The Prison Project (by Bethany Donaghy) novel Chapter 100

Coban’s POV

Margot came back balancing two cups of water like she was carrying glass explosives, her fingers trembling just enough that I could see the surface shiver.

She didn’t meet my eyes, just slid back into place beside me and waited.

Always waiting for what was next…

I jerked my chin toward a corner table, half–shadowed, tucked away where the guards wouldn’t bother to glance too often.

“Over there,” I muttered as she turned to look, nodding once as her eyes settled on the location.

We both moved to sit opposite one another as I attempted to give her some ‘space‘ to eat.

She placed the cup in front of me before I shoved one tray across the table toward her, the metal scraping against the surface.

“Eat,” I ordered quickly.

She sighed like even chewing was a burden, but nodded, picking up a piece of toast and tearing at it slowly.

Too slow.

My jaw worked as I dug into my own food, chewing hard, eyes flicking between her and the rest of the room.

The cafeteria never sat easy with me. Too many eyes. Too many enemies who’d consider testing me in front of her and I couldn’t let that happen today – not after our already shit morning.

She didn’t deserve to witness anymore violence, not right now.

Not by me.

But how long would that last?

Margot hunched over her tray, shoulders small, the throat bruises screaming against her pale skin no matter how she had noticeably tried to hide them with the placement of her hair…

Eating even looked painful for her as she took baby sized bites, and I took note of how greedily she drank back most of her water having obviously needed the liquid to help soothe the ache…

Another pang of guilt crashed down on me at that thought, as I released a shaky puff of air.

Every now and then her gaze strayed past me revealing her own nerves and anxiety surrounding the situation from being out in the open like this…

But as time went on, I watched her eyes flicker back to the same spot more than once, before they widened a little more than usual this time…

At first I ignored it. Focused on my bacon, on keeping my back to the wall and my eyes sharp.

Then her hand stilled halfway to her mouth, toast trembling between her fingers.

My chewing immediately stopped.

Something was wrong.

“What is it?” I demanded, my tone steady but sharp enough to make her flinch under it.

Her eyes flicked back to me, wide as hell, before her lips parted – but nothing came.

“Margot, speak?!” I rushed her, suddenly irritated at whatever bastard in this room had made her shrivel up so suddenly…

But she didn’t even have time to form words before the voice came, oily and smug from behind me:

“Mr. Santorelli… care to explain this one to us?”

I turned my head slow, already knowing I wasn’t going to like what I saw…

Two guards stood there. One short and fat with his belly straining against his uniform, smugness smeared across his sweaty face.

The other taller, leaner, red hair sticking out under his cap like the leader of the Boy Scouts. His expression more calculated, like he was the one really observing me during this encounter.

“Go bother somebody else!” I snap, lifting my cup to drink my water, almost hoping that the ground would just open up and swallow chunky and the chicken out of existence.

Margot only stiffened, like she could physically feel the heat rolling off of me now…

But I wouldn’t let this fool threaten her guard or not with an audience or not.

–

Under my dead body would he disrespect her!

“You want to make a scene, is that it?! Put me in my place?” I hum, squaring myself out, preparing to rip the batons from their belts and beat the pair of them to death!

The fat one shifted, fake bravado flickering for just a second. But the tall one didn’t move, didn’t flinch.

My jaw ticked.

“Fucking try me!” I stalked closer to him, eventually honing in on my target.

I’d deal with fatso later.

I leaned in close, only for the red head to hear before I spoke;

“I’ll not only gut you like a fish in here… I’ll have every member of your damn family wiped out of existence without a trace… so try me.” I hiss, as I heard him visibly gulp.

They were always so easy to crack…

Stumpy quickly used his arm to separate me from his peer, as I stepped back with a growing smile stretching across my face.

They knew in that moment, that this was a losing battle…

“Just keep in line, Santorelli,” the short one spoke. “For her sake…” He nodded towards Margot, before motioning for the red head to retreat with him.

That’s what I thought…