"Just leave it alone Reed. He's dead, that's the end of it." I shouted as I pushed him away and made my way down the long hallway.

"Fine. Your bedroom is the first on the left" he shouted before slamming his study door closed.

I soon found my room. It was huge, with a king sized bed, en-suite, walk in wardrobe as well as a TV.

It was gorgeous, with a colour scheme of grey and white and multiple vases of flowers to add colour. I could definitely get used to this.

I noticed all of my belongings were already placed around the room. I can't believe he broke into my apartment...actually, I can believe it.

I rushed over to my jewellery box to double check that my locket had made it safely and fortunately it had. I breathed a sigh of relief before looking around the rest of my new room.

It was beautiful, which meant that I couldn't hate it as much as I wanted to.

A single tear dropped down my cheek after I reminisced on the conversation I'd just had with Reed. He didn't even see me as a person, just an object that he now claimed as his own.

I wasn't sure if I'd be able to last in this house alone with him. Luckily, it's so big that I can probably avoid him. I'll just live my life ignoring him until I want to go out.

I suppose that could work.

He doesn't seem too eager to be friends and neither am I. Honestly, I want nothing to do with him or his awful mafia.

I was perfectly happy with my life in Maple Creek before he came along and ruined it. I suppose Logan was partially to blame as well, but now he's gone for good.

The only thing I know for sure, is that I hate Reed Eastwood.

~

The next morning I woke up at around 8.30AM after I barely slept all night due to the thoughts and questions running around my head.

I quickly showered and changed into my clothes for the day and headed downstairs. I knew where the kitchen was as I'd made myself a snack before I went to bed, but the rest of the house was a mystery to me. It was far too big for one man, that's for certain.

I walked in and jumped slightly when I saw a girl already stood behind the kitchen island. She had long pastel pink hair and bright blue eyes which were accentuated by her makeup.

"Oh, good morning! You must be Julia." she smiled as she rushed to hug me.

I wasn't sure who this woman was as Reed had never mentioned her before. She seemed around my age and was really sweet though, maybe she'd make this move a little easier on me.

"Erm yeah, that's me."

"It's so nice to meet you, I'm Ivy."

"Oh Blade mentioned you last night, are you Reed's girlfriend or something?" I asked curiously.

"Oh no silly, I'm his maid. I also cook for him when Jocelyn isn't here." she giggled.

"Jocelyn?"

"Sorry, I keep forgetting that you're so new around here. Jocelyn is the old lady who usually cooks for Reed. I'm the maid and we're pretty much the only people who work in the house apart from the security guards."

"Well thank you, that's nice to know."

"Oh please, sit down, I'll make you some breakfast. I hope we can become good friends, I'm quite new around here myself and it can get pretty lonely."

"Oh really? When did you start working for Reed?"

"It was only around 6 months ago. I actually turned up on his door step unconscious." she chuckled whilst pouring me a drink.

"What happened?" I gasped.

"I'm not really sure, all I remember is being in some sort of fight and then being saved. It's all very blurry but I can't remember who saved me. Whoever it was, left me on Reed's doorstep and luckily he agreed to take me in and let me work for him."

"Wow, you've been on quite a journey."

"So what's your story? All I know about you is that Reed is letting you live here, what happened?" she asked curiously.

"Well, I was in an alleyway last night with my boyfriend, when Blade and Cyrus turned up out of nowhere. They killed Logan and they were going to kill me but Reed stopped them. Then he introduced me to his...friends? And here we are." I shrugged.

"Oh my gosh, that's crazy! Are you okay?" she asked, rushing to me for another hug.

She was obviously a very compassionate, touchy person. You could tell that she was a new addition around here.

"I mean, I wish that I wasn't stuck in a house with a cruel man who only cares about himself but I'm sure I'll be fine."

"I have to agree that Reed is pretty ruthless, but you'll get used to it. As long as you stay quiet then you'll have absolutely no problems."

"Yeah, I guess so. What does he expect me to do around here all day?"

"I mean it's a mansion so I'm sure you'll find something. Maybe we could watch a movie together in the cinema room?"

"He has a cinema room?"

"Julia, he has everything." she laughed. "Come on, I'll show you around."

She took me around the house and it was true, he did have everything. I wasn't sure just how much money Reed had but it was obviously more than he knew what to do with.

I spent most of the morning in the gym before watching a movie with Ivy. She was actually a really sweet girl and I could tell we were going to be good friends. At least that meant it wouldn't be all bad while I was living here.

"Woah, that guy just came out of nowhere!" I exclaimed with my eyes on the screen.

"I know right!" she laughed.

Suddenly Reed appeared in the doorway of the cinema room and his brows furrowed. He crossed his arms tightly, looking annoyed at the fact we were having fun together.

