This chapter is dedicated to my wonderful Watty friend, mantodeabody, for being one of my very first readers on LMU. It's been great getting to know you through this amazing site, and I hope you look to the light even when days seem dark! Really hope you love this chapter.

Also, I'd like to acknowledge the fact that this chapter wouldn't have gone anywhere without the help of another Watty friend, sallymasonxxx. If you haven't already checked out her stories, go do it now! Literally any that you choose to read is a good choice. They're all amazing!

I stared deeply into my closet, looking over the small wardrobe. Finding something to wear was a lot harder now with such limited options. Tonight I didn't have to worry about picking out my own clothes - Reed already had done that for me.

Reed and the boys were going to the club downtown tonight to win over some new buyers and I was invited. I wasn't really sure why, but Reed told me that I would play a crucial part in sealing the deal. Even though it wasn't exactly my choice to leave the house, I jumped at the chance. It has been a while since I'd gone anywhere and I was excited to finally go out and do something.

The dress I was supposed to wear was laid out on my bed. It was more revealing that I'm comfortable with, but since Reed picked it out, I had no more say in the matter.

With a sigh, I stripped down to my underwear and grabbed the dress. I stepped into it, but had trouble pulling it up all the way. I could have sworn that it was a size too small for me, making my body seem like it had more curves than it really did. When I finally get it on all the way, the zipper start to give me trouble.

"Lemme' help you with that." The sudden feeling of Reed's hands on my back made me jump a little.

His fingers made me shiver as he drew a line up my spine, zipping the dress closed. My breathing quickened as he moved the hair that rested on my right shoulder over to my left and started to leave little kisses along my neck. A small bite to my sweet spot made me suck in a sudden breath of air.

"Are you going to be a good girl tonight?" The way he asked this made me feel sick, but I hid my distaste.

I turned around and used his jacket to pull him closer to me. A mischievous look crossed my face, and he smiled lightly. "Aren't I always?"

The way he chuckled suggested that he didn't think so - it was still hard to live up to all of his expectations.

"You about ready to go?" It was less of a question and more of a demand, so I just nodded, showing no sign of declination. Reed was always on edge before a deal went down, so it was best not to test his patience.

A pair of black heels were held out in front of me and I took them from Reed, putting them on as he left the room. I had a few moment to examine myself in the mirror before heading downstairs. The warm blue color of the dress wasn't something I would have picked out, but it looked great nonetheless. Even though the dress itself made me look a bit whorish.

My fingers pinched at the bottom of the dress in an attempt to pull it down a little, but to no avail. A groan rumbled in the back of my throat, cursing the fact that it didn't budge. How did Reed expect me to parade around in this thing?

"Antonia, now!"

Shit, he used my full name.

I rushed down the stairs to the front door, trying not to trip in my heels on the way there. When I got down there, everyone was already in the car. Besides Reed and I, there were only two others coming with us. Dean and Blaine were seated in the back, their gaze trailed from my head down to my toes as I walked down the driveway.

Dean winked at me as I opened the door to the passenger seat and I rolled my eyes while getting in. Unlike Emerson, Dean wasn't what I'd call a 'friend' - the guy disgusted me on all levels. Too bad I didn't have the same effect on him. When he knew Reed wasn't looking, he'd give me these looks that told me if I was ever alone with him, things would escalate quickly.

It was enough that I had to have sex with one guy I didn't like, I didn't know if I could handle being forced to sleep with another one.

Once I was buckled, I felt Reed's eyes boring into the side of my head, still angry that I took so long. I didn't dare meet the possible glare being sent my way. He sighed and turned the key in the ignition. The rumbling of the engine startled me, making me jump a little in my seat.

When we pulled in front of our destination, a knot found its way in the pit of my stomach. I've never been to a place like this before. Since I've never been too involved in Reed's drug deals, going here was on the bottom of my to-do list.

I knew this club very well. The Red Spade was the most popular club in town, and for as reason as good as any. It was a strip club.

The seat suddenly became really uncomfortable and I shifted wearlily. Reed looked over to me and smiled mockingly at me. "Something wrong, babe?"

After letting out the large breath I'd been holding in, I looked at Reed with my faked smile. "No. I-" I cleared my throat. "I'm fine."

He looked more like he was amused, rather than checking if I was okay. It was almost like he was testing me. "You're sure?"

I nodded once again and unbuckled before getting out of the car. There was nothing I wanted more than to go back to the house and lock myself into my room. I had no idea how drug deals went down, but something deep down told me to run, and run fast. But no matter how much I wanted that, I knew that it would be no use. Reed ran faster than me.

