Arrested (Book 1 of the Arrested Trilogy) {malec au}

Chapter Nineteen

No one told Alec that the person Jace had gotten the anonymous call from said that there was something in an old abandoned construction lot worth investigating. In fact, no one told Alec anything the entire drive to the lot. Jace was silent, humming to a song on the radio. Magnus sat in the backseat with his arms crossed, not looking one bit pleased with this road trip.

"What did the caller say, anyway?" Alec asked. "You never told me what they said."

Jace shrugged. "Honestly? They didn't say much. All they said was I might want to check out the old lot next to the Verlac Halfway House. Then they hung up."

"And you just.....decided to check out something that could be potentially dangerous?"

Jace smirked. "My middle name is Dangerous, Alec. I live for this. Anonymous callers don't scare me. Plus there's a 50/50 chance that we could get something useful out of this."

Magnus snorted from the backseat. "The only thing you're going to get out of this is an ass kicking. Whoever it is that called in with this 'tip' is more than likely a part of Valentine's crew looking to beat the shit out of you like they did with Alec-"

From the side view mirror, Alec saw Magnus clamp a hand over his mouth. Jace had slammed on the brakes just when they pulled up into the lot, and the three of them went forward in their seats.

"Valentine's men did what?! You mean to tell me that his men are responsible for your bruised up face?" Jace yelled, his face turning purple with anger.

"Not Valentine directly....I was at a meeting with the mayor when it happened....her men did this."

"Still. I'll fucking kill whoever did this to you. Why didn't you tell me the day it happened?"

Magnus tapped Jace on the shoulder. "You tracked him. Remember? I found him practically dead in an alley by the abandoned church. I brought him home and cleaned him up. There wasn't time to call anyone. He needed help and fast too."

A muscle twitched Jace's jaw. He was angry at both Alec and Magnus for not telling him this. "Whatever. Fuck the both of you. I don't appreciate being lied to and this just....get out. We're here."

Alec looked back at Magnus as Jace slammed the car door when he got out. Magnus said nothing but offer him a small sigh and a shrug.

The building wasn't even completed construction wise. The beams high above them were bare and the second story floor had holes in the ceiling with tarps blowing around in the wind. The concrete floor was dusty; Alec kept coughing as they walked around, kicking up dust.

"I'm pretty sure just by being here we're breaking a dozen health hazard laws," Magnus coughed. "I can't even breathe. You sure the caller didn't just want us to come here and cough ourselves to death?"

"I'm pretty sure, Magnus. Here. I came prepared." Jace handed them masks that covered their mouth and nose. They put them on immediately. "I'm not stupid, you know. I know this is a construction zone. Safety first."

"No one said you were stupid, Jace...." Alec craned his neck and looked up at the ceiling. "What do you think they were building here at the time?"

Jace kicked an empty can with his foot. "I heard it was a convenience store but that's been the rumor for a while-"

"Hardware store."

Jace and Alec turned to look at Magnus. He was examining a hammer that he had picked up off the ground. He looked somewhat fascinated by it.

"And how do you know that?" Alec asked.

"Hmm?" Magnus looked up at them. "Oh. I googled it just then. I'm connected to wifi here."