I quickly shut off the TV, waiting for whatever he was going to say.

"Ivy, what are you doing in here? Get back to work."

"Oh, I- Yes sir." she stammered before scurrying out of the room.

"Why are you distracting my maid? She's paid to work, not hang out with you." he snapped.

"We were just watching a movie." I said.

"And you can't do that alone?"

"It's called making friends, you should try it sometime." I scowled.

"Well seeing as you like her so much, you can help her cook for my party tonight."

"You're having a party?" I questioned. I was surprised at the fact that someone like him could have fun.

"Well, it's a dinner party and it's important for business so make sure you don't mess it up for me. If you do then I won't hesitate to shoot you."

"Always nice talking to you Reed." I said, rolling my eyes.

"Whatever, just be good and try and stay away from the guests." he sighed.

"I'm not that bad."

"It's not you, it's them."

"Let me guess, they're 'extremely dangerous'?" I said using air quotes.

"Yes they are, so keep your distance."

And with that, he left the room. I'm not sure what was happening between us but I wished that he'd just left me alone.

Now everything felt complicated and I had no power over my own life. I was forever under the control of a ruthless gang leader and there was no way out.

~

Later that night, Ivy and I had finished preparing dinner. We spent the majority of our time singing to One direction at the top of our lungs and it was fun to spend time with her.

I was surprised that Reed hadn't told us to shut up, due to the fact that he was constantly grumpy and frustrated. His bad moods managed to put everyone within a 10 mile radius in a bad mood too. This is why I spent most of my time avoiding him.

"Is dinner ready?" he asked, marching into the kitchen with a frown.

"Yes sir." Ivy said, suddenly quiet due to Reed's presence.

"Are you not excited? You look like someone just killed your pet kitten." I said.

"Why would I be excited? Dangerous men from another gang are coming to eat in my house." he said snarkily.

"Then why did you invite them?"

"I'm going to pretend like you didn't just ask me that question because you're new around here. It'll be for the best if you just stay out of my business anyway Jules." he said as he grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge, using a newfound nickname that he'd decided to give me.

"Gladly." I muttered under my breath.

"Be ready to serve in an hour and don't worry about answering the door because I'll do that."

"Oh how thoughtful." I said sarcastically under my breath.

"Watch it Goldstone." he said as he left the room.

"I can't believe you have the guts to talk to him like that." Ivy whispered over to me. "I could never."

Although Reed was intimidating, I wasn't going to change my personality to suit him. He saved me once and I honestly started to believe that he wouldn't actually hurt me.

But then again, he did almost shoot me.

I just had to figure out how to get through to the real Reed, instead of just his tough, emotionless exterior.

~

"Alright, help me carry the plates." Ivy ordered.

"Okay, lead the way."

We walked into the large dining room filled with men. It was huge and glamorous, like something from a palace and I was constantly worried about breaking something.

There were many familiar faces around the table from Reed's gang such as Jason and Marcus, who strangely seemed to be staring at me every time I entered the room.

It was also filled with the men from the opposing gang, who seemed like people you don't want to mess with.

I tried not to make eye contact as I dropped off the food.

I slowly made my way round to the side of the table with the other group, shaking slightly. The other gang made me nervous, especially after Reed's warning.

I placed a jug of water between two of the large men as they stared up at me devilishly.

I believed that one of them was the leader and I didn't dare say a word to any of them.

Then suddenly he wrapped his hand around my thigh and began stroking it with his dirty fingers. He was making his way up my leg when I attempted to pull away.

"Hello gorgeous. How are you this fine evening?" he snarled.

"Please let go of me." I begged as he held me in one position, unable to leave.

"Ferdinand, release her." I heard Reed shout from the other side of the table through gritted teeth.

I looked over to Reed to see fire in his eyes. He looked furious and I was worried that he was angry at me.

"What a shame Eastwood, you used to be a lot more exciting. I could have some fun with this one." he said, undressing me with his eyes whilst holding a smirk on his face.

I ripped myself away from him and hurried out of the room.

I was breathing heavily, slightly shaken up by what just happened. The colour had drained from my face as I brought myself to sit on one of the kitchen stools.

I was still getting used to this whole mafia thing and just the thought of that man...

I didn't want to think about it.

"Julia, are you okay?" Ivy appeared next to me, placing her hand on my back and rubbing it ever so slightly.

"Y-yeah I'll be fine, I'm just not used to all of this yet. Let's just finish quickly." I said getting out of the seat.

Before we could finish serving, Reed appeared in the doorway. He walked over to me and placed a hand on my cheek, towering over me and looking into my eyes.

"Are you alright?" he asked blankly.

"Don't pretend like you care." I snapped as I pushed past him.