Jax stormed up to his office frustration and anger washing over him like a waterfall. He grabbed a cigar from his storage and lit it before taking a long drag. In the VIP lounge, Evan was entertaining yet another ally of the Boveri family. The lounge was filled with girls, rowdy men and pounding music, an atmosphere he once found appealing but now, he let Evan take over. He would appreciate the opportunities the booze and girls brought. Plus, he was the better host anyways. 

The Guerra family was the last of Boveri's allies who had men trained at Marino's school in their ranks. Jax leaned back in his chair as he exhaled. For weeks he'd been trying to get information out of his allies about Marino's assassin but he failed. Either the boss didn't permit Jax to question the men or when he was granted permission, the men didn't know anything useful or they were too preoccupied by booze or girls or both. Jax shook his head before bringing the cigar to his lips. He was at a dead end.

He looked up as Rex entered the room. It was Sunday, a characteristically slow day for Libertà as couples and groups of friends sat around having lunch or cocktails. He nodded at Rex but his mind was far away, trying to conceive new ways of getting the information he needed.

"What do you think?" he looked at the former drug dealer who saved his life back in Brazil. After that, Jax and Rex became close as brothers could get.

"I think you need a Cuba Libre," Rex answered simply. Jax frowned as he looked up at Rex then at the woman wiping the wine glasses at the bar.

He hadn't spoken to Alianna in weeks, even though she signed the omertà, he didn't want to discuss such matters with her. He raised an eyebrow, trying to work out Rex's intentions but nodded.

Rex nodded before heading downstairs. He figured the Jax needed a break from mafia matters and Alianna could provide that. He walked over to the bar and cleared his throat. Alianna looked at Rex with a smile; hopefully he had something for her to do. She was keeping herself occupied, fearing that if her mind wasn't focused on a task; her nightmares would start becoming her day dreams.

She raised an eyebrow as Rex nodded in the direction of the glass panel wall. Jax wanted to talk to her. She nodded in understanding.

"Eric?" she called to her partner for the day. "Can you manage the bar while I'm gone?" She began making a Cuba Libre.

Eric looked over as he poured two glasses of wine. "Yeah," he answered. He and the others guessed that their boss had a liking for Alianna since Eric and Rex treated her differently from the others and she was the only one of the bartenders to serve in the VIP lounge despite her short employment here.

"Thanks," Alianna smiled at him before placing the drink on a tray and heading across to the hidden door. Ensuring that no one was looking her way, she entered. She nodded at the guard at the foot of the stairs before heading up.

~

Jax stood as there was knock on the door. He discarded his cigar before opening the door. Alianna smiled; a little surprised that Jax opened the door for her, before slipping inside and following Jax to his desk. She placed the drink on a napkin and stood as Jax took a sip. He looked at her before gesturing for her to sit.

"I didn't expect that you'd be working today," he said. He studied her face. The dark circles were getting more noticeable now; she was slimmer, leaner, as if she was physically working herself too hard. 

"I have nothing to do really," Alianna admitted honestly. It was true, while her friends were out on a Sunday spending it with family or friends; she was alone with her demons.

She usually worked on a Sunday alone; Eric was here only because he had a seminar to attend tomorrow evening for one of his college courses.

Jax looked at her, feeling a pang of pity. "How's your relationship with your parents?" Evan told him that her parents didn't support her dreams, the main reason she was working here.

Alianna scoffed inwardly, she didn't know who her parents were. She didn't know their faces and had no recollection of their voices. The only parental figure she knew was Marino, and that disturbed her greatly. "It's very near non-existent," she replied. She was struggling mentally to bring her walls back up.

Jax studied her downcast expression but didn't press the issue. He recognised that other than her co-workers, Alianna was alone. Libertà was all she had. His gaze soften even more at the realisation. "And your friends?" Jax asked.

"They have their own friends," Alianna shrugged sadly, "I don't want to intrude." There it was again, he broke down her walls but this time, she had better control over what she let through.

Jax smirked slightly and mentally praised her for keeping her emotions in check around him. "You're troubled about something," he stated. He looked into her eyes and saw her guard go up again. What was she hiding?

Alianna looked at Jax suspiciously, why was he so concerned about what was going on in her life? "It's nothing you can fix," she answered truthfully. She cleared her throat, "Rumour has it that 3 men were killed in the VIP lounge."

Jax raised an eyebrow at the unexpected topic of her topic change, "Unfortunately, it happened the night you worked in the VIP lounge. You didn't hear or see anything?"

Alianna shook her head; inside she was relieved that Jax didn't suspect her. Her cover was still airtight.  "Nothing, I was working the floor that night."

Jax's eyes hardened, "Don't say that, it makes you sound like a whore."

Alianna raised her eyebrow and didn't hide her surprise at the language he used with her. Her relationship with Jax was closer than she realised. "I was serving the......men at the tables," she glared slightly into the air as she remembered the Capon men she wanted to castrate that night.

Jax chuckled lightly at Alianna's expression. "The Capon men are rather bold," he coincided.

"They're beasts," Alianna corrected. "You'd swear they've never touched a woman in their life. I can see why you don't have women in your club." She looked at Jax with real understanding.

Jax appreciated the honesty Alianna was showing him. Understanding, that was one thing about her that he adored, they weren't close but they understood each other naturally. "Well that's one of the reasons why," he sipped from his glass again. He suddenly realised that Alianna had nothing but her serving tray in front of her. "Please excuse my manners," he said as he stood and walked over to his private liquor cabinet, "what would you like to drink?"

