She was in a dark room.

She frowned and struggled against her restraints to no avail. She leaned back against the back of the chair. How did she get here? Why was she here? Who brought her here? She tried to remember leaving her apartment when she noticed a person in front of her.

Realisation shot through her body like ice. Standing before her was a middle aged drug lord. He had been robbing Marino of money for years and previous attempts on his life had failed. He was Alianna's first assignment when Marino brought her into his ranks when she was 13. Her brows knitted together, the drug lord was dead, she was absolutely sure of it.

She gasped as two hands shot out of the darkness and slit the man's throat. She watched with wide eyes as the body took its last breath and slumped to the floor. Her heart was pounding in her chest. Another person came into view; an Austrian socialite who had a penchant for guys like Marino. After finding another girl in his arms, she went blabbing to the police. Alianna had gotten rid of her with the classic blow dryer in the bathtub method. She watched now as the body before her jerked and trashed before falling limp to the floor.

She began fighting her restraints even more as every life she'd terminated replayed in front of her. From classic to gruesome, she was forced to watch them all. She watched their last breath left their lungs, watched as the last signs of life leave their bodies but worst of all, she saw their faces. She remembered every single one. She watched their dying faces as their eyes bore into hers.

Then all of a sudden, she saw herself and she heard a gun click and a resounding gunshot. In slow motion she saw the bullet cut through the air, heading for its target.

Alianna bolted upright in her bed. Covered in a sheen of cold sweat and breathing rapidly, she tried to calm down and get her bearings. The noise of traffic and muted lights coming from her window blinds told her that she was still in New York City. Her eyes flickered around; she was in her one bedroom apartment. She picked up her phone to check the time, 3:00 a.m.; she'd only been asleep for an hour since returning from Libertà.

She got out of bed and went into the bathroom. She splashed cold water on her face, thankful that her hair was tied in a messy bun. She gripped the sides of the sink as the water dripped off her face. She closed her eyes, counting backwards from 10, trying to still her racing heart. As her pulse and breathing returned to normal, she wiped her face and headed to the living room.

She never had a nightmare before. She was trained not to dream. She sat on the lumpy couch and held her head in her hands. What was happening to her? Ever since she took on this job, she did things that she'd never dare to do before, she felt emotions that she never knew she was capable of feeling and their effects were beginning to surface. She sighed as she leaned back. She wasn't going to waste time trying to make up the sleep that eluded her for the night.

She went around the apartment pulling out her weapons that she hid and set up a small scale training area. The other apartments on her floor were empty, granting her some level of privacy. Still dressed in her camisole and boy shorts, she prepared herself to strike at her foam target before the shrill ring of her phone pierced the silence. Alianna rolled her eyes before answering the call.

"We were unsuccessful tonight," Marino's voice crooned in her ear. Alianna sighed, even though they were lacking members, a simple grab should've been child's play for them.

"How long?" she asked. Once Marino got some information from Jax's warehouse, he'd give her the okay to complete her job. Usually Marino didn't meddle with her matters but this time, for Marino, it was personal.

"Longer than expected," Marino answered. "Miscalculations by my men," she heard him sigh, "I can never count on people to do things right, unless it's you Alianna my dear, you have never failed me." Alianna shuddered before ending the call. She tossed the phone onto the couch before facing her target again. When she struck, she it hit with more force than necessary.

~

Jax watched the clean-up that was underway at his warehouse from his computer monitor. Marino attempted to break into the warehouse for something but his men handled it. No injuries on his side, a few of Marino's men dead and two in their custody. Evan was interrogating those two in an off-camera room. Content with the work being done, he stood up and walked over to the one way glass panel wall of his office. His eyes immediately fell on Alianna, almost like a pull.

Despite the fact she wore the same uniform as the two other girls, she stood out more. She didn't flaunt her assets nor was she shy about it; but a blend of the two. He smiled and took a drag from his cigar as she moved with the music, dancing seamlessly while pouring drinks for the patrons in front of her. Alan grinned as he catcalled to Alianna. Jax grit his teeth in annoyance but relaxed when he saw the smile on her face.

Ever since their meeting, he watched her every night. He was curious and determined to find out who was the girl underneath the mask. He gave her credit for keeping up the façade around her friends, Evan and Rex. They were fooled by it, though Rex voiced his doubts, but not him. He'd learn quite a few things about the real Alianna so far.

She wasn't used to compliments, she didn't like being the centre of attention, her moods seemed to be determined by the roll of a dice; she could be teasing and playful one minute but all business the next. She was classy in the way she presented herself; he'd noticed her discomfort whenever she had to wear a corset over the shirt as part of their uniform. As much as he loved how it accentuated her breasts, he sent a message with Evan telling her that she could remove it if she wished.

Jax's smile got even wider as he saw Alianna tuck her bangs behind her ear for the nth time for the night. He exhaled the smoke slowly and watched as she undid her hair from the bun, transfixed by the dark locks cascading down to her waist. No matter how many times he saw her do it, it was mesmerizing to him. Evan and Rex knew that their friend was head over heels for Alianna and organised countless opportunities for the two to get some alone time but the pair seemed to be keeping the other away with a ten foot pole but both knew it'd be better to not interfere.

Alianna smiled as a satisfied patron left the bar. With no one waiting to be served, she was allowed a brief break. She grinned as one of her favourite songs began to pound from the speakers. She was never a fan of music, far less the top 40 hits, but working at Libertà made her realise how much she loved it. Her eyes naturally trailed up to the glass panel, she knew he was watching; he always was.

Jax smiled and chuckled as Alianna's eyes met his again. If it were any other person, he'd have them dealt with immediately but with her, there was a mutual unspoken understanding. He cocked an eyebrow as he saw another emotion swimming in the depths of her eyes.

She was bothered by something and judging from the dark circles that were slightly visible under her minimal makeup; she was losing sleep over it. It was only then Jax then noticed subtle changes in her posture. Whatever was unsettling Alianna added to her burden, pushing her more to her breaking point.

Jax brought the cigar to his lips again. He was dying to know the truth about Alianna. She was barely 21, seven years younger than himself but she was older than him in experience. Those dark brown eyes had seen more than any girl her age. He was brought out of his musings when his phone rang. He exhaled again and smashed the cigar butt into the ash tray before answering it.

"Yes?" he growled.

"Meet me in the VIP," Evan said tersely. Jax sighed before taking one last look at Alianna and heading down the second set of concealed stairs. This led him to the VIP section of the club, where members of the Boveri relaxed, where his accomplices celebrated and where enemies resided.

Evan watched as Jax mixed and mingled with the crowd, greeting everyone like old friends. That's how Jax ran the Boveri family, they were a real family. He nodded to one of the VIP bartenders as Jax sat down. Both men were silent until Jax's Cuba Libre was placed in front of him. Jax nodded and waved his hand curtly, wordlessly telling the bartender not to interrupt them.

"It was definitely Marino," Evan said bluntly. "What happened this morning, Vasin's death, all Marino's work." He downed his shot of vodka and poured himself another.

Jax observed his friend, no, his brother. "Do we know anything else?"

Evan drank another shot before looking at Jax, "One of the men mentioned something about Sicario? I don't know if that's a name or if it's a co-"

"It means hit man, killer," Jax said softly.

This confirmed the suspicions of many mafia bosses. There were rumours that Marino had an assassin specifically trained to carry out his deeds. This assassin was the best of the best, Marino killed countless people but the identity of his top killer has never been revealed. No one has ever seen or heard of this cutthroat assassin, all they knew that he did Marino's dirty work.

Jax had a nagging feeling in his stomach. He felt his brain whirring and his thoughts flying around but he couldn't comprehend his own thought process. He sighed, deciding it was enough for one night. He took a sip of his drink and very nearly spit it out. Evan laughed at the disgusted expression on his friend's face.

"I should've gotten Alianna to make it."