Aftermath

Chapter 5

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.