The Prison Project (by Bethany Donaghy) novel Chapter 161

Chapter 161

Coban’s POV

The guard didn’t say much as he led Leo and me down the short corridor and into the stuffy waiting room.

“Don’t leave, there’ll be guards posted around this place to make sure that you two don’t wonder around!” He warns us briefly, eyeing as both as we ignore him.

He was nothing more than an old and grumpy man, no doubt regretting being in this job every day of his miserable life.

Not even slightly intimidating either…

We each stepped past him, as he pulled the door shut at ours backs.

The room was small, windowless, painted the same pale lavender as the rest of the ward, but without the warmth the windows gave to the hallway.

Two chairs. One table bolted on to the floor. But nothing else… not that I could see…

I stayed standing, as Leo dropped down in to one of the chairs with a heavy sigh, arms reaching back to clasp behind his head.

My eyes swept the room once, then again – each corner, vent, light fixture, the seam where the ceiling met the wall…

“What is it you are you doing now?” he asked, glancing up at me. “We’re in a damn waiting room, not a war zone.”

“Checking for cameras,” I replied flatly, as though it were the only obvious answer.

He snorted and leaned back, pinching the bridge of his nose. “You’re always so paranoid. Just sit down and chill out for five minutes, yeah? They won’t be watching us sit in here, what do they think we’d do? Dig an exit through the fucking brick walls?” He laughs and

shakes his head, closing his eyes.

I scoffed at that, finally lowering myself into the second chair – satisfied only after I’d memorised every inch of the room to clear it as

being safe…

“Paranoid keeps you breathing,” I muttered back with a final nod.

Leo opened one eye and watched me as I reached into my pocket and pulled out the cheap, battered phone that the suits had handed over like it was some grand prize for doing their dirty work…

“Oh,” he said slowly, realisation dawning. “I see what you’re up to now.”

I didn’t answer.

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Chapter 161

I popped the back off the phone with my thumbnail, the plastic creaking softly in protest. Leo leaned forward, curiosity getting the better

of him as he watched me.

“Wait…” he laughed quietly, shaking his head. “Don’t tell me they didn’t even put the damn SIM in it for you?”

I shot him a look. “They did.”

He blinked. “Then why is it empty…”

“Because I’m not a fucking idiot,” I cut in, already fishing into the waistband of my boxers and pulling out a much smaller SIM card wrapped up in a scrap of tissue. “That phone’s bugged to hell. Calls. Texts. Probably the damn microphone too. You think I’m about to use

their card to talk business?”

Leo let out a low whistle. “Always one step ahead, Cobe.”

I smirked despite myself.

“Only thing my bastard father ever taught me right,” I said, sliding my own SIM into place and snapping the phone shut. “Never use what someone else gives you when they’ve got something to gain…”

The phone vibrated briefly as it powered on.

“So where’d you get the other chip?” Leo hummed, leaning back again, curiosity funnelling through him.

“My Dad gave me it not long after we got locked up in here… I smashed up the old phone out of temper but I kept the card…” I shrug, as a smile spreads across his face.

For a split second, my mind drifted to Margot, sitting in that recovery room, holding Sarah’s hand. Her face when she’d heard Sarah was awake. The way she’d squeezed my hand like she needed the reassurance more than needing air.

My jaw tightened.

I wasn’t doing this for me.

Contacting that piece of shit.

But I knew he could cover my back and hers…

1 navigated through the clunky menu, fingers moving fast, muscle memory taking over. One number sat saved already – burned into my head long before I ever even touched the phone.

I lied that I needed them to put my fathers number on it for me, I needed them to think they were my only way of contacting him, but the truth was, all I needed was the damn plastic casing to support the SIM card that I already had…

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8:52 Tue, Dec 30

Chapter 161

Fools.

Did they really think I’d just accept a bugged out SIM ke some damn Christmas pr

They’d think I’d have no choice but to use it, and they’d be listening without my knowledge.

But I knew

I always knew their tricks.

Leo watched me closely now, the humor gone from his expression. “So you’re reaching out to him? After the way he visited won

weekend? Teased you about Margot?”

I didn’t look at him. ‘No other choice.” I could only shrug. “If there’s one thing he’s good at, it’s pulling strings, and I can’t bare Newman death backfire on my only chance of getting out of this fucking place!”

Then I hit dial.

The line rang once.

Twice.

Each tone felt heavier than the last as Leo sighed again, seeming stressed now for me.

My foot bounced against the floor impatiently.

But on the third ring, the line clicked…

A familiar voice answered calm and collected, laced with the kind of authority that had shaped my entire childhood.

“Who is it?” He asked impatient as ever, never a hello.

I straightened instinctively.

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