Alianna's arms immediately tightened around Jax, holding him there for his safety.

"Where?" she asked as a fury grew in his eyes.

"One of the smaller clubs," Jax muttered coldly despite the red hot anger burning inside of him. "A couple men are dead, some are injured," he grabbed his jacket off from the back of his chair.

Guilt wracked through Alianna's body, her hands drifting to her gun. "I'm coming with you," she stated. She would not sit idly while people lives were on the line, some had even lost them because of her.

"Like hell you are," Jax snapped causing Alianna to recoil, not used to being the subject of his rage.

"I'm not going to sit here and let you put your family in danger for me," Alianna countered with a firm resolve of her own. "Let me come with you and give me a few hours, L'iiblis will be dead before the day is over."

Jax pulled her to him. He swallowed drily to soothe the tone of his voice. He looked down at her, his gaze soft and comforting. "That is exactly what he wants you do," he murmured, resting his forehead against her own. "He's trying to draw you out by attacking me," he sighed, "don't rise to the bait love. I need you to stay here where I know you are safe."

Alianna closed her eyes, shaking her head which made their noses rub against each other. "You're asking me to break my rules," she said quietly, "all my instincts are telling me to attack."

"And we will," Jax smiled pressing a kiss in between her eyebrows. "We're going to attack hard, fast and when they least expect it." He saw her relax by a fraction. "You will be heavily guarded now, if you need anything just ask Naveen and he'll make the arrangements. Try not to leave the penthouse as much as possible. Can you do that for me?"

Alianna nodded slowly and Jax pulled her even closer. A comfortable silence settled between the two but the level of concern, fear and anger in their posture spoke volumes. Alianna was the first to relax, unable to feel fear while in his arms.

Their lips were so close, they almost started to tingle at the proximity but as much as he wanted to, Jax put some distance between them. Just being able to hold her was a huge step, he did not want to rush the mile. Instead, he pressed a kiss to her forehead and nose, cupping her cheek and looking down at her.

"Alianna," he loved her innocent sorrowful eyes and yearned to fill them with happiness, "promise me that you'll be safe."

Alianna bit her lip before pressing a kiss to Jax's cheek. She felt him smile under her lips as she rubbed her nose against his cheek. "I promise," she murmured.

With one last kiss to her forehead Jax released Alianna. He pulled her chair out for her before kissing the top of her head. Alianna sighed as she watched Jax go out the door. She rest her head against her hands as she sat before the feast.

~

Jax nodded to the driver as he pulled up at one of his smaller clubs. On the outside, you would never think that an hour ago there was a massive shootout. Evan looked up, his face grim as Jax approached. Wordlessly the two men entered the now empty club.

It was a mess, the glass shelves were shattered and the tables were overturned. The was an overwhelming stench of alcohol in the air. Jax cleared his throat as he saw the last injured man being ushered out of the room. The general area of the club was ransacked and trashed but that was not where most of the damage lay.

Evan ducked his head as he passed the now broken archway of the hidden door to the VIP room. They walked down the corridor, trying to ignore the smell of fresh blood. Evan stopped and turned around to face Jax as they reached the closed metal door.

"Brace yourself," he said firmly as he opened the door.

Jax inhaled sharply as he stepped inside. There were bloody outlines were the four guys and one of head of operations were killed. The bodies had been removed but Jax could still see the men sitting their spots before their untimely deaths.

Jax's eyes drifted to a particular blood splatter, originating from his late head of operations. While the four other men had been pumped full of bullets, this one had been tortured, evident from the knife nicks and blood soaked into the fabric of the chair. Jax's eyes followed an abnormal drip pattern and then he saw it.

We're coming

Jax swore loudly and pulled out his gun and emptied the clip into the wall. He was breathing heavily as the sound rang throughout the building. Evan stood in the doorway before joining his friend, avoiding the pools of blood on the floor.

"Do we have any leads?" Jax said slowly. Evan grit his teeth, Jax's tone reflected his resolve; when he got his hands on L'iiblis, his death will be slow and unmerciful.

"No," Evan crossed his arms as the two men stared at the message on the wall. "My primary checks show that everyone was where they're supposed to be. The men closet to the club are at the warehouse now and their devices were taken for scanning." He rubbed the back of his neck, "How did they know about the VIP room? They destroyed the cameras but judging from the wreckage in the outside area, they knew about the room back here and just destroyed there because they could."

"I don't know," Jax set his lips into a grim line.

Evan hesitated but summed up the courage to voice his thoughts. "I'm not insinuating anything, but Alianna knows a lot and is pretty damn smart and you leave her alone a lot. I just think you should consider..."

"I think it is you who should consider your next words carefully," Jax snapped at Evan. Evan inched away slightly. Even though it had been a long time since he had seen it, even he feared this side of Jax. One wrong word could unleash the fury burning in Jax's eyes.

