Jax stood in front of a man, his captive's face bloodied and battered as he kneeled in front of him. They were in the interrogation room and this was the last of Marino's men who were captured when he and Rex got there, who was still breathing.

Jax grabbed the man's jaw roughly, knowing that if he tightened his grip any further, he would break his jaw. "Last chance," he growled, "where is Marino?"

The man spat bloody phlegm at him but he didn't have enough energy to get it far so instead it dribbled down his chin. "I'll never tell you," he wheezed out through 4 missing teeth and busted lip.

Jax sighed as he calmly loaded his gun. "Very well then," he pulled the trigger, the bullet through the head ending his life. Rex appeared by his side, his blonde hair gave him the ironic appearance of an angel with a halo in the light as the Boveri men removed the slumped body from the chair.

"Are you sure he was the last one?" Jax asked as he wiped his hands on the offered rag.

Rex nodded slowly as the corpse was carried out from the room. "I started up the kiln. We begin cremating within the hour."

Jax nodded and ran a hand through his black hair. He was not expecting the attack, but thanks to Alianna's insight and Rex's precaution to assign more men to the warehouse, they were well defended. He didn't lose a lot of men but most were injured, a few seriously. He didn't have enough medics to tend to everyone forcing him to turn to local hospitals who were under his thumb.

Jax nodded to the man who brought new shoes for him. Jax slipped them on, leaving the blood soaked ones behind. He had passed the position of tormentor to Evan some time ago but Jax's anger needed an outlet tonight

He greeted each man as his men trooped out of the medical wing of the warehouse, inquiring about every injury and gathering as much information as he could. When his men reported that Marino's men weren't at their usual hangouts, coupled with Alianna's absence tonight had Jax calling Rex and his men together before heading out the warehouse. Jax chuckled as he reached Doc's office, even when she wasn't there, Alianna found a way to help him.

"How's your head?" Jax asked Evan as they stood, watching Doc sew a man's skin shut.

"Doc says it's just a concussion," Evan muttered through the pain. He refused the painkillers Doc offered him knowing that some of the men needed it more he did. "Damn that girl could pack a punch."

Jax froze and raised an eyebrow at Evan before pulling him out of the room. "A girl?" he asked calmly.

Evan nodded and immediately regretted it, "Yeah, I watched her as she killed Marino's men."

Jax inhaled sharply, "Are you sure it was a woman?"

Evan frowned as he remembered the moment Marino's men fell before him and he saw the assailant's half hidden face. "Yeah, can't mistake those curves for anything but a woman." He chuckled a bit before his frown returned, "She seemed familiar, when I saw her eyes, I knew I had seen her before."

Jax tensed and patted Evan on his back before turning around and walking quickly to the heart of the warehouse where the bodies of Marino's men lay. He didn't think that Alianna would've been here tonight, he thought her sole mission was to kill him. Rex raised an eyebrow before walking over to him, noting slightly frantic look on his hero's face.

"Everything alright Boss?" Rex asked quietly as he watched how Jax's eyes scanned the sea of bodies.

Jax swallowed lightly as he kept searching, both thankful and alarmed when he didn't find who he was looking for. "Rex, by any chance, did any of our men," he paused for a moment to wet his lips, "find the body of a woman?"

Rex's eyes widened in surprise but it was soon replaced with a frown as he recounted the reports in his head. "No, mostly men," he replied.

Jax's blood felt like ice as he swore loudly. "You handle things here," he said before storming out of the warehouse and straight to his BMW. He ignored the questions from his guards as the engine roared to life and he sped off.

He had put Alianna's absence and Evan's mystery girl together. She was at the warehouse tonight and he was thankful that she was not among the dead but she spared Evan, who knows what Marino could do to her if he found out. He loaded the GPS and brought up Alianna's tracker. As usual, it showed that she was safely in her apartment but Jax knew better. He drove the car at top speed to Alianna's apartment building, anticipation rolling his stomach.