An unsettling sound, that could only be my heart beat, rapidly vibrated in the center of my chest. Not knowing what to expect was eating me up on the inside, anxiety taking over.

Every effort I made to calm myself down didn't work, but when Reed wrapped his arm around my waist, for once, it was comforting. I leaned into him a little, but he only ushered me forwards - it wasn't a loving embrace, but one meant to make me move.

The space between us and the club dwindled as we got closer. I wasn't scared to go in there or anything, but my heart still beat like crazy from the anticipation. Going places I've never gone before has always been hard for me.

A flickering light from the Red Spade insignia caught my attention, and I couldn't tell if it was supposed to do that on purpose, or if they battery needed replacing. Either way, it was daunting, and literally a red light warning me to stop in my tracks.

My second of hesitation made Reed sigh, and he pinched my side to pull me out of my thoughts and focus on what we were here for.

Blaine was ahead of us so he took the initiative to open the door for us. Dean stayed trailing behind, and I could feeling his eyes digging into my backside - probably also enjoying the view in the meantime.

Ignoring that minor detail wasn't hard, because what was behind me was nothing compared to what was coming up ahead.

Once the doors opened wide ahead of us, bass pulsed through my veins and the overpowering amount of red was captivating. The whole club had me engulfed in a pool of the color. It was a deep, erotic red - not the kind you'd find on romantic heart-shaped boxes.

This place was the total opposite of romantic, so deep and erotic was more than fitting.

Despite the exterior of the building, the interior more than made up for it. The way the place was set up looked expensive, and there was clearly a lot of thought put into every design. I had to give the architect credit where credit was due, but then shame them for wasting their talent on a strip club. Empty stripper poles extended down from the ceiling to a couple different stages. No one occupied them, which I was relieved about. I didn't have a problem with woman showing a little skin to pleasure the needy male population, but I didn't quite agree with it either.

It didn't take long after one arrival for our small group to be met by another one. The other group was led by an intimidating guy in an all black suit. He was most likely in his mid thirties, but I couldn't tell completely since his eyes were covered by shades. Usually I would have rolled my eyes at someone wearing sunglasses indoors, but I was afraid he'd roll my whole head if I did so.

Without hesitation, I grabbed onto Reed's arm and adjusted myself so that I was hiding a little behind him. Just him shielding me made me feel a lot safer, although I knew I was just fooling myself.

Being around him wasn't any safer.

The guy with the shades was accompanied by two others. One with broad shoulders, and the other with a neck covered in tattoos. It took a minute before I realized that the two were his bodyguards, and Shades was the club owner - Declan Fayne.

My blood was slowly running colder, and it only made it worse when Reed shook me off, and sent me a disapproving look for being too clingy. He pushed me behind him a little, and due to my high heels, I lost my footing. Right before I could fall, a strong pair of hands kept me steady in a firm grip.

"Don't worry, princess. I've got you." Dean's hot breath brushed against my ear, and my throat clenched. His arm found its way around my shoulder, and I forced myself to deal with it, not daring to make a scene right now.

Most of my attention was not on Dean, though, but on the scene before me.

Fayne's intimidating glare was revealed when he took off his glasses. His eyes were so dark that they almost looked black. Their coldness spread throughout my body like an attack on my nerves, and he wasn't even looking at me.

His gaze was only on Reed, eyeing him critically. "Your boss sent a kid to do his work for him?"

I could practically feel the signature smirk that creeped up onto Reed's lips, but he didn't correct him. "Always a pleasure, Fayne."

Declan chuckled. "So, you have it?"

"Would I be here right now if I didn't?" The calm tone Reed used put me on edge for some reason. Like an explosion was imminent if even the slightest spark were to ignite in the wrong way. New deals were apparently a big deal, because his shoulders were tense and his jaw clenched.

Suddenly, Declan's attention was on me. His eyes pierced my whole body as they ran across every inch of me, like some sort of inspection. When he was done, his mouth lifted at the corner - the knowing look he had made my worry grow.

"Let's take this conversation to the back room." Declan's order was followed by a little jerk of his head.

There was not really a reason to make this visit more private. The club wasn't even that crowded since it was only a Monday evening - people were probably still recuperating from the weekend. But it would have been foolish to refuse in any way. Reed seemed to think that this deal was really important, and I didn't want to let him down.

Reed reached out for me, and I took his hand without question. We were led all the way to the back of the club, and through a door. On the other side, a sort of lounge area was set up where a few people were seated on couches. The distinct smell of weed coerced my senses and my mind pulled at me with need. My body craved the relief just one inhale would bring me, and I shook with nerves.

