad!" Alec exclaimed.

"Doesn't his family live in Maine?" Hodge asked.

"You're right," Alec agreed. "It's too far and he would put our families at risk."

"Maybe we don't have to figure out where he is," Aline pointed out. "As soon as he's safe he will contact us."

"Aline's right," Jules said. "If he escaped, then our priority is to find Valentine and Jonathan."

xXx

"What happened?" Jordan asked, handing Jace a wet cloth to clean the dry blood off his face. He put a stack of clean clothes near the washbasin and sat on the bathtub's edge. After he had let him in, Jace had settled Clary on the couch and Maia had gotten her a blanket to cover her shivering body. She hadn't asked question yet but Jordan knew she would, it was only a matter of time. Then she had fixed Jace something to eat before returning to bed, where Killian had woken up again.

"How much time do you have?" Jace replied, wincing as pain shot up his arm and chest.

"This has to do with Valentine Morgenstern, hasn't it?"

"How do you know?"

"I just came home from the Agency. Everyone is doing double shifts until we find him," Jordan explained.

"He took Clary," Jace said. It wasn't exactly true but that was how he saw it.

"He did what?"

"Do you have your encrypted phone on you?" Jace asked buttoning up one of Jordan's blue shirts.

"Here."

"Thanks, I need to call home."

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