Chapter 116 Coban’s POV:

The girls' knuckles hit the steel harder than I expected, their voices calling out as soon as we got there.

"Sarah? Sarah, it's us! Are you in there?" Cara spoke first, but nothing came. Just silence pressing thick against the corridor walls.

Margot knocked again, harder this time, her voice pitching higher with panic.

"Sarah, open up!" She pleaded, her voice cracking with worry. "It's Margot and Cara, Newman isn't here…"

That was when a door creaked open from down the hall. A broad-shouldered guy I knew – Wylie – stepped out, his scowl locked on the girls first. His eyes were all sharp with suspicion until they finally landed on me.

The recognition hit him fast.

"Problem, Wylie?" My voice cut across the hallway, low but laced with threat as the girls turned to see who I was addressing.

His whole posture shifted, hands going up like I'd pointed a gun at him. "Shit, sorry, Santo! Didn't know what the fuck was happening. I heard Newman making all sorts of commotion earlier and thought he was back at it again!" He rambled quickly, eyes wide now.

I stared him down hard, jaw tight. "Well it's not, stay the fuck in your lane."

Wylie swallowed and nodded so fast I thought his head might snap off, retreating into his cell and slamming the door shut behind him.

The girls turned back to Sarah’s door, worry bleeding through their faces. "Should we just go in?" Cara asked, her voice trembling at the suggestion. "It should be open, right?"

I stepped forward instantly, shaking my head. "Let us go in first."

There was no way I was letting them stumble into whatever waited inside. Not in this place. We’d seen it all. It was never a good thing waiting behind the door if they were unresponsive…

I pushed past, Leo immediately blocking the girls with his body too, his hand splayed out in warning. "Wait back, behind us." His voice was firm, commanding. "You don't want to see something you can't unsee."

I pressed the handle and the heavy door groaned open.

Darkness swallowed me whole which was surprising, because it was never this dark before lights out. I looked upwards, seeing the overhead light was busted, the plastic covering and bulb both shattered and smashed up across the floor, crunching under my slides.

The air smelled wrong – iron and something stale…

My instincts screamed at me, every nerve standing on end…

I moved in slow, scanning the shadows. Clothes tossed around, a chair knocked over. The kind of destruction that didn't come from simple clumsiness.

My muscles clenched in preparation already…

Then I saw it.

A pale foot jutting out from the bathroom doorway.

"Fuck." I breathed, before I surged forward, shoving the door open wider.

Leo stayed at my back, tense and ready to help.

And then I froze.

Sarah.

She was crumpled on the floor, her head tilted at a sickening angle against the ceramic sink pedestal. Blood pooled thick beneath her, dark against the bathroom floor she lay on.

I didn't even get a second to shield the scene because the girls shoved their way past Leo, voices already breaking out.

"Sarah!" Margot screamed, the sound jagged and raw as she moved back in fright.

Cara gasped, her hands flying up to cover her mouth as tears welled and spilled instantly. "No! Oh my God is she… what's happened to her?!" She sobbed, her voice cracking apart.

The noise hit like a blade to my ears, spiking panic sharper than what I'd felt in years.

"Leo!" I barked, my voice a roar that shook the walls. "Get them the fuck out of here and go raise the alarm!"

He moved quick, hands shooting out to drag them back even as they kicked and resisted, both entering total shock mode.

Their voices tore at me but I couldn't look at them. I couldn't let myself. Especially not Margot, she'd been through enough today already…

Because of me.

Shaking my head, I was already dropping to my knees beside Sarah instantly to help.

The blood was warm, thick. My hand slid across the towel rack, yanking a rag down and pressing it hard to the gash I spotted on her head.

"Sarah!" My voice boomed out in the small space, rattling the tiles. "Sarah, can you hear me?"

Nothing.

Fuck.

I think she's dead… He's fucking killed the poor thing!

I shook her, not gentle, desperate this time. "Sarah? Just stay with me. Don't you fucking quit on us – this isn't your fault."

Then…

A faint sound.

A groan, low and fragile, barely slipping from her lips.

"Hm…"

My chest locked tight, relief flooding hot and sharp. My eyes widened, my pulse slamming in my ears.

"She's still alive!" I roared, pressing the towel tighter against her head as the blood soaked through, staining my hands. "Hurry the fuck up, Leo! Get the guards – now!"

Her eyelids fluttered, a weak breath rattling out of her but that was it.

"Stay with me," I growled, fierce. "Don't you give him the satisfaction of breaking you like this."

My hands held firm, but inside I was rattling apart, fury and fear twisting together. My eyes darted upward, finding the spot on the ceramic sink that she must’ve smashed her head on…

Newman.

That fucking bastard.

I swore right then that solitary wouldn't be enough for him.

This girl was innocent. Came here to attempt to reform an ass like him. And now look…

The second I got my chance, I'd finish what I knew the guards wouldn't.

But first – Sarah had to live…

Leo’s voice thundered from the doorway, shouting for guards to hurry up, his tone so sharp it echoed down the corridor. Heavy boots answered fast, the stomping of two, then three, then more rushing closer but it felt like everything was moving in slow motion…

The guards stormed inside a moment later, the light from their flashlights cutting across the darkened cell like blades.

"What the fuck happened in here?!" one barked, horrified at the scene.

"Her head," I bit out, never easing the pressure on the towel. "She's got a really bad head trauma – sink's cracked too, check it for yourself. Don't just fucking stand there, call in the medics!"

They moved in then, one fumbling with his radio, the others crouching to assess the girl over my shoulder. My hands were still locked on Sarah's wound, blood sticky and hot between my fingers.

"She needs a stretcher, stat," one muttered into his radio, urgency dripping from every word.

Another guard grabbed my shoulder. "Santorelli, you've done enough, let go, let us take it from here…"

I turned my head, teeth bared, my glare sharp enough to cut glass.

"You think I trust you to hold her together? She's still breathing because of me. I'm not moving until those medics get here."

His hand slipped away fast.

Good choice.

I just wish they'd hurry the fuck up!