One young girl who had to be underaged, possibly only seventeen, was using some sort of card to straighten a white powdered line. Suddenly my need to inhale unlawful smoke into my ever so willing lungs was overpowered by the disgust in the back of my mind. What must have happened to that girl to lead her to the life she was living now. I didn't even want to know.

The rest of the girls were about my age or older, but that didn't make me feel for them any less.

A small group of guys also accompanied them, but they didn't seem to look down on them, even though a couple of those girls were a couple cloth strands away from being nude. It was weird to think, but they almost seemed like a family, the way they talked so easily, and laughed like nothing was wrong. To them this was normal, to them this was home.

We continued past them, and headed towards a room at the end of the hall. Once we got there, Blaine shut the door behind him and closed the blinds.

I still had no idea what I was doing here. Every fiber in my body since I left the car was blaring at me that something wasn't right, but there was no fighting Reed, the most powerful and intimidating boyfriend I've ever had.

Declan crossed his arms and nodded towards Reed. "Let's see it then."

No hesitation came from Reed as he nodded towards Blaine and the blond immediately reached inside of his jacket and pulled out a brown paper sack. The contents were revealed when he stuck his hand inside and pulled out a few zip up baggies. Each bag was filled with a different drug, and all of them I recognized - Phencyclidine, LSD, and the last I could only guess was cocaine.

Even though I never made it to medical school, my passion for nursing began at a young age. Researching about my dream job led me to a lot of interesting things to broaden my knowledge about the world of drugs - as well as my curiosity about that world.

That curiosity was what got me into trouble.

The heavily tattooed henchman was the one to step to the plate and grab one of the baggies from Blaine's hand. Cocaine filled that specific one and he opened it. He dabbed his finger in the white powder and brought it to his tongue.

When he nodded to Declan, I released the breath I didn't know I was holding, and he smiles widely. The tattoo guy isn't done though, he inspects the other two bags of drugs closely and during the whole thing Reed and the others didn't seem the least bit intimidated. If anything, it was the other way around.

For the first time, I noticed how uneasy Declan eyed Reed. It was then that I saw the annoyed expression on Reed's features, which I could only half see since he wasn't facing me. He was definitely not happy about them doubting his integrity.

In my mind, he didn't have any, but I wasn't going to tell him that.

When the money was exchanged, I thought it was all over, but I was wrong. A firm hold found my upper arm and I was pulled forward. Reed's grip didn't loosen as he spoke. "Lift." It took a hard squeeze to my arm for me to realize that the order was directed at me, but I still didn't know what he meant. A grunt of frustration left him as he acted for me.

"Reed!" My shocked plea didn't stop him as he exposed my bottom half. Like usual, the panties I was wearing barely left anything to the imagination. Everyone in the room saw it, including Dean - my stomach dropped.

Instantly my face started to burn and a surge of panic erupts inside of me. Reed was a terrible person, I knew that, but I never thought he would do this to me.

He let me go and I immediately tried to cover myself up again, feeling more vulnerable than I had ever felt.

"What are you doing?" My hissed whisper was more savage than I meant for it to be.

"You're part of the package deal, sweetheart." Reed noticed the appalled look on my face and grabbed me by my hair. The pain was so intense that I barely heard his whispered words of an apology brush my ear.

When he released the tight hold on my scalp to brush my hair behind my ear, I tore myself loose with a push to his chest. Without giving my plan much thought, I bolted to any exit, running as fast as my heels allowed. Reed's heavy grunt of rage made me realize my mistake, but I kept running out of fear of what would happen if him or anyone else caught up to me.

I tried getting away through the entrance we walked through earlier, but it was blocked by someone else. Another door caught my attention and I wasted no time in using it as an escape. My feeling of liberation didn't last long when the door just led me to another room - the bathroom; and where there's a bathroom, there's always a window.

Quickly, I shook off my heels, and with trembling hands I opened the window that could fit no one bigger than me. I used a sink as my leverage to help me up there, my heart beating faster than ever before.

Then it stopped beating.

All hope was lost when a pair of hands grabbed my waist and roughly pulled me back. A scream of defeat left me, but I tried holding onto the window railing while attempting to kick away my attacker. Yet, another pair of hands got a hold of me, and that was when I truly knew I failed.

When I was released, I immediately collapsed on the floor, my heavy breaths accompanied by tears of anxiety. I didn't have much time to sulk in the implosion of my own making, because I was promptly lifted to my feet. Though it wasn't Reed confronting me like I thought.

Dean grabbed a hold of my neck and pushed my body against the wall. In a state of urgency, I instantly found myself shrinking back to my submissive self. Most people would see this as a sign of weakness, but what was seen as weak was actually a power play.