He hissed loudly as he pulled up by the stoop but his eyes were fixed on the body that was lying flat on the pavement a couple metres from the stairs. He bolted out of the car and knelt as he turned the face down body over.

His stomach dropped as Alianna's swollen face turned up at him. With shaking hands he pressed his fingers to her neck and wrist and breathed a sigh of relief as he found a weak pulse. He scooped her up in one motion, pausing only to listen for any indication of her regaining consciousness. When he heard none, he marched over to the car and carefully placed her into the passenger seat. Jax quickly got behind the wheel and kept one hand on her wrist, keeping track of her pulse as he drove to the nearest hospital where he had doctors on his payroll. The tires screeched as he pulled up in front of Emergency and quickly got Alianna out of the car.

"I need a stretcher now!" he shouted, the receptionist and two male nurses recognised him and snapped into action.

"What's wrong?" the doctor asked as the nurses wheeled the stretcher over and Jax laid her down gently.

"She was beaten up," Jax said, "I found her unconscious; I don't know how long she's been out."

His jaw and fists clenched in anger and rage as the doctor turned Alianna's head to reveal a bump the size of an egg to the back of her head. Dark bruises and numerous minor cuts were tattooed along her arms, Jax could barely imagine what the rest of her body looked like.

The doctor whistled, "I'll have to do some scans to make sure there isn't any major damage or bleeding." He looked to the nurses, "Prep her." Jax watched as they wheeled her away, knowing that he couldn't follow.

The doctor looked at Jax, noting the fear and masked anger on his face. He had been an ally of the Boveri family for years but he had never seen Jax the way he was now. "You're welcome to stay Mr. Boveri," he said as he placed a clipboard in his hands, "I'll have one of your rooms prepped. With that head injury alone she would have to stay in here a couple of days."

Jax nodded, "That's fine doctor. Just make sure she wakes up." The doctor nodded grimly before heading in the same direction Alianna was taken. Jax headed to one of the rooms reserved only for the Boveri family and sat on the couch there. He looked at the forms in his hands and began filling in what he knew about Alianna.

~

A knock on the door made Jax look up, he muttered a "come in" and his eyebrow rose in surprise when Evan and Rex walked in. Evan passed him a cup of coffee from Magnifique Journée. Jax grunted his thanks as he sipped the invigorating drink.

"Libertà will remain closed until you give us the all clear," Evan said. "All the staff have been notified. Rex organised maximum security at the warehouse and our penthouses. All the men have been placed on high alert."

Jax nodded, "Thanks guys. Now I need to plan our next move."

Evan and Rex glanced uneasily between them, neither man wanting to be the one to address the elephant in the room. Evan cleared his throat and he opened his mouth but before he could say anything there was a knock at the door.

"Come in," Jax said clearly as he stood up. One of the male nurses who wheeled Alianna away stood there with a box in his hands.

"Good evening Mr. Boveri, Mr Rossi and Mr Alvarez," he said, "are you all here for Ms Rose?"

"Yes," Jax replied quickly while Evan and Rex stood there in stunned silence, "how is she?"

"So far there are no signs of permanent damage or internal bleeding, thank God, from the blow to her head but there is some around the stab wound to her side. Dr. Robinson is in surgery with her now. She has about 4 cracked ribs, she was definitely kicked on her torso and chest a lot; he says if she took any more hits she would've had a collapsed lung."

Jax closed his eyes and focused on his breathing as the guy listed all Alianna's injuries, trying to fight the anger. He opened his eyes and pointed to the box, "Her things?" The guy nodded before handing it over to him. Jax placed it on the couch and ran his hand through his hair in an effort to calm down.

"Jax, I trust you and I know your feelings towards Alianna are real," Evan said slowly, "I will never distrust your judgement but why the hell does Alianna sound like she was used as a human punching bag?"

"I think the better question should be," Rex piped up, causing both Jax and Evan to look at him, "why she was carrying a knife and a gun?" He held both items up for them to see.

Jax sighed and sat on the couch and gestured for the men to sit on the chairs in the room. There was no way he could hide this from them anymore.

"There is something I need to tell you."