I know, I know! I said I'd post tomorrow, but I couldn't wait! Right, so if you missed the new 'Chapter 1', make sure you go back and read it as you might get lost.

Please note:

This is fiction.

It's not all sunshine and roses.

Edward isn't exactly a nice man.

It's a HEA.

Bella has been to hell and back.

The knowledge that I was a cocky fucker was not news to me, nor anyone else in my life. I'd often gotten out of situations by the skin of my teeth and a lot of pure luck, but tonight had me on edge. Everything needed to be done correctly, right down to the finest detail. I was in a building with no backup, with the distinct possibility of having several guns pointed at my head.

I was lucky, not stupid.

It had taken six months of negotiations, and dealings dodgier than I'd ever conducted, but I was smiling inside because this girl was now mine. At last. Grinning in a snide way, I whispered her name into the darkness. It was harsh even though it was just us two in the room. We were being watched. Four cameras this time. Again, I wasn't stupid.

I couldn't let my guard down. Though my part was cruel, and I hated it, I had no choice. I would play the role. Until the situation was back in my control, this had to be done.

Three small steps closed the distance between us. Up close, the girl looked even worse than the manifestations in my nightmares about her.

Above my head was a light cord, which I reached up and pulled on. The damp room was bathed in a cold, dim light from the small bulb.

Crouching down, I appraised her. The girl's breathing was deep and slow. Her lips were dry and cracked. A sour stench surrounded her, but there wasn't much I could do about that now. Peering closer, I saw a bluish tint to the tips of her fingers with their dirty, shredded nails. What has she been clawing at?

Fear ate at my insides, thinking about what had been done to her despite having been given medical 'proof' she was being well-taken care of. She was too cold, and not well-cared for at all. As I watched her body shake, mine did, too. I was angry, worried, and every other emotion in between.

They'd charged me too much for the girl, but I wouldn't tell them that. Everything had to go exactly as planned or I risked losing it all. I would lose everything, including the girl, and I just wasn't prepared to do that. She could hate me as much as she liked, but I wouldn't lose her. I owed her everything, and more. Getting her out of this place was the first step in thanking her.

I reached forward and grabbed her chin, making her look me in the eyes for the first time. For a fraction of a second, I thought I saw a flicker of fear in her dark brown eyes, but it evaporated in a blink. Now they were just devoid of anything. No reaction at all to who I was. I didn't know how I felt about that. I knew that she didn't know me, but she'd seen me.

"You're mine now," I hissed and glared at her. Why could I remember every damn slither of information about her, yet she saw nothing in me? I just had to remind myself that she'd seen me once, years ago, for just a few seconds, if that. She couldn't know me like I knew her.

"Did you hear me?"

Nothing, no reaction to my voice at all. Did they drug her to make her comply? Or has she just given up?

I reached out and smacked her face with the pads of my fingers. Not hard, but enough to try and garner something from her, anything. Still nothing. I needed a reaction from her, and I needed them to see on the cameras that I was an arsehole, not to be messed with.

The girl's eyes held nothing for me or her situation. She didn't say or do anything when I removed the rag from around her mouth. I wanted a reaction from her! Even just a flinch to show me she was still in there. Somewhere. Where is that fighting spirit I'd heard of?

My fingers roamed her body while I untied every knot which held her in place. At least her arms were clear of track marks. I prayed as I felt each rib that she didn't take oral drugs. There wasn't time to let her go cold turkey. I pulled her knickers to each side, looking for track marks in her groin. Nothing. I let out a breath.

She still didn't say or do anything as her bonds became free. She didn't even tense up when I ran my fingers down her thighs.

Once she was free, I ran the very tip of my finger over her cracked lips. Nothing. Dead, inside and out. She was breathing, but that was it.

I was angry. I'd expected to see at least some reaction, some movement, but there was nothing. No struggle, no fight, or commotion. No, I was beyond angry now. I was infuriated.

Leaving the weak girl standing next to the metal cross which had been her anchor, I went to grab the robe I'd brought with me. It was the one thing I'd been allowed to carry into the house, apart from the money bag. Though I'd wanted to bring clothes and food, for now, I would follow orders.

Back in front of the girl, I helped her slip into the cover-up. It was like dressing a baby. Limbs pliable, but somewhat reluctant. She didn't even resist me. I paid attention as I covered her ribs with the robe and tied the cord. It was hard not to notice the faded bruises. Or are those shadows in the dips between her bones? No, they were bruises and they littered her weak body.

She needed food, a bath, and God knows what else. Taking the balled-up socks from the pocket of the robe, I knelt down to put them on her ice-cold feet. She was now like a marble statue.

Since I owned her now, I wanted a reaction from her. Hopefully, she would give it to me once she was away from this place, willingly… eventually. I needed her to know she was about to be free from this prison. Once she was out of this building, she would be free. I just needed her to understand that, and I needed her healthy. She was no good to me otherwise. To her, it would seem she was going from one prison to another, but I would treat her better than this place.

I reached down and swept her up into a bridal style carry. She froze as I stood.

Thank fuck! I thought. A reaction at last.

It was hard, but I kept my facial expression the same as I walked out of the room. My eyes blinked because of the harsh strip light above, and the girl sheltered her eyes into the crook of my neck on instinct.

I didn't like that. Physical contact needed to be kept to a minimum, for now. Ms. Maksimov wouldn't think twice about causing a scene if either of us showed anything other than a slave and Master relationship. Emotions were of no use here.

The bitch simpered, smirking as I made my way over to her. "If you ever get bored of this one, feel free to return her for an upgrade," she purred and ran one of her too-long black nails down my forearm. I wanted to instantly recoil, but I couldn't, so I had to hold my body still, fighting the urge to move away from the bitch.

"I'm sure I'll be fine with this one. She's exactly what I've been looking for in a little bitch," I answered stoically.

A guard came out of nowhere, and before I knew it, we were being walked to my car. The smirking bitch followed us all the way there, which pissed me off to no end.

I managed to put the girl in the back seat and get her buckled in. Then I checked the child locks were on. I didn't need her running off. Not that she would get very far. I wasn't sure she had the strength, either mentally or physically. Saying that, I wasn't stupid and knew all about 'flight or fight'. If she wanted to live, she'd run.

"Are you sure you want to move?" Ms. Maksimov pouted over the frame of the car door. The look on her face didn't suit her whatsoever. Mutton dressed as lamb, trying to be sweet and coy. It would never work. She was a heinous bitch, inside and out.

I had made it clear when the negotiations were starting out that I wouldn't be staying in the area. I'd fed the woman a line about starting up a new business out of the area. She fell for it, thank God.

"The less that people can trace back to here, the better. For all who are involved," I ground out and left her standing next to the car. I got in the driver's seat and didn't acknowledge her any further while I started up the car and then started to back out of the garage.

So what do you think? Yep, this isn't a drabble anymore! If you're new to this story, what do you think of Edward so far? If you read the old version, how are you finding the updated one?

Right, I'll see you tomorrow. I mean it this time lol.