This time, it didn't work to my advantage.

My head veered to the side when a sharp crackle spread through my right cheek. The force of the blow left me at a stand still. I had been slapped before, but not like this.

"What the fuck are you trying to pull, T?" Dean gripped both of my shoulders and slammed me against the wall to get my attention, but I don't look at him. Another strike collided, but this time on my other cheek. "Hey!"

The slap made me snap out of my daze and my eyes find Dean's. They were dark as coals and the rage that settled behind them made me want to throw up.

"Maybe Reed doesn't have you as well trained as he thought. How about we change that, huh?" His hand grabbed a fist full of my hair and I let out a cry of pain. "Let's see if Fayne is any better at putting a girl like you in your place."

My roots felt like they were being torn away from my scalp as I was lead to the room I thought I was able to escape from. I couldn't keep my hands from meeting the one Dean had clasped around my hair, making an attempt to loosen his unfaltering grip. The way he dragged me into the room like a dog who just shit on the floor struck me harder than him hitting me. Worst part was that Reed just let it happen - most likely a form of punishment for not being the 'good girl' he asked for me to be.

He didn't do anything to stop his friend from degrading me, and I was ashamed at myself to admit it, but I deserved what I had coming. It was naive and stupid to think that running would get me out of this. Now my moment of weakness was going to cost me. I made the mistake of glancing over at Reed and my blood froze in my veins. Those grey eyes of his that were usually calm, held a storm of fury I had never seen before.

Every muscle in my body locked up as he approached me. Dean let me go and I was traded his company for Reed's - something I never thought would terrify me as much as it did.

In one swift movement, Reed's arm pulled me closer. His warm breath grazed my ear. "You better think twice about causing any more trouble. This is the last time you embarrass me, whether it's in front of a buyer, or anyone else. Disobey me again, and I swear I'll kill you. Do we understand each other?"

That little speech was more than enough to get me to comply right away. I didn't know how else to respond, so I just nodded, praying that this would be enough to satisfy him. My breath was shaky as I exhaled after he finally let me go.

My breath caught at the back of my throat when Declan grabbed a hold of my wrist and pulled me to him. An eerie tingle ran up my spine as he placed his hand on my lower back. "You're not going to be any more trouble, are you?"

It was obvious in the way I trembled against him that I was terrified, but I was the only one in the room who cared.

"No." The whispered word was said in confidence, even though I was scared out of my mind. I didn't dare open my mouth to say anything else, knowing I'd lose control and spit in the fucker's face.

"Good." His hand brushed a strand of my hair out of my face, and I could see Reed's fist clench out of the corner of my eye.

"You have half an hour," Reed hissed as he and the others made their way to the door.

Before I knew it, everyone was gone and Declan had me by my upper arm. He dragged me to the back of his office towards a large desk. My legs were about as strong as jello and my lungs felt like they were going to explode.

He turned me around and forced me to bend over the desk. A whimper escaped me as he did so, and I could feel all the emotion build and my watery eyes threatened to spill. My whole body went rigid as he lifted my dress enough to pull down my panties. The sound of his pants dropping to the floor made me cringe, and I couldn't hold my tears in any longer.

Putting on a strong face was useless at this point. No matter what, this guy was going to get what he wanted.

Declan hesitated for a moment, his hand traveled up my body, lingering in the exact places I hoped he wouldn't. "Shh. Shh." He shushed me as he wiped away a stray tear with the back of his hand. Warm lips brushed against my neck as he continued to speak. "Hush now, gorgeous. You don't want to ruin the moment."

The urge to bring my lunch back up was overwhelming.

"You really are a beautiful one," he breathed, his fingers still tracing my cheek. A chuckle soon followed. "Reed Carvalho really is a lucky man."

Without warning, or kindness, it only took one thrust for my world to collapse around me.

***

So we saw an even darker side to Reed in this chapter that may develop some very specific opinions. Please, share any and all thoughts in the comment space below. It will help me know what you think, what works in this story, what doesn't... Plus, I'd just love to know what you guys are thinking so far. How do you like the MC? What did you like about the ch, what did you hate?

Thank you all so much for reading! Every read, comment, vote means so much to me, and I feel terrible that it took me so long to post this next chapter. Though I have been through a lot the past couple months. Getting a job, getting engaged and then unengaged, and other life drama really got in the way. It sucked because writing is usually what gets me through so much and since I had been stuck in a Writer's Block rut, it's been hard.

But, even through the sweat and the struggle, I finally got to posting this chapter. I couldn't be more happy that I finally got my mojo back! If you think the chapter deserves it, please click on that little star, and make my day!