The Prison Project

Chapter 123

Coban’s POV

The air in the room shifted, becoming more heavy and dense. There it was, the heart of it…

They weren’t here to “chat” about Sarah, because they didn’t give a rat’s ass about the girl. They weren’t here to scold me, or even to accuse me of what happened. No.

These suits had dragged me out of my cell in the middle of the fucking night to ask me to get my hands dirty for them, like I hadn’t already bled enough for one fucking day.

I leaned back slowly, letting the silence stretch just to watch them squirm. They were trying so damn hard to look composed, but their hands gave them away: fiddling with their ties, tugging their cuffs, blinking too much. Weak men always gave themselves away.

“You want me to kill him,” I said again, slower this time, rolling the words on my tongue like poison. Little did they know, I had already planned to, but I wouldn’t admit that, not for them. But the truth stayed – Newman did need proper punishment for this, for traumatizing not only the poor girl, but my Bella too.

The shorter one cleared his throat but didn’t dare answer me. The taller one only gave a thin smile, like he thought dressing it up in silence would make it sound less abnormal…

My grin faded as fast as it came. I leaned forward again, both elbows digging into the cold, hard table. “You know I could walk right out of here, back to my cell, and tell every female volunteer in this place what you just fucking asked me to do, don’t you? And you know what females are like… they like to talk… to spread rumors… to gossip.”

Their eyes widened with each mocking statement I made, as I couldn’t help but enjoy making them flap.

“Look, Mr. Santorelli,” the taller one said carefully, “we trust that you are a… pragmatic man. We wouldn’t be here otherwise.”

“Pragmatic?” I scoffed. “Try ruthless. Dangerous. The kind of bastard you’re both too soft to deal with on your own, so instead, you hire somebody else to do your dirty work for you.”

They didn’t argue with that. They knew it was true.

The shorter one leaned in this time, lowering his voice as I watched them become desperate. “If Newman stays around this place and this incident gets out… then the project loses credibility. Sponsors back out. The whole thing collapses.” He rambled, as I stared at him, bored.

“But if… if something were to happen between the inmates themselves, volunteers aside, if he were to be removed – quietly – death certificate and reason for death all checking out… then we can write it off as nothing major… unrelated…” He explained, as I hummed loudly.

“And what about the girl? Sarah? The girl fighting for her life right now? Won’t you need her alive? Because if word gets out that she died during this project… then that will look a whole lot worse than just some prisoner’s death, won’t it?” I confirmed, as they each sighed and nodded knowingly.

“Yes, it would. That’s why we have the best staff working to save her right now as we speak,” the taller one added, as though it would comfort me, but I didn’t like his wording.

They didn’t give a single shit about Sarah; this was all about them, about saving face, saving money.

I let the silence seep into the room again, something I had mastered over the years to intimidate others, as I took the time to study them. They were sweating now, actually sweating in this pristine little office that stank of polish and fake civility.

Finally, I tilted my head. “And what exactly is in it for me if I agree to help?”

They both blinked, like the question hadn’t even occurred to them.

The taller one recovered first. “Well… you’d have our gratitude, of course.”

I barked out a laugh so loud it made them both flinch. “Gratitude? You two drag me out of my cell at midnight, into your secret little room, to ask me to do your dirty work, and all you’re offering me is a fucking thank you in return? I think I best be getting back now…” I continued to laugh, standing from my chair as both of them shot to life with the simple movement.

“N–Not just that!” The taller one held out a hand to halt me, as I slowly sank back down, flicking my wrist for them to proceed – this time, with something better for me.

The shorter one’s throat bobbed. He darted a glance at the taller one before stammering out, “Privileges. Extra privileges. We can arrange that.”

“Be specific,” I snapped. “What exactly are we talking about here?”

The taller one sat back down and leaned back, watching me with cautious eyes. “What is it you want most in this place, Mr. Santorelli?”

My jaw flexed. I already knew my answer, but fuck if I was going to hand it to them that easily.

“I want my female to have whatever she wants to be more comfortable here…” I said finally, my voice low, steady, dangerous. “It’s important to me that she cooperates to help earn me my freedom; therefore, I will write you a list of exactly what I want, and if you can’t meet it, then it’s no deal from me.” I shrugged, as they thought on it for a moment.

The silence after my words dragged like a blade across glass. They weren’t expecting that.

They thought I’d ask for cigarettes, better snacks, maybe more gym time to myself like the other dumb bastards in here… They hadn’t expected me to point it all back to giving her what she wants, to make things up to my Bella for what I’d put her through…

The shorter one shifted in his chair, frowning faintly as though he was recalculating the equation in his head. “Requests for… comfort, for a female volunteer, that’s… unusual.”

“Unusual?” I barked out a humorless laugh, leaning forward on my elbows again, my grin sharp. “What’s unusual is dragging a man out of his cell at midnight to ask him to take care of your dirty little mess. So don’t you fucking sit there and tell me what is or isn’t unusual. If you want me to play your game, you play mine too.”

The taller one held up a placating hand, his expression smoothing into something fake and professional again. “Of course. We didn’t mean to imply that we couldn’t… accommodate you. We only meant to ask for clarity. Make your list, Mr. Santorelli. If what you’re asking for falls within reason, then we’ll make it happen.”

My grin widened just enough to unsettle them. “Okay, good.”

The deal was on…