The Prison Project (by Bethany Donaghy) novel Chapter 26

Margot’s POV

I followed behind Coban like a lost puppy, keeping my steps tight and quiet as the cell doors banged open and the corridor flooded with sudden life.

The other pairs trickled out around us – blockmates from last night now moving in something that vaguely resembled order. I couldn’t help but glance sideways at them.

Some of the girls looked relieved, blinking against the light like survivors. Others… others looked hollowed out. Like something had crawled inside during the night and carved the person out of them, leaving just the skin behind…

The men were louder – cocky and energised. Some slapped palms in casual greeting or barked laughter at private jokes, the kind that made my stomach twist. But Coban didn’t stop for anyone. Didn’t greet them. Didn’t nod – well, not until a few of the other guys gave him subtle, respectful glances. The kind of nods you gave to someone with a reputation.

Someone dangerous.

I didn’t need a full dossier to know that Coban wasn’t like the rest of them. He moved through the space like he owned it and what shocked me most was the way the other large men would move aside for him…

We stepped into the main artery of the building – a wider hallway swarming with even more motion. More men. More girls. The pastel sea of pinks, blues, yellows, greens. All of them with their own unspoken stories hanging from their shoulders like weights after their first nights in the rooms.

And me?

Now dressed in a dull grey suit like some orphaned afterthought.

Heat flooded my cheeks. A flush of humiliation, stupid and sharp. He didn’t like the pink. So I’d changed it. What did that say about me? That I bent myself to suit a man I didn’t know? A man who frightened me?

I bit the inside of my cheek, pushing the thoughts away.

Instead, I started to look around for Cara.

She had to be out here somewhere. Our blocks couldn’t be far from one another. Maybe if I could just find her face in the moving crowd then-

Stupid!

Stupid!

How could I be so damn stupid?!

I blinked back as I turned to the front, and Coban was gone.

I spun in place, head jerking from left to right. Bodies moved around me like a tide, swallowing my short frame amongst them.

I’d lost him already!

He hadn’t turned back once to check if I was still there since we had left the cell. Why would he? I was furniture to him. A burden following him around.

“Shit,” I whispered, heart beginning to race.

What if he gets pissed that he has to come and find me later? Disrupting his routine? Crap!

Maybe I could still catch up. If I just moved fast enough. Maybe if I got to the breakfast hall quickly, he wouldn’t even notice I had gotten lost. Maybe-

I started pushing through, weaving between groups and muttering “Sorry” and “Excuse me” to every looming males shoulder or girl clinging nervously to her assigned partner.

No one cared thankfully. Everyone was locked in their own orbit.

For now.

The corridor opened up suddenly, and my steps faltered.

–

A huge room stretched out before me like a high school cafeteria on steroids. Buffet–style counters lined one side, silver trays steaming with food, while dozens of long tables sat in rows.

The sound was overwhelming

–

metal clanks, laughter, shouting, trays sliding across surfaces, some girls giggling and reuniting with friends and the occasional barked command from guards,

I stood frozen near the door.

No Cara.

No Coban.

Just me.

“Now, now… no trouble wanted here… enjoy yourself!” The guy known as Jay stuns me as he backs up, holding his hands out in surrender, before disappearing in to the room.

Was that it?! Coban told him to fuck off and he just obliged?!

Before I could think more, Coban rounded me, shielding my view from the rest of the room as he had me backed against the wall.

“What the fuck are you trying to do?!” He seethed, as I trembled.

“I got lost, I’m sorry!” I admit, avoiding eye contact with him as though it would help matters.

“Lost?” he repeated, voice low and scathing. “How the hell do you get lost when all you have to do is follow

behind me?”

I blinked hard, my throat tightening. “I–I didn’t mean to. I just… I was looking for Cara and I—”

His hand slapped the wall just beside my head, making me jump. He wasn’t touching me, not exactly. But the tension coiled in the space between us like a tripwire.

“You think you can just wander off? Let assholes like Jay sniff around you?” His jaw ticked, like it was taking everything in him not to explode. “You want to see what happens to girls who don’t stick close to their assigned guy?”

“No!” I gasped, suddenly afraid he might spell it out for me. “I didn’t want that! I didn’t know – I’m sorry! I panicked when I couldn’t see you.”

“You panicked?” he scoffed, running a hand back roughly through his dark hair.

He looked away for a second, like he couldn’t even stand the sight of me, before dragging his gaze back down, pinning me to the spot with it.

“Don’t do that again unless I’m the one telling you to fuck off somewhere alone!” He snaps, his words final.

“I understand,” I whispered. “I’ll stay close from now on.”

Coban stared at me for another second, his face unreadable. Then he let out a sharp exhale and finally stepped back, putting a few inches of blessed space between us.

“Good,” he muttered. “Now move.”