The Prison Project (by Bethany Donaghy) novel Chapter 159

Chapter 159

Margot’s POV

The knock at our cell room door came hard.

Not polite,

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Not patient.

Three sharp bangs against the metal door, followed immediately by Leo’s voice raised just enough to carry through the cell.

“Coban! It’s us!” He announced, as my heart lurched straight into my throat watching the handle turn…

Before either of us could respond, the door was swung open, Leo pushing in without hesitation with Cara right on his heels.

I startled so badly I practically launched myself out of Coban’s arms.

Too fast. Too obvious,

Like we’d been caught doing something forbidden instead of just… lying there. Breathing together.

Cuddling maybe a little closer than usual…

I shuffled across the bed abruptly, fumbling with the hem of my shirt, cheeks blazing as I took a couple of breaths.

Leo paused mid–step, eyes flicking between me and Coban, brows lifting in something between suspicion and resignation.

Cara, on the other hand, just stared at me dumbfounded.

“Well,” she said slowly, lips twitching, “that was… cosy.”

Coban sat up instantly, body coiling tight like a spring being pulled too far.

“Why the fuck would you just barge in here like that?” he snapped, voice low but dangerous. “I wouldn’t do that shit to you!” He defends.

Leo sighed, scrubbing a hand down his face. “Yeah, yeah, sure you wouldn’t! I also knocked first, so don’t say I wasn’t polite about it! But I sorta figured you wouldn’t be fooling around anyway… at least not today, after…”

His gaze flicked briefly toward me as he paused in his sentence.

“Well after what happened outside… you know?” He concluded awkwardly, scratching the back of his neck as Cara sent an elbow in to his

side.

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Chapter 159

Oh.

Oh no.

:

The meaning of his words landed instantly.

A reminder of the embarrassment I was already trying to bury in my memory.

Heat flooded in to my face so fast that I thought I might actually combust.

I folded my arms over my stomach without thinking, suddenly hyper–aware of everything: my body, the blood pooling between my legs. the heat patch under my shirt, the fact I’d been cuddled up in his bed for comfort through it all…

Great.

Fantastic.

Exactly what I needed!

Coban noticed my discomfort though, and I watched his jaw tighten.

“Well, what the hell is it that you want?” he barked, redirecting the conversation sharply.

Cara stepped forward then, breathless, eyes bright and wide like she’d been holding onto something explosive the entire time she’d been

stood in the room.

“The guard just came to us,” she said quickly between breaths. “He said Sarah’s awake.”

The words hit me like a physical force.

My jaw dropping at the words I didn’t quite believe yet…

“She’s… awake?” I blinked, my brain struggling to catch up.

This was the last thing I’d expected them to say!

Cara nodded frantically. “Yeah. Awake, and she’s asking for us to come see her too! The guard said we could go up and see her right now.”

For a second, everything else disappeared.

The embarrassment.

The tension in the room.

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The awkwardness of being caught in Coban’s bed cuddling like a giddy schoolgirl.

A slow, disbelieving smile spread across my face.

“She’s really awake?‘ I whispered, hope swelling so fast it almost hurt.

Awake means alive.

She was alive!

“Yes!” Cara bounced on her toes. “That’s why I made Leo rush us over here like this, I had to come get your

I moved without thinking, pulling the sheets back as I climbed off the bed, already halfway toward the bathroom is a sudden ruth to

leave.

Then Coban’s voice cut in.

“Hold up.” He snapped, his voice filling the room.

I stopped mid–step, turning wide eyed toward him.

“Do we get to come or are they just taking you two away for who knows how long?” he asked, one brow lifting as his eyes locked in on

Leo.

He clearly doesn’t want me going anywhere without him. Not anytime soon.

Leo hesitated, then shook his head carefully. “Nah. They said not to overwhelm her. Only two at first. But we can walk them up there and wait nearby in one of the other rooms.”

Coban’s gaze flicked toward me instantly.

And stayed there.

I felt it like a weight crushing me – heavy, assessing, protective.

Please, I thought, before I even realised I was thinking it.

I turned fully toward him, my resolve cracking just enough to let my voice soften.

“Please, Coban,” I said quietly. “I need to see her, for my own sanity.”

The room went still. Everyone seeming to hold their breath.

Cara shifted nervously beside Leo. Leo held his stance like he knew better than to interrupt right now.

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Chapter 159

Coban stared at me for a long moment but he was entirely unreadable, conflicted, as his jaw held tight as if he were fighting against

himself,

Then he exhaled.

Long. Slow.

“Fine,” he said finally, nodding once. Final. “We will go.”

Relief flooded through me so fast my knees nearly buckled.

“Thank you,” I breathed in relief, already turning toward the bathroom. “I’ll just… go freshen up… I’ll be quick.

I shut the door behind me without another word, leaning against it for half a second to steady myself.

Sarah was awake.

Alive.

She had survived against Newman and his terrible assault.

But did she know the news?

That he was dead?

That he’d been murdered and punished for what he did to her?

And only we knew who by…

As I splashed water on my face and smoothed my hair back, my reflection stared back at me. I was flushed pink and somewhat shaken up, but above all else – hopeful.

I peed quickly, sorting myself a new layer of leak proof defence for my underwear, before washing my hands and racing back out toward

the group.

Coban was now up and read to leave, as Leo and Cara waited just outside the door now.

“Let’s go!” I smile, attempting to walk by Coban, who’s hand snaps out to grab my wrist like a viper.

“Remember, Bella…” He starts, eyes searching mine as I blink up at him. “She might look a little worse than what you’d expect, so don’t be too shocked.” He advises, as I nod slowly.

He was right.

BRON

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Chapter 159

None of us knew exactly what we were about to see.

“As long as she’s alive, then I can handle the rest.” I confirm, as he sighs, dropping his hand from my wrist as it slides down in to my palin

fingers entwining.

I wasn’t entirely used to this newer side of Coban, but I found myself welcoming it more and more with each passing second spent with

him.

From the start of the project, on the first night I’d met him, I’d watched him grow in to a different man before my very eyes.

Still terrifying.

But terrifyingly addictive…

“Ready?” Cara snaps me out of my thoughts as I blush a little and nod.

“Let’s go see Sarah!” I breathe, as we all head toward the exit of our cell block.

We’ve been waiting for this moment for too long…

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8.52 Tue, Dec 30

The Prison Project