Aftermath

Chapter 9

Jax's eyes widened in horror and he turned to face the woman behind him. Alianna stood there, shell shocked and speechless as she looked at one of the first pictures she ever had taken of herself.

Jax ripped it off the wall. "Get her out of here!" he commanded and Evan sprang into action, leading the compliant Alianna out of the room. Rex's eyebrows shot up in alarm as he rushed to pull a chair out for the traumatised girl. He and Evan drew their guns as gunshots rang out but investigation by Evan confirmed that it was just Jax unleashing his rage.

Jax emerged from the back room bringing with him the smell of recent gun fire. He walked over to Evan and Rex who stood on either side of Alianna. He made a grave mistake of bringing her with him tonight. He knelt on the floor at her feet, hoping to jar her out of her horror. He took her hands, rubbing them. "Alianna?" he prodded gently.

"Don't you cross the Hound," she murmured, the child's song echoing in her memories. "He'll put you six feet in the ground. If you cross him, good luck to you, hell is paradise compared to he'll do."

Jax inhaled sharply and hung his head. What kind of hell did Alianna grow up in? What kind of monster was he dealing with? He looked up at his friends who were visibly disturbed by the rhyme Alianna continued to chant under her breath.

"Naveen," Jax called. "We're going home."

"I told you you should not have brought her in there," Evan muttered. Jax glared at him before helping Alianna up. Alianna looked at Jax, but her vision kept getting blurred with an image of L'iibliss.

"Naveen!" Jax barked, not wanting to acknowledge his mistake. Jax exhaled sharply as the young man appeared. "I want you to bring the Lexus around front, we're heading home this instant. Scott will take the i8 back to the warehouse, discreetly of course."

"Yes Boss."

Jax helped Alianna up and kept one arm securely around her waist. "Hey, we're going to get you out of here." Alianna nodded and her fingers twitched wishing for the comforting weight of her gun that foolishly was in her purse in the car. 

"Rex, have the jet ready by sunrise in the morning," Jax rolled his neck hoping to relieve some of the tension there. "Also, pack your bags, we leave for Florida in the morning."

Both men nodded and Alianna frowned. "Florida?" she asked as Jax led her to the club lobby.

"Miami to be exact," Jax answered, "one of Boveri's biggest strongholds lays there."

"And the others?" she queried.

"When all of this is over and we'll do a worldwide trip and I'll show you," Jax's grip on her hand tightened as Naveen pulled up in front the club. They piled into the car as fast as they could.

"Would you like Naveen to come with us?" Jax asked pulling Alianna closer. Even though his men in Miami were more than capable of protecting her, he was pretty sure that she would welcome a familiar face.

"Is it alright Naveen?" Alianna asked. "It's not too short of a notice?"

Naveen smiled at her in the rear view mirror. "Not at all, being part of this family means you should be ready to fly out in an hour's notice."