"If you must know," Jax continued coolly, "Alianna has been with me the entire morning." He ignored Evan's suggestive smirk. "Rex also destroyed the cell phone given to her by Marino and the hotel phone only used to call room service." Evan bit back the scathing tease on the tip of his tongue. "Whoever we're looking for is not my woman." He turned around and sighed, "We're looking for a man on the inside."

~

Alianna looked up as the elevator dinged, however she saw no one enter the living room. She was curled up in a blanket and the television remote in hand. A documentary about the life in world's ocean played on the flat screen as she searched for any sign of the person or people who returned home.

Naveen appeared at the edge of the living room. Alianna smiled, he had been her constant companion during the day, regaling her with tales of his wild teen years.

"Boss is his study."

Alianna sat up instantly and switch off the television. She thanked Naveen before padding into the kitchen and taking out the foil covered food from the oven. She arranged cutlery and an empty glass onto a tray before balancing it in her left hand before making her way to the library/study.

She nodded to the guards at the door. She had met them earlier when Naveen introduced her to the resident Boveri members who were now assigned to protect and guard her. She knocked and patiently waited for Jax's familiar "Come in." It came two seconds later and the guards let her in.

Alianna placed the tray on the desk and stood before Jax, feeling a sense of déjà vu to the day they met.

Jax looked up Alianna with an unreadable expression on his face. Alianna physical took a step back, all her instincts screaming at her to run away.

"Come here."

Alianna hesitated momentarily but forced her legs to walk towards Jax. Once she was near his chair, his arms shot out, grabbing her around her waist and pulling her into his lap. Alianna gasped in surprise but let Jax bury his face into her neck as he held her protectively. Jax was not sure if she would let him hold her like this for long but right now, he needed a tangible reminder that she was safe.

A silence settled between the two and Alianna's arms wound around Jax's shoulders to keep herself steady. She found herself playing with the ends of his hair, her fingers brushing against the nape of his neck occasionally. Jax neither stopped or encouraged her, making her wonder what was really on his mind.

"We interrogated every member who was present in a ten mile radius," Jax mumbled against her neck. Alianna's breathing hitched and she fidgeted at the feeling of his hot breath. "Their devices were clean, their alibis checked out. I have no leads on who did this."

"What makes you think that it's a member of your family?" Alianna asked as she shifted and her fingers started to play with his.

"They killed one of my heads and the guys in the VIP room," Jax answered. He saw the weight of the guilt physically sink Alianna's shoulders. "Other than my men, who are turning up innocent, the only other person who knows how to get into a VIP room is..."

"Me," Alianna answered. 

She looked up at Jax. From the look in his eyes, she could tell that he did not suspect her. "I'll be right back," Jax released his hold on her and watched her slip out of the study. Alianna rummaged through the larger suitcase in her room and found the book before going back into the study.

"Here." Alianna handed the book to Jax. He raised an eyebrow at her before taking the book and looking at the title.

"A Knight in Shining Armour?" he questioned, his playful smirk returning. "Never pegged you as a time travel romance reader."

Alianna rolled her eyes, "I found the original book at a used bookshop. Just open it." Jax did as he was told and she heard his intake of breath as his picture graced the first page. "This is all the information Marino had on you and the Boveri family. When I started working at Libertà, I added in one or two notes of my own. This book has not left my suitcase since March last year. I haven't shown this to anyone but you."

While most of the information was common knowledge among crime families, there were some titbits that disconcerted Jax and made him wonder how Marino had come to know it. He closed the book and looked at Alianna, seeing her in a new light after getting some insight of what she knew about him. But his curiousity burned, wanting to know her opinion of him now.

"Thank you," he threw the book lightly on the desk. He frowned as it brushed against the foil covered plate. "What's this?"

Alianna bit her lip, "I made dinner for everyone. Naveen sent Terry and Mitch out to the grocery so no worries."

"You made dinner?" he repeated arching his eyebrow. He had not had a home cooked meal in months and he was stunned by the fact that she had started to branch out and socialise with his men and touched that she had put aside food for him to eat when he returned.

"I was bored not too fond of the options on the dinner menu," Alianna said resolutely. "Uncooked sushi. Yuck."

Jax laughed loudly. "Oh my darling, you have an entire culinary world to explore but don't worry," he looked at her with so much love Alianna had to drop her head to hide her blush, "I'll be there with you." He chuckled before pulling the plate to him. His mouth watered as he smelt the well done steak and pan roasted potatoes with a hearty serving of vegetables. "Can you bring me the bottle of scotch from the shelf and some ice please?"

Alianna grinned, thrilled by the enthused look in eyes and brought what he wanted. Jax bit back his smile as she willingly settled into his lap again. Even though the close contact was still strange for her, the fact that she could hear the steady beating of Jax's heart made her like it.