Alianna looked over at him, taken aback by his courtesy, "I'm on the clock."

"Don't worry, I can get you off the hook with your boss," Jax teased with a grin. He placed his right ring finger on the fingerprint scanner and the glass panels of the cabinet glided open. "Wine, champagne, scotch?"

Alianna couldn't stop the chuckle and smile that came from her lips, "I don't think I should, it's inappropriate." More than inappropriate, every nerve in her body screamed how wrong this was. This was against everything she knew, everything she was taught, everything she believed.

"Alianna." His low baritone voice filled the room.

She nearly flinched at the tone of his voice. It was one she was all-too-familiar with, one that commanded obedience without defiance. If she refused again, it wouldn't end well for her. She looked up, her heart froze slightly as she met his hard gaze. "White wine," she allowed.

Jax nodded before taking a wine glass and his finest bottle of white wine. He turned his back to Alianna as he poured. He couldn't get the look of fear in Alianna's eyes out of his mind. He instantly regretted using that tone with her. He humbly placed the glass in front of her. "Cheers," he said as they raised their glasses. He studied her as she drank.

Alianna smiled as the crisp wine slid down her throat.  "Crass behaviour is one of the reasons why you don't have women in your family?" she asked. Jax nodded before sipping his drink. "What's the other reason?" she leaned back taking another sip of hers. Maybe alcohol would shut the voices chanting wrong, wrong, wrong up.

Jax rest his glass down and traced the rim. "As you probably realise, I'm a very open person. My men know everything, we are family after all, and a family shouldn't have secrets. But there are parts of my life that I would like to keep to myself. So it's simple, they don't mess with my personal business, I don't mess with theirs."

A family shouldn't have secrets. Those words rang over and over in Alianna's head. Marino was full of secrets. She nodded, refocusing her attention to the man in front of her. "So I guess you get involved if one of your men is dead serious about a girl."

"Serious girlfriend, potential wives," Jax said offhandedly, "there aren't much of those in my family so it's huge deal if a guy brings a girl to the VIP lounge, gigantic celebration if he puts a ring on her finger. Most of them are in it for just one night."

Alianna smiled at the innuendo. She mused over all times she and Jax had "accidently-on-purpose" encounters as she took a long sip of wine. "So Evan and his set ups?" she looked at him. Judging from the roll of Jax's eyes, they both knew Evan was one crap matchmaker.

Jax shook his head, "I let it slide. He's my best friend but the only business he'll be dealing with for now is the family."

Alianna shook her head as she laughed, "Maybe he needs a little help with his own personal business."

Jax stared at her in awe. Her laugh washed over him like waves spilling over onto the shore. He wanted to hear it again. "Don't worry; he's handling his business just fine."

Alianna chuckled before draining her glass of wine. Her skin felt hot again and she looked up hesitantly to find Jax's gaze on her again. She cleared her throat but that didn't faze him. She met his scrutinising gaze with one of her own. She could see that he was frustrated about something. His hair and shirt were slightly dishevelled, his shoulders tense and his grip firm on his glass. She swallowed before asking, "What's on your mind?"

Just like that, her voice broke him out of the storm of despair and frustration. Jax relaxed as he looked up at her. He didn't realise how quiet the pair had gotten but both welcomed it. He sighed before running a hand through his hair. He contemplated his words carefully, as much as he trusted Alianna, he didn't want to take the risk of her spilling his family matters.

"I'm trying to find knowledge on something that no one knows about," he said lowly. "Every outlet I've used to find out more comes to a dead end and I can't think of any more...acceptable ways of doing it."

Alianna looked at Jax carefully. He didn't seem like a man to not get a job done and this was grating on his pride. "Is it that you have absolutely no information about it or you aren't getting what you're looking for?"

Jax sighed, "Everyone I ask are not telling me what I want to hear."

Alianna chuckled, "Then the answer is simple then, you should probably ask them differently."

A knock on the door startled the two. Jax frowned and sent a look of caution Alianna's wa but her eyes were focused on the door. Something told her, whoever was there was not Rex or Evan. Jax stood and frowned even more, the person was at the door that led him to the VIP lounge. He had his hand on his gun, ready to protect Alianna if necessary.

"Enter," he said lowly. The door opened to reveal the boss of the Guerra family. Jax relaxed. Alianna relaxed after seeing Jax move his hand from his gun and she stood silently.

"I'm sorry I couldn't help with you with your ah....problems earlier Boveri," the man said, his eyes focused on Alianna. Jax cleared his throat, reminding the man of his presence. "But I am interested in engaging in some other business with you and, well, Rossi told me that you would be up here."

Jax mentally sighed. Evan was probably drunk with some women on his hands; he would have a word with him later. He looked at Alianna as she cleared his desk of their glasses. Their eyes met but he couldn't read the emotions in them this time. He nodded, telling her that it was alright and that she could go and Alianna nodded in return. He sighed as he gestured for the other boss to sit as Alianna slipped out the door.

Alianna's mind was racing as she replayed what happened. She felt a pang of emotion in her chest and she realised that she was sad that her talk with Jax was cut short. She was sad that she had to leave. And to her absolute horror, she nearly stumbled at the realisation.

She didn't want to leave.

Alianna's outfit: http://www.polyvore.com/work_outfit/set?id=185403900