The Prison Project (by Bethany Donaghy) novel Chapter 31

Margot’s POV

The man fucking winked at me!

Subtle.

Quick.

Barely there.

But it was real enough that only I was the one who caught it…

It was like he knew exactly what he was doing – how that one small gesture could rip the breath from my lungs and make my heart do stupid flips that it seriously had no business doing.

Bella… I still had no idea what it meant either. Bella…

Cara turned to me, visibly confused. “Her name’s Margot… Margot Belle,” she clarified, voice hesitant now.

Luca’s smirk widened as his eyes darted between us. “Ahhh, I see. So you’ve given her a little Italian nickname already, Santo?” He points out, as I feel Cara smiling from beside me next as though it was just some sweet gesture.

Wrong.

Little did she know, that he had ripped me a new one on my real name, before deciding just to change it completely to suit him.

“Bella…?” Luca goes on, evidently wanting a reaction from him that he hadn’t yet given, as Coban rubs his hands down his face roughly.

Coban groaned, tipping his head back. “Fuck off, Luca.”

I flinched slightly, the tension in his tone knotting up inside me.

My body went rigid, suddenly terrified that this might be where everything exploded.

That maybe they’d fight over this.

That Coban could snap and turn on him like he had done earlier in the hallway…

I would hate for them to fight over something as silly as him giving me a pet name, since it didn’t actually matter in the grand scheme of things.

He could call me whatever he liked, if it kept him at bay.

But Luca just shockingly laughed him off, waving off the threat like it was a running joke between them. “Relax. I’m only saying it’s cute of you. Isn’t it, Margot? Nicknaming you his Bella.” Luca suddenly turns to me.

I swallowed hard, trying to find my voice.

What do I even say?!

“Uh… sure, I guess so?” I managed, though I didn’t sound convincing even to myself.

I looked at Coban, who now rubbed a hand across his jaw, clearly annoyed at being teased by his buddy, but not… furious about it either. Not dangerous. Just irritated in a very human, very male way that helped put me at slight ease.

“So what did you two do before this shit?” Luca asked, being the conversationalist. “Before you were recruited into this twisted little project?”

Cara perked up, clearly glad to be asked something normal after all of that… “We were students. Both of us. Just finished school in June. We felt stuck in our home town so wanted to get out.” Cara takes the stage, and I was glad, like Luca, that she was the more chatty one of us both.

They could work well together in this…

“So that makes you two what then? Eighteen? I thought you were both at least twenty–one. Didn’t you, Santo? Think they were a bit older?” Luca states, shocked to discover the fact.

“Shouldn’t be in here that young, are the pair of you lacking brain cells or what?” Coban questions, obviously more directed at me as I just shrug.

“Seriously? What for? They all wear them!” Luca shook his head, pushing him for an explanation, as I feared Coban would eventually snap and end him all together.

“She chose pink – and I wasn’t parading around here with a short little blonde dressed in pink, she was fucking asking for trouble!” Coban began, suddenly confident in his decision. “But maybe that’s what she wants? Maybe she enjoys the other prisoners giving her grief? Maybe I don’t need to protect her in here because she likes it?” Coban starts rambling, his tone never changing but the words making me shiver.

He’s pissed off at me again… but what did I do this time? I’ve barely spoke!

“No…” I hear Cara’s voice come out from beside me, and I instantly wished that I hadn’t.

Why the hell did she have to try to defend me against him of all people?! It just wasn’t worth it!

“What did you say?” Coban leans forward suddenly, eyes now fully set on Cara as I began to panic for her.

“She didn’t mean anything by it.” I attempt, before his hand shoots up to silence me.

“I wasn’t asking you.” He states, as my lips slam shut, praying for Luca to step in to help Cara, but he just remains as he is comfortable and stretched out.

“Oh, no, uhh, forgive me, I just wanted to say that Margot isn’t like that. She hates drawing attention to herself. I’m the one who suggested she went for the pink because it’s her favourite colour. In fact, I’m the one that suggested that we even sign up to this project in the first place she didn’t come here for anything else.” Cara speaks up, clearing her throat, as I couldn’t help but feel somewhat proud of her for trying to defend me.

“Oh is that so my little rebel? This was all your idea, was it? Luca chuckles, as Coban seems to sit back, surprisingly not responding as of yet.

Unlike the rest of us, Luca was clearly used to Coban, and I couldn’t help but think back to the way he had been chatting, smiling and laughing during their workout together.

Something tells me that Coban Santorelli had more layers to him, and that I had only so far began to scratch the surface…