Alianna raised her head off Jax's shoulder as the van came to a stop. She looked out of the tinted windows and saw about a dozen men surrounding the vehicle and she immediately went into fight mode. Jax felt her tense in his arms and looked down admirably at her; she was not unlike a panther ready to strike.

"They're my men," he told her. "They're here to protect us." The woman in his arms did not relax at his statement and in all honesty he did not expect her to.

Naveen opened the door to reveal Evan and Rex. Jax grinned at his friends before stepping out. He motioned to his men to step back and ignoring everyone's confusion, he helped Alianna out.

Alianna's skin prickled as she stepped out. She felt the heat of the doubting glares and curious looks on her and her walls came up instantly. Jax noticed her cold glare and wound his arm around her waist, breaking her shell a little.

"Let's head up to my office," Jax said clearly. 

His men returned to their duties while Jax led Alianna up with Evan and Rex trailing behind. Alianna kept everyone they met along the way in plain sight while she hid herself slightly behind Jax as he stopped to talk to members along the way. The warehouse was hot and stuffy making Alianna slip off her jacket. Without pausing his conversation, Jax took the jacket from her and pulled her closer by placing his arm around her shoulder.

Finally, they entered the cool cocoon that was Jax's office. Alianna smiled and squeezed Jax's forearm gently, expressing her gratitude as she sat down. She recognised Jax's heads of operations sitting opposite them, their eyes burning with outrage. She met their gazes and with a cold one of her own. Of course they would be angry, she sat with them months ago as an assassin in a waitress disguise. Alianna wondered if anyone other than Jax, Evan, Rex and Naveen liked her.

Jax looked at the men darkly, daring them to say anything. Thankfully neither of the three men said anything, instead the meeting commenced. Alianna zoned out once she started to hear facts and figures. Her eyes drifted to the unloading area where a couple of men unloaded crates.

Jax shifted his attention from the conversation to Alianna. He was surprised that her attention was not on him or the conversation at hand but rather on the table of guns and ammunition his men were laying out for inspection and demonstration. Metal silhouettes of people were spread out across the warehouse floor. He raised an eyebrow when he saw her fingers twitch in anticipation.

He made eye contact with Naveen before placing his hand on Alianna's thigh, immediately capturing her attention. He chuckled at her glare as Naveen came over. "Escort Ms Rose down to the unloading bay, I believe she can assist with the demonstration."

Alianna visibly perked up as she grinned at Jax. She let Jax kiss her hand before following Naveen out of the office. She all but ran down the stairs like a child on Christmas with a highly amused Naveen following behind.

Her eyes roamed over the spread on the table. She noticed the wary looks from the men nearby but Naveen told them it was Jax's order. Her fingers trailed over the guns as she assessed each one mentally. Her fingers closed around the Glock, deciding to use the classic first. She smiled at Naveen as he passed her the clip. Once it was in, she looked up at Jax, making sure that he was okay with this.

Jax stood at the window, arms crossed smugly over his chest and a smirk that made her heart stutter on his face. There was a teasing, knowing glint in his eyes and she caught his message loud and clear; Show me what you can do.

Alianna loaded the gun and with the first shot, the child was gone, replaced by the assassin she was. Shots echoed throughout the entire warehouse as she fired gun after gun, sparks flying from the targets as the bullets made contact. Her arm and soul went numb as her brain autonomously picked up weapon after weapon, her hands having a mind of their own. Alianna didn't think as she moved on to the automatic guns, her body adjusting to the recoil on its own.

Alianna heard her heartbeat in her ears as she placed the machine gun down and looked around. The entire warehouse had come to a stop as all eyes were on her, some of them filled with fear and as she looked out at the targets she understood why.

Each target had a smoking hole in the middle of its forehead.

Alianna ducked her head as a slow smile spread across her face. She looked up, curious to see Jax's reaction. There was a crowd at the window but she was only concerned with the man in the middle.

Jax looked down at her with pure awe, admiration and pride. He knew Alianna was good but he did not expect her to be that good. He beckoned to her to rejoin the men upstairs. The smile on her face helped him relax as he faced the throng again. In the decade since he led his family, the men never complained but Alianna was now involved with Jax which changes the entire ball game. At least now he had proven that she was no threat to him or the family.

Alianna slipped into the room bringing in the smell of recent fire in with her. Her fingers sought Jax's under the table as she sat down. Jax could feel her pulse racing beneath her skin and he squeezed her hand gently, trying to calm both of them down.

"Based off your description Boss," one of the men said, placing a sketch pad on the table, "this is what Marino's successor looks like."

Alianna looked at the sketch. Jax had gotten most of what the devil looked like with the defined jaw, angled nose and hair. "May I?" she looked at Jax, her hand inching towards the materials. Jax nodded at the sketch artist who handed over the pencil.

She curled up in her chair, signalling that she would take a while. Jax moved the meeting on, leaving her be.

~

Jax was shook out of his stupor as something heavy rest on his shoulder. The familiar scent of mango and mandarin assaulted his senses, making him look over. Alianna had fallen asleep on his shoulder. He could not blame her, the meeting had been going on for hours but it was necessary as they were leaving for Miami soon.

Jax tugged the sketch pad gently from Alianna's hand. "This," he held it up, "is the first look at our enemy."

He flipped it open and tossed it to the centre of the table. Jax inhaled sharply, impressed at Alianna's skill. She captured the dark, sadistic glint of L'iiblis' eyes that he had not been able to describe and the angles of his face were had more dimension now. She had had the time to add in shadows and shading, making the drawing almost seem to come to life.

"I'll circulate this tonight," Evan did not bother to hide the amazement from his voice. "This is much better than your description Jax."

"To be fair," all eyes in the room shifted to the sleepy girl whose eyes remained closed as she shifted on Jax's shoulder, "Jax only saw him for a few hours, I saw that face for twelve years."

"Gentlemen," Jax said curtly, cutting off any opportunity to for anyone to question her, "I believe it's time for a cigar break." He took out the box he kept in the draw and the men filed out, Evan and Rex giving the pair knowing looks.

Alianna opened her eyes as she felt Jax's thumbs brush the skin under her eyes. Jax hissed as he saw how bloodshot they were before pulling her out of her seat and into his lap. Sleep clouded her brain so his actions didn't register as she curled into the familiar scent of his cologne and the scotch he'd been drinking.

"Would you like to go home?" Jax murmured to her as his fingers caressed her thighs. "I'll have Naveen drive you. I have to stay here and continue the meeting." He felt her frown against his chest, undoubtedly asking why. "Just to tie up some loose ends but either way I'm going to be here late."

Alianna frowned again as she thought about having the penthouse to herself for some time. She struggled to overthrow the smog of sleep to make a decision. She sighed when she felt Jax press a soft kiss to her forehead.

"Earlier, I said that I wasn't used to living with someone but," she yawned and breathed sleepily, "I don't think I could stay there by myself."

Jax's heart raced as her breathing evened out as she fell asleep. He grinned and pressed a kiss to her forehead before gazing down at her lovingly. He noticed that this was the first time she looked completely at peace. Jax lifted Alianna easily as he walked over to the couch at the side of the room before laying her down gently. Alianna sighed in her sleep as she got comfy.

A knock on the door snapped Jax back into reality. He sighed before sitting back down, missing Alianna's warmth that brought him comfort and calling